How to use guitar scales to jam?

guitar jam tracks image

A. de Vrie

How do you actually apply/use guitar scales. I know these patterns but how do you use them to play with a jam track or make your own music? Do you need to know how every note in the scale sounds and then switch between the notes in some order, really have no idea. Help would be great

Answer
It's called "being a musician"

Go get some lessons.

EDIT: Okay, I was being snarky, but now it's time to be serious. The guy below me is an idiot. Private tuition is the oldest, and still most effective way of learning a musical instrument. It takes years of practice and dedication to become a great musician, and a good teacher can help guide you through your studies so that you make the most efficient use of your practice time. They can also provide constructive criticism on your playing, drawing your attention to things that you probably would not have noticed otherwise, including things that may become bad habits and limit your progress in the future.

If private tuition results in you become an "expressionless machine", then you were never going to be a decent musician in the first place.

I challenge anyone to find a single world-class musician that claims there is no value to private tuition.

-----

Scales are just sounds, and which sound is appropriate for a given situation is up to the performer to decide. To be a great improvisational musician requires that you know these sounds. You must know how each note relates to the harmony, where the harmony is headed, where it's coming from. Music is not just a series of isolated moments, and you can't think of each chord as being unrelated to the previous or following one. You must consider everything as a whole.

You must also know what makes a melody emotionally effective. How do they move? How do the rhythms change and evolve? It's just like being a good storyteller. You can't just go in there and randomly dick around with various scales and expect it to move people.

Beyond all that, you need to learn to control your instrument. That's really what it's all about. You have your instrument, and with it you create music. The more control you have over that instrument and every nuance of the sound it creates, the more expressive you can be.

It's all part of being a musician, and if you truly want to be the best musician you can, get yourself a good teacher. The best musicians I know still have private studies from time to time, and I know some of the best in the world.

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What are some good practice tips for a beginner guitar player?

guitar jam tracks image

Kaila

I've had my guitar for a little over 5 months, and i know the basic chords. but money is kind of tight, so lessons are out the window. and i cant find any good sources online. Help.

Answer
These DVD's are amazing. Beginner, intermediate and advanced courses, all 3 for under $40. I have worked with these a good bit and love them. These things could keep you busy for the next year or more. Includes online support including jam tracks you can download and burn to CD.

http://books-videos-music.musiciansfriend.com/product/Rock-House-Learn-Rock-Guitar-Beginner-Intermediate-Advanced-Package?sku=942719

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I have a question about recording music if anyone is familiar with that stuff?

guitar jam tracks image

Bill

I'm a guitar player but I don't have a band but I create my own riffs or originals, I know most people go into a recording studio with a full band and with other musicians where I can't so with that said are there possible ways to record full jam track even without a full band in a studio environment?

Basically I'll be doing it a lone with the sound engineer.

Answer
well you could try this http://soundation.com/studio

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How can i remove guitar from a song or find a jam track for it? scars papa roach?

guitar jam tracks image

Andrew

ok so i need to do a solo performance for my GCSE's and i want to do scars and add in a solo, but they said because its playing behind the examiners wont know your playing and i need to either remove the guitar some how (any one know how??!!) or find a guitar jam track for it (links please if you know!!)

thats what i need thanks so much guys!!

Answer
Unless you've got access to the master tracks, you can't just edit out a single instrument. That's like asking to remove the individual grains of sugar from a cup of coffee.

Check sites like guitarbt.com to see if anybody made a backing track for it.

I went through Berklee as a guitar performance major, and I RARELY performed my proficiency pieces with a "minus one" version of the song. I just played along with the record. If you're standing in front of the examiners playing, they can tell what's you and what's on the recording. To suggest that they can't is retarded.

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How do I play my guitar on youtube when I am overly self conscious?

guitar jam tracks image

Keep Askin

I want to record myself jamming to some blue jam track Cd's I have but I am too self conscious and worry about what people will say... I know its not unusual to worry about this but I think its keeping me from making the effort to video record myself. How do I do it and shoud I even bother?

Answer
Lots of people on YouTube are jerks. If you want to play you should, and you should stop caring so much about what people say. Yes, it is sometimes good to care, but most of the time you should just let it roll off and be yourself. Go ahead and post!

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How to guitar solo in key of E?

guitar jam tracks image

zacksjets4

I have been getting pretty good at guitar, so i decided to download some jam tracks. Lets say the jam track is in the key of E. Which scales should i work in? Would really appreciate if someone could break it down with music theory. Thank you.

Answer
okay so basically, in an E chord (presuming you are talking about E major), there are three notes - the E, G#, and B. Now, if you are in a 4/4 time (four beats of crotchets or quarters each bar - pretty much all music is 4/4), then all that you need to do is make sure that the first beat and the third beat of each bar is either an E, a G#, or a B.

