HELLO!
My next installment of Riffing with Modes is now up. I hope you enjoy this one, it was a lot of fun putting together and I’m pretty happy with the final result and how terrifying it sounds (regardless of the source material). The tabs for the solo and arpeggio section are attached below, as well as the mp3.
I’ll be posting a video on Monday on how I wrote the solo. Then I have the following patreon only videos scheduled:
Wednesday Feb 19th – C...
2020-02-15 21:35:16 +0000 UTC
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This is an EXTREMELY important topic that I'm surprised I didn't get around to earlier. Hopefully by the end of the video you'll never have a single question again about minor and major chord inversions! This video is currently is being released early to you now, and will post publicly to YouTube tomorrow morning.
There are 2 hilarious mistakes I made but I covered them up very well. If anyone somehow catches them I'll be astonished and impressed.
Attached is a PDF tha...
2020-02-01 22:36:10 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone!
Wednesday night we had a great live stream with a lot of contributions. We spent about an hour creating a 12-bar blues, using nothing more than software and a mouse. No recorded instruments. After that, I talk a little on how to practice using a track like this, and the things I'm currently working on regarding pentatonics and blues.
I'm learning more about the Twitch ecosystem. It looks like my videos there get deleted after 2 weeks, so I've downloaded the whole str...
2020-01-31 17:28:53 +0000 UTC
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Thanks to all who dropped in last night for my Q+A. I got around to answering all the questions you posted here on Patreon and many more in the chat. At the end, we had some fun playing around with composing some video game style music.
Here's the link:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/542412776
One thing I want to point out if you watch the whole thing- you'll hear my mini rant on the circle of fifth...
2020-01-27 16:13:23 +0000 UTC
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This Sunday (Jan 26) I'm gonna fire up a live stream at 6PM CST to answer your questions. You can ask questions live in the chat or post your questions here first if you aren't able to tune in.
The link to the livestream is www.twitch.tv/signals_music
Hope to see you there!
2020-01-24 15:26:51 +0000 UTC
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Greetings!
This is another oft-requested topic that I thought would work much better for this style of video. It's also a day late, apologies!
Some updates-I'm cancelling my quintuplet video since I just don't feel good about how it's coming out so far. This has happened before, like with my Power Chord video and my Polyrhythm video. Sometimes during the process of making the video, I realize it's just not working. That means I have more thinking to do before I start filming...
2020-01-24 01:14:07 +0000 UTC
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Whew, this one is finally done!
Right now, I have this set as UNLISTED so only you can view it here and it is not public.
The reason is because I have a busy day, and have to leave right now but haven't had time to triple check this video for any glaring errors, so I don't want to make it public yet.
Here's the link:
https://youtu.be/_r6ftqp1bkA
If you spot anything weird let me know and I will ...
2020-01-18 18:09:46 +0000 UTC
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WARNING: I SING IN THIS VIDEO
Hello friends, in this lesson I sketch out a very simple method for writing melodies on top of chords. Not everyone is interested in adding bass lines, drum parts, and leads, and this lesson is a brief explanation of how to start writing when all you have is your voice and a guitar.
I’d advise that you combine this lesson with the previous patreon-only videos about song structure. Those lessons can all be applied easily in tandem ...
2020-01-16 01:18:53 +0000 UTC
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Thanks to those of you who dropped in last night to make my beat building a more collaborative experience! It was a lot of fun, and although I still have to iron out some technical issues, it was much smoother than my last attempts thanks to the equipment you've helped me invest in.
You can watch what we made here-
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/535418752
The first few seconds is dead ti...
2020-01-13 15:58:58 +0000 UTC
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UPDATED: Mistakes on PDF's fixed
Lots to go through here!
Theory PDFs –
I’m hard at work building my course, and have several PDF’s that I’d like to release to you all early since I think they may be helpful to you. I’m likely going to hire a graphic designer to make these PDF’s look amazing, since they’ll be part of a digital and physical course, I’d like them to look as good as possible. For now though they are very “functional".&...
