my ukulele progress

I just re-read what I wrote and I wanted to point out that it isn't as technical as it sounds. These are all just modes of the E Harmonic Minor. So all I'm doing is using those notes in differing orders. I'm not even introducing non-diatonic notes. It is also obvious that what I'm doing is made possible through a Low G tuning. The reason I prefer low G (aside from not embarrassing myself by sounding like Tiny Tim or George Formby) is that it allows two systems. There are scales that start on the G string and end on the E string, and there are the scales that start on the C and end on the A. It is nice having the option of playing a scale in more than one place. Also, as I showed above, it is possible to start in one system and end in the other. For example, you can start on the G Ionian #5 and switch halfway through to the C Lydian #2. There's a lot to do.
 
What have I been creating?

I made some Tuscan soup for this week's staple. It is inspired by the soups my wife and I ate while we were in Italy for a month. I use a pound of cannellinis. A cup of barley. Those two things I pressure cooked--obviously, not together because beans take two hours whereas grains take fifteen minutes. I added a pound of browned meat (lamb). I added two cans of Ro-Tel (which is a commercial brand of spicy dice-y tomatoes). I added a liberal amount of basil and oregano. That's it. I might have to add some water when I re-heat it.

I also made some mustard for my condiment needs. For mustard I have more of a method than a recipe. I pour some black mustard seeds into my mortar and add some salt and tumeric. Then I add a jigger of Laphroaig scotch and a jigger of vinegar. Then I just grind it with the pestle. Then I add more vinegar or more seeds to get the texture I want. Today I finished it off by adding some garbanzo bean flour to thicken it up. I added some more salt because the flour made the mustard a bit bitter. Beans are one of the few things that absolutely need salt. Otherwise they taste like soil.

Musically, I am enjoying finger picking my harmonic minor modes. I was listening to an old song "Diary of a Madman" and I heard a motif which I knew I could play with the modes. It was relatively simple. I started off in the re-entrant B Phrygian Dominant and used the first two notes thereof. Then I backed up into the re-entrant A Dorian #11 and used its first three notes. The re-entrant A Dorian #11 is embedded within the linear E Aiolian #7. So I quickly changed to the latter to get the "buuum-bump"--that two note base that caps off the riff. So I played that for a while and did some other things not worth mentioning.

I have a lot to do (my two jobs, go to doctor because of a retinal detachment I have, pick up my new spectacles, take my jeep for $2000 worth of repairs, get my wife's care safety-inspected and registered) nonetheless I want to work into that schedule some ukulele work. I feel inclined to stick with what I'm doing and try to get a little bit more fluid with my modes. The biggest stumbling blocks are linear G Ionian #5 and the re-entrant C Lydian #2, both of which are the shapes that include open strings. I avoid them because they have open strings and that affects my scale shapes since the index finger is replaced by the nut. The problem with that (aside from not inviting your demons to tea and embracing your adversities) is that I am depriving myself of the lowest frets and the lowest frets are the best frets. So I'm really doing myself an injustice by not using my bass notes. So I'll be working on getting comfortable with those shapes. I don't know if I should just consider these shapes as unique and just memorize them or if I should just not use my index finger, thereby preserving the shape that occurs at the 12th fret. I'll try both.
 
I have some free time before my wife wakes up and I thought I'd update what I've been doing.

First of all, I've been playing around with some new chord qualities. Well...they aren't new; I just don't use them. The first one is the sus2. It isn't the easiest to play. Making those chords dominant--i.e., 7sus2--makes it a little bit easier and more applicable as I would probably be using them in that way.

Secondly, I have been experimenting with some minor add9's and 11's. Those qualities have a bit of a stretch to them. Honestly some of them aren't going to be practical because they are so difficult (similar to the maj7 chord rooted on the E).

