my ukulele progress

I lucked out this year. I am contractually bound to indulge my woman's whimsies. When she wants a proper holiday meal, I make it. You know the deal: turkey, white stock gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, sweet potato pie. However this year she doesn't want anything and I am obliging her.

I saw a thread on fret board mathematics. However I didn't really contribute anything because I don't think it is helpful...musically. That's been my experience. I've done some cerebral things (like using flash cards to memorize the notes of a fret). I did gain knowledge, but it didn't seem to help my playing any. So, yeah, I do see things. I see that if you barre the first three strings, it is a minor triad and if you barre the last three strings, it is a major triad. But it doesn't really help my improvising; there is too much lag time involved. The only thing that really helps is knowing your intervals and the shapes of the various chord qualities based on those intervals. That, with practice, allows you to move all over the fret board. The rest isn't as helpful.

I am deeply enamored with my new cast iron wok. Since this is the last day of my vacation, I made my wife some stir fry: I fried two salmon patties and two eggs for protein. Then in the wok I threw in some ghee, onions, and garlic. I added spinach, salmon, and rice. I topped with some oyster sauce and sesame oil. I call this stir fry versus egg fried rice because I do some idiosyncratic things which probably preclude this dish's acceptance by the likes of Uncle Roger.

Musically speaking, I started messing around with tritones and E. I was using the E Aiolian #7 as a basis for that. One thing led to another. I started mixing E Aiolian with the B Phrygian. Running to the end of the B Phyrgian, I would slide up a fret to the re-entrant D# super Lokrian bb7 and the linear B Phrygian minor. From there, work my way down through the F# lokrian 13, E Aiolian #7 and the D# super lokrian (this time in linear). So, in essence, I was wanking around somewhere between the 7th and 19th frets.

My practice has been rather desultory today.

I started with that old folk song "500 miles" which somehow became lodged in my brain. I tinkered around and worked out the melody.

Then I worked on improvising some lines based around the E Aiolian #7, mixing in notes from the F# Lokrian 13, B Phrygian Dominant, and the dominant shape of the E minor pentatonic.

Lastly, I re-created to the best of my memory a progression I was playing last week. It was

E9
B7sus2
Am11
D#13
D13 | D13 | D#13 | G+

I like that augmented G at the end of the turnaround. The notes of the chord are very close to those of E minor, so it implies a return to the tonic. I suppose there isn't anything very surprising in that since G is the III chord in the key of E harmonic minor and III chords are used as a substitute for the tonic since they are the secondary relative minor.

I made a nice stir fry with butternut squash noodles, ginger, and cilantro (as well as all the traditional ingredients).

I regrettably had to put my Yorkie away. It had been out a while and exposed to the dry heat of furnaces in winter. However, I wasn't resigned to give up on the linear tuning. I am really wanting all four of my strings. So I got out my tenor guitar which is in Chicago tuning. I forgot how ungainly it is. It is like trying to hold a greased pig. It has a strap button on the heel of the neck, but I don't feel attaching the other end of the strap to the output jack is secure. In the past I would put the strap over the jack and then plug in a cable with a fender washer. That felt secure. But I've lost the jack and washer. So I was letting the guitar perch on my lap and it was awkward. I do want to note that I really like the slim Martin-esque headstock. I really like its looks. If the tuning pegs were behind instead of obscenely jutting out perpendicularly, it would be perfect. Or at least as perfect as a headstock can be without it being a stauffer.

It was rather late, so I couldn't do much. My tenor guitar has a pickup and you know what that means: fuzz and wah wah pedal. As I said, it was a bit late for that so I just played around with linking up some pentatonics and harmonic minor modes. The key, at least to my ear, was to avoid the sixth interval of the harmonic minor. The pentatonic by definition lacks the 2nd and 6th intervals. And the sixth interval was really a sour note. Here's the basic template of what I did:

1. descended the tonic shape of the E minor pentatonic
2. backed into the dominant shape
3. emphasizing the A and B of that shape, then I backed up to the G and the G Ionian #5.
4. extending the linear G Ionian #5 to the re-entrant C Lydian #2, I ascended that shape 'til I ended at the C
5. From that C, I jumped up to the D# and then to the E which started it all.

So that was the path I took to create some nice little lines. Obviously this is just a template, omitting the particular notes I hit along the way--which, by the way, tended to change with each iteration.

