my ukulele progress

I ran across an interesting passage in an old British detective novel. I don't have it in front of me, but the purport is this: an impoverished character was being interviewed in her rooms and she had a broken down piano with loose wiring. Whenever the train would pass by her window or whenever anyone walked too close, the piano would emit a jumbled aeolian melody. This isn't high literature. However the author could still rely on his audience to know their modes to follow that passage. In the last century we have gained a lot but left a lot of information behind.

I have been cooking all day. I received my new pressure cooker and made some habichuelas, some pinto beans, some basmati rice to go with my habichuelas, and some porridge for my wife. Now I'm making some fondant potatoes for a midnight snack.

To accompany all this, I was practicing the pentatonic minor modes on my Kamaka (re-entrant, so only one set of shapes to worry about). For some reason I had become foggy about the mediant shape and the leading tone shape (the one up there around the 12th fret).

Later on, I am going to try to practice my harmonic minor modes on my Yorkie. That will mean trying to remember both sets (the GCE and the CEA). That is one of the advantages of the linear tuning. It can play everything the re-entrant can, plus it has a whole other set of shapes using its G string.
 
It seems these recent journal entries have been peppered with culinary tid-bits. This one is no different. I went to a new market today and procured some essentials like cumin seeds, ghee, as well as some treats like maamoul cookies and haloumi (Cyprian friable cheese).

I saw something motivating today. It was an analysis of the music of Guthrie Govan, a favorite British guitarist of mine. Lo and behold! He was combining minor pentatonic (the Bb) with harmonic minor scales. That's what I've been doing. So at least I know I am on the right track. One thing I noticed he does is utilize half-step slides to rub out the rough edges betwixt the shapes. He also doesn't privilege the tonic note in his phrases. In the thing I was viewing, he was punctuating his phrases around the sharp seventh. I might want to give that a try.

I just finished my fried cheese and had a local double IPA, so now I think I will plan out my schedule for tonight. I really wanted to work on my Harmonic minor modes tonight (both linear and re-entrant). Speaking of modes, recently I have received a few comments about my erudition/hoity-toityness and I think it is just because I call the modes what they're called. I didn't make the names up. I just use them and I use them because, if I didn't use them, I'd have to use some descriptive periphrasis instead. This seems more economical time-wise. And it isn't really that complicated, despite all the Greek nomenclature.

What I'm dealing with is the set of notes known collectively as the E harmonic minor (E F# G A B C D#)

And the modes are nothing more than these seven notes, except each mode starts at a specific degree of the scale and goes up an octave. For example,

the E Aiolian #7 starts on the E and goes up to the next E
the F# Lokrian 13 starts on the F# (2nd degree of the scale) and goes up to the next F#
the G Ionian #5 goes from one G to the next....and so on.

So I am not really doing anything special. I am just repeating the same seven notes all over the fret board. In my mind, the goal is to practice these seven modes so much that the delineations of their respective shapes become obscured and then I am just playing one gargantuan shape starting with the G Ionian #5 at the open G string and going all the way up to that final E of the Aiolian #7 on the 19th fret of the A string.

I cannot make any promises on when I arrive at that musical land of New Zion, but I am getting closer. And I will say emphatically that I hate the G Ionian #5 and the C Lydian #2 because they use open strings and I hate open strings; they throw off my pattern. My index finger should be fretting the note of the open string and that confuses my hand, head, and heart.
 
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I am cleaning my floors and have everything but the main room mopped. I have to let the others rooms dry so that I can transfer furniture to them and give me unencumbered access to the floor of the main room.

I see that the 2020 NAMM show thread has innumerable views. I am just not that interested in the new and timely. My eye is fixed more on the timeless. So I haven't even clicked on that thread. I have contacted a few custom luthiers about my idea for a baritone. It seems it will start at $4000 and to get on the build-list I have to wait about two years. So if I ever want an elite baritone to complement my other fine ukuleles, it would be about a five year wait (a few years to save the money and a few more to have it built).

But back to the present. I have been involved in an open versus closed chord conversation. And, to be honest, I never really have it any thought. In the past I just played whatever I could because, I reasoned, beggars cannot be choosers. However nowadays I am a chooser and I realize that I never think about the choice in terms of do I want a big sound or not. I have a system of chords that I use. For each chord quality I have four shapes (each shape has the root note on a different string). Let me look at what I do and see exactly where I use open and where I use closed chords.

This dilemma seems to appertain only to major and minor triads for me. Augmented, diminished, and sus chords are all closed. All my dominant chords and add6 chords are closed. My extended chords (9, add9, and 13) are by definition open chords (except when they aren't because of omitted their roots).