* * * *

For the right hand I have been focusing on The Dorian #11 scale and my open string scales. The Dorian #11 is interesting because it is the only shape in linear tuning that doesn't have another re-entrant shape embedded within it. With the linear Dorian #11, once you finish with the E string, to move to the A string you either have to move down to a Lydian #2 or up to a super Lokrian bb7. Just to give an example of the normal proceedings, if you start playing a Lokrian 13 in linear tuning, there is a Phrygian dominant contained within it, and if you play them both together you can play all four strings. Anyway...I have been focusing on the Dorian #11 because it is an anomaly.

I have also been focusing on the linear G Ionian #5/re-entrant C Lydian #2. I am focusing on them because they employ open strings--something I normally avoid.

It is worth noting that all open strings are in the E harmonic minor so that it is convenient to pull-off any string.


Before I go I'd like to mention two recent threads. One was devoted to expensive ukes and the other to a checklist of things to do with a new uke. I'd just like to say that when you buy an expensive custom uke, part of the value emanates from the fact that you don't have to do anything to a newly acquired uke. It is already perfectly ready to go.
 
I've been a bit busy, but today I entranced myself with a little I-IV-V progression. The chord qualities were a bit eccentric. The progression was Em add9 to Am to Bm7. I really liked the movement from the E to the A chord. I didn't really know what quality to give the B. I settled on the rather buttery m7. As a turnaround of sorts, I would improv on the A Dorian #11 because it contains all the chord tones of the Em add9 (except the b3, the G, which belongs to another scale, even though it would still sound good since G is part of the E harmonic minor).
 
I put my Yorkie away although it pains me to do so. It had been out for a week or two. Typically the air around here is about 20%. Inside the ukulele cases, he hygrometer says it is 42%. I owe it to Yorkie to get some humidity. So I took out the Kamaka. Its incredible sustain and high G string always is a bit jarring, but I think I'll spend some time with my modes and the top three strings. If all goes as planned, By the time I pull the Yorkie back out, I'll just need to incorporate the G string to have a working knowledge of the entire fret board in terms of the modes. This seems a little bit robotic, but I find I need to be overly assiduous with my shapes and then erase the lines to connect all the notes together. It is a matter of over-learn and then un-learn. That's just how my mind works.
 
Pursuing my plans I naturally did some 19 fret runs.

Then I made some efforts connecting the shapes I know very well with the adjacent shapes to make one big super shape.

Then I gravitated toward the D# Super Lokrian bb7 that starts on the 15th fret. It has a nice, but overlooked, E on the 16th fret to punctuate phrases. From the D# Super Lokrian bb7 I want to jump down to my comfort zone of the 11th fret, and that's perfectly fine but there is a shape betwixt the 15th and 11th frets. It is the C Lydian #2. And it is easy; I'm just not comfortable with it. And by 'easy' I mean it has a consistent home row I guess you could call it. That's when the index finger stays in the same fret as you move across the strings. I have found that re-entrant tuning (playing scales on the top three strings) makes "major" shapes easy and "minor" shapes hard. The opposite holds true for the linear tuning: it makes the "minor" shapes easier. That's another reason I prefer linear tunings. The "minor" sound is my default sound and naturally I prefer to have it easier when playing them. Anyway...as you can tell by its name, the C Lydian #2 is a major shape and therefore has a consistent home row and therefore is easy. I really need to practice it, so that it becomes a musical option. Right now I am forced to jump from the 15th to the 11th frets and that's a good sound. But what if I want sounds that are closer? The C Lydian and the D# Super Lokrian share notes and they become a super-shape when taken together. So I owe it to myself to practice it a bit more. As a coda to this stream of thought, I just realized another contributing factor as to why I am not comfortable with the C Lydian #2. I used to avoid it because in its first instance on the fret board it utilizes open strings and I don't like open strings. When I play it low, the nut plays the low notes, but at an octave higher the index finger does that honor. I don't like that inconsistency. I'm getting over that.
 