I arrived home early tonight so that I was able to play a little bit before my wife went to bed. I found a contrivance in my box of musical miscellany to attach my strap to the bottom of the tenor guitar. Now I can play without fussing with it.

I briefly played around with the G Ionian #5, the lowest shape.

I soon went up one shape to the A Dorian #11. The linear-tuned A Dorian #11 is interesting because it doesn't have a re-entrant shape embedded within it. So when you get to the A string you have to improvise. To fill out the A Dorian #11, when I get to the A string I grab the B and C from the C Lydian #2 shape and then the D# and E from the E Aiolian #7. That's a lot of notes to play with. And I did play with them. Every so often I would work in a minor ii-V-I (F#m7b5--B7b9--Em).

After a while, I heard my wife's white noise machine commence in the bedroom and I knew that it was time to stop. So I did and made myself a bowl of soup (millet, pork sausage, ginger, and white stock)

I was reading about compensated saddles. Man! Those guys are instances of the princess and the pea. They are sensitive. For them, these nuances, or lack thereof, make it awkward to play. I wouldn't even notice. If someone changed my saddle on me and I found it awkward to play, I would assume that I was having a bad day or that my central nervous system was fried, and I would practice through it. Through practice I would unwittingly adapt. Maybe I am just not good enough to notice something so subtle. I suppose that's a consolation for mediocrity.

I extended the progression I was playing. I wanted to take it lower on the fret board. Here's what I did:

F#m7b5
B7b9
Em add9 #5
Em6
A maj7
B7

Since this progression starts on the 9th fret, I wanted to move downward on the fret board and get a descending pitch throughout. So I go to the Em add9 #5 which is rooted on the 7th fret and then play an Em6 which is rooted on the 4th fret. Instead of stopping there on the tonic. I move to the subdominant, then the dominant which sets up another resolution to the tonic. At this point I am undecided on how to finish the progression. Obviously I am going to end it on the tonic and it probably will be the open E string, so that I can keep the descending pitch going along. But I don't know what chord quality to choose. It'll probably be that E9 that is rooted on the open string, although that only has one note difference from the previous B7. I'll see what it sounds like to abandon the descending sound and move back up the neck. After all, the neck chord will be the reiteration of the progression at the 9th fret.

If anyone has been reading this musical diary rather closely (by the way, if that is the case, I find it somewhat creepy), he or she would notice that I abuse modes. I don't actually use modes for their natural and intended purpose. For me, the modes are a way to learn seven of the twelve notes and where they live on the fret board.

I thought I would play it straight for once. I would establish a tonic context for the Dorian #11 which I have been working with. I have been enjoying the A Dorian #11 so I just established the A as the tonic by using a typical Dorian harmonization (i-ii-v). It is still a work in progress because I am still working out the details because of the options involved. I can play the A Dorian #11 at the 2nd, 14th, or 10th frets (I suppose I could play it on the E or A strings but, to my mind, that seems silly because it would necessitate a lot of vertical movement. Anyway, I have three places to start the mode. Do I play the Dorian progressions at the same place, or do I mix and match the pitches. So I'm obviously still experimenting with the sounds. Regardless of the details involved, my general methodology is to play the Dorian progression a few times until it seems to have permeated and then I briefly (a few measures) improvise with some notes from the A Dorian #11. It actually takes a lot of will power and discretion to not devolve into sheer wankery and to maintain the plan.

I'm still struggling with my Dorian stuff. The finger picking is easy. I've been emphasizing the D# since it is the #11 which defines the A Dorian #11. It is the chord progression that I'm not digging. In particular I cannot settle on a chord quality for the V chord. Perhaps part of the problem is that I am currently working on chords that are low on the fret board and accordingly have some open strings. If I move up to the 5th fret or so, perhaps it will be better. But then again the fingerpicking might be off because the two places the scale occur are the 2nd and 9th frets (not counting the one at the 14th fret which is impractical with the instruments upper bout).

I think once I get the chance, I will try an m6 for that E chord. I really like that chord in other contexts. Another thing to consider is to abandon the 'minor' sound. The Dorian progression is minor and I've been trying to honor that. However, the minor ii-v-i progression is harmonized from the Harmonic Minor (of which the Dorian #11 is a mode) and in that progression, the V chord is major. So maybe I should try some major dominant qualities.

