Composition Session-

Student-Brandon Mijares 

Instructor-Mark Campayno

*These notes were taken by me during a 45 minute theory/composition lesson. They are posted to show the in-depth learning and teaching that can occur in a relatively short time.

Composing from the DIATONIC-BASED theory we've covered so far.

*A funk-based two chord riff or vamp was presented using the chords Em7-Bm7.

Key = E minor 

Style=Funk/Rock

Chord progressions:

Em7  Bm7 

Em7 Bm7 Am7 Bm7

Em7 Gm7 Dm7

Intro progression:  Em7  Bm7  Am7  Bm7

Question comes up, "What to play for intro in order to set up the piece for later 

development?" 

*A single-note funk melody using E-D-G notes was decided

upon. Those happen to be three of the four notes from an 

Em7 chord, which happens to be the "tonic" chord. 

A decision to add drum loop will be applied. A funky live drum loop was chosen. 

Verse progression:  Em7  Bm7

*An arpeggio pattern was applied here over the progression.

Em7 was inverted and played as a "D Major" basic shape on

the top three stings in positions 7 and 14.

7th position gives us D-G-B, which is a G major triad. However, 

and more importantly, it is an Em7 chord with no root!

14th position gives us A-D-F#, which is a D major triad, we are 

more concerned with it's "real function", which is a Bm7 arpeggiated

triad.

Chorus Section:

Em7  Gm7  Dm7

*A discision was made to use tapped arpeggios over the progression. Once a pattern was decided upon, it was applied to all three chords.

*As you can see, we have a movement away from our original E minor tonality.

The Gm7 has no relation to current key center. Therefore, a mode change is in order.

However, being that this will not a single-note solo per say, the original arpeggio/tapped

pattern. This section will lead us back to our intro progression.

Solo Section:

Em7  Bm7  Am7  Bm7

*As for a "method" of soloing over this progression, it was suggested to use some chromaticism

in the scale (E aeolian), in addition to wide intervals and string skips. Obviously, and for the purposes of the tone used (GuitarRig "God's Love"), slurs are endemic to such a solo. As for

why chromaticism within the aeolian scale? Remember that the piece is based on a very strong funk rhythm and chord pattern. Therefore, an approach to soloing naturally calls for "outside" tones

that, when placed appropriately, give the solo section extreme listenability and interest. 

Verse Breakdown:

The original chord progression of Em7 - Bm7 returns with some changes. The arpeggios are now played with distortion therefore making the part heavier. In addition, power chords augment the section as they are allowed to ring for the value of each. A "chug" rhythm has been added to the texture. The "chug" is an E power chord with the b9th tone (F) added. 

Interlude:

A mode change has occured. As you have seen, the addition of the F note during the chug led to a F diminished 7th arpeggio run that typically resolves up 1/2 step to our tonal center of E minor. However, resolution was made to F major instead giving a clear signal that the piece is now in another "zone". An angular two measure F major melody was applied that takes the music into an interlude of guitar melodies based on the repeated pattern.

This is an all-guitar section using multi-layered spacey clean guitars. 

The return of power chords (F-E-D-C-Bb-A-G-F) underneath signal a return to our original sections.

In the next installment, we will analyze the return to the original key of E minor and how that was accomplished. 

An mp3 of this composition will be provided after the next installment of this article.

Recording Revolution

   

As luck would have it a tremendous electrical storm wiped out power in the area where my studio is located late Friday night. As of this writiing more than 24 hours later, the power is still out. Gas lines, very edgy drivers (one of which I got out to reprimand for his rude behavior), and extremely warm temperatures made for an interesting evening. I remained indoors until at leat 5:00 and decided then to drive to Guitar Center to look at studio monitors. I badly need good reference speakers for my work with protools software. 

I have become addicted to recording, editing, and mixing music. It's a fascinating process where one learns the real in's and out's of how recordings are put together in the modern digital age. The shortcuts and quality of sound are nothing less than incredible. 

   

Beyond that though are the natural questions that come to mind:

What will become of recording studios if its possible (which it is) to record from home with high quality and major convienience. Now this assumes that the individual comes to terms with a very step and time consuming learning curve.

What cost savings will be had once musicians can literally e-mail music files anywhere in the world? I did just that today sending two collaborations to Italy. About a month ago I finished and sent one off to Holland. 

