Learning this.....deluxe blues

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by El Duque

JonPR
curious as to what you use to produce this little bit of tab.
wondering if there is something out there that I could download/buy/use.

Yes - I use Transcribe!, which is like an aural microscope - doesn't give you answers, but helps you listen, by letting you manipulate the audio in various ways, slowing down etc. (It will even work with youtube videos, but you need to download and convert them first.)
http://www.seventhstring.com/
Free for the first month, cheap to register after that. There are other totally free slowdowners, but not as well featured as Transcribe. (Capo for the Mac is similar, and a similar price.)
The one drawback (maybe) with Transcribe is there is no phone app version; only for desktops and laptops.

(The tab itself was just done with NotePad, and enclosed within code tags to keep it spaced correctly.)

[VRG]

Originally Posted by El Duque

any idea how light those strings might be to get those bends?

I have light bronze. they don't bend like that. My non existent experience technique prob. doesn't help.

I'm guessing these are nylon strings on a steel-string guitar. Just a guess but before I saw the bridge pins my brain said "nylon" when I heard the tone and saw the ease with which he's bending them and the distance.

Sure would like to get a tab of that. I PM'd larryb buy haven't heard back yet. El Duque if you received it could you PM me and I'll send you an email address to forward unless you were asked not to share?

[stanron]

In my experience bending nylon strings is more difficult compared to bending steel strings. It can be done but you have to push the strings a lot farther than on a steel strung guitar and he's not moving his strings that much. I looked at the video again and can't say for certain but they could be nickel wound. I'm using 11 thou phosphor bronze and can do tone bends on the unwound strings and semi-tone bends on the wound strings. I think he might be doing some harmony bends on the second and third strings and I could only do these if both strings were unwound. Again I cant tell from the video but I would guess that he has an unwound third string.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by stanron

In my experience bending nylon strings is more difficult compared to bending steel strings. It can be done but you have to push the strings a lot farther than on a steel strung guitar and he's not moving his strings that much. I looked at the video again and can't say for certain but they could be nickel wound. I'm using 11 thou phosphor bronze and can do tone bends on the unwound strings and semi-tone bends on the wound strings. I think he might be doing some harmony bends on the second and third strings and I could only do these if both strings were unwound. Again I cant tell from the video but I would guess that he has an unwound third string.

The 3rd string looks wound to me, in that its colour looks more like the 4th 5th and 6th than like the 2nd and 1st.
I agree with you the bends sound like steel, but tonally it sounds more like nylon. Maybe they're steel and he just has the treble rolled off for a mellower tone?

[stanron]

Originally Posted by JonPR

The 3rd string looks wound to me, in that its colour looks more like the 4th 5th and 6th than like the 2nd and 1st.

Just looked at it again and the close up at 0:08 shows you are right. The strings have a yellow tinge but that could be the lighting. Do they do yellow coloured tape wound strings?. There's no wires from the end pin so I suppose the mellow guitar sound is just from the microphones, the guitar and the EQ.

[El Duque]

JPR,

(It will even work with youtube videos, but you need to download and convert them first.)

I downloaded a trial copy of transcribe. Looks like it might help me out. So cool how it slows things down. I'm sure there are lots of other neat stuff to discover too!

My next Q (when you have time) is how to convert the sound file on a you tube vid? I didn't see anything specific on the transcribe website. easy peasy? or got a link to some directions?

thanks for the help. you are the man!

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by El Duque

JPR,



I downloaded a trial copy of transcribe. Looks like it might help me out. So cool how it slows things down. I'm sure there are lots of other neat stuff to discover too!

My next Q (when you have time) is how to convert the sound file on a you tube vid? I didn't see anything specific on the transcribe website. easy peasy? or got a link to some directions?

thanks for the help. you are the man!

If you only want the audio, you can just record it into Transcribe as it plays. (You may need to do something with your soundcard if the Transcribe record window is not getting a signal.)
It's also possible to download youtubes as MP3, but I've never done that. Recording in real time is not a lot more time-consuming, and more straightforward for this technophobe at least. It records in WAV format, better quality than MP3 (and files about 10x the size).

If you want the video too, Transcribe won't record video, and won't work with the youtube FLV format. So you need to convert as well as download. The downloader I use does both at the same time (saving additional bother). It's called - with amazing imagination - "Free Youtube Downloader" (how do those guys think of these things??? ) - http://download.cnet.com/Free-YouTub...-75219434.html
(Beware- it may require you to download some irritating adware toolbars or whatever, but you ought to be able to get round that.)

You just enter the youtube URL in the downloader, and make sure you select conversion to MP4. (I think MOV works as well, but I always use MP4.) It takes a short while to download and process.
Then you open the MP4 with Transcribe, and it will show a small video window alongside the usual audio one. There's a slider on the video window you can use if the video is out of sync with the audio (as youtubes often are). The video will slow down, pause or loop along with the audio. You can vary the size of the video window, but enlarging won't improve the quality!

Actually, here is that page on the Transcribe website, which may have more useful info:
http://www.seventhstring.com/xscribe/video.html

[El Duque]

JP. Before I got your response I had a flash. I used this little recorder (tascam) I bought / didn't like / was going to sell, to record the vid. I plugged my amp (mini headphone line 2 male ends) into the computer speaker head ph. jack, set the recorder in front of the amp and pushed record. Would have worked with the computer speaker but I thought I'd try playing through the amp - sounds better. I uploaded it on the computer - loaded it into Transcribe -Presto! Good enough for this duck farmer...

I appreciate the help. I read the info on the transcribe site - my eyes glossed over a little.... I may look into it more later.

