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Jam Sessions - Rock Style

Lesson 2 - Jam in G


audio clip Jam Sessions - Rock Style - part 2 sample

Lyle: Key of G for this lesson. Here's your jam track:

looping jam track Jam Track - Rock Style - G

chord chart


Lyle: These lessons are great for the student who is looking for new things to practice, new theory to apply, new ways to improvise using modes, and perhaps best of all, something new to jam to.

Lyle: There's not a chord during the groove of this jam track which leaves it wide open for you to play almost anything! Here's what the bass guitar riff looks like:

bass riff
bass riff

bass riff on guitar
bass riff on guitar

Lyle: The bass riff is made from the root (G), the b7th (F), and the 6th (E) of the G scale. Since there's a b7th in the riff, you can treat the groove as if it were in a minor key. Here's a rhythm guitar riff you can try:

guitar rhythm riff
guitar rhythm riff

guitar rhythm riff
guitar rhythm riff

Jamie: It has an Eddie Van Halen sound to it

Lyle: Yes, that's what I was going after.

Lyle: Since there isn't any chords in the background of the jam track, any note can be played as you improvise. Some notes sound better than others, some sound more exotic than others. Check out the G chromatic scale here on just the 3rd string:

G chromatic scale
G chromatic scale

Lyle: This scale uses every note available from G to G. Here's an example of me playing this scale pattern against the jam track:

G chromatic scale
G chromatic scale

Lyle: Remember, some notes sound like they fit better than others. You have to develop a taste for some of the "odd" sounding notes!

Lyle: Try playing this scale against the jam track. Listen to each different scale degree and how it sounds to you. Here's another way to play the chromatic scale. This is a riff from the lesson sample.

chromatic scale - riff 1
chromatic scale - riff 1

chromatic scale - riff 1
chromatic scale - riff 1

Lyle: There's no wrong notes! They all work! Here's another way of playing the chromatic scale, this time up the 2nd string and doing a unison bend with each note:

chromatic scale - riff 2
chromatic scale - riff 2

chromatic scale - riff 2
chromatic scale - riff 2

Lyle: Near the end of the lesson sample there's a harmonic/pull-off riff. Here's how to do it. Have your left hand play this over and over real fast:

pull-off harmonic riff
pull-off harmonic riff

Lyle: Then drag your heal of your picking hand over the 3rd string like this:

pull-off harmonic riff
pull-off harmonic riff

Dave: Lyle...is this more a major pentatonic scale...I mean the notes you mention with the harmonic riff?

Lyle: Those notes are just random, and something to make harmonics with.

Lyle: Those would be notes from the G Major scale.

Frank: Lyle, what are you doing with your pick hand?

Frank: Just sliding up the frets?

Dave: Palm harmonics.

Lyle: Yes, good way to call it, palm harmonics.

Lyle: Next I'd like to show you a few more scale choices to play against this jam track. The first choice has to be the G minor pentatonic:

G minor pentatonic
G minor pentatonic
Lyle: Here's another scale you can use to improvise with:

G minor blues
G minor blues

Lyle: The G Dorian minor scale fits well against the jam:

Dave: Can you add a flatted 5th?

G Dorian minor
G Dorian minor

Lyle: Yes, the flatted fifth is the "blues note".

Lyle: The reason that the G Dorian minor works is because the bass riff in the jam is made from 3 different notes, G, F, and E which are the root, b7, and 6 in the key of G. The G Dorian minor scale has those scale degrees in it.

FireWookie: The Dorian is just a bit more subtle than the blues riff

Lyle: Same thing goes for the G Mixolydian scale:

G Mixolydian
G Mixolydian

Lyle: Another scale I like to use is the G Phrygian Dominant:

G Phrygian Dominant
G Phrygian Dominant

FireWookie: The Mixolydian sounds a little more major than the Dorian...

Lyle: The Mixolydian is just like a Major scale but with a flatted 7th.

FireWookie: Nice Lyle, I like that one. Very middle Eastern

Lyle: Be sure to "listen" to the audio in each tab so you can hear how the scale sounds against the jam track.

Lyle: Now you have a bunch of scale options to try against the jam track.

zz: How about using the arpeggios...any suggestions?

Lyle: Yes, G major and Gm would work:

G arpeggios
G arpeggios

Lyle: That's all for this jam session.

Lyle: Also the jam tracks from this lesson are available in high quality MP3 download from my website. Email me for details: Lyle@theguitar.net

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