Will isolation take over with musicians no longer having to relate face to face with each other on collaborative efforts? Well, that's a stretch until you consider the time involved and the fact that you are not relating directly to a live musician in the same room. 

Isn't it always that "The Sky Is Falling" mentality takes over when advances in technology are made? Of course it is. In the end, digital is still digital. Analog sounds better but is clumbsy and laborous. Digital is clean and quick but tends to sound sterile if you overload your music with software instrumentation. 

I had the pleasure of hosting a former student of mine at my studio over the last week. Zikay is an amazing musician who is a wizard with the synth and is in love with digital technology. A very telling moment occured during a playback of one of his works. I began to improvise over the track...suddenly Zikay stopped the music and exclaimed, "Wow, that's sounds great!" "It's not digital!" Even he could hear the difference.

So all this is to say, don't worry, join the revolution going on in recording and use technology to advance your music. In the end, you really have no choice do you?

"Note to Self"

Note to Self:

Make sure that today moves you forward. No step towards your goal will ever be small. Each one counts and each one builds upon the other.

You will face many doors today...each one with potential for good and bad.

Each one you choose to go through can have lasting ramifications.

Never underestimate the power within your inner voice. It speaks clearly. 

It's up to each individual to either listen or ignore.

You have amazing talent and determination. Most times, it's determination that brings results. Hard work, focus, ignoring unecessary distrations and naysayers. 

Never give in to those who attempt to pull you off course. They are everywhere and seek to keep you at a minumum. 

Unlimited potential lives within us all. Unfortunately, many never find it.

You, however, have.

Empty Image

Empty Image
Just a little musical moment.

Great advice here for bands prepping for that first show.

Agree 100%.  When we get on stage something WILL go wrong.  There's no way around that.  Equipment's gonna fail, somebody's gonna blank, etc, etc.  All that planning and all that structure get thrown out the window.  


We need to work on listening to each other and ourselves.  Lean on these guys that have played out before.  If you get off track, Ray will always be ready with hitting the downbeat.  Mark can cut a solo at a moment's notice to help cover.  I'll add visual and audio cues.  While structure is something worth attaining, I'm not interested in having a recital.  When we start doing that we're going to lose the drama and the impact and we're going to end up alienating the very people we want to enjoy, (and hopefully buy) our product.  

Live music is a different beast and the only thing that can break that beast and make it our own is going out and actually playing.  This web stuff is fine, but we can't cut out eye to eye human contact.  You can have the best, highly produced demo in the world, but if you can't get people to come out and see you, it's just wasted money. 


We need to go out, we need to experiment.  We need to find out what works and what doesn't.  We're not going to get that playing songs over and over and over again in a studio.  We need to learn how to connect and interact with an audience.  That's how we're going to get a following.

Reality Check for New Bands Wanting to Make Money...

I share this as a wake-up call to new bands, young bands, old bands, who are ready to get out and test the waters. Just remember the following sound advice or you may not last long...

Yea ok. We've missed some real good performance chances already and we gotta start somewhere. If anyone is not on board with playing out at some little place for free the first couple of times, that's the reality, then maybe this isn't the band for u.
Nuff said.

Sometimes It's Just One Missing Piece.

    Important and long-lasting opportunities present themselves to public school teachers several times a day. Opportunities to affect a student's life and future in positive and negative ways. A conceptual connection with your students is critical. What I mean is that even if it's only one thing that connects you to the student, it's enough to push the chances for suceess higher. 


    That has not been lost on me over the last two weeks as my "struggle" with an aggressive male student came to a head when I had to confront him on an issue of respect. Immediately after "the talk" things calmed down between us. In fact, he has since been a model student and has raised his performance level in class by 200%. His whole demeanor in class, and his modeling of correct and exacting technique, has not gone unoticed by the rest of the class. It has really served to pull everyone together. I am relieved and energized by the results. 


     Will we have a flawless rest of school year? Most likely not, some issue will come up between us. However, a life-lesson has been learned in the process: We don't have to agree on everything, we just have to find a way to realize how much stronger we are as a team then as adversaries. 


    Public school teaching is difficult, stressful, and unpredictable. In the end, that doesn't matter as the importance of inspiring, motivating, and sacrificing for, students becomes the only focus. In a world of unliminted opportunity, creative methods must be used to assure the success of our youth...the only future we have.