shniggens Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Help!!!! So me and my band are trying to cover Willin' by Little Feat (G, D, Em, C). Beatiful song . . . when played right. Unfortunately, it's not so beautiful when I play it. This is definately a style that I don't have much experience in (country). Here is where I think I am falling short: 1.) I can play suspensions till the cows come home, but it always ends up sounding cliched. But I also think that I always resolve them. Should I leave suspensions . . . um . . . suspended more often? How can I work more with my suspensions, when should I fit them in? 2.) I can avoid the root all day long when playing blues with a bass player, but country is just begging me to play the root in the left hand! Is this something that I should avoid? 3.) I listen to Mr. Bill Payne's beautiful playing on Waiting for Columbus and he's throwing in these cool little blues riffs all over the place. But when I try to flat the 3rd or 5th, it just doesn't sound right. And what about the dominant 7th, should it even be used?? Any tricks or tips that you'all can share with me on gettin this here little country melody downright pretty would be gosh darned suweeet! Because I'm . . . . . Willin Amateur Hack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postman Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Originally posted by shniggens: Help!!!! So me and my band are trying to cover Willin' by Little Feat (G, D, Em, C). Beatiful song . . . when played right. Unfortunately, it's not so beautiful when I play it. This is definately a style that I don't have much experience in (country). I'm going to venture a guess here (and it's just a guess because I've never transcribed the solo) that Payne is playing pentatonics. I really don't think it's the blues (I could be wrong). Try hammering on from the 9 to the 3 (and back to the 9 sometimes). It produces a characteristic country sound. I also like hammering on the sixth from the fifth while playing the root above. On the Em I think the dominant seven might work (the D is part of the G maj pentatonic) but use your ears. Country music is generally root centric so don't avoid it. Try to work in some drones as well. It sounds very authentic. Most of all think melody! Not chops. It's a remarkable solo: I can sit here and sing it without having heard it in years. *sigh* I wish I could play like that. Hope this helps. Maybe somebody out there knows better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postman Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shniggens Posted January 23, 2003 Author Share Posted January 23, 2003 Originally posted by Postman: some drones as well. Right on fellow Coloradan!!! Could you explain to me what you mean by the "drones". For some reason all I can think about when I hear "drones" is robots. Amateur Hack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postman Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 Originally posted by shniggens: Originally posted by Postman: some drones as well. Right on fellow Coloradan!!! Could you explain to me what you mean by the "drones". For some reason all I can think about when I hear "drones" is robots.You've heard them a lot I'd guess. A drone is perhaps best explained as the opposite of a pedal tone... well, kinda. It's a constant tone under which a melody is played. It differs from a pedal tone in that it's played every time a melody note is played. If you're playing a G pentatonic, you might, say, play a nice phrase B-D-E-D-B (ok, so the sixth isn't in the pentatonic) underneath a repeating G. It's a nice ringing effect on the piano. Try it. You'll recognize it. Think snow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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