To take the major triad first, the shapes I use for the interior strings are closed. The C string shape is just a barre with the A string dampened. D would be, e.g., 222X. The E string shape the good old G major shape=X232. For the G and A strings, I use the old Bb shape which has its root on both strings. That shape may or may not be open depending on the tuning used. This chord is actually two chords in one. Rooting it on the G string a C major would be 543X and rooting it on the A string=X433. However I never separate the two chords.

Now on to a chord quality that is closer to my heart, the minor. It is very similar to the major in that the G string rooted shape (e.g., Bm=4222) will or won't be open depending on the tuning, the C string rooted shape (the standard Em) is similar with its fifth on both the G and A strings, the E string rooted chord is closed (e.g., Gm=X231), and the A string root is closed (Cm=X333).

It appears that I need to be mindful of the G string when playing my regular shapes.

And that's my regular shapes. Obviously I can always do something crazy by way of open chords such as G maj=0 11 10 10.
 
yorkie.jpg

I believe this is why I haven't even browsed the NAMM threads. When I have a beautiful ukulele, what do I care about what the latest Lanikai or Kala uke is all about. In a way, I have put myself above it all. If Luna or Romero puts out something, it doesn't mean a hill of beans to me; it is still beneath my contempt. It is a shame to a degree.
 
So what have I been cooking up, literally and figuratively?

Literally, I just got done making carne adovoda from some pork sirloin roast. I didn't tell my wife, but I included some ghost peppers as well as some green chilis (with plenty of seeds for piquancy). She may detect the peppers, but I think a stout denial will win me through. The problem (or the thrill) of peppers is that they don't go away. A chili's heat has a more or less normal life span. You eat it, it is hot, and it fades. Designer peppers such as Reaper, Carolina, Ghost, etc don't evanesce. Their affect lingers and then combines with the next mouthful. And that's why New Mexican cuisine usually doesn't include peppers. They are kind of like cheating. A liberal dash of pepper sauce can inflame a dish. There really isn't an art to it. Anyway, I made some carne adovada and have been drinking a porter or four.

On the figurative front, what have I been doing? Well, I have, I suppose, been engaging in some Fusion...although I dislike Jazz Fusion. Stuff like Billy Cobham's Spectrum, for example. I think it is something about the rhythm section of fusion. It always seems to be a bit too upbeat for me. It always strikes my ear as a bit chirpy and vapid. I prefer things to be a bit more somber.

Anyway, I have been fusing the Harmonic Minor with the blues.

Before I write down some of the building blocks of what I have been doing, let me mention the beauty of the linear tuning in this endeavor. Linear tuning allows me to play two systems at the same time. I can play the top three strings (as if it were re-entrant) or the bottom three strings. Just to give one practical example, if I am hovering around the 4th fret. The E of the C string gives me the E Aiolian #7 scale...but if I move laterally to the G string and play that B at the 4th fret, then I am in B Phrygian Dominant.

But back to the basics with which I was working.

For a chordal backdrop, I was sticking to the E Harmonic minor harmonization: Em, F#°,G+, Am, B, C, D#°. I also insert D major into the mix just because it sounds good although it isn't part of this system unless you want to call it a flatted seventh. I need to utilize the two diminished chords a bit more. They always sound good but I don't think of them often enough.

I made limited use of different chord qualities. I shuffled between Em, E add9, E13, E7 sus4.

Here is a basic roadmap of where I was going.

I would start in E Aiolian #7
from there I would back up to the leading tone shape of the E minor pentatonic
from the B contained therein, I would proceed with the B Phrygian Dominant
then I would walk up the fret board using the mediant and subdominant pentatonic shapes.
At this point I could pursue the B Phrygian Domiant or the Dominant pentatic shape, resolving it all with that E on the 9th fret.
 
I did some playing around earlier. I heard a song and it was evidently in G (technically it was the relative minor, E minor) but my ear hears things in the major. So, using the Aiolian picking pattern it was simple as pie to re-create the melody--except for one note. That led to some improv. I used my tenor guitar for this and for the ensuing burst of strumming.

The thing that was interesting was the strumming pattern left on my fingers by the steel strings. I could see little grey lines where the strings habitually contacted my fingers. It is interesting because the hand just does what it does and I don't have any way to articulate it. Here's what I found: on the downstroke I strum with my middle and ring fingers (specifically at the juncture between the middle and distal phalanges) and on the upstroke, I use my thumb (around the knuckle). That's just my natural tendency. Of course, I do have the ability to alter that when the need arises. For example, if I am doing something like a stop-time blues where I need to transition from chords to notes, I can strum with an unaccustomed configuration so that my picking fingers are ready.

