Running an oboe reed business and all, I often get requests or inquiries about reeds and the desired tone they'll produce. And while I agree that reeds play an important part in determining your sound on a given day, I am old-fashioned and in favor of hard work to get the tone you want!!
I'll al...
Pentatonics -- They're Your Friends!
A few years back an "Unplugged" special on MTV featured a performer, his band, and a backup string quartet. At one point (while everyone was taking solos), the singer motioned for the string players to take a solo also.
And nothing happened! These string perf...
Pentatonics -- How and When
We've just explored "what" a pentatonic is. Nothing much to it -- it's hard to get simpler than a five note scale!
Let's see how to use a pentatonic. We're going to use a country-style major pentatonic for this exercise -- we're also going to assume you're playing a f...
Pentatonics -- Other Styles
We've just seen how country/folk/irish/bluegrass/etc styles commonly use major pentatonics. Two other styles we might want to explore are rock and blues.
Rock and blues normally do not use major pentatonics -- instead, they use minor pentatonics. However, this doesn't...
Pentatonics -- Where to Go From Here
Pentatonics will get you started -- and get you playing pretty decently. How far will they take you?
Well, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton have gone pretty far with pentatonics, so don't assume this is baby stuff. It's simple, but you can ride the pentatonic pony...