If you are having trouble figuring out when there are the first and third beats, then think of how sometimes you might tap your foot or bob your head to music - this is you unconsciously moving with the beat of the music. The heaviest feeling beat is the first beat, and if you are good at guitar, then really this is just natural stuff.

Anyway, going back to the E, G# and B. So you play one of these notes on the 1st and third beats, then for the other beats, there is a select group of notes that you can play that fit into the key of E major. they are:

E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#. <-- these notes are what can be played on other beats apart from beats one and three.

For example, you could go (without taking rhythm and length of notes into account):

ll E, A, B, D# l G#, F# E B ll

hope i helped :)

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What is the best deal on a guitar loop pedal?

guitar jam tracks image

ISS5731

I want to get a looping pedal for my guitar (something that I can press down, play some chords, and then it plays them back over and over again so I can play over them). Im looking at guitar center, but I'm not sure what the best brand and what exactly I should be looking for in one. Basically, please give me advice on a brand, where to get it, how much it should cost, and what specs it should have.
Thanks!

Answer
Dude, if you can afford it the Line 6 JM4 is incredible. It is expensive, $329 but calling it a looper is a slap in the face. I bought mine at GC. It is basically just the brains out of the Spider Jam. Obviously you can loop, but it also has hundreds of great models and hundreds of drum tracks, not drum machine crap, but actual drummers like Carmine Appice, Jason Bonham, etc. laying down killer grooves to play chord progressions over. It also has hundreds of full jam tracks to play lead over. Whether you are looping or playing with drum/jam tracks you can record and over-dub right on the JM4. You can save 24 minutes of CD quality recording to the on-board memory or add a 2 GB SD card and get over 6 hours of recording. You can then transfer to your PC via SD and burn your recordings to CD. There are also inputs for bass/keyboard and an XLR input for a vocal mic. You can basically do everything from this one piece of equipment. A little expensive compared to a regular loop station, but is by far the coolest and most helpful thing I have ever purchased concerning guitar. If you just want a basic Loop Station get the Boss RC-2 but for another $140 you get the some of the best musicians in the world as your personal jam band and full recording capabilities.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-JM4-Looper-Guitar-Effects-Pedal?sku=150498
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Boss-RC2-Loop-Station-Stomp-Box?sku=487040

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What kinda equipment can I get to plug my bass guitar into my PC for recording/jam tracks?

guitar jam tracks image

Staker S

I'd like to be able to plug my bass into my PC, such that I can record it for songs. If the hardware comes with software for the PC, that would be useful. The kinda features I'd be looking for are recording, effects and jam tracks.
I've seen some stuff such as the "Line 6" equipment which seems effective enough but expensive (£62). About £40 would be more in my range. Any ideas?

Answer
An extremely low budget alternative would be to use an 1/8th inch adapter on your 1/4 inch stereo out from your mixer. I did that for most of my recordings and no body's none the wiser.

I had my computer to where the latency wasn't a problem. I kept that input jack and cable out of harms way and didn't mess with it. (They're Fragile.)
Another alternative is to just mic it from your amp. (For said reason below*)

Otherwise, the Lexicon, or M-Audio brands of PC interface are my recommendations.

For best quality sound, I would avoid going direct into the PC. All ways come out of an amp, or at least through a mixer first. (You need that compression for bass) Watch that input level. Your ears like it, but recordings don't need a whole lot of this.

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How do I play my guitar on youtube when I am overly self conscious?

guitar jam tracks image

Keep Askin

I want to record myself jamming to some blue jam track Cd's I have but I am too self conscious and worry about what people will say... I know its not unusual to worry about this but I think its keeping me from making the effort to video record myself. How do I do it and shoud I even bother?

Answer
Lots of people on YouTube are jerks. If you want to play you should, and you should stop caring so much about what people say. Yes, it is sometimes good to care, but most of the time you should just let it roll off and be yourself. Go ahead and post!

Powered By Y! Answer Blogger Poster

How can i remove guitar from a song or find a jam track for it? scars papa roach?

guitar jam tracks image

Andrew

ok so i need to do a solo performance for my GCSE's and i want to do scars and add in a solo, but they said because its playing behind the examiners wont know your playing and i need to either remove the guitar some how (any one know how??!!) or find a guitar jam track for it (links please if you know!!)

thats what i need thanks so much guys!!

Answer
Unless you've got access to the master tracks, you can't just edit out a single instrument. That's like asking to remove the individual grains of sugar from a cup of coffee.

Check sites like guitarbt.com to see if anybody made a backing track for it.

I went through Berklee as a guitar performance major, and I RARELY performed my proficiency pieces with a "minus one" version of the song. I just played along with the record. If you're standing in front of the examiners playing, they can tell what's you and what's on the recording. To suggest that they can't is retarded.

Powered By Y! Answer Blogger Poster

What kinda equipment can I get to plug my bass guitar into my PC for recording/jam tracks?

guitar jam tracks image

Staker S

I'd like to be able to plug my bass into my PC, such that I can record it for songs. If the hardware comes with software for the PC, that would be useful. The kinda features I'd be looking for are recording, effects and jam tracks.
I've seen some stuff such as the "Line 6" equipment which seems effective enough but expensive (£62). About £40 would be more in my range. Any ideas?