Just looking ahead to my playing tonight, I think I will change things up a bit. I have been playing a fusion of things around the 11th fret. I think I will shift my attention down to the 5th fret or thereabout. The cool thing about the 5th fret is that I can mirror those efforts on the 17th fret. I am not going to waste any ratiocinations on it right now, but I will try to remember what I come up with with the inspiration of the moment.

I will say before I go outside that I have a rather acute case of PTSD from NAMM. I of course haven't read the thread here because...well, because who cares what festoon or fluff Kala is using to gussy up its crap. But I am still being assailed on other fronts. Merchants with whom I have had some intercourse in the past are trying to tempt me and I cannot even go to youtube without being assailed with a bunch of videos recorded by non-entities with handheld devices (never have lives been lived less well with so much documentation, as I heard someone recently say). It is quite a cluster and rather repugnant. It feels like going to a third-world country and being swarmed with dirty children hawking scarves and gew-gaws.


I had a nice breakfast of two burritos. They consisted each of a fried egg, little bit of sharp cheddar and a mixture (carne adovada, beans, green chili, red chili sauce, and Mad Dog [a blend of Scorpion, Reaper, and Ghost peppers with an unnatural extract which makes this more like battery acid than anything else]). Many people add potatoes to their burritos, but that is rather bourgeois. Potatoes are just cheap filler, like iceberg lettuce. After the burritos and three, I think, IPA's I sat down to plan my evening's music. If I base my improv around the fifth fret, a few possibilities suggest themselves since I will be using my linear Yorkie.

1. @ the 4th fret of G string, there's the B Phrygian Dominant and, @ the 5th fret, the C Lydian #2.
2. If I play it re-entrantly (using the upper three strings), I have the D# super lokrian bb7 @ 3rd fret, the E aiolian #7 @ 4th fret, and the F# Lokrian 13 @ 6th fret.
3. Pentatonically speaking the subdominant and dominant shapes are right there for the picking. Or, if I restrict myself to re-entrant strings, there is the leading tone and tonic shape.

I don't even have to think about chords because in this area all the rudimentary first position chords are available.

When and if I move all this up an octave to fret 15 and following, I might have to get creative with my chords. Up there, some of the chord shapes don't work with the confined space. Also, some really open chords, spanning two octaves, are possible and shouldn't be overlooked. Lastly, I think I will try some different chord qualities. Some minor 6's or minor add9's or sus chords may shake things up.


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Today was food prep day. I pressure cooked some habichuelas rojas (Dominican red beans). I added some garlic because I was experimenting with an old garlic press that my wife inherited from her mother. It didn't really work. I took the half-mangled garlic from the press and finely chopped it with a cleaver (which would have been my first inclination anyway). I have received uxorial approval for a variation (for this week) not including rice. I don't really like rice because it is bland and it has no nutrients. However, in the great compromise which is marriage, I use Basmati rice because my wife likes rice. But this week, I was allowed to let my fancy run wild...well, kind of wild; amaranth would have been too wild. So, millet was my grain of choice.

I toasted some millet in butter.

{I once was asked by a younger person who didn't really understand the alchemy of cooking about why I toasted millet. One toasts millet to get a toasty flavor. Confer the difference between bread and toast. It is similar with other (unprocessed) grains. }

Anyway, I toasted some millet in butter and when it had browned, I deglazed the millet and poured the millet into a little bowl which I then put in my pressure cooker.

I wonder if people understand how to pressure cook delicate things, things such as rice, lentils, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, triticale, et cetera? In case you don't know, if you place delicate things in a pressure cooker with the appropriate amount of water, those things will stick to the bottom of the pot and burn like a Christmas tree in February.

The solution is the pot in a pot technique. You place a little bit of water in the pressure cooker, place a trivet in the water and atop the trivet place a small bowl containing the delicate thing and its water. Lest the contents jump out, cover the bowl with something: tin foil if you don't mind heavy metal poisoning or, in my case, I use a small stoneware plate.

But I digress. I toasted some millet, put it in the pressure cooker, covered it and put three potatoes on top. I always add potatoes atop my grains because I don't want to waste an opportunity to soften up some potatoes for some future use.

I combined the millet with the habichuelas. I added sabzi dolmeh, a traditional middle eastern mixture of greens (all the usual suspects: mint, cilantro, parley, etc.). I had already put some garlic in the beans. I added some ground umami (mushroom-based which I received as a gift) and black salt which I had ground in my mortar.