The other thing I was trying to do was affect some vertical movement with dim7's. I blithely recommended to someone in a thread making eight-note runs combining two adjacent dim7's. I decided to take my own advice. In E Harmonic Minor, there are two diminished chords, the second and the seventh. They are respectively the F# and D#, and they are the same chord. Those eight notes (as long as you don't repeat the two F#'s) line up very well with the Dorian #11.

I've been working on a new transition for my soloing in E Harmonic Minor. The basis for this is the A/F#/D#/C dim7 chord. All the notes of this chord are in E Harmonic Minor. It is an important chord because F# dim7 and D#dim7 are the II and VII chord of this harmonization. This chord occurs on frets 2, 5, 8, 11, 14.

What I do specifically is bounce between two adjacent iterations of this chord creating, in a sense, a seven-note arpeggio. For example, taking the chords at frets two and five, I do this

g string: 2 & 5
c string: 3
E string: 2 & 5
A string: 3 & 6

This allow me to move up the fret board, or I can use it merely as a decorative wall of notes, or it can even be a little hiccup of erudition.

There's a thread that has turned into a love-fest for Kamaka strings. I left them to it, and declined to throw a wet blanket over their shoulders. I did not like my Kamaka so equipped. I found the strings dulcet, canorous, and silvery and that wasn't a good thing. Maybe when I go to heaven and seraphicly strum kumbaya for eternity I won't mind the edentate tone. 'Til then I want something with a bit more character. Moreover the Kamaka strings were too thick and unamenable to bending. Whatever.

On a more positive note, I couldn't stand it any more. I put away that big old tenor guitar and retrieved my Yorkie from its red velvet slumber. It was so nice to play. The tenor guitar's body prevents playing a lot past the 12th fret. I was just practicing my dim7 arpeggios and using them to connect scales.

For example, I'd be messing around with the A on the 2nd fret of the G string and then arpeggiate up to the A on the 12th fret. Then descend the A Dorian #11 and back into either the E Aiolian #7 or the F# Lokrian 13. It all sounds unified since the arpeggios are in E Harmonic Minor and so are all the scales.

I haven't really done anything but scratch the surface of this stuff. It is a bit sloppy but I can execute that ten-fret run in 8th notes.

I misspoke. I'm not actually playing dim7 arpeggios because I'm not playing the notes in order. I am merely playing broken chords. The end result is still the same. I switched my Dorian progression to some different voicings. I am using the A rooted on the 9th fret, the B and E rooted on the 7th. I'm starting to see--or rather, hear--a problem. The progression is kind of sweet, melodic, and mellow. The broken chord runs are much more aggressive. There seems to be a disconnect there. So I am considering if I should abandon the sound or to double-down and purposely compose in two different voices. After all, make a mistake once and it is an error. Make the mistake twice, and it is jazz.

Aside from the ongoing tacks that I am currently following, I found a pad of paper with pages of formulae. I remember the occasion. I had a book of riffs written by Lil Rev, and it had blues riffs written in several keys. I looked at the notes on the staff and I converted the notes to intervals which could be played in any key, even though--let's be honest--I'm going to play them in E.

One thing I notice when I look at the page is that i see a lot of flatted intervals. I do not believe in the mythology of the blues. The blues had rules and the most unlearned of musicians followed them. Once I start playing, I think it will be evident that all those flats are logical...perhaps inserting notes from the major pentatonic in the minor pentatonic, for example.

Something that will make all this a tad more interesting is moving away from the lower frets. On my ukuleles I have the room for seven pentatonic shapes. For these riffs, I will be exploring how they are map out on each of the shapes. Some shapes will be impossible. For example, I cannot slide between two intervals if they happen to be on different strings in that shape. In some shapes it will either be convenient or not to use the intervals indicated. Another avenue to explore is jumping octaves. These riffs might be usable as transitions between shapes.

The first set of eight riffs was originally written in A. Later on I will write them out and annotate my impressions.

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Ugh. I just browsed over a thread about Christmas ukes. I'm not going to contribute because it just seems kind of tone-deaf to me. Granted, I've never in my life bought a Christmas tree or otherwise participated in the consumerist holiday that is Christmas. However, with California ordering thousands of body bags in anticipation of the Covid, it just seems inappropriate to be joyously coveting non-essentials. Plus, if the country's economy follows California's lead, then we're all in a lot of trouble and we'll need all our money for rent and food. Anyway, here are the first formulae I'll be working with