I'm starting to get a feel for those Lokrian shapes. Yeah, I know we can all google Lokrian and get the canned answers about it being a passing tool. And I acknowledge that. When I play the D# Super Lokrian bb7, I never want to stop on the D#. I always want to just take that extra half-step and end on the E. However I am starting to see some other musical applications. Namely, employing them as an extension of the shape adjacent to them.

For example, playing something very central like the E Aiolian #7 is variegated by using the F# Lokrian 13 which is just above it on the fret board. You kind of wank around in E Aiolian #7 for a while and then shoot up to the F# Lokrian 13, which is by definition rather without a center. Then you just slip on back down to the E Aiolian #7 and get some resolution to the uncertainty caused by shifting to the Lokrian.

I found the same vibe working between the C Lydian #2 and the D# Super Lokrian bb7.

So I'm starting to get the whole fret board organized. Then I only have to unlearn the lineaments of scales to move more smoothly.

The one fly in the amber is the G Ionian #5. It is right smack dab in the middle of the fret board and consequently holds some very valuable real estate. However I do not like it. Perhaps because it is Ionian, I have a natural disliking for it and its blandness. Right now it is splitting the fret board in half. I play the stuff above it and below it. I probably need to embrace it and maybe treat it like the Lokrians as an extension of the A Dorian #11
 
I called into work today. I either have a mild instance of Covid or the regular flu. Headache, runny nose with yellow snot...that kind of thing. Even though I feel fine again I am going to milk this thing and take another day off because the temperature dropped from the 80's to the 20's. I deserve to sit at home by the furnace and play some music.

I've been practicing my Harmonic Minor modes. I'm still confusing the two Lokrian shapes. On the other hand I am starting to obliterate the boundaries between the shapes. For me it has been an issue of knowing the seven notes that are the basis of these modes. It is difficult to think outside the shape, but if you just think about the individual notes then it is easier just to jump to one of the notes on the fret board and then figure out what shape you're in after you've jumped there.

To break up the modes a bit I was just strumming through the first six bars of Rhythm Changes in E before going back to the modes. That was actually interesting because thereupon the modes sounded like a solo for the chords although there was a little bit of a mismatch in tone.
 
I read something today which referred to the fourth mode of the Harmonic Minor as the Dorian #4. I have always called it the Dorian #11. Obviously the 4th and 11th intervals of a scale are the same note although the latter is at a higher octave. It does make one wonder about the naming conventions. The #4 makes more sense because the 4th interval (and the 11th) are raised. To call it the Dorian #11 implies, to my ear, that the 4th is not sharp. However, I'll just keep on calling my scale #11 because I have better things to do than expend grey matter on remembering that.

I was working on that block of frets which includes the 7th, 9th, and 11th frets. I am right in the middle of the fretboard and allows for movement in either direction. And the stretch is a bit more comfortable on the higher frets. For example the G Ionian #5 has a 5 fret stretch on the C string which is less stretchy than the same stretch involved in the D# Super Lokrian bb7 at the 3rd fret.

The sound I am rather fancying nowadays is a downward movement in pitch. For some reason that sounds natural to me. The high note sounds like the climax of a situation and the lower notes sound like a resolution. Take, for example, a question. At the end of an interrogation sentence we pitch upwards and then the answer cascades down from that height.

Anyway, that's the whimsy I am pursuing today. And I am implementing it by starting at the 11th fret in the B Phrygian Dominant and from there backing into A Dorian #11 or even the G Ionian #5. The latter scale is turning out to be useful. It sounds the least exotic when played sequentially--as its name hints it would--but it actually sounds good to improvise with. When you jump strings with the G Ionian #5, it already sounds like a lick whereas other scales sometimes sound a bit random.

Since the cold weather has trickled upon mountains finally, I've had the furnace on. I love the furnace--as opposed to central heating--because it gives heat a personal feel. A furnace is like a hearth and its gift emanates from a certain locality and you cozy up to it...if you can pry one of the cats away from it. However, the heat is a dry heat and my Kamaka should probably be put back in its humidified case.