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As far as music is concerned, I didn't make as much progress as I had hoped. There is a small learning curve. Conceptually the shapes aren't innovative, but it takes a while to get it down. The C Lydian #2 is, as the name implies, is just a variation on the normal Lydian which we all know. I really wish I had some software which would plot chords or scale shapes. For my personal use, I employ graph paper cut into 4X6 grids. Then I just insert the dots where my fingers go. It would be nice to upload those charts. Maybe some day I'll find something like that.
 
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I suppose this entry could be entitled "notes from the desk of Captain Obvious."

I realized when I was playing that the modes of the harmonic minor in the linear tuning interlock with those of the re-entrant. This discovery is rather patent because these modes share the same notes, albeit in differing orders.

I have a tendency to play my scales over three strings so that my hand doesn't move vertically so much. So, if I play the C Lydian #2, I use the G, C, and E strings. However, if I start at the C string, continue to the E string, and then add two notes from the A string, I am playing E Aiolian #7 in re-entrant tuning. In other words the C and E strings are common to both scales. The linearly tuned C Lydian #2 precedes the C and E strings with a few notes, whereas the re-entrant E Aiolian #7 follows the C and E strings with a new notes.

The result of all this is that I can now play all four strings as a unit with a very facile understanding. And the principle holds true all up and down the fret board. For instance (just to stick to the fifth fret area that I have arbitrarily chosen to practice) The B Phrygian Dominant scale starting at the 4th fret overlaps with the D# Super Lokrian bb7.

Now whether I start at the 4th or 5th fret, I can improvise through all four strings effortlessly.

So what I basically did was take a little riff I made with D# E and F# and surround it with some extemporization which was rooted in a few ideas:

1. From the C Lydian #2, I slide up to the C# where I moved to the leading tone shape of the E major pentatonic, or I bent the note down to the B where I had the option of the dominant shape of either the major or minor pentatonic.
2. At the tail end of the B Phrygian Dominant/D# Super Lokrian bb7, I either end on a B note or a D#. From there I morphed into minor pentatonics.

Even though it is extremely arbitrary I would move to major pentatonics if I were at the front of the harmonic minor block and to minor pentatonics if I were at the end of the harmonic minor.

I am going to pursue this some more because, hitherto, it sounds a little bit unmusical because I am not exercising discretion with this new idea of mine. I need to get back to the melody sooner, otherwise it just turns to wankery up the neck. That's no problem--well, wankery is a problem--I mean the solution is no problem. All I need to do is pick some notes instead of all of them. Currently I am thinking of this as a call-and-response or an amoebean dialogue of Boukolic poetry. Accordingly, the soloing has to approximate the length of the riff. Alternatively, it can be twice as long--the point being that there has to be some logic or repetition to make it musical.



As an addendum to this schema, I should add something about the chords I use to support this. I use the harmonization of the good old fashioned Harmonic Minor. I realize that each mode of the Harmonic Minor has its own harmonization but it doesn't pay dividends to use them. With the modes of the major scale, there seems to be a substantial difference between a I IV V using the Ionian and the Lydian, for example. I don't get that from the modes of the Harmonic Minor. Once we get to the modes of the Harmonic Minor, things have become so specialized that there really isn't a lot of variation; it is as though I have painted myself into a corner. I go from the major scale to the minor. From the Minor to the Harmonic Minor. From the Harmonic Minor to the B Phrygian Dominant. The only difference between a Harmonic Minor harmonization and Phrygian Dominant harmonization is the order of the chords. Therefore it makes more sense to just use the Harmonic Minor harmonization and alter its order for effect instead of conceptualizing all seven of the modal harmonizations.

For example in the Harmonic Minor harmonization, a simple 1-4-5 progression in E would be: Em, Am, B
In the B Phrygian Dominant harmonization, 1-4-5 would be B, Em F#°.

In other words, the 1-4-5 in the B Phrygian Dominant would be a 5-1-2 in the harmonization of the Harmonic Minor. So I don't really don't need to memorize all the different modes; I just need to be create and think outside of the 1-4-5 box.
 
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In preparation to three days off from work, I was looking at some ukulele threads. I didn't find inspiration, but I did find things that raised my brows. There's a thread about necessity vs. UAS buying. I think the necessity argument is a losing battle. The argument seems to say that a cheap uke inhibits your ability to progress and, therefore, you should buy a better uke.

Even if this is true, I think to admit it is to pass the buck and not take personal responsibility for your suckiness. You should shoulder the burden and progress with the knowledge that everything is within your power. That is psychologically more enabling.

I have only slept an hour in the last day, and I just had three ales, so I may not be coherent and I may misspeak...so I'm just going to leave this comment unfinished.
 
I had a busy three days off from work. I did some major house cleaning and, of course, some long-term food prep (hummus, pollo adovado, habichuelas, frijoles refritos) and now I want to map out my next phase in practice.

