Warren had questions about participating in Community Challenges and general song analysis
Mason has warbling strings on an acoustic guitar - whats going on?
Richard asked about the benefits of drop D tuning
Mark asked if Music Theory Monday should be prioritized or CAGED Basics?
Brian was looking for ways to increase dexterity with open chords - trouble reaching certain strings
Brian also asked about an ideal first electric guitar
Read MoreThat could mean writing something with a crazy amount of bending or sliding, or a track with ten rhythm guitars playing simultaneously, or excessively longwinded verses, or an excessively busy chorus with too many countermelodies. You can either try to figure out how to do this tastefully, or you can have fun with it and make it sound wild!
Your personal skill level, comfort zone, and free time are all important considerations when approaching a Community Challenge - I’m not asking anyone to write a full song! I’m asking for whatever you have the time, mental bandwidth, and skill to accomplish in roughly two weeks.
If you end up writing ANYTHING, I consider that a huge success. Write SOMETHING. It could be just a simple chord progression you put together or a riff you came up with using a pentatonic scale. Use the writing prompt to guide you and watch my video if you need more ideas.
Read MoreRay asked for thoughts or tips on flamenco guitar
Graeme asked how chords outside the key affect the melody
Sym asked about how to get around practice anxiety
Tasha had questions about how busses work in Logic Pro X and general DAWs
Boro asked if a small MIDI keyboard is a good tool for a guitar player using a DAW - YES
Read MoreThis is a little lesson about how I approach writing chord progressions that go together. I talk about the descriptive method, what to look out for tonally, rhythmically, and dynamically. I put my own methods to the test in a logic pro project and goof around too much with keyboard bass.
Read MoreThis one is pretty straightforward. The goal is to rewrite something you've written before. Maybe you like parts of something you've written, but the verse feels off - try writing a new verse or adjusting the melody or chord progression! Maybe you like all the parts, but want to tinker and adjust to see how it feels.
Thats what I'm going to do when I go live. I'll share my general approach as well as whatever tips and tricks I have for going about this less creative and more thinky process.
Upload your rewritten thing to this community forum post along with the following:
1. Why you chose what you chose to rewrite
2. A link (or upload) of the previously written thing
3. How the process went - was it smooth or janky? Did you have a hard time?
This stuff takes practice, so don't be too hard on yourself and make sure to HAVE FUN!
Read MoreIf this challenge seems like TOO much, try out an easier challenge from the previous 64 I've posted so far.
The idea is to write whatever you can based on your free time, skill level, and interest. You don't have to write a whole song and you don't have to use recording software. It could be a chord progression, a melody, a bassline or a riff recorded to your voice memos. Just try something and have fun doing it!
This was my first time doing a live community challenge and I think I'd like to do it this way from now on. If you have any community challenge ideas, throw them in the comments below! After 65 of these, it's getting more difficult to come up with new and exciting challenges!
Read MoreThe questions this week:
Daniel C asked for an overview of picks - thickness comparison, technique, etc
Ray asked if there is any cross over between guitar and piano
Richard had questions about this weird progression: E major D major C major
Ray asked if I ever plan to meet up with my Patrons and what is my favorite chord progression
Ray also asked if it's important to learn to read music
Daniel T asked for help building the diatonic chords in the key of C# Minor, and asked about the 7th chords
Julian asked about a practice routine AND asked me about my Fender Musicmaster, which I forgot to respond to!
John asked about planting with your picking hand
Read MoreRay asked if I was familiar with Chicken Pickin, and what to practice to get good at this style
Ray F asked about the advantages of knowing every note on the guitar AND asked about muting, specifically in a noisy electric guitar scenario
Ray asked "when is it ok to play out of key" and "do you ever get stage fright" and "how to build up speed
Julian asked "How do you get into a creative flowstate?"
Ray OS asked "do you come from a musical family?"
