I'll say it again, love this type of video. Everyone should just take a major scale and try playing a melody they know by ear it's a great exercise and it starts to creep into your solos. It'll work in a bit of everything, arpeggios, intervals, whatever and you don't have to know the "names" (theory) of it. But just good to see how music "looks" and then over time you just "hear" it before you play it.
I'm a beginner guitar player, and I watch your RUclips videos daily. You're very knowledgeable, and one of the best that I follow. Thank you for your information, and knowledge.
Love these videos. I appreciate the text put on the screen, makes things tidy and recall-able in longer videos. Request: Pls deep dive into david gilmour’s playing style!! (One of the melodic-lyrical solo player for a case study) Thanks
I remember reading an interview with Neal Schon that said early on he spent a long time learning Aretha Franklins vocal melodies He's done a fair few great melodic solos
Thanks again John for this type of lesson. Since your last video I vowed to start working on adding more color and complexity to my playing by slowing down a bit and playing with more intent adding in some non chord tone notes like you discussed and I instantly got good feedback from my band mates as well as from my wife who is completely non musical so that’s saying something. For years my instructors always said stick to chord tones to sound melodic, but I have to say it starts to sound very bland and predictable after a while. This is the spice my playing desperately needed.
Great to see this, the title grabbed me as it's close to my heart (so to speak!). I grew up listening to George Harrison so, as a guitarist, I have always been influenced by the fact that you can hum a lot of his solos - melodies! As a producer / writer I often sit down with a 'chordal backing track' of my own or from one of the team I work with to try to find a melody to hang some lyrics on . . . it's really enjoyable for me (as a lyricist) and I apply the same approach to the occasional track requiring a guitar solo, i.e. 'can you hum it?' I don't subscribe to the endless running up and down bluesy pentatonic scales, never really appealed to me and I never had the urge (or the skills) to try and do the late '60s, early '70s endless guitar solo thing a la Cream et al. Really enjoyed your opening piece - crying out for some lyrics! 😀
As weird as it sounds, I had the same thought process when I was learning to type in the mid 90's. One day I realized that I could literally think of the letters and visualize the keys being typed out. I do find it a bit more difficult with playing though due to the subtleties of tone and bends and melody, etc. But it was a really eye opening experience to one day realize it was an instant connection between brain and finger. I was able to remove the little time between thinking of the right key to hit on the keyboard and instead, just did it. Now I'm just trying to replicate that with playing.
As a fellow girl-dad and being forced to listen to Disney songs quite often, I can also testify that they are in fact melodically and harmonically interesting songs quite often. They are composed and performed by world-class people after all. The Tinker Bell complication from 2008 is a good one and I'm not embarrassed to admit that. Nope, definitely not embarrassed. At all.
I absolutely loved this video @johnnathancordy ! My wife is a singer as well. She majored in voice and with a minor in piano in college. I showed her the title and she lit up and said this is so true. Then she went on to give me some examples. Usually she just rolls her eyes when I share guitarist videos with her. It’s not that she doesn’t appreciate the musicianship but perhaps it just doesn’t connect with her.
Melody in our brain, melody we sing out, melody we play. These three things usually are hard to be aligned in real time. Hope your wife can align with your gf 😅
David Gilmour is a master at playing solos that are vocal-like. They are memorable to the point where you can sing them. Think Comfortably Numb, Breathe, etc. That’s what players that are “shredders” and just play flurries of high speed licks are lacking. There’s nothing really memorable about their playing. I much prefer melodic solos that are filled with emotion and feel.
I'll say it again, love this type of video. Everyone should just take a major scale and try playing a melody they know by ear it's a great exercise and it starts to creep into your solos. It'll work in a bit of everything, arpeggios, intervals, whatever and you don't have to know the "names" (theory) of it. But just good to see how music "looks" and then over time you just "hear" it before you play it.
I'm a beginner guitar player, and I watch your RUclips videos daily. You're very knowledgeable, and one of the best that I follow. Thank you for your information, and knowledge.
Thank you so much for making such an impactful video. It changed my way of thinking when it comes to playing.
Love these videos.
I appreciate the text put on the screen, makes things tidy and recall-able in longer videos.
