(Welling. Kent)
07919 356980
Lesson Guide - Pink Floyd Style Backing Track
Any questions - just ask
John’s notes;
This Backing track starts in a gentle, melancholy mood. You can just play notes from the A minor/C Major scale
but it may become bland and boring after a while. It is much better during your improvisation to now and again
pick out notes from the actual chords as they pass by. The most important being the 3rd interval (or flat 3rd if over
a minor chord). Keep restrained, don’t be tempted to play lots of meaningless notes, keep to playing nice melodic
phrases telling a story - your story. Others will have their own story to tell listening to your notes. That’s the way it
works with instrumental music.
About the 2 minute mark you can increase the tension, dynamics and note count in the measures but still hold
back, continue to show restraint, enjoy playing some new melodic phrases (not too much repetition though).
The 3 minute mark invites you to start using accurate emotional bends and small flurries of triplets. Reaching out
to other positions higher up the fret board but always serving the harmony bed as it passes by below your
melody.
The 4 minute mark asks you to up the melody expression and dynamics, Repeating scale runs and triplets work
well here. Listen to the rhythm guitar playing triplet triads, you can mimic this in your lead or play ‘double stops’
along with the chords or simply go way up the fret board to say the 12th position and play melodic lines similar to
what you played in the beginning. The familiarity of the melody to the beginning of the tune is comforting to the
listener.
Don’t get caught out by the sudden calm at the 5 minute mark. A couple of measures before this your solo should
have wound down in expectation of resolving your story. As the backing comes to an end its good to remind the
listener of how the story started by repeating memorable phrases you played at the beginning. These are the
phrases people remember, not the ‘flashy’ high speed guitar licks you may have played around the 4 minute
mark.
As a general note, if you are pleased with any phrases you play write them down. TAB as much as you need as
you progress (literately write your composition - you are after all creating and composing a tune).
(Welling. Kent)
07919 356980
Any questions - just ask
Lesson Guide -
Pink Floyd Style Backing
Backing Track
John’s notes;
This Backing track starts in a gentle, melancholy
mood. You can just play notes from the A minor/C
Major scale but it may become bland and boring
after a while. It is much better during your
improvisation to now and again pick out notes from
the actual chords as they pass by. The most
important being the 3rd interval (or flat 3rd if over a
minor chord). Keep restrained, don’t be tempted to
play lots of meaningless notes, keep to playing nice
melodic phrases telling a story - your story. Others
will have their own story to tell listening to your
notes. That’s the way it works with instrumental
music.
About the 2 minute mark you can increase the
tension, dynamics and note count but still hold back,
continue to show restraint, enjoy playing some new
melodic phrases (not too much repetition though).
The 3 minute mark invites you to start using
accurate emotional bends and small flurries of
triplets. Reaching out to other positions higher up
the fret board but always serving the harmony bed
as it passes by below your melody.
The 4 minute mark asks you to up the melody
expression and dynamics, Repeating scale runs and
triplets work well here. Listen to the rhythm guitar
playing triplet triads, you can mimic this in your lead
or play ‘double stops’ along with the chords or
simply go way up the fret board to say the 12th
position and play melodic lines similar to what you
played in the beginning. The familiarity of the melody
to the beginning of the tune is comforting to the
listener.
Don’t get caught out by the sudden calm at the 5
minute mark. A couple of measures before this your
solo should have wound down in expectation of
resolving your story. As the backing comes to an end
its good to remind the listener of how the story
started by repeating memorable phrases you played
at the beginning. These are the phrases people
remember, not the ‘flashy’ high speed guitar licks
you may have played around the 4 minute mark.
As a general note, if you are pleased with any
phrases you play write them down. TAB as much as
you need as you progress (literately write your
composition - you are after all creating and
composing a tune).