Back to the music. I did learn a few more bits - a lot faster! I'm getting glimpses of

The melody is based on chord tones

. Cause I actually looked at what those chord tones were! doh!

on to figuring out how to get this written out.

hasta luego.

[El Duque]

still working on this.... got most of it. I would not be here were it not for JonPr's recommendation of "Transcribe" Thanks!

a couple phrase/chords at the end I'm unsure of. Anybody? I can kinda see what he is doing and kinda not. I can hear it when I replay in "Transcribe" but still not 100% sure. sorting out the individual notes of a chord is a challenge.

it goes from 4:45 to 4:57. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCktCSAerhU

is the first one that appears to move up 1,2,4th frets
--0
--1
--1
--0
--0
--1
or is it with an added finger on the fifth s. first frt.
or is it like the bottom part of a b7 with out the first finger?

then the one after that looks like he goes to a 9th cord on the 5th fret then moves the bottom part of that up to 7th but the first finger stays on the
5th? Or is is back to a b7ish chord?

then there is a little single note phrase - got that.

then the chords after that seem to reverse e9 chord w/ first finger on 6th (root is on the fifth str. 7th frt correct?)then the same as b7 or some such without the first finger walkin down as it were?

I have it kinda down but need to work on the last parts. That and my basic general issue is playin without mistakes. grist for another thread.

I do what LJ does skip the bass and start back in where he does. I might learn the first go round of the bass before I jump back in to where he is.

I must admit JonPr I'm not up to speed on understanding what he's doing i.e. going from chord tones to blues scale, but i do see that the notes are all in that realm. I plan on getting a few more glimpses of this tho... I look at your chart now and then to try and absorb it little by little.

this is pretty much what I've practised the last month. All the other tunes I was trying to learn have kinda taken a back seat. I'd like to get back to them but I want more of this!

I'd tab it out but it wouldn't be accurate. not up to speed on timing/symbols etc. I might try later on right now it is from memory.

Next? i'd like to learn LJ's arrangement of Georgia. He plays it first up in this interview/session. interesting. they can skip the filming of the right had - I need to see the left! oh well guess I'll have to learn those parts by ear (with some help i'm sure)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQGMIWtoBp4


thanks!

[stanron]

Here's what I get for the first two bars;

	F#7	      B7
┌─────╥─────────────────┬───7────7────────╖
├─────╫─────────────8─7─┼─────10b─8b──────╢
├───2─╫─3─4─5─6─────9─8─┼───────────────9─╢
├─────╫─────────────8─7─┼───────────9─11──╢
├─────╫─────────────7─6─┼─────────────────╢
└───1─╨─2─4─5─6─────────┴─────────────────╜

. 4 + . 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + . 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

I've not got Transcribe, I'm just using my ears and the chord sequence. He may be playing more notes than this but I think this is the backbone of it. The next chord is an E9 and then he's doing a descending run where the root note goes from the 6th string to the fifth ending on a B9. I'm cooking my tea right now and will look at the rest later unless someone else does it.

[stanron]

This is up to 4:57.

	F#7	      B7		      E9  
┌─────╥─────────────────┬───7────7────────┬───7─────────────┬─────────────────╖
├─────╫─────────────8─7─┼─────10b─8b──────┼───7───6─5───4─3─┼───s3───2────────╢
├───2─╫─3─4─5─6─────9─8─┼───────────────9─┼───7───6─5───4─3─┼───s3───2────────╢
├─────╫─────────────8─7─┼───────────9─11──┼──(6)──5─4───3─2─┼───s2───1────────╢
├─────╫─────────────7─6─┼─────────────────┼───7──(4)5─────3─┼────────2────────╢
└───1─╨─2─4─5─6─────────┴─────────────────┴───────5─────3───┴───s2────────────╜

. 4 + . 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + . 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + . 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + . 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + .

After E9 the chords are A7+5, D9, G7+5, C9, a slide up to F#7+5 and finally B9. These last three pairs of chords combining a secondary dominant effect on the bass end with a one fret slide down on the top. The notes in brackets show the full shapes but with thumb and three fingers I assume he leaves the bracketed notes out.

[El Duque]

thanks.

how did you do that?

[stanron]

I'd better not answer until you say you think it's right.

[El Duque]

seems right to me. it does look like he uses the first finger f# the last two of first 4 chords. 545 then 646

looks also like he used the 6 on the e9.

other than that it sounds right. no brainer now. couldn't see the forest for the trees. then again I know nothing about the musicality of it i.e. "secondary dominant effect on the bass end with a one fret slide down on top"

sounds good. wish I did. Would it help to write out the notes and "note" which are in the blues scale and which are chord tones?

is the A7 + 5 basically the formula for the A7 with the added 5th of the e scale?

Thanks Stanron!

[stanron]

A7+5 means, for me, A7 with an augmented 5th.. That is A, C#, E#(F?) and G. In a way the name is irrelevant. It's an A7 chord with a sharpened 5th.

It's all pretty logical. The first bar is just an inversion of

F#7	      B7
┌───1─╥─2─4─5─6─────────┬─────────────────╖
├─────╫─────────────────┼─────────────────╢
├───2─╫─3─4─5─6─────────┼─────────────────╢
├─────╫─────────────────┼─────────────────╢
├─────╫─────────────────┼─────────────────╢
└─────╨─────────────────┴─────────────────╜

. 4 + . 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + . 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

It's all pretty much standard blues stuff with a C#7, F#7, B7 to E resolution at the end. I think of this as serial fourths as opposed to the secondary dominant stuff that goes on at the end but others disagree.