(III bend to IV) X4, and end on IV
III and to IV, III slide to II, I
triplet (I II III), triplet (III II I) I
triplet (double-stop of IV + I)
double-stop (II + bV) slide to double stop (biii + V) {{{do this three times}}}
II, triplet (III slide to I bV), II, bV, II, triplet (II slide to I bV) I
IV, triplet (III bII III) IV
I I V V bV bV biV bIV IV III #IV IV

I did some musical and culinary prep work. In the kitchen, I got together the basis for my stir fries for the week. I just mixed up some cabbage, dandelion greens, and fiesta corn (blackened corn with onions and peppers). I bought a New York roast. Evidently this thing is a tradition around Christmas. I wouldn't know, since I never celebrate holidays. It was on sale. Twenty-five dollars for a big old chunk of beef. I am simply going to cook it to an internal temp of 110 and slice it up.

Musically I have been working those blues licks written in A, but played in E. The first two of these licks require a full-tone bend. That is actually difficult. I normally execute half-tone bends or micro-bends. The whole tone bend is a bit much. I'm not consistently hitting the target tone in the bend. Luckily it doesn't really matter. It just makes the riff sound bluesier. This is only a preliminary statement, I will elaborate on which positions I used later.

I was just looking at those formulae and I don't know what the hell I was thinking.

No. Scratch that. I know exactly and I don't approve. I have an idee fixe. I think that the aiolian mode is the natural mode for stringed instruments, especially when you keep in mind the African origins. In my mind and in the way in which I conceptualize chords, the minor triad is the default and the major is just a variant thereof with some sharps thrown in.

That's all well and good. But the purpose of language is to communicate. And those formulae that I wrote do not communicate; they obfuscate. The intervallic symbols are based on the pentatonic scale and that is just perverse. The major intervals (for good, bad, or otherwise) are the coin of the realm. Everyone speaks in terms of the major intervals. To do otherwise is to be contrary for its own sake.

So what I've called I II III IV V are actually I bIII IV V bVII. That's the universal way that things are written. That is how is should be written if you want to be understood by other musicians. Also I have written some very periphrastic symbols that are confusing. I notice that I wrote this "ii [octave up]." Patently in terms of the key of E, I mean the G that is an octave higher than the shape I am in. In other words, the bX. Why couldn't I just say that.

I am going to have to rewrite these formulae.

For example, the first riff is now (IV bend to V) X4 and end on the V. Now it is more understandable and it is more readily seen why it doesn't matter if the bend isn't correctly performed. If you don't quite get to the V, you're hitting the bV (the blue note) and it still sounds good.

It is a good thing I recently ordered some new ink because I'll be needing it. I hope that it is okay. I have always used Dupont black ink but it has become hard to obtain and it is rather expensive. I am trying to economize. I bought some cheap ink and I'll see if the color and quality and texture is good. Probably I am just going to regret it. But I had to try.

Back to business: I have been focusing on incorporating the first two riffs into my existing play. Again, those are:

1. (IV bend to V) x 4, ending on the V
2. IV bend to V, IV slide to bIII, I

What has been illuminating about this is the focus it gives. These riffs start on the A (in the key of E). So you have to know where your A's are. It just makes the fret board more clear. Also it is necessary to collapse the walls of the various shapes to play the riffs. For example, in the Dominant shape, the G and the A aren't on the same string. Thus in order to slide from the IV to the bIII, you need to jump up to the IV in the Leading Tone shape and slide back to the IIIb of the Dominant shape.

So what I've been doing is improvising with the subdominant shape which is rooted on the A on the 2nd fret. Once I get some melody going on, I insert the riffs for variety. I also take the opportunity to transition into the A Dorian #11, which is rooted on the same A. It sounds perfectly good, because the only different between the E minor pentatonic and the A Dorian #11 is the bVII in the former is a VII in the latter. So you can just avoid the note altogether, or embrace the dissonance and use it to your advantage.

There was a fumbling of commands betwixt my wife and I. Unlike Thanksgiving, she wanted a festive holiday meal on Christmas. By the time I realized this, the stores were closed. So here it is on Saturday the 26th and I have in readiness ham, casseroles, sweets. Once she awakens I'll start things cooking.

Here's what I've been messing around with my ukulele. I've been fixing all those erroneously annotated pentatonic licks and pentatonic charts. My new black ink has proven itself to be adequate for this (and presumably other) purpose. Maybe it is my old eyes, but the ruby red ink I have always used is seeming too subtle for me. I have always used it because it is a really dark red like ox blood. I felt it was better when I was grading papers because it wasn't as jarring as regular red. But nowadays I want a more strident red. I have recently ordered two new red inks from reputable firms. They will be closer to orange than to black, and that is what I want.

