Could you help me learn this (or this-alike…) ?

TimmyO

I’m a Dad-blues-bluffer with next to no theory or formal learning. It is a regret. 

Anyway - I particularly love both this tune and the playing on this version (the lead intro and general comping)

Would any of you fine folk be prepared to take a look and give some insight as to what he’s doing, how he’s approaching any of the parts, or general knowledge that would be useful or I’d need to be able to hear this and have an idea of how to cop similar things (that isn’t just ‘move my hands until I find a coincidental same note and then try to memorise all that in a long sequence without :-/ ) 

Seriously though - any thoughts, tips, pointers very welcome - particularly the opening and then the general comping approach  - my approach would be hammer one shape each for the general chords progression - I want to be better  

thank you in advance for any input 

https://youtu.be/Zyq7pKlqRKA?si=3rwLuBNGfa1jW3Av 

CaseOfAce

Nothing too tricky.
From a quick listen its mostly E major pentatonic followed by playing the changes over the E - > B -> A > E chord progression...

he's throwing in dominant seventh and ninth chords at points.

Danny1969

It's pretty simple stuff but more a country blend mixed with a bit of blues than a straight blues progression. Lot of quick minor 3rd to maj 3rd slurs which always sound great. Also chord extensions and outlining the 5 chord with the solo notes. 

I always think the best way way to approach this is forget about scales and just constantly think about the notes in the chord you are playing over. This is why I don't teach pentatonic scale / boxes  to kids or beginners. If becomes a comfort blanket of mediocrity as it kinds works over all the chords, so is safe but, is so boring to listen to. 

Dominic

Fiddle player is great .......not Stephane Grappeli but really good
The guitar is played over the chords with liberal smattering of stab chords/double stops

CoffeeAndTV

For me, the most important or most compelling thing I picked up from that is they didn’t lose the form in the bit that I watched.  The guitarist knew where he was within the tune, the bar, and the beat.  

There’s some chromaticism and it resolved at the right time.  

fsmith

It's a 16 bar in E:

E   |E   |E   |E

E   |E   |B   |B

E   |E   |A   |A

E   |B   |E   |E 

The drummer is playing a half-time 8th note shuffle, so the snare falls on beat 3 of the bar, If you listen to the guitar during the violin solo the form is easier to hear.

CaseOfAce

Danny1969 said:

 This is why I don't teach pentatonic scale / boxes  to kids or beginners. If becomes a comfort blanket of mediocrity as it kinds works over all the chords, so is safe but, is so boring to listen to. 

I think it depends entirely how you use them Danny. Only just today I've been learning Rush's Fly By Night and Lifeson is all over that D major pentatonic shape around the 7th to 12th frets. Short sweet melodic solo I came away humming after...!

Pentatonics are not inherently bad per se. Robben Ford's pentatonics don't sound like mine cos his phrasing, taste and ability is miles beyond mine! 

fsmith

Perhaps it would make more sense to look at it as an 8 bar, 16th note shuffle. Then the snare falls on 2 and 4:

E |E |E |B

E |A |EB|E

axisus

Dominic said:

Fiddle player is great .......not Stephane Grappeli but really good

I saw Stephane Grappelli live when I was a young teen! My uncle was a big fan and paid for all my family to come along and see him, I guess some time around 1975.

topdog91

CaseOfAce said:

Danny1969 said:

 This is why I don't teach pentatonic scale / boxes  to kids or beginners. If becomes a comfort blanket of mediocrity as it kinds works over all the chords, so is safe but, is so boring to listen to. 

I think it depends entirely how you use them Danny. Only just today I've been learning Rush's Fly By Night and Lifeson is all over that D major pentatonic shape around the 7th to 12th frets. Short sweet melodic solo I came away humming after...!

Pentatonics are not inherently bad per se. Robben Ford's pentatonics don't sound like mine cos his phrasing, taste and ability is miles beyond mine! 

Indeed. Satch uses the modes for sure, but also a fair bit of pentatonic and he's hardly mediocre. Many others too; Zakk Wylde (love him or hate him, maybe not the best example but he used to play with some taste in his earlier days). Gilmour? BB King? Iommi? Surely not mediocre or boring. And of course the late Ace Frehley. Joel Hoekstra? So many it's hard to say that the problem is the pentatonic.

topdog91

Just listened to the song. If you're a Dad-blues-bluffer, just add some major pentatonic, blues notes (tritone) and chromatic bits and you can bluff this too.

Danny1969

topdog91 said:

CaseOfAce said:

Danny1969 said:

 This is why I don't teach pentatonic scale / boxes  to kids or beginners. If becomes a comfort blanket of mediocrity as it kinds works over all the chords, so is safe but, is so boring to listen to. 

I think it depends entirely how you use them Danny. Only just today I've been learning Rush's Fly By Night and Lifeson is all over that D major pentatonic shape around the 7th to 12th frets. Short sweet melodic solo I came away humming after...!

Pentatonics are not inherently bad per se. Robben Ford's pentatonics don't sound like mine cos his phrasing, taste and ability is miles beyond mine! 

Indeed. Satch uses the modes for sure, but also a fair bit of pentatonic and he's hardly mediocre. Many others too; Zakk Wylde (love him or hate him, maybe not the best example but he used to play with some taste in his earlier days). Gilmour? BB King? Iommi? Surely not mediocre or boring. And of course the late Ace Frehley. Joel Hoekstra? So many it's hard to say that the problem is the pentatonic.

Oh I'm not saying the pent is bad sounding if used properly by experienced players, just that in my experience, if people get introduced to it too quickly then they overuse it. They have a pent box pattern they are comfortable in and then don't think so much about targeting the sweet notes. What I'm trying to do is to get them see'ing the notes, not the guitar. 

flying_pie

topdog91 said:

Just listened to the song. If you're a Dad-blues-bluffer, just add some major pentatonic, blues notes (tritone) and chromatic bits and you can bluff this too.

Paul Gilbert's cheat code for blues is play the major pentatonic over the one chord and minor pentatonic over four and five