Ray also asked for other book recommendations
Craig asked how to progress with Triads
Read MoreThis is a concept I haven't seen many people talk about, but it feels like an important one.
Generally speaking, I've noticed that a lot of people tend to fall pretty hard into one of two camps, and sometimes people aren't even AWARE of the other camp!
1. Transcribing
Some people think that a musician will just "hear" a mostly complete song in their head and then sit down with a guitar to figure out how it goes. The better you are at figuring out songs by ear, the better you'll be at writing songs. There are a few well-known artists that perpetuate this idea of writing music. Mozart tended to be like this, and many other artists had experiences like this. Paul McCartney supposedly woke up with part of the melody for "Yesterday."
2. Exploring
Others think that you have to just try tinkering, exploring, adjusting, massaging until - eventually - you stumble upon something nice. Beethoven was notorious for tinkering and massaging. If you start off with something in your head, you're not really "writing music."
My goal with this video is basically to let you know these stereotypes exists and THEN to have you ask: Which camp do I relate with? Did I know about these camps?
If you've been writing for a while, it's probably helpful to think about what assumptions you've made about writing music, and THEN work to be a well rounded musician.
If you're more of a transcriber, I recommend trying to explore more often. Sit down to write without any ideas in your head. Pick a key and tinker with chord progressions, melodies or riffs - whatever! As long as you're not trying to think of something FIRST and then playing it.
If you're more of an explorer, try imagining an interesting chord progression or melody. Even picturing a concept, like "I want to try a melody with lots of space, and big jumps" is a helpful way to start hearing a melody idea in your head. Also, figuring out songs by ear (aka transcribing parts) is a valuable skill regardless of wether you'll ever be someone who hears full songs in your head.
Leave a comment sharing your experience - which camp do you find yourself in?
Read MoreLuke and I have been working on this video for YouTube for a few months and we think it's finally ready. It's intended to help people see the trajectory of leveling up your solos,
I'll be releasing it publicly sometime soon, but I wanted to drop it for my Patrons beforehand. Feel free to open the video on YouTube and leave a comment!
Here is the handy practice page: https://www.scottpauljohnson.com/5levels
For those of you who made a Patreon review video, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I will definitely use them, but it didn't work out to use them for this youtube video after all. If you'd like to make a video review of my Patreon for either website use or a future youtube video, here is the community forum post detailing what I'm looking for. Reviews like this make a huge difference to me so thank you again.
YouTube videos are tricky because I want to teach a full concept, but I would also like people to know that I have SO MUCH for them to learn over here on my Patreon. I also need a video to be constantly engaging so the algorithm likes it, otherwise no one will end up seeing it. If anyone is actually interested in the ins and outs of making YouTube videos, you can ask me on a live Q&A.
Read MoreHere are the questions for this week:
Ray F asked a few questions about keys: mainly, how many keys actually are there?
Doh-Ray-Me asked what defines an intermediate and advanced guitar player - AND asked about clarification on what makes a minor chord.
Sarah May just completed my Music Theory for Guitar course and was wondering where to focus next.
Daniel asked some questions related to jamming - how to quickly figure out where to put your hand when someone tells you the key - and some related questions
Jeff had some questions about mixing - I spent a huge chunk of time on compression
Read MoreIn this lesson, we're taking the rules from the previous lesson and applying them to multiple chords, paying close attention to the transfer points between chords.
Check out the PDF below to follow along and study the phrases we cover in this lesson.
The homework is in three sections, and I've attached a separate jam track for each section. Feel free to write more than 12 phrases if you want more practice!
Also, you can use this jam track from my SPJ Jam tracks channelfor homework 1 if you want to.
Post your homework (or just record your favorite phrases) to the community forum.
Read MoreYou missed this one! Catch the next one. Here were the questions:
Question 1: John had a question about relative major and minor.
Question 2: Alice had a series of questions about how CAGED fits with diminished and augmented chords, dorian mode, double sharps, and a few other things.