Anyway, here are the blues licks that i have been working with. I should mention that they dovetail nicely with my harmonic minor work because the only note where the two systems conflict is the VII. The pentatonic has a bVII whereas the harmonic minor has a straight-up VII. So as long as I avoid that leading tone note, I'll be okay. Or I could use it and just accept whatever dissonance occurs.

IV ^ V V
IV ^ V V IV / bIII I
[I bIII IV] [IV bIII I] bIII
[V + bVIII[
V+bIII / #V+III
bIII [bIII / I #V] bIII #V [bIII / I #V] I
V [IV #I IV] V
I I bVII bVII xV xV #V #V V IV #IV V



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


I forgot to mention that I am also practicing my D# dim7 broken chord transitioning with all these pentatonic and harmonic minor stuff. In case anyone is wondering, I use this chord in the following manner: in general, you fret a note with your index finger, then with your pinky, then you move over a string and move up a fret, then move over a string and move down a fret. It is very beautifully symmetrical. Here is a complete breakdown of what I do to transition between three inversions of this chord:

G string: 2nd fret & 4th fret
C string: 3rd fret (skip the pinky on this string)
E string: 2nd and 4th fret
A string: 3rd and 6th fret
G string: 5th fret & 8th fret (etc.)

I was just listening to some recent albums. The only genre that interests is Stoner Rock, which is funny because I have never ingested marijuana in my life. But I am listening to the Samsara Blues Experiment and King Weed. The thing that I think that interests me is the fact that this genre is essentially pentatonics with a fuzz pedal.

And that has been what I've been focusing on--albeit without my fuzz pedal. Those Lil Rev riffs so far have been very fundamental and primitivistic. They have focused on A, B, and G--just to be notes on the formulae. They sound really good, especially when paired with my A Dorian #11 with the old D# dim7 thrown in for good measure.

The next riff looks interesting because it has a VI in it. For me a VI is a C# and that makes this a major pentatonic riff. Here's the riff

bIII [bIII / I VI] bIII VI [bIII / I #V] I
or
G [G / E C#] G C# [G/ E C#] I

I am going to have to experiment with the arrangement of this riff because it looks like these won't be single string riffs.

I have gravitated away from the pentatonic lick project I was following. It was rewarding, but after a while my heart just wasn't in it. I have gained some insight from the little that I did actually do. Moving between intervals using either glissandi or left-hand pizzicato is now very much in my consciousness. I'll definitely be inserting that in my toolbox.

However, my heart is moved more by the thoughts of the harmonic minor...right now. Who knows about tomorrow, since the heart wants what it wants. What I really want to explore is using my D# dim7 chord as a transition between the different modal shapes of the E harmonic minor.

I don't have any coherent thoughts right now. My plan is to sit down with my new inks and write out some schemes. Once I have something that is coherent enough, I will commit to this journal. My general idea, at this point, is to roll through the first two or three iterations of the D# dim7 and what scales could I branch out towards. That was unclear. What I mean is this. As I run through the iterations of this chord, the A note pops up periodically. When a certain A pops up, what mode can I build off that A? Patently I am thinking of the dim7 chord as a transition between modes.

As I said, right now that thought is rather nebulous. i will try to codify it and annotate it later.

I was just reading through a forum thread and someone said that she was bothered by people who strum in linear tuning. How can someone be bothered by the inversion of a chord? Obviously I prefer low G, but I don't assume it is the correct voicing and that other voicings are aberrant and bother me. What a world, as the witch once said.

I have been thinking about my dim7 broken chords and what they can do for me. Since they are so mathematically perfect you can move horizontally or vertically with them. I like to move vertically so that they can help me move up the neck. So here's what I'm thinking.

If I'm playing around really low on the neck--say, a G Ionian #5--I could depart from the A on the G string and run up to the D# on the A string. From that point I could either start playing the F# Lokrian 13, which is a bit unsettling since it functions as a leading tone and therefore rather unresolved. Or I could play an E Aiolian #7, which would have a sense of finality to it since it is the root.

That is theoretically great, but not too practical since I don't usually play down there.