I've been focusing on right hand stuff for a while. So much so that I feel I have kind of strayed from my core musical values. I want to re-connect with the left hand for a bit.

So I am reverting to my home key of E, and I will be focusing on the central chords

1. triads (Δ m sus +)
2. dominants (m7 7 7sus4 7sus2 °7 ø 9 13)
3. adds (6 Δ7 9) {to be honest, not the add9 so much because half the time it requires too much of a stretch}

I am going to be trying a lot of different chord qualities in an attempt to erect a contraposto structure in which all the different slants balance out. I am especially interested in m6 and 9 chords for some reason.

Here's a few examples of the sort of thing I had in mind

1. I Δ7, IV 6, V9
2. I, III (V of vi), IV, II (V of V) V
3. I V IV vi iii ii vii
 
I have been making progress on the refocusing I alluded to above, but it hasn't been quick. I have been doing one thing and doing it a lot.

I have been playing in E and restricting myself to the ubiquitous ii V I progression.

With the chord qualities that I've been using, my progression has been F#m7 B9 EΔ7

I found some voicings I really like and they are close so that they sound very appropriate together.

I did play around with a tritone substitution for the B9. I used F7 or sometimes F9 although that is rather taxing because it is quite switch for the fingers. The F7 is a smooth transition but the bare dominant chord lacks some of the 9's flavor.

I did notice one cool thing. Instead of using your brain to calculate the tritone of something, it is easy with the circle of fifths. To find a tritone of something just look across the circle. A note and its tritone are directly across from each other. It is one of those little tricks that really tickles me. It is like when I discovered how to remember how many flats or sharps a key has. It is simply that a natural key and its "unnatural" namesake will always have a combined number of accidental notes that equal seven. For example I know that E has four sharps. Accordingly Eb (which I am in no way familiar with) has three flats. G has one sharp, so that Gb has six flats.

My next task will be to venture into other progressions.
 
I have to annotate quickly what I've been doing lest I forget.

I went to another common progression: I vi ii V

Here's specifically what I did in terms of chord qualities.

EΔ7 C#m7 F#m7 B7

I thought I would try a few chord substitutions to add a few nuances to some of the iterations.

The first thing I did was tweak the F#m7. I have a difficult time with m7's with their roots on the E string. It takes me a little longer to form them. So I changed out F# for its tritone, C. I settled on a C add9 #5. It wasn't as smooth as the F#m7, but that is the point. You want something a bit different.

The next thing I wanted to experiment was a tonic substitution. I tried using the relative minor and I didn't care for it. However, when I tried the secondary relative minor, G#, I knew I had a good substitute. I compounded my experimentation by using an add6 chord quality. I have known for a while (because my chord wheel tells me so) that an add6 chord can replace the I chord. In the past, I never found that to be the case because an add6 is jazzy and doesn't translate to other musical idioms. Now that I was doing something jazzy, it finally worked. So my progression was now

G#m6 C#m7 Cadd9#5 B7

That B7 looks suspiciously ordinary, doesn't it? I just didn't have the gumption to work out an alternative to it. I did do some eyeballing to see what was considered an acceptable dominant substitution and there were almost too many. The suggestions were a D#m7b5, Gdim7, B+, Am7 + D7. Maybe I should just keep that B7 because I am comfortable with the B as far as finger picking goes. At the end of the progression I could jump off that B and slip in some B PHrygian Dominant or even the Dominant shape of a minor pentatonic.
 
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I just came out of my little world and I don't like what I see. There's a thread devoted to the airing of some dirty linen. Apparently someone isn't happy with the private transaction they have had with Living Waters strings and they feel crying about it online is going to amend the issue. I suppose it is me, but I find that procedure very douche-baggy. Maybe it is my education. I remember reading the conflict between Cicero and Mark Antony, and I remember of all the things that Cicero could adduce to shame his opponent, he mentions how Mark Antony makes public his private communications. I suppose I feel that way, too. If you have a problem with someone, deal with it privately instead of bawling like a school girl.

Anyway...that's their problem...mine is trying to imbricate some notes in the interstices of my progression.

The progression I have been playing lately is:

F#m7 or F#m7b5, F13, B7, Em.

Obviously, that's just a ii V I progression with a little tritone substitution thrown in for fun. I read that the Harmonic Minor works really well when played over this type of progression. As luck would have it, I have been obsessed with the Harmonic minor and its modes, so I think I am in a good position to build some melodies around the F#, B, and E notes. It is still a work in progress and I'll have to update as I go. That should keep out of trouble for a while.

Upon further rationicinating and ruminating, I find this idea seems to be fruitful.

