8 String School
8 String School
8 String School
Lesson material
by Frank Boons
A somewhat more comprehensive approach For me, learning is the internalisation of new ideas in such a way that I can apply them whenever I want to. 'New' means new to me as a person learning, not necessarily to the world. In this 'method' I do not present a lot of new ideas in the world sense. I describe how I applied existing ideas to the eightstring, how I learned them for this instrument. The eightstring I refer to is a guitar with two unique features: (1) it has eight strings: 3 bass strings tuned E-A-D and 5 guitar strings tuned AD-G-B-E. Bass and guitar strings have separate outputs. (2) it has fanned frets (a novax patented design). To me there seem to be two basic approaches to this instrument. One is to make the most out of the design, and play bass and guitar simultaneously. This was how the instrument was intended by its designers, Ralph Novak and Charlie Hunter. The other approach is to see it as a guitar with expanded range. This makes it possible to play chordvoicings with an extended range. The second approach is one easy way into playing eightstring guitar. You can see it as a 6 string, with the A and D strings doubled. Chord voicings on the 6 string can then easily be transferred to this instrument (although not all of them are as easily playable). Methods for chord melody playing that are available from many sources can easily be applied to the instrument (see the source list below for some suggestions). The first approach calls for a different line of practicing, and this is what I focussed on when I got the instrument. My method in fact consists of a number of elements. These can first be studied in themselves. The elements are based on the idea of simplification: if you want to focus on some aspect of playing, think up an exercise that is stripped of all or most of the elements that you do not want to focus on. this means also that as I develop more abilities, it becomes possible to combine different excercises. So the real fun is in combining the different elements. Elements are: A. Technique - the physical handling of the instrument B. Rhythmic versatility - making the most out of the possibilities of the eightstring as a polyrhythmic instrument. C. Melodic content - single note lines D. Comping - chords & intervals E. Developing bass lines Below I present material on each of these elements. This is done in the form of text documents (Word-files) and exercise sheets (in Tabledit). The textfile explains how to approach the exercises.
legato: works best when different notes are played with different fingers. Playing them with the same finger inevitably leads to a small silence.
A. This exercises provides the basics: bass & guitar have quarternotes. the one plays staccato, the other legato B. Here a scale in the bass is combined with a single interval on the guitar part. Experiment with different intervals, and different pulses in the bass (eight notes in stead of quarter notes in the bass lead to different fingering problems!) C. Here the guitar has a scale, while the bass plays one note. D. Same as C, but it is a scale of thirds. This makes the fingering more problematic (which again changes according to the rhythm chosen for the guitar). And finally, scales in both bass and guitar.
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A-iv. Staccato/legato
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A-iv. Staccato/legato -
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Left hand flexibility The main purpose in left hand technique is (1) to develop flexibility, and (2) to get used to the fanned frets. Regarding flexibility, the best workout is to study George Van Eps Harmonic mechanisms for guitar. While written for the sixstring, it is a thorough way of developing flexibility in left hand fingering. His exercises can either be played on the five guitar strings, or adjusted for the eightstring (seeing it as a six string with double A and D strings). I have developed a few (ideas for) exercises specifically designed for the eightstring. These ideas can be developed much further, something I leave to the imagination of the user of this method. Exercise sheet A-v. Left hand flexibility (chords) Like the Van Eps books, this exercise uses chords to develop flexibility. The chords are taken from the chordshape library (see element D). Make sure you practice this on different stringsets. Practicing it in different positions helps you to develop the skill to deal with the fanned frets.
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(I). Shape based chords I start with this one because it contains all the shapes you will find in the other parts. Exercise sheet D-i. Chordshape library Some things become manageable by approaching them systematically (at least to me). This sheet shows all the three note chord shapes (on adjacent strings) that are playable on the eightstring (without developing Allan Holdsworth-like skills.). There are just 61 shapes. I have put them on the top three strings (G-BE), but they can of course be transferred to the two other string sets (A-D-G and D-G-B). This gives a total of 183 different chords (if played with the same bass note). Changing the bass note makes them into a different chord, but physically, you play the same shape. This makes the practice easier for me, because I know theres an end (!) to it. Two remarks: some shapes include an octave. This is generally considered useless in a chord in any context beyond rock (powerchords typically include octaves to build a fuller sound). On the top three strings, this would be the shapes in measures 8, 22, 30, 42, 51, 61. When you transfer the shapes to other stringsets, other shapes will yield octaves. These can be omitted as shapes for that stringset. some shapes include unisons. These can also be omitted. On the top three strings, these would be in measures 13, 24, 43, 49, 58. Again, on other stringsets other shapes will yield unisons.