What seems to be more up my alley would be to use four iterations of the dim7 to move from the A on the G string to the A on the A string at the 12th fret. From that A we have some possibilities. We can either play the A Dorian #11, the B Phrygian Dominant, or the C Lydian #2. Now we're cooking with gas, as my wife's mother used to say. What I like about this movement is the fact that it moves from rhythm to lead. Typically the rhythm part of a song is played low on the neck and the lead or soloist plays the high notes which strike the ears a bit more. This technique allows me to move between the two.

I was reading a novel in which a detective knew that a suspected person was incapable of the crime based on the suspect's desk. I was wondering if my desk would proclaim me as a felon or an innocent.

From left to right, my desk has an escritoire, pen stand, and a lectern.

The escritoire has compartments under the top that houses stuff like stationary and envelopes and other office supplies. Atop the escritoire I keep a majorca ceramic in which I keep my black ink, a ceramic oil lamp and a mid-century modern boat-like ceramic in which I burn my incense. The escritoire has drawers that has some various articles such as scissors, my credit card holder, my Kamaka warranty, a battery for my Snark tuner, and a flask. Oh, that poor flask! One could never pull out a flask without being seriously labeled. Back in the day, people carried them around openly for their pleasure and convenience and also for medicinal applications--in case anyone could use a tot of aqua vitae. Nowadays, I cannot think of a single solitary instance in which someone could pull out a flask without having a Karen call the cops.

Next to the escritoire I have a pen stand that comes from Iran. It was a gift from my wife's employers. It holds two pens, one black and one red. Between the two pins I have a little ceramic fish that contains the rag that i use to wipe down my pens.

Next to the pens is my lectern. I use it to prop up reference materials when i am sitting at the desk.

Of course, in front of the escritoire is my laptop. It is funny. I, unlike my millennial counterparts, can remember a time when the computer wasn't on the desk. It was just me, paper, pens, and dictionaries. I suppose that is what defines the millennials and those that follow them: they never knew a time when a screen wasn't facing them.

Anyway, I did experiment with some stuff on my ukulele.

I established a groove by playing A minor, B minor, D minor 7. After a while, I would slip into A Dorian #11. Then I would use my dim7's to run up to the D# on the A string, which is the penultimate note in the E Aiolian #7.

The thing about the dim7 is that there is a lot variation within it. You can obviously just burp out the notes like a shredder. Or you can try to lump together certain notes of the broken chord run so that it is more melodic rather than scale-like.

I unfortunately have had too much time on my hands. That is unfortunate because the more time I have, the more i waste. No matter how much time i have I always get the some amount done. So it is better not to have too much time. Otherwise, there's a lot of wastage.

On the culinary front, I received some new spices and some pequin peppers. They are special and indigenous to the southwest where I live. They are about the size of a pomegranate seed. I know that old-timers will put one in their mouth with a forkful of entree in order to get a little bit of heat. I think they are 70000 Scoville. For context, most commercial hot sauces are around 2000. I chewed on a pequin and at first it was hot--almost uncomfortably hot--but the heat quickly subsided. I am used to the highly engineered peppers like Scorpion or Carolina Reaper. Those peppers, since they've been scientifically bred, are hot but they also linger. The result is that each mouthful that you ingest has a cumulative effect. I ground two pequins with a little bit of cumin. I'll put that in the next stir fry to see how much heat it introduces.

Musically I have been concentrating on using my D# dim7 chord to transition to different parts of my fret board. So far, since it is all rather new, I have been focusing on the terminal notes of the broken chords. However, once I become more comfortable with the whole process, I will obviously use the internal strings as stopping points. That will actually sound better since the broken chords sound rather unmusical when you use all four strings.

I was playing with a little progression I made up (Am add9 to Bm to D) to go with my Dorian #11. Then I gravitated toward a minor ii-v-i in E and, since I read someone say that most ukulele players never go above the fifth fret, I rooted all my chords around the tenth fret.

I was liking that F#m7b5 (sorry, but if I use the unicode character for a half diminished chord, my entry gets truncated), so from that F# on 9th fret I was just improvising a bit.

Either I descended to the 2nd fret using the F#dim7 broken chord. I can actually do that pretty fast (ascending is another problem)

Or I used the F# as the highest note of the F# Lokrian 13 and since the re-entrant F# Lokrian 13 doesn't have a linear shape into which it is embedded, I jumped to the linear C Lydian #2 which is very close.

Or I used the F# and the penultimate note in the re-entrant G Ionian #5, which is embedded in the linear D# Super Lokrian bb7.

Now I am hungry and I think I will make a frittata with fava beans and two pequin chilis.