Request: Pls deep dive into david gilmour’s playing style!! (One of the melodic-lyrical solo player for a case study)
Thanks
I remember reading an interview with Neal Schon that said early on he spent a long time learning Aretha Franklins vocal melodies
He's done a fair few great melodic solos
Let’s gooo another video taking us into your playing ideas!
I really love this. Thank you John.
Thanks again John for this type of lesson. Since your last video I vowed to start working on adding more color and complexity to my playing by slowing down a bit and playing with more intent adding in some non chord tone notes like you discussed and I instantly got good feedback from my band mates as well as from my wife who is completely non musical so that’s saying something. For years my instructors always said stick to chord tones to sound melodic, but I have to say it starts to sound very bland and predictable after a while. This is the spice my playing desperately needed.
I think recordings or summaries of the lessons you actually taught would be an amazing resource and popular
Excellent concept. Thanks John
Steve Vai specifically talked about this in an interview with Guitar Player around 1982 or so while he was playing for Zappa.
Great to see this, the title grabbed me as it's close to my heart (so to speak!). I grew up listening to George Harrison so, as a guitarist, I have always been influenced by the fact that you can hum a lot of his solos - melodies! As a producer / writer I often sit down with a 'chordal backing track' of my own or from one of the team I work with to try to find a melody to hang some lyrics on . . . it's really enjoyable for me (as a lyricist) and I apply the same approach to the occasional track requiring a guitar solo, i.e. 'can you hum it?' I don't subscribe to the endless running up and down bluesy pentatonic scales, never really appealed to me and I never had the urge (or the skills) to try and do the late '60s, early '70s endless guitar solo thing a la Cream et al. Really enjoyed your opening piece - crying out for some lyrics! 😀
"I'm not saying anything negative....yet" - "My wife forced me to watch Wicked." Those sentences happened in the same video. Awesome. Ha ha
As weird as it sounds, I had the same thought process when I was learning to type in the mid 90's. One day I realized that I could literally think of the letters and visualize the keys being typed out. I do find it a bit more difficult with playing though due to the subtleties of tone and bends and melody, etc. But it was a really eye opening experience to one day realize it was an instant connection between brain and finger. I was able to remove the little time between thinking of the right key to hit on the keyboard and instead, just did it. Now I'm just trying to replicate that with playing.
As a fellow girl-dad and being forced to listen to Disney songs quite often, I can also testify that they are in fact melodically and harmonically interesting songs quite often. They are composed and performed by world-class people after all. The Tinker Bell complication from 2008 is a good one and I'm not embarrassed to admit that. Nope, definitely not embarrassed. At all.
Love these videos. Pls deep dive into david gilmour’s playing style!!
Thanks
Sounds like Elodie is expanding your musical boundaries with her Disney choices! 😂
When I hear a jazz theme in my head, I always hear the voice of Ella Fitzgerald singing it.
Lovely 🎸❤️
Sax players for the win. 🎷 They have the real melodies.
Nice things happen when you play.
This Tom fella gets about
Not playing the Nacho John? Did you have to give it back? Get one of your own. It suits you!
I absolutely loved this video @johnnathancordy ! My wife is a singer as well. She majored in voice and with a minor in piano in college. I showed her the title and she lit up and said this is so true. Then she went on to give me some examples. Usually she just rolls her eyes when I share guitarist videos with her. It’s not that she doesn’t appreciate the musicianship but perhaps it just doesn’t connect with her.
Melody in our brain, melody we sing out, melody we play. These three things usually are hard to be aligned in real time. Hope your wife can align with your gf 😅
David Gilmour is a master at playing solos that are vocal-like. They are memorable to the point where you can sing them. Think Comfortably Numb, Breathe, etc. That’s what players that are “shredders” and just play flurries of high speed licks are lacking. There’s nothing really memorable about their playing. I much prefer melodic solos that are filled with emotion and feel.
what tele is that? thanks
I can answer on his behalf (I have one). It’s a KLine Truxton and they are amazing.
First time I've heard you approach guitar melodically
It's Hercules
5:00 bro, thank God you've left the singing part to your wife 😂😂😂
yet
John, forget being sponsered by TrueFire. You should be developing course content for them of your own lessons. They should be paying you.
🔥🎸🥵
😂😂😂
It’s not rocket science … listen to the vocals and mimic in the solos!