The advantage of that is Yorkie and even lower notes. Above I was talking about the satisfying devolving of pitches. With the low G it gets even lower. It does a bit more complicated though. That's because most of the scales played re-entrantly are encased in another scale played linearly. Take for example the A Dorian #11. It has notes on the C, E, and A strings. However, if you play its E strings notes, then its C string notes, and add a few from the low G string...then you're playing the E Aiolian #7.

Similarly the Phrygian Dominant I was playing morphs into the F# Lokrian 13 and G Ionian #5 becomes a D# Super Lokrian bb7. So things are about to get a bit spicier.
 
I viewed a discussion today about fret board shapes and it was puzzling. The tacit consensus was obviously for a radiused fret board. I don't necessarily have a preference. Whether you use a flat, radiused, or even a scalloped fretboard...just pick it, adapt to it, and play it. It isn't rocket science. The thing that piqued my interest was people saying that radiused fret boards were useful to them when they had to play barre chords. That's what I found curious because when does someone not play barre chords? Barre chords are arguably the most important part of playing a string instrument. It was one of the first tricks you learn on the ukulele. It is so fundamental to playing up the neck. It isn't an advanced skill; it is remedial.

I just pulled out my Yorkie and put the Kamaka to sleep. The first thing I did was strum a little bit of Rhythm Changes using, incidentally, all barre chords. Emaj7 to E7 (rooted on the C string) to an Amaj7 and Adim7 (rooted on the G string) to a B7 (rooted on the A string). Barre chords and closed chords are the backbone of my personal system. I know: whatever, huh?

Since I have my Yorkie out, that means getting that low G string into the mix and it is deeply satisfying. You can create such a wall of notes when using all four strings. To recapitulate where I was at using the first three strings. I could play all the modes of the harmonic minor whether they started on an open fret or the 16th fret. I was able to transition between adjacent modes. The one thing I was still struggling with was making big jumps. For example, if I were to slide to some random note on any of the strings, I couldn't immediately recognize the shape it was in. That'll come. It is starting to shape up now that I am practicing linear and re-entrant shapes simultaneously. It is like being immersed in a culture to learn the language.
 
and since I usually update my musical and culinary endeavors concomitantly, I should mention that I bought a nice cast iron wok since I have a gas stove. I haven't had a wok since circa 1989 or so. And back then it was probably some cheap aluminum affair.

I have to fulfill my wife's request to make some carne adovada (I think I will use my wok) but then I think I'll use the wok to make some fried rice and broccoli for myself.
 
I was musing about how the A Dorian #11, which I recently talked about in terms of its nomenclature, serves as an epicenter around a lot I do. The reason may be that it is so close to the B Phrygian Dominant which is my favorite.

Speaking of Phrygian, it is a proud moment. My wife was derisively mentioning something I had been playing. I didn't recall which thing she was referring to. And she said it was some Phrygian thing. She can hear and name modes now.

Anyway, regardless of why the A Dorian #11 is important. It is worth noting some of its aspects. In re-entrant tuning the A Dorian #11 is embedded in the linear E Aiolian #7. Therefore there's a lot of options when playing it up yonder around the tenth fret.

However the Linear-tuned A Dorian #11 is unique insofar as it doesn't have another shape embedded within it. That's not necessarily a negative thing. It means we have to do a little bit of hopping around. Here's one possible tack to take:

1. Play the A, B, and C on the G string
2. On the C string, the notes in the mode are D# and E. We can either continue with this linear shape or morph into one of three re-entrant shapes. We can either use the D# as part of the C Lydian #2, or we can use it as part of the D# Super Lokrian bb7, or we can use the E to start in on the E Aiolian #7.
3. If we play the linear shape, the notes on the E string are F#, G, and A. Now if we want to move on towards the A string there are a few options. The notes within easy reach are A, B, C, and D# which are the notes from the C Lydian #2 (or the G Ionian #5 if you use the linear tuning) and the D# Super Lokrian bb7 (or the B Phrygian Dominant in linear).