The F# Lokrian 13 shape is good. If I form the F#m7b5, three of the four notes of the chord form the bottom of the F# Lokrian shape. I could arpeggiate the chord and play the shape, or I can descend the shape and get a half-step away from the F, which is tonic for the next chord in the progression.

The B Phrygian Dominant is a natural for my B7 chord for all the reasons I mentioned above

For the Em chord that ends the progression I have quite a few options. I'm using the X777 voicing. That barre is included in both the E Aiolian #7 and the F# Lokrian 13. The same aforementioned methodology applies here as well. A further consideration is predicated upon whether I am going to end my playing with this iteration or continue with another round of the progression. In the former case, I should probably employ the E Aiolian #7 shape and descend to the tonic. In the latter case, I should use the F# Lokrian 13 to emphasize the F#, which will be the root of the next chord I am about to play.

Another option, which I am currently unprepared to contemplate right now, is to use pentatonics to fill in the gaps between chords. All the notes of the Harmonic Minor, except for the C, are in the pentatonics. The major pentatonic has a C# and the minor pentatonic has a D. So that is another avenue to pursue.

There is enough overlap in all these systems to make some music. And if I add my rhythm section, my trusty metronome, I am going to be having some fun.
 
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You never see blind spots coming up, do you? That's why they're called blind spots and not vision spots. Well, I stumbled over another one of mine today.

To fill in the gaps of my ii V i progression I thought I would like to insert some arpeggios because I have heard that jazz musicians use arpeggios as building blocks of improv. It is easy to imagine that, while playing an arpeggio, you can fill it in with the other notes of the scale or you could move chromatically from a note of the arpeggio to something else. For example, a F#m7b5 = F# A C E. You would play it F# A C E F#, at least I would; I've always played arpeggios from octave to octave. Now when you get to that F#, you can slide up to the adjacent G and from there go into a G Ionian #5 (if we want to go the Harmonic minor mode route) or you could go into a pentatonic shape.

Now...that previous paragraph sounded pretty, but there's a problem. I don't know where my octaves are. I mean...I kind of know, but it is really really hazy and passive knowledge. So I had to map out my notes starting with the G3 at the open string and ending with the E6 at the 19th fret of the A string. I felt I had to do this because I had absolutely no control of which inversion I was playing. Now at least I can play first inversions and have it sound like it is supposed to sound. And when I want to get fancy and play another voicing, I can do it with purpose.
 
after mapping out my octaves, I found it rather constricting more than liberating. The fourth and fifth octaves are fully represented with five notes of both the third and the sixth at the extremities. Therefore, there are only two octaves to arpeggiate per note with a few exceptions. For example For example, you could get a G sus2 in the third octave to add to the normal fourth and fifth. But knowledge is power, I suppose.

So I abandoned the arpeggio idea for now and did this instead:

F#m7b5

After strumming, i held the chord down and picked a pattern using it. It forms a triangle which is the bottom (or is it the top; it is higher on the fret board) portion of the F# Lokrian 13 shape. The other portion of the shape is shaped like a "u" and using a straight barre I can quickly travel around the horns of the U until I reach the F#

Thereupon I descend a half step chromatically and hit the F and the F13 chord.

From there I descend a half step to the 4th fret and use the B there to get a B7sus2. I focus on the B and the F# notes of that chord. The B is the 5th of this key and the F# is the 5th of B (as well as the 2nd of this key) and I usually just use them as a double stop.

Then I end on my E minor.

It is a nice little song with some good melody connecting the chords. I especially like using the B and the F# of the B7sus2 to repeat the ii and the V which has been the chordal thrust of this progression up to that point. The chords go from ii to V and then the notes reiterate that movement before resolving on the E.
 
while I'm on this left-hand kick, I thought I would dabble a bit in the 2nd most prevalent progression after the blues progression, the Rhythm Changes.

Although that progression is traditionally in Bb, I thought I would just use the formula with my key, E. And speaking of transposing, I recently saw a thread where someone was soliciting songs in G. I was thinking, "isn't every song in G...if you want it to be?"

Anyway, I had mixed results with it, and I just realized why. In this progression, you need to play a minor second. For whatever reason, I thought my minor second was D! Don't ask me why. Obviously D is a bVII of my key. Things were sounding a bit off with this error. I thought I just had the wrong voicings, but nothing seemed to be working. Eventually I gave up trying to resemble "I Got Rhythm" and just played the progression (with the Dm7) and enjoyed this and enjoyed making the new music. In the past, I have inserted a D chord into my progressions although it isn't diatonic. For some reason I just like the sound.

