This morning's rhythm training session on stage in the auditorium started off strong. We played a slow tempo version of "I'm Tore Down" and it sounded a lot like music. Occasionally we'd meander off course a bit, but overall it seemed to be working. As usual, the drummers and bass players were awesome and it was great to play in a "live" band session where we could lock into the beat. In some ways, this is the most fun of everything we've been doing.
After that, we got back into "Blues Core" course with John. We started to dig deeper into some of the musical theories that make up the blues. John showed us how the various pentatonic forms are connected and then we went on to the blues scale (with an added flat fifth) and an overview of how chords are formed in general with the CAGED system. Whole books have been written on the CAGED system, but John presented it in a way that gave us some of the reasons behind the theory and how we might apply it in the song we're working on to use different chord forms.
After dinner we got back together to practice our ensemble piece, working on the intro, the outro and some horn patterns that overlay on top of the basic rhythm. After John left we stayed working on it for another hour or so, but by the end of evening I think we were all having trouble focusing and keeping time. Where's the drummer and bass player when we need them? Will it all come together by Thursday evening? More importantly, will we ever leave the campus for a good meal and a cold beer? Stay tuned...
The National Guitar Workshop has additional sessions through the summer in Austin, Texas and at the main campus in Purchase, New York.
- Amazon: From the Cradle
, I'm Tore Down (MP3)
- NGW: Main site, Community, Faculty, Guest Artists, Curriculum
- GuitarVibe: NGW Monday, NGW Wednesday, Angus Clark
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