So there is a ton of stuff to do down there in the low frets.

But I don't like to remain in the low frets; all the good stuff goes on up high. So I was thinking about the top of the D# Super Lokrian bb7. It is the 11th fret and it has those three notes all in a row. And of course when you barre them (if you have a radius fret board) and fret the A on the 12th fret, you get the B7 rooted on the C string. So I was building some progressions that employed B7 and using the convenience of that barre chord as a spring board to any of several modal possibilities such as E Aiolian #7, F# Lokrian 13, or again the A Dorian #11. Lots of options.
 
I'm still trying to get the entire fret board down pat. I kind of have it, but it is the fluency that's lacking. I can certainly look at my music stand and follow the diagrams, but I want it all inside my head. I guess I am betraying my age in this desire. I don't want an app that can tell me what I need to know; I want to know it.

People are certainly going a bit stir crazy. I live three blocks north of our main drag and people are creating a ruckus celebrating Joe Biden. Joe Biden. People have to be hard pressed for social outlet when Biden serves as a catalyst for mirthful frolicking.

They've quieted down and I'm exploring the top of the fret board. In linear tuning there's a B Phrygian Dominant at the 16th fret. It ends on the 19th fret of the E. To include the A string into the mix, you can switch to the D# Super Lokrian bb7 and snag the C and D#. That D# is just begging for resolution and it is just a half step to the E on the 19th fret of the A.

This shape is very useful because it has the instrument's highest notes, the highest being the E, the root. This is useful because you want to end on a high note in your soloing. Typically you start low and build up the tension and the pitches as you go. So this shape is the exit plan for the solo.
 
I thought I would focus on some middle of the fret board stuff in order to fill in some of my conceptual gaps. The emphasis is on the two Lokrian shapes, the D# super lokrian bb7 and the F# Lokrian 13. I have read that the latter is important as it is used over half diminished chords which would come in handy in a minor ii-v-i context.

The D# super lokrian bb7 is located on the 8th fret and it isn't the easiest shape because the shape shifts down a fret on the C string. It does have some potential. The re-entrant G Ionian #5 is embedded within it and it shares notes with the E Aiolian #7 which is just above it on the fretboard. It would be super easy back into the shape from the E Aiolian #7 and create some tension with the leading tone of the D#. The re-entrant D# super lokrian bb7 is located at the third and 15th frets. An added bonus to the re-entrant shapes is that they are embedded in the linear B Phrygian Dominant shapes, which are my favorite. Since the D# on the 8th and the 3rd are the same note, it will be easy to move from one to the other depending on what shape you want to migrate to.

The F# Lokrian 13 has similar advantages. The F# Lokrian is right above the E Aiolian #7 so it would be easy to go from one to the other. And the F# Lokrian has the re-entrant B Phrygian Dominant embedded within it. One nice thing about the F# Lokrian 13 is that it is very horizontal. On the 11th fret and 12th frets all the notes are part of the shape so that you could barre them and finger pick them to play some riff.

Now that my head is clear about these two shapes, I'll get to it and report back
 
I've really been digging the D# Super Lokrian bb7, much to my dismay. I assumed that I would prefer the F# Lokrian 13 because it shares notes with the B Phrygian Dominant, my favorite mode. However I have bouncing between the E Aiolian #7 and the D# Super Lokrian bb7 and creating some good lines.

The thing that I have been smitten with is the D# Super Lokrian bb7's C string. It is a five fret stretch and the notes are the conventional G A B. This is the beginning of the ultra normal G Ionian #5 which is embedded within the Lokrian shape. I believe that the normalcy is what gives it piquancy. I have stated in the past that sometimes being normal is very abnormal when everyone in our world is trying to be abnormal. This is a case in point. Much of the sound in these modes of the Harmonic Minor are exotic. The exotic becomes by default the norm. But when something isn't exotic it egregiously stands out from the exotic, thereby becoming more exotic than the exotic.