However, now I want to play the progression like I'm supposed to, but my hands are tied for a few hours. It is now 4 a.m. and I am not allowed to play instruments while my wife's asleep. I can listen to the radio or play videos on my computer; that doesn't wake her up. But there's something about the percussiveness of an instrument that drills through the walls and rouses her.

Hopefully, playing the right chords will make it sound right. If not, I might take refuge in some blues progressions. I have culled from Jazz books a few blues progressions and developed eight different turnarounds. Everything should turn out fine as long as I remember to differentiate between the supertonic and the leading tone chord.

P.S. since I am looking into jazz changes, I thought I would also try out some Coltrane Changes...not the full-blown progression; I haven't even looked at it. I just know from word of mouth that a part of that system is the utilization of major thirds. That's all I propose to pursue. Just throw in some major thirds and see how it sounds. I also hope, in a general sense, to get a feel for some of the chord qualities. For example, an add6 versus a major7, or substituting a relative minor for a chord.

Lastly, here's something that I find a little confusing. In many of these progressions a dominant chord is called for, and and often the dominant chord is altered. Frequently I see a 7b9 or a 7#9. My question is about the naming of these chords. It seems stupid to me to call the chord a 7b9. All nine chords have a 7 in them, so why specify the 7? Shouldn't you just call it a b9 chord? It seems more difficult to conceive of the chord as dom7 chord with a flatted 9 throw into the mix. It seems easier to think of it as a 9 chord with one finger moved down a fret.
 
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I have been exploring a few things in this new phase that I find myself in.

Since I have been looking into some jazz changes, I needed to pin down some of the elements thereof. I mentioned previously the dominant altered. Despite my grousing about its nomenclature I liked the 7b9 chord. Now that I am writing this it just occurred to me that I have tried the 7#9. I will need to see if I like it. What I don't really like are the other altered chords: the 7#11 and the 7b13. First of all the stretch makes these somewhat impractical. Also, I don't find that their sound really does much for me. They are only a little bit different from the 7b9 but they are a lot harder to form. I think I will stick with the 7b9's (and possibly the #9's as well). Something I may also attempt is using a sus chord as a base and see what that sounds like--something like a 7sus2b9.

First of all, I have been practicing the first 8 bars of rhythm changes. In the future, I will detail my chord qualities and substitutions. For now I merely want to annotate that I am trying to become smoother in the execution of the progression. My goal is to be able to strum the chord and then fill up the bar with a contrafacted melody derived from pentatonics, harmonic minor modes, arpeggios, pedal point technique, or the dominant diminished scale. The one thing I noticed that I like to do was make the first four bars ascend in their overall pitch whereas with the second four bars, I lowered the pitch.

Another thing I am working on is a familiarity with Bird Changes. I am basically just working on the first four bars. What is difficult is the speed. There are two chords per bar. So I am still figuring out voicings and substitutions.

Before I leave I will say that I am feeling the responsibility siting heavily upon me. It is a responsibility when you have the ability to play a chord many ways. Unlike the early days, when there was only a singular way to a chord, things were simpler. Now you have the freedom to play a chord. You can go up from where you are, or you may go down.
 
My rhythm changes are getting smoother. I have to admit that my rendition is not sounding like any other version I've heard. That's due to the context. Most of the time when you hear rhythm changes they are played as a non-committal loop over which you are supposed to solo. I play it with a little more of an emphasis and the chords have a bit more character because I tend to play it like a free-standing song. I suppose you could say that my rhythm changes have a bit more rhythm. Here's what I've been doing with the first eight measures:

E6 C#7b9
F#m7 B7
E6 C#7b9
F#m7 B7
Emaj7 E7
Amaj7 Adim7 (changing to a B7 for the last beat)
Emaj7 C#7b9
F#m7 B7

The only liberty I have taken with the tradition is in measure six. I have seen it usually as a IVmaj7 going to a IVm6, or sometimes a #IVdim7. However those chord qualities seemed to subtle to me. There wasn't enough movement for my ear. So I changed it. I went to a IVdim7. But at the last moment I change it to a V7. I did this because it just sounded good, but I think I am justified, theoretically, because then the transition going to the next measure is a V I and that is fundamental and repeatedly invoked in this progression.

What I am trying to do now is interweave some melody in between the chords. In essence, since I play alone I am trying to play the backing and the solo at the same time. Just to take the first measure as an example, what I'm doing is strum the E6 chord, play some appropriate notes, strum the E6 again as a reminder and then play some more notes. I haven't worked the rhythm out yet and at this point it is more doggerel than anything else. What I have to do is this: strum, five notes, strum, five notes, change chord and strum, five notes, strum, five notes. That would be one measure. It is definitely a long measure, and I don't know if I can justify it by counting beats or anything. I felt that if I keep it up it would be rhythmic and musical and regular. It obviously isn't in 4/4 but it works...so far.