Question 3: Graeme had a fun puzzle about wether a chord progression was in B Dorian or E Mixolydian
Question 4: Holly was basically wondering about how to write melodies on guitar. My Melody Making course is about the theory behind melodies, and my CAGED Soloing series is more about applying melody concepts to the fingerboard.
Question 5: Adam had a few questions and I did a little brief lesson on modes
Read MoreHere is a little online Rothko gallery so you can get a better idea of what his art looks like.
Post audio (or video!) of whatever you write to the community forum.
Read MoreHi Everyone,
The question this time:
Mason had a question about James Taylor talking about "being in A position or D position" with a capo
Ray had a question about diminished chords, and another question about fingerpicking patterns.
Markus asked if I was going to teach some 7 string lessons. I'm not.
Jeff asked for some general singing tips, but I initially mistook the question to be specifically about solfege
Catch the next one on Thursday at 10AM
Read MoreBefore we talk about where to find people to play with, we have to talk about HOW to actually play with others. This video starts by examining the dynamic between two people using the "Leader" and "Follower" concept. Then we move into the idea of playing with a group - what to expect, how to fit in, and how the leader/follower dynamics get a little more complicated.
Do you prefer one role over the other? Are you better at following or leading? Have you had a jam session or rehearsal yet? Are you someone who has never played with anyone before? Feel free to share your experience and your own tips in the comments.
Read MoreHere were the questions this week:
Question 1: Ray was wondering what my favorite guitars are, if there are low budget versions, and what other gadgets were useful.
Question 2: Jonatan had questions about loop pedals - how to start layering and adding bass lines and melodies.
Question 3: Jeff was wondering how to set up to record vocals and how to practice singing, though I forgot the second part of your question, Jeff! Sorry about that.
Question 4: Tobias had questions about ukuleles - strings, models, tuning, chords, etc.
Catch the next one to ask your own questions!
Read MoreWhat To Do Now That You've Recorded Songs!
The questions for this week:
Tasha had questions about Mastering, releasing music, marketing, etc - what to do once you HAVE the recordings.
Archer had questions about microphones and how to properly record a band rehearsal with one or two mics.
Ray asked about songs with only one chord, vamping, and block chords
Andy was wondering why I always specify "half diminished" instead of "diminished triad"
David asked what is the best way to get better and how many hours should I practice?
Read MoreIn this lesson, we're tackling my three rules for melody making over chords:
1. Always start a phrase on a chord
2. If moving in skips, only skip from a chord tone to another chord tone.
3. If moving in steps, continue moving in steps until you reach another chord tone.
As usual, these are guidelines that are often broken in the "real world" but please, for the duration of this course, treat them like rules until I say otherwise!
In the next lesson, we'll be applying these concepts to multiple chords, which will REALLY open the curtain into the world of melody making.
Follow along with the PDF attached below.
HOMEWORK
Practice writing phrases over a single chord, using the "homework" section of the PDF. I've provided some jam tracks for you to practice hearing your phrases over the chord. Post your written OR recorded phrases to the community forum.
Jam Tracks are also attached!
Read MoreI'm doing the editing myself for a few months here while I have Luke (my amazing video editor) work on YouTube videos a little more. I decided to have a little fun and lean into it - I hope you enjoy change of pace. Also it was like 90 degrees in my office while I was filming so enjoy my misery haha.
Anyhow, I wanted to kick off the series with an overview of the main two polar opposite band models: The Democratic Model & The Band Leader Model. I also discuss the importance of talking about money and having an agreement early on in the process to avoid resentment and frustration. This overview serves as a big-picture reminder of how the more detail-oriented lessons fit together as we move along.
The goal of the series is to both prepare new folks for playing with other people AND give seasoned bandmates some useful stuff to think about.
I'm also considering interviewing musician friends about their experience learning to play with other people, especially in specific helpful ways for those of you who haven't gotten started yet. If you'd like that, let me know.
Read More
