Lessons: Riff Journal Vol. 18

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INNOCENCE & THE AFTERLIFE

BY ELLIS PAUL

Here’s the acorn to the oak tree story of my song, “The Innocence and the Afterlife”. This song came from the guitar first. It was a Celtic styled pattern I fell into one day that sounded both very somber and beautiful, like it could played at an Irish funeral. I decided to bring my father’s death into it, and I remembered the day I explained his passing to my daughter who was five and how beautiful that conversation was. That became the idea for the lyric.

The challenge here was making it believable. Vulnerable. So I start with, “This is my true life story.” It’s a universal conversation parents have with their kids about the passing of loved ones. But not many songs have been written about that moment. That makes it unique, and why it should be heard. It’s a private conversation but one we all have with our children. It’s universal in that way. I explain how the song drifted across the wheel and became refined draft to draft. The poetry was important. The flow of the words had to be in a perfect dance with the flow of the melody. The key was how the phrasing and melody weaved together like a braid.

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STRUMMING PATTERNS

BY VICKI GENFAN

These lessons are designed to equip you with essential strumming patterns for jamming, accompaniment, cover tunes, and original compositions. And of course, there are a ton more in the full course.

‘Folk Hip Pattern 8’ VICKI GENFAN

Folk Hip: I’m using a D-A-C-G progression. This pattern has a cool hip hop, laid back feel and can easily be used in folk, rock, or pop. Notice if you are anchoring your right hand in order to have more control in hitting the single bass notes. Whether you are or not, just take the time to practice slowly so you can gain accuracy without adding any extra tension in your right hand. EXAMPLE

Practice changing chords just a bit early in order to get to the next chord in time. In this pattern that means the last eighth note in the measure may be played more like a chicken scratch than actual notes.

‘Pop R&B Pattern 20’ VICKI GENFAN

Pop R&B: This pattern is based on the funky R&B pattern we’ve done, but I’ve added a bass line. I’m using the same chords as before, C#m-G#m7-Bm- F#m7. Once you get it down, see if you can come up with your own ideas for making that bass line move and connect chords. I’ve used 8th notes, but try some 16th note lines and hammer ons. It’s particularly funky when those bass notes are a bit muted with the right hand palm. EXAMPLE

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SIDEMAN LICKS YOU MUST KNOW

BY ADAM LEVY

Supporting a songwriter as the sideman in a duo or band situation is an artful skill that can be very challenging. Usually, there’s a rhythm guitarist -- perhaps the singer -- playing fairly simple chords and rhythms. Your job as the sideman is to color and embellish the performance of the song without distracting the audience’s attention.

Adam Levy’s collection of Songwriter Sideman Licks is an essential, versatile vocabulary of rhythm parts, fills, and single-note lines for anyone performing or recording in a sideman capacity. Here are a few lesson studies:

‘Cascade’ ADAM LEVY

Cascade - Capoing halfway up the fretboard is a great way to get up and out of the way of another guitarist (the singer/songwriter, for example) who’s strumming chords in open position. That’s the primary tactic here. Remember, Capo VII means the chord shapes seem to be in the key of G but you’re actually in the key of D, a fifth higher. Also, this lick is spacious — leaving plenty of room for other elements in an arrangement (voice, bass, drums, and so on). EXAMPLE

‘Wide Angle Lick’ ADAM LEVY

Wide Angle - The chord shapes here are spread wide. The effect is more orchestral than guitaristic. You can make it sound even more so by using a volume pedal (or the volume control on your guitar) to swell into each chord.

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SLIDIN’ SPICY G GROOVE

BY CHRISTIE LENĖE

I’ll show you creative fingerstyle approaches to spark songwriting ideas and excite your guitar playing. In the upcoming performances I’ll be giving you a couple of nice workouts with some slides and harmonics, but remember, these exercises are just examples for you to build from. You should be taking the concepts here and applying them to some of your own progressions and grooves. That’s how you’ll find yourself turning practice time into songwriting time. Remember, your practice time should be creative and fun, so hopefully some of the ideas here are a little bit new to you and maybe some of the patterns are even a bit challenging. Take the time to learn these etudes, and apply some of the concepts to your own ideas.

