[Fong]

Want a challenge?

This is a simple 'riff' if you can even deign to call it that. It is E, B, C, C in simple 4/4 time with some effects.

That it is.

I just can't seem to find a good way to play lead over it, that doesn't sound like it should be over a different piece of music, that just happens to be in the same key as this music.

So anyone fancy showing me what can be done, maybe give me a few ideas?

Credit to Drummer and Bass player, I just played the notes on the guitar they made it sound half decent.

[Kirk Lorange]

Fong, they're all a bit blurred out and undefined, but those chords are really Em9 to B5 (more of a minor than major in this case) to Am to C ... they're all sort of undefined, but that's a s close as I can get them. To say E B C C is going to make it very difficult for anybody to take up the challenge.

[Fong]

Originally Posted by Kirk Lorange

Fong, they're all a bit blurred out and undefined, but those chords are really Em9 to B5 (more of a minor than major in this case) to Am to C ... they're all sort of undefined, but that's a s close as I can get them. To say E B C C is going to make it very difficult for anybody to take up the challenge.

The NOTES I am playing are E B C C. I am not playing chords, they are just single notes.

Maybe it is the delay effects that are overlapping; creating a chord sound, or perhaps the Bass player is adding harmonies that create a chord sound for you, but I am just playing 4 simple notes on the guitar, mainly on the G String with the final C being on the A string as an octave of the C on the G String.

Em Pentatonic works fine as a scale, but just doesn't excite me as a sound. It sounds plain. Though that could be my playing.

Was hoping for someone to come in with a better, perhaps more creative, sound.

[Ian McAllister]

Hi Fong, this is my first take on your riff. One run through and then recorded it. So it's about how I felt it, rather than analyzing what I was going to play. I'm sure that other players will have different things to play over this,this was just my noodling! I enjoyed it by the way.
Ian

[Ian McAllister]

Hi again, and this is my second take, warts and all! I played a bit more rocky on this...the tune drives along nicely. Let me know what you think.
Ian

[Fong]

I have to say I like it, very Stevie Ray bluesy on the first one?

Second one is more my preferred listening style. Lot rockier!

Did you use the same scale/ideas for both or did you mix them up?

Mind telling me what scales you used, if you used any.

[Ian McAllister]

I have to say that I'm embarrassed here! I don't know scales. I hate to say that I just 'play what I feel' but that's the truth. All I can tell you is that the first take was based around the Em7 shape on the 7th fret and the second was Em pentatonic, (with a few odd notes thrown in) around the 12th fret. I sound like an idiot!
Ian

[Fong]

Originally Posted by Ian McAllister

I have to say that I'm embarrassed here! I don't know scales. I hate to say that I just 'play what I feel' but that's the truth. All I can tell you is that the first take was based around the Em7 shape on the 7th fret and the second was Em pentatonic, (with a few odd notes thrown in) around the 12th fret. I sound like an idiot!
Ian

Thats all good really.

Enough information to gather roughly where you were and what you were thinking as you were playing.

I am just trying to build up a few ideas that expand on what I was doing already, I didn't think of going all bluesy over it like you did in the first take.

I was playing something similar to the second take, but I am not a very good lead guitarist so not quite as good as yours was.

You know sometimes you just feel stagnated, like you stuck in a rut and everything you play sounds exactly the same, that is where I am right now in my lead playing, just hoping this sparks a few ideas for other people that i can work off of, send me in a new direction, that sort of thing.

[Ian McAllister]

I hope that I've helped. I know what you mean about getting into a rut. I have to say though, that I think the 2nd take is much more 'bluesy' than the first. Funny how our perceptions differ.
I loved playing this, it was such a relief to just play GUITAR rather than think about arrangements, vocals and the rest.
Good luck Fong.
Ian

[Kirk Lorange]

Fong, once more than one note are involved (you and the bass player) chords or embryonic chords (like a power chord) come into play. If you're going to play something over a track like you put up, just giving us the notes you played is of little importance. It's the overall sound that matters, and that sound is basically Em, as Ian obviously discovered. You'd quickly hear how awful it would sound if someone read your post and started playing E major lines over it all, or A major.

[Ian McAllister]

Kirk, I am mortified! The first thread you've been on where I've posted, and I admit to not knowing what I'm doing!

Love your playing by the way,
Ian

[Fong]

Originally Posted by Kirk Lorange

Fong, once more than one note are involved (you and the bass player) chords or embryonic chords (like a power chord) come into play. If you're going to play something over a track like you put up, just giving us the notes you played is of little importance. It's the overall sound that matters, and that sound is basically Em, as Ian obviously discovered. You'd quickly hear how awful it would sound if someone read your post and started playing E major lines over it all, or A major.

Yeah you will notice I didn't mention the fact that Em Pentatonic sounded fine over it til the second post.

Didn't want to give people what I had already learnt and thus maybe cut short any experimentation they would do.

Also Kirk, as I have said before, my ears are terrible, I could only tell you what I played, as that is as much as I knew.

[Kirk Lorange]

Ian, you played some great stuff on both of those and never feel bad about not knowing which scales you played ... that would mean I'd have to feel bad too because I know very little about playing scales.

[Ian McAllister]

Thank you very much Kirk.
Ian