Answer
An extremely low budget alternative would be to use an 1/8th inch adapter on your 1/4 inch stereo out from your mixer. I did that for most of my recordings and no body's none the wiser.

I had my computer to where the latency wasn't a problem. I kept that input jack and cable out of harms way and didn't mess with it. (They're Fragile.)
Another alternative is to just mic it from your amp. (For said reason below*)

Otherwise, the Lexicon, or M-Audio brands of PC interface are my recommendations.

For best quality sound, I would avoid going direct into the PC. All ways come out of an amp, or at least through a mixer first. (You need that compression for bass) Watch that input level. Your ears like it, but recordings don't need a whole lot of this.

Powered By Y! Answer Blogger Poster

How to guitar solo in key of E?

guitar jam tracks image

zacksjets4

I have been getting pretty good at guitar, so i decided to download some jam tracks. Lets say the jam track is in the key of E. Which scales should i work in? Would really appreciate if someone could break it down with music theory. Thank you.

Answer
okay so basically, in an E chord (presuming you are talking about E major), there are three notes - the E, G#, and B. Now, if you are in a 4/4 time (four beats of crotchets or quarters each bar - pretty much all music is 4/4), then all that you need to do is make sure that the first beat and the third beat of each bar is either an E, a G#, or a B.

If you are having trouble figuring out when there are the first and third beats, then think of how sometimes you might tap your foot or bob your head to music - this is you unconsciously moving with the beat of the music. The heaviest feeling beat is the first beat, and if you are good at guitar, then really this is just natural stuff.

Anyway, going back to the E, G# and B. So you play one of these notes on the 1st and third beats, then for the other beats, there is a select group of notes that you can play that fit into the key of E major. they are:

E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#. <-- these notes are what can be played on other beats apart from beats one and three.

For example, you could go (without taking rhythm and length of notes into account):

ll E, A, B, D# l G#, F# E B ll

hope i helped :)

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How to use guitar scales to jam?

guitar jam tracks image

A. de Vrie

How do you actually apply/use guitar scales. I know these patterns but how do you use them to play with a jam track or make your own music? Do you need to know how every note in the scale sounds and then switch between the notes in some order, really have no idea. Help would be great

Answer
It's called "being a musician"

Go get some lessons.

EDIT: Okay, I was being snarky, but now it's time to be serious. The guy below me is an idiot. Private tuition is the oldest, and still most effective way of learning a musical instrument. It takes years of practice and dedication to become a great musician, and a good teacher can help guide you through your studies so that you make the most efficient use of your practice time. They can also provide constructive criticism on your playing, drawing your attention to things that you probably would not have noticed otherwise, including things that may become bad habits and limit your progress in the future.

If private tuition results in you become an "expressionless machine", then you were never going to be a decent musician in the first place.

I challenge anyone to find a single world-class musician that claims there is no value to private tuition.

-----

Scales are just sounds, and which sound is appropriate for a given situation is up to the performer to decide. To be a great improvisational musician requires that you know these sounds. You must know how each note relates to the harmony, where the harmony is headed, where it's coming from. Music is not just a series of isolated moments, and you can't think of each chord as being unrelated to the previous or following one. You must consider everything as a whole.

You must also know what makes a melody emotionally effective. How do they move? How do the rhythms change and evolve? It's just like being a good storyteller. You can't just go in there and randomly dick around with various scales and expect it to move people.

Beyond all that, you need to learn to control your instrument. That's really what it's all about. You have your instrument, and with it you create music. The more control you have over that instrument and every nuance of the sound it creates, the more expressive you can be.

It's all part of being a musician, and if you truly want to be the best musician you can, get yourself a good teacher. The best musicians I know still have private studies from time to time, and I know some of the best in the world.

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Where can I find Free Blues Backing jam tracks for guitar?

guitar jam tracks image

Agustin Ji

I am starting to learn the pentatonic scales on guitar and would like to know where I can download or listen to some Blues backing jam tracks for guitar.

Answer
YouTube!

Type in "Jam Track" or "Backing Track". Be sure to specify a key!

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What are some good practice tips for a beginner guitar player?

guitar jam tracks image

Kaila

I've had my guitar for a little over 5 months, and i know the basic chords. but money is kind of tight, so lessons are out the window. and i cant find any good sources online. Help.

Answer
These DVD's are amazing. Beginner, intermediate and advanced courses, all 3 for under $40. I have worked with these a good bit and love them. These things could keep you busy for the next year or more. Includes online support including jam tracks you can download and burn to CD.

http://books-videos-music.musiciansfriend.com/product/Rock-House-Learn-Rock-Guitar-Beginner-Intermediate-Advanced-Package?sku=942719

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