2020-01-12 16:29:20 +0000 UTC
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Hey folks!
I’ve just posted a new video to YouTube. It’s the first a seven-part series called Riffing With Modes. As you might be able to guess, we’re going to explore writing and arranging strategies for composing riffs and complimentary sections, with a focus on working within a given modal tonality.
Here’s the link to the video: https://youtu.be/gbNLhx2eCXs
The song I wrote for the video is...
2019-12-21 16:02:59 +0000 UTC
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This video is 2 parts- the first half is some discussion on traditional song structure and what it means to us. The second part is writing sections in minor with a focus on breaking the rules we've already established.
https://youtu.be/Z8MBdRi6C5U
It's really incredible how good the final product sounds in this video considering how SIMPLE the idea is! The whole point though is to get you thinking about structura...
2019-12-16 00:46:47 +0000 UTC
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Even if you don't do holidays, I still have a gift for you. It's a digital version of my Ultimate Modal Poster. I will be selling it on my site for $5 but am giving it away to you all free in pdf and png form. The files are attached at the bottom of this post.
The image has been resized from 24x18 to fit onto an 8.5x11 in page, You can print it out at home or bring it to a local print shop to make a nice small version for your wall to include with your study materials. ...
2019-12-13 17:18:56 +0000 UTC
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Normally, the videos I make have been bouncing around in my head for months if not longer. Rarely does an idea come to me and then I just drop everything to make it. This video is one of those exceptions.
Last week, a question was asked to me here on Patreon by Paolo Alonso . He asked the following. in response to my video on making Bro Country, where I said Pentatonic Minor works great on top of a major chord.
"In a previous video you say never use the minor pentatonic over...
2019-12-07 05:28:51 +0000 UTC
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HOWDY FOLKS!
If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you're having a good one already! Allow your family debates to steer away from politics and instead veer into the realm of musical taste. Just share with them this somewhat cynical yet still educational video on writing Modern Pop Country.
If you dig the solo, I've attached the tabs here for you. If you'd like to torture someone with this song, I've also attached the mp3.
And don't take my digs at the genre too s...
2019-11-28 17:28:25 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone! To follow up with last week's video on song structure, I'd like to walk you through a live example of how it all fits together and what we want to be thinking about when we write our individual sections. Most of what I'm talking about can be read in the 2 page PDF I posted last week.
This week of the final results of the project. Notice this whole 4 minute song can easily be written on one page- a lot of our favorite songs will have this feature.
Like las...
2019-11-27 21:53:43 +0000 UTC
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Late night post! Probably will be more common now that I have a home studio, lol.
Anyways, here's the first of many videos I'd like to make just for you folks. It's a primer for our future song structure lessons and discussions.
I've included a 2 page PDF. Page 1 outlines the main points in this video, and page 2 will be very helpful for our future lessons. I suggest you read through page 2 and try to apply it on your own before I go through it in more detail in the next vid...
2019-11-20 04:21:35 +0000 UTC
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First off, thanks so much for all of your input on my last post! I hear you loud and clear, and am already planning some special stuff for you all. In addition to posting a patreon-only video here shortly about Song Structure, I have also scheduled to record a podcast today with my good friend Mike Muggli (Moog Lee). We will be both armed with our instruments and will be discussing some of the deeper aspects of song structure, it should be a good supplement to the video you'll all receive soo...
2019-11-15 19:27:01 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone! My move was a DISASTER lol, without going into detail let's just say it involved downed power lines, a blizzard, a house nearly lit aflame, and multiple unexpected nights in a hotel. But fortunately, that is all over and my new studio set up is finally up and running (though I still have some bugs to work out).
I'd like to start making videos just for you Patrons here and want to make sure they're relevant to you all, so I'm asking for your input on what sort of lessons/vi...
2019-11-12 16:12:07 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone!!! This post is very important to me. For starters, I've posted a really fun new video on three chords known as "The Mario Cadence" (aka the double-backdoor-resolution).
https://youtu.be/jx7BcbS15tU
In it, I play a solo that I spent a few days thinking about before putting together, and I've posted the audio here as well as the tablature/music. The very last lick was extremely hard to notate so...