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ACOUSTIC SELECTIONS

BY COREY CONGILIO

Most acoustic guitar players, including working pros and even accomplished singer-songwriters, have a very limited vocabulary of rhythm patterns and grooves. Having a comprehensive range of strumming patterns at your command translates into many more opportunities for playing with other musicians, getting gigs, all while expanding your creative potential for composing your own music. Here are a few lesson studies (there’s more in the full course):

‘Good Together’ Demonstration COREY CONGILIO

Good Together - We’ll start slowly here by just introducing the Am7 to Fmaj/C chords. You’ve seen this 16th note rhythm before, so your right hand should be primed and ready! EXAMPLE

‘Acousta Soul’ Demonstration COREY CONGILIO

Acousta Soul - This is the kind of riff based idea I might play on electric guitar, but it sounds every bit as good on acoustic guitar. Once again, familiar chord changes here, so really focus on the riff. Once you get it, you won’t wanna stop playing it! EXAMPLE

‘Outlaw Vibes’ Demonstration COREY CONGILIO

Outlaw Vibes - We’ve got another Drop D example here with “Outlaw Vibes”. This is a classic outlaw country style chord progression. Think Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels, and David Allan Coe for this example.

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WRITE YOUR FIRST SONG (FIRST STEPS)

BY ROBBIE CALVO

Anyone can write a song! And that’s exactly what you will do with Write Your First Song, an extraordinarily intuitive step-by-step guide from singer-songwriter, Nashville producer, and top TrueFire educator Robbie Calvo.

In this step-by-step guide to songwriting, you’re going to learn how to develop all of the skills needed to create original music, including guitar Instrumentals and complete songs with lyrics. These are a few good lesson studies to get you started:

Choosing a Groove - Let’s take a listen to a few different groove options for your song. We’ll look at a straight eighth feel to start, then some variations on the groove: a swing 16th feel, 6/8 feel, etc.

Sweet Notes / Developing Melody - “Sweet notes” are the notes found in your chords. This is an ideal place to find and create melodies. More often than not, the chords will even suggest melodies to you. Let’s take one of our progressions and explore that a little bit with you.

Let’s take a C major chord and play it. The notes that make up that chord are: C - E - G. You can use those 3 notes to start writing melodies over that chord. You can use any of the other notes from the C major scale too, but the 3 chord tones will sound the strongest and sound resolved when you land on them over that chord. I call chord tones “sweet notes” and use them all the time to write melodic hooks and motifs in my music.

Now let’s take another chord and repeat the process. A minor 7 = A - C - E - G. Using those 4 notes over the A minor 7 chord is going to be a great place to start writing super strong melodic hooks.

Let’s add in one more example so that you can really hear how powerful this approach is: F Major 7 = F - A - C - E. Let’s sing those tones against the chord. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

OK, now I’m going to play those 3 chords as a progression and sing chord tones over the chords. These are simple ideas that are great starting points for more complex melodies should you want to get deeper. Most songs however are super simple melodically...so don’t feel pressured to write more detailed lines. Simple sweet notes are always good.

The Chorus Lyric & Hook / Crafting Lyrics - The chorus is the hook...the title...the message of the song. This is the section of the song that the audience will relate to most. Make your chorus memorable and easy to sing.

Here’s the chorus to my song:

I’m the O.N.E. in lonely I’m the one doing solitary time I don’t answer the door Pick up the phone I just sit in the dark, like nobody’s home It’s just me and your memory I’m the O.N.E. in lonely

So far we know that the singer is falling apart because his partner has left him...he’s alone, lonely...now I want to write a bridge with some semblance of hope in it...a cry for forgiveness or hope that they might get back together...let’s take a look at the bridge. EXAMPLE