Practicing these shapes can take different forms: Block chords versus arpegiated chords (for arpeggiation patterns, see Ai.2) Experiment with fingerings Voice moving: from one shape to another Move one shape through a position One shape, scale in bass Understanding what youre playing. In the end, the sound of a chord in a particular context is what makes you use it. Nevertheless, it helps to understand how these shapes work as chords in a particular harmony. For each shape, combined with a bass note, you can determine what the relationship is of the guitarnotes to the bass note. This tells you whether a chord fits in a particular scale, and whether it uses guide tones, chord tones, and/or tensions (scale derived or non-scale derived). Take any song and experiment with new shapes within this song. You can do it rationally, analysing the chordnotes and decide whether they fit, or just use your ears. You can of course also use this chordshape library to map three note chords on non-adjacent strings Exercise sheet D-ii. Chromatic chordposition This exercise provides a link between the shape-based and scale-based chordal approach. Any 3-note shape can be described by the intervals between the notes. Because of the tuning of the guitar, the same shape results in a different sound when it is transposed to another stringset. So one exercise is to keep the intervals the same when you change stringsets. This sheet shows this a chordshape starting on the lowest three guitar strings. Of course, you can do this for the other shapes as well. It helps to write this all down (which I started doing in D-iii. Chordshapelinks). It helps to write it down also in chord diagrams. The guitar is a visible instrument and you can develop the connection between visual, physical and aural memory. It also helps to mentally note what happens when you move shapes across stringsets in this way. In changing from strings A-D-G to D-G-B, the top note moves one fret up. In the move from D-G-B to G-B-E, the middle note moves one fret up. In changing directly from the bottom three strings to the top two strings, the two top notes move one fret up. (II) Diatonic chords (Scale-based) Scale derived chords: 1. select a scale (say, C major, consisting of C-D-E-F-G-A-B) 2. take a set of notes from this scale that make up a chord that sounds good to you (C-D-G) 3. move this chord through the scale. This means that the shape of the chord (in terms of fingering) changes, even when you stay on the same stringset. In the example, this would yield D-E-A, E-F-B, F-G-C, G-A-D, A-B-E, B-C-F) 4. Play the chords you found with the root of the scale in the bass. Listen carefully what works for you and what doesnt. This demystifies the theoretical approach to chords, because you easily discover many chords that fit with the scale you selected. (actually, this approach is
similar to the one described by Allan Holdsworth in his instruction video). Just take care to listen carefully; not every chord fits in every musical situation. Triads A basic approach to comping in a scale-based way uses a harmonic device called triads: three note chords built from stacking two thirds. In the key of C major this would be a triad: C-E-G. When you change the order of these notes, you get two more chord-forms: a third and a quart (?) (E-G-C) and G-C-E (a quart and a third). These are called 1st inversion and 2nd inversion, respectively. Playing these on different string sets yields a number of chord shapes (which can be found in the chord shape library), not all of which are equally useful on the eightstring (if you want to combine them with playing a bass note). Exercises - play triads up and down one stringset (exercise sheet D-iv. Triads #1). This sheet shows triads on one string set up and down the neck in: (1) root position, (2) 1st inversion, and (3) 2nd inversion. I added bassnotes on one string. You can add bassnotes from the C major scale on other strings if you want. Make sure you practice this in other keys as well. - play triads in one position with different bass lines. With one bass note, going through the triads in fact makes you play complex jazz chords - play triads, one of the chords note on bass strings (this amounts to playing a bass line with intervals on the guitar) - use different plucking patterns for these exercises see exercise sheet 1a. (Guiliani, Van Eps) Quartal chords You can also build chords by stacking 4ths instead of thirds. The chords that come from this have a more open quality, and they are well suited for the eightstring because they often can be fingered with one or two left-hand fingers. Exercise sheet D-v. Quartal#1 maps these chords in the different stringsets in the key of C.
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D-iii. Chordshapelinks
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E. Developing basslines
Here's a starter for developing walking basslines. Walking basslines Walking basslines involve a steady pule of quarternotes (except for syncopated accents you might want to add), so rhythmically, this is easy. The challenge is in the note choice. The bassline still provides the harmonic basis (roots and fifths) for what is played, but I think of a walking bassline as improvising around this basis. Exercise sheet E-i. Walking bassline construction This exercise is based on one chord: A minor. The exercise sheet contains examples of the principles outlined below. There are endless variations to this!! 1. Find the roots (A) and fifths (E) on the fingerboard. These are the notes you play around. 2. Use approaching notes; i.e. notes a half step (one fret) below and above the A and E. These would be A# & G#, and D# & E#. The bassline is strongest when the approaching notes are on weaker parts of the measure. Aim for a root (or fifth) on the first beat. 3. Add other chord notes to the root and fifth. This makes use of the arpegiated chord. You can play the arpeggio in different variations (1357, 1537, 1735, etc.) 4. Then, combine principles 2. and 3. 5. Take an appropriate scale (C major, G major) and use these notes. To make it more jazzy, you can add passing notes to these scales: the minor 3rd, augmented 4th, and minor 7th. The key idea is to use the notes of these scales to play around the roots and fifths. Another idea: you aim for these basic notes (but at the same time play around them, keep the suspense going a bit). In applying these principles, there are various characteristics of basslines with which you can play around: o Scalewise development: keeping a line ascending or descending as long as possible o Jumps: bigger leaps (fifths, octaves) o Play patterns of the scale (see Element C.) This is challenging at first, but the aim is for it to become second nature to improvise basslines with these principles. The next challenge is to play a bassline over a chord progression. [more on that later]
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8. One further possibility: the D7 chord fits not only with the G major scale. It also figures in the whole note scale for instance. With this scale as a guideline (D-E-F#-G#-A#-C), you can repeat steps 2.-7. This, I would say, exhausts the practice of this bassline. But, there are more basslines, and theses more than just the D7 chord. So, here are some subsequent steps. Each of these can be developed by repeating the preceeding steps: 9. Practice other 7th chords (C7, C#7, etc.). You play the same things, but in different areas of the fingerboard. Not always easy, with the fanned fretboard. 10. Think up another one measure bassline for the D7 chord. 11. Connect the two and you have a two measure bassline. 12. Take another chord. 13. Take two chords, one per measure. Exercise sheet DE-iiii. Walking basslinecomping#2 The last exercise focussed on diversity of chords over one walking bassline. This exercise does the opposite: improvising a bassline over two chords in one position. The sheet shows an example, that can be expanded by using the rules for developing walking basslines.
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