I do wonder, however, about the spirit of improvisation. My problem is that I am not improvising in the broadest sense of the word. I plan what I'm going to play. I don't plan the notes, but I plan the structure. I look at the chord and plan which scale would include the notes of the chord and then I wank around in the scale. I wonder if that's cheating and if real musicians really just improvise. Or do they do what I do, but with some much speed and readiness that it appears to be totally spontaneous?
 
Just saw a bit of a video of Taimane. Certainly not my cup of tea and, fortunately, she was obscured by a table or something so that she couldn't do her skipping around and gyrating. I don't want to seem a misogynist; I would feel the same way about Jake playing with a codpiece on. Sex is sex and ukulele is ukulele and never the twain shall meet.

I have been assembling some of the pieces of the melody I want to play around my rhythm changes. I used the leading tone shape of the E major pentatonic and the C# dominant diminished scale since they have all the notes of the E6 within them. Then I just practiced switching from the E6 to improvising with the two scales.

Next, I will try to decide what I should use to back up the C#7b9.

* * * * *

I just eye-balled really quick the scales that are conventionally utilized in the contexts in which I am interested.

For the 6 or maj7 chords, the Lydian scale is the go-to. The scales I had been using worked because they didn't clash. That's an instance of litotes. And litotes is interesting. "not unwelcome" is not the same as "welcome" and not clashing isn't the same as harmonizing. I'll keep my chords in mind for fun. Plus, they have a place in my heart because I thought them up myself and I do like using the C# dominant diminished because that's a nice substtution of the relative minor for the tonic.

The 7b9 is frequently associated with the Phrygian dominant which I am totally fine with, since that's my favorite scale.

minor 7ths work well with minor pentatonics.

Dom7 chords and the mixolydian scale are a natural pairing.

And I think that covers it. That should get me started.
 
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There's been a few funny discussions around here lately. People been talking about tap tuning. First of all, I completely accept the validity of tap tuning. Secondly, I ask "who gives a crap?" A uke can be perfect in that regard but still be a hot mess because of its bridge or saddle or frets or nut or tuners. And it is such a waste of ingenuity. I mean...it should be a concern to minimize wolf tones on instruments with sustain but that doesn't include the ukulele. For a violincello playing a basso continuo a wolf tone would be frowned upon--even if it did add a certain something to the texture. But you're not going to notice a wolf tone while beating out an island vamp on a soprano. Moreover what about alternate tunings? My regular ukuleles currently enjoy D# tunings. Therefore someone could take all the care in the world but it wouldn't amount to a hill of beans to me after I had altered the preconceived notions of the instrument.

But let people have their fun. For me the mantra is talk less, practice more.

I spent all my time today focusing on the main part of rhythm changes, the first eight bars, and trying to fit finger picking into it all.

I don't have a lot to report at this point because today was sort of hit and miss, and it was more miss than hit. My major complaint is how the vibe of my melody doesn't seem to match that of the chords. The chords seem darker and my melodies a bit more slappy-happy.

In the near future, I am bound to stumble upon some note sequences or hand positions that I really like, and I will log them into this account. Hitherto I am still searching for those things.

I did decide to veto using the Lydian over my E6 chord. I found if I start on the C# of the A string and descend all the way down to the G# of the G string (the subdominant shape of the E major pentatonic), 7 of those 8 notes were in my E6. That's a pretty good average and a field ripe with possibilities for arpeggios.
 
I've been drifting happily in a plateau of sorts. I charred and deglazed a chicken carcass. Then I added some water and mirepoix, and I had some brown stock. I am not fussy, so I just pressure cooked the stock without skimming it. Patently it is going to be cloudy and not the delight to grace the video of some millennial's cooking channel on youtube. However, it tastes good. I made half a cup of millet and green onions, and added the stock for a nice soup.

So I've just been coasting in the kitchen and i've also been coasting with my music. I've haven't really made any progress with the rhythm changes; I have rather been experimenting with strums, with chords, with soloing. I was toying with the Phrygian mode merely because I watched a podcast about it and it renewed my interest in one of my favorite modes. I even had quite a discussion with my wife about the heritage of ancient phrygia and its western neighbor, Thrake. Anyway...I think the one thing I was screwing up was shifting between pentatonics. Major Pentatonics go well with add6 chords. However, I was shifting to the minor pentatonic. I realize that major pentatonics are just minor pentatonics with a different root...but I still need to master the two with authority instead of shifting betwixt the two because I am feckless.
 
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