2019-10-30 11:00:02 +0000 UTC
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This one went very smoothly regardless of the moving pieces of the puzzle. I had fun with it and hope it helps you out in time!
https://youtu.be/-dgicW1ioP0
Definitely read the video description to find out some extra info. And as always, please let me know if there's anything from this video you want - tabs, mp3s from the examples, etc!
-Jake
2019-10-18 11:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Better late than never I suppose! My new video on advanced suspended chord concepts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnD6rF1gqpQ
Definitely read the description for this one, lots of extra info in there.
I mention my old funk/dance song which I've attached here for you if you'd like to download it. I do plan on doing this song proper justice one day with a slight restructurin...
2019-10-11 14:45:40 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone! I have a mixture of good, bad, and uncertain news for you all.
Long story short, this week was not nearly as productive as I had hoped. I battled a painful and disorienting ear infection (never had one before!) and also had to prepare and play a last minute wedding gig, on top of trying to finish up some recording work with some old student. I wanted to have part 2 of my suspended video up today since I'm leaving on a trip until Saturday, but I wasn't ab...
2019-10-01 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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This last video I had to break into two parts. After filming it the first time I realized there was far too much to cram into one lesson. So part one is complete, I'm already working on part two since it's already been filmed. However editing is by far the thing that takes the most time, but I should have it done for next monday.
This PDF is just for you wonderful patrons to print out and keep handy with the rest of your music resources. It's a quick guide through the sus chords, ...
2019-09-24 00:45:58 +0000 UTC
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Just finished up a really fun video on making music with motifs and chords, hope you enjoy this one!
https://youtu.be/z3Dy6Mnp5Og
This is a concept that can also apply itself to lead playing. When you find yourself soloing over a chord loop, it's worth playing with a motif and altering it OR keeping it undisturbed to hear how it interacts with the underlying chords.
If you have a...
2019-09-09 15:10:35 +0000 UTC
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It's finally done! I put more work into this video than any I've made thus far, I hope you all enjoy it.
https://youtu.be/i7ByTjkRJFY
Now that this is done I'm going to do some more practical videos that shouldn't take as long. Until then, maybe you can utilize these resources to expand your practice? I've included two mp3s, one of the full track that appears near the end of the video, and one that has the ...
2019-08-24 11:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone! I have been working on the most difficult video I have yet to produce. It required me writing and mixing 8 different genres and working/collaborating with many different folks. I once again bit off more than I could chew, and now I just need to power through to finish it.
It's going to take a few more days of editing till it's done but I wanted to at least get this out to you now. It's one small part of the upcoming video which will be entitled SEVEN MODES - SEVEN MUSICIAN...
2019-08-18 15:38:21 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone, after FIVE ATTEMPTS (that means four failures) at filming my modulations video I finally finished it and was able to post it this morning!
https://youtu.be/Vxac3hHrxg8
I’ve got some videos to film for some of you high-tier patrons tomorrow and will also slate the time to do a follow-up for this modulations video so I can touch on some topics I left out. This is another video that got co...
2019-07-25 12:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Well I thought I finally did something cleanly with no mistakes. Should have known better.
In the locrian section, the poster unfortunately shows the incorrect diatonic bV chord. It should say Gb, it says Gbm and Eb. Poor Locrian always get's the shaft.
I'm extremely sorry if you bought this poster already with this error. I'm reuploading the artwork to reflect the change. Unfortunately I can not financially offer refunds. What I CAN do is make it up to you in the future whe...
2019-07-17 03:42:15 +0000 UTC
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Unbeknownst to me, my poster was being advertised on my YT channel automatically, kinda spoiling my "big rollout," and so I've been working to finish my commercial first before my modulation video
The commercial posts tomorrow and the over-the-top intro features this hilarious piece of music I wrote that is literally nothing but the God Chords that I describe in this video
2019-07-16 04:51:26 +0000 UTC
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