My whimsies not withstanding, here's the nuts and bolts of what I have been doing melodically: I start with the good old E Aiolian #7 and establish a pattern and then I swoop up to the F# Lokrian 13 to vary the pattern a bit. That becomes the main motif. Then, I slide down to the D# Super Lokrian bb7 and create a secondary line before returning to the main melody. I suppose I unconsciously was just doing the standard AABA pattern of so many jazz standards. AABA just works. That's why it is a standard.
 
Still bouncing between the Lokrian shapes and enjoying it.

I bought myself some Cairdeas, a variety of my favorite whiskey that has been aged in port and wine casks for an extra dimension or two. I did this in honor of my birthday in lieu of what I had intended. I live in one of the eleven states which surpasses the size of all of Great Britian. So I have places to go and things to see, but the state is going into a pandemic lockdown for a fortnight. I don't see much point in traveling to distant localities when all the amenities and attractions will be closed. Since I cannot travel, I bought my nuanced whiskey.

Speaking of nuances and extra dimensions, I feel I have to work on some technique that is glaringly missing from my repetoire. That is the drone, or at least that's what I call it. I think you know what I mean. It is that bassline played with the thumb on the bass strings.

It is central to Roots music and that is my genre. It is time I belly up to the bar, pay some dues, and get this under my belt. Actually what I am currently doing is suited to this endeavor. The open G and C strings are in the key of E Harmonic minor. So I could conceivably drone on with those strings whilst laying down some lines on the treble strings. It is very simple theoretically, but I am sure the performative aspect of it will be a bear to tackle. It is going to be difficult to do two things at once. Really!

I should probably throw in some chords from the harmonization of the Harmonic Minor. I was looking at a jazz website and they throw 7's in everywhere, whereas I usually use the simplest chord qualities when I harmonize. Here's what they use:

I minor major 7 | II half diminished | III major 7 #5 | IV m7 | V dom7 | VI major 7 | VII diminished

There. I'll try to incorporate some of these chords in my sessions as well to add some variety to the melody line and bass line.

Additionally, the other thing I was wanting to do is transition between modal shapes better. I was purposefully watching soloists use m.s. pizzicato to move down to other shapes. I think I can do it with some practice.
 
ooooh boy. That bass line is hard to keep up. Doing two things at once is no joke. I really admire the Reverend Peyton and Justin Johnson, and they both have that drone doing on. It is going to take some iterations to get it right and tight.

At this point, the whole two things at once thing is kind of blowing my mind. I am coping by trying (imperfectly) to keep the bass going and then just playing some notes from a shape when I can. To be honest, it sounds pretty awesome, but it is quite a labor. Right now it is hard, but eventually the bass line must become natural and then placing melody notes between and on top of the bass notes must become easy. Right now, that seems like a million miles away.

I am either making music or making food.

No one's interested in my E harmonic minor finger picking, but I did make some interesting chicken.

My wife wanted something different from the carne adovada high desert tradition that I usually make. So here's what i did:

Prep: cubed up some boneless skinless chicken thighs
Prep: prepared some herbs--ground cumin, baharat (Syrian spice), bouquet garni (traditional mixture), Hawaiian black salt, fresh dill
Prep: had some red onion and minced garlic ready.

In my wonderful cast iron wok, I threw some ghee (clarified butter) the onions and garlic.

Once the onion was translucent, I threw in the chicken and mixed it all up.

After I let it cook for a while, I threw in the herb mixture.

After a while, I threw in some lime juice and mango sweet-and-sour sauce that I had

When the chicken was no longer raw, I poured it into a container with a tablespoon of brown sugar for good measure and stored it for use in whatever meals that may transpire during the week
 
I once again find myself wondering what the hell is wrong with people. Our state is going into a two week lock down and I went to the store. All the ramen noodles were gone. Why do people buy horrible cancerous food to stem the tide of starvation during a lock down? Real food is still in the stores. I bought a pork butt and some broccoli. I admit because of the trying times in which we live I had to buy florets because all the broccoli bits were gone. However, there were still aisles of meat and vegetables.

Also, since the lock down was about to be instituted, I went to my favorite pub to get a growler of beer. A couple of wine-drinking ladies took an interest in me because...well, because I'm me. They could tell I had large ukulele energy. I didn't have my long neck tenor with me, but ladies can tell.

On the ukulele front, I am still struggling with establishing a drone pattern. It is very difficult to maintain. I have been establishing the drone and then playing some notes in-between. It has not been encouraging. However all new things are difficult. I'm a bit burnt out with discouragement, so I am going to fall back on some comfort. I think I will mess around with some things that I sort of understand, but could understand better. I am thinking of m6, m7b5, and m11 chords. Oh, and add9 chords which are my bane. That will be challenging, but attainable.
 
I drove by a gallery (presumably, an art gallery) and noticed that its name was flat twelve. I thought that must be a discordant chord since the dominant degree is altered. When I got home I briefly formed an A7b5 and it didn't sound bad. Of course maybe playing a flat five and a flat twelve makes a difference, but generally speaking it wasn't as disagreeable at I would have figured.

I continued playing progressions using m11's and 13's. Those went fairly well. The add9's not so well. They just aren't practical for me. The spread is just too much. There are certain contexts when I can pull it off. For example if I can use the nut to take care of the bottom of the shape, I can devote my fingers to the top. However I cannot move the shape, so it is fairly worthless to me as a tool. It isn't a really big loss because I can always play 9 chords which only differ from the add9's because of the flat seven. And, for some reason, the 9's usually have a higher overall pitch.

I also played around with m6's and m7b5's which enjoy a bit of an overlap in terms of shapes. For some reason (perhaps neurological perhaps not) my ring finger just wasn't performing up to par. It was muffing its job and muting its neighbors.

I have recently read some threads pertaining to beginning players and how to conceptualize chords for them. In that context, if I re-read what I've just written, I can see my "system." There are two assumptions to my system. The first is that the default chord is the minor chord. For me, one must learn all the minor chords as the standard and, when necessary, move the mediant up a fret to formulate the major variations. The second assumption is that the root is key. For every chord quality I study, I formulate a shape with a root on each of the four strings. I don't care which inversion of the chord I am using; I don't care if the root isn't the lowest pitch. I let my ear take care of that. If I play a certain chord with a certain root, and it doesn't sound right I merely shrug it off and pick a inversion. I don't really see the need to be all anal like an ex-guitar play.
 
I practiced the drone a bit. I'm still waiting for quantum leap. In the past, you practice and practice and nothing seems to change. Then, one day, your skills take an apparent quantum leap and all of a sudden you are adept. Until that time comes along, I'm just plodding along. What I did was count in 1/8 notes. on the even beats I played the drone on the odd beats I inserted some notes. I'm going to try to work up to playing scales on the odd beats.

I just had a small brainstorm. I have a lot of trouble with add9 chords but not with 9 chords. So what if I just play 9 chords, but mute the b7. Then I'd have add9 chords. Let me think about that.

On shapes with an A root or C root, it would be no problem because the b7 is on an outer string so that it would be easy to mute the string.

On shapes with a G or E root, it would be a little more difficult, but the point is moot because I G and E root Add9's are the ones that I can actually play.

That was a very satisfying inner-dialogue to have.

So now I'm playing happy. My add9 problem has been solved and my food situation is pretty sweet.

My new cast iron wok is turning out great. It is still a bit sticky because I haven't had the opportunity to season it. Seasoning cast iron is a smoky endeavor and you cannot feasibly do it with a wife in the house. So I'm just seasoning as I go. It takes longer.

****************

While cooking some kaniwa for lunch, I made up a nice little progression (one of the many benefits of using a strap)

E9
B7sus2
Am11

D#dim7 Edim7 D#dim7 as a turnaround
 
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