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The Danger Zones
2007-11-11 21:18:00
The Danger Zones As drummers our most important task is to keep the tempo steady and make it feel good while tastefully and musically leading our band through the song. We are laying down the roadway along with our Bassist in order to give the melody a solid foundation. I see it as a pyramid with Drums and Bass on the bottom, Guitars, Keyboards, Horns and whatever you have as the higher pitched melodic instruments next, and finally the melody line itself as the capstone. Whether the melody is played by an instrument or sung it is still the reason the entire accompaniment exists. So, as drummers we are accompanists but that is not all we are. Once the downbeat hits we are in essence the musical leaders of the song. You may have a bandleader but the drummer is the song leader (assuming you are not flying by the seat of your pants watching for guitar neck and hand signals in a pick up gig, which will be the subject of another article). It is an awesome responsibility...

Thinking About Recorded Music
2007-10-28 20:20:00
The band Radiohead recently (2007) offered music for free on the Internet. This initiates an entirely new view of recorded music. Not in the obvious sense. Such a move is one towards the gradual dematerialization of society. It won’t be long before it happens. And it will still cost to consume over the Internet. But the object is leaving for good. The earth’s resources are dwindling and there is no reason to make what can be translated into a form that can be sold electronically. When the object is removed from music, what remains is the sound. This tends to make listening more of an acute experience because there are no reference points except in memory and in the choice to repeat the experience through hearing the recording again, wherever it is lodged. As a writer about music, without intention, I have collected too many cds and some vinyl. Storing these objects baffles the mind sometimes, not so much for me as for other reviewers who have commiserated with me. The point is t...
More About: Music , Thinking , Cord

Superimposing Arpeggios Part 2 - Blues Progressions
2007-09-05 12:51:00
If you look at my last article, “superimposing arpeggios” you’ll read how it is possible to superimpose a different arpeggio of a chord from the same parent scale over the chord that you are improvising on. In this lesson I am going to take it one step further and combine it with another of my previous articles “Jazz Up Your Blues Progressions”, in which I describe how to add a jazz flavour to your blues progressions by adding different chord substitutions throughout the sequence. I am going to show you by example how to create solo lines over a straight ahead blues chord progression with no substitutions and how to lift the harmonic possibilities out of that minor pentatonic rut that so many people get stuck in. (more…)
More About: Part , Posi , Peri

Superimposing Arpeggios
2007-09-04 17:08:00
When playing over a particular chord how many different arpeggios would you consider using? Over any chord you can superimpose a large number of different arpeggios which can give you greater harmonic choices. In this lesson I am going to look at one approach of doing this. By having a parent scale in mind (ie playing in a specific key) whether it’s for one chord, a chord sequence or for a whole piece of music, I’m going to show how to determine all the different arpeggios that are available to play over each chord in that key. (more…)
More About: Posi , Peri

The Singer-A Musician’s Curse?!
2007-08-13 13:07:00
Let’s get one thing straight before I get loads of complaints. Singer s ARE musicians. We do a very good job at being musicians. The title is a bit pedantic, but I am trying to make a point here. I think it is about time that those of you who are not singers, need to understand our “ways”. Yes I know some of us throw tantrums, lash expensive mic’s to the floor, kick speakers, and walk out of rehearsals in disgust-never to be seen again, or in the nearest bar drowning our sorrows and saluting Freddy Mecury, et al: “why can’t I sing like them?”. (more…)
More About: Curse , Musician

Notes of Fretboard Diagram
2007-08-12 19:00:00
Here’s a nice little diagram I compiled that shows all the notes of the fretboard, as well as what they look like on the staff. Enjoy! (more…)
More About: Notes , Agra , Gram

Double Z, the Queen of Bass
2007-08-02 21:46:00
When we think of great bass players we only mention the players of the male persuasion. There are many great female bassist who have carved their path into music history. With this interview I like introduce one of those female greats. Ladies and gentlemen ………. Madame Double Z (more…)
More About: Bass , Queen , The Queen

Jazz Up Your Blues Progressions
2007-08-02 14:29:00
As a guitar player and guitar teacher I meet a lot of people who always wanted to play jazz but thought it was too difficult so they never give it a go. This lesson is kind of aimed at those players who want to jazz up their blues playing without too much stress. It’s not designed as quick-fix but will get you sounding much more jazzy in just a few simple steps. (more…)
More About: Jazz , Blues

Drumset Playing: Working the non-dominant hand
2007-07-23 00:34:00
Many years ago I was sitting in a motel room with my good friend and Bassist Peter Amazing watching a band play on TV while waiting to go onstage ourselves. The drummer on the tube was playing “open handed” style. That is, he was not crossing his right hand over his left to play the hi-hat with his right hand. Instead he was playing the hi-hat notes with his left hand and hitting the back beat with his right. (more…)
More About: Hand , Working , Domina , Mina , Domin

Like our lessons? Take a poster!
2007-07-20 03:24:00
Intellectual Musician’s own Sean Gill has done an excellent job drawing up some promotional posters for the site. They are found below in both image (.jpg) and printable (.pdf) format. (more…)
More About: Poster , Lessons , Like , Esso

Confessions of a Hired Gun
2007-07-19 21:18:00
As a guitarist for hire I’ve learned a couple of things: keep your teeth together, attitude professional, gear in top form, and ears wide open. As Frank Zappa said, “Shut up and play your guitar!” Here are some thoughts about a past gig. (more…)
More About: Confessions , Fess

Anatomy of the Blues Scale
2007-07-17 23:45:00
The blues scale was the first thing they taught me when I got into jazz band in high school. It’s a simple scale to learn, and all the tones sound good over blues changes. The advantage of knowing it (more…)
More About: Blues , Anatomy , Scale , Anatom

Killer Finger Exercises 1
2007-07-17 17:01:00
Here is a couple of finger exercises for guitar / bass that I was taught years ago and I still swear by them now. Although they do not sound particularly melodic they are great for coordinating your fingers, especially your little finger. (more…)
More About: Killer , Exercises , Kill , Finger

Melodic Motion
2007-07-16 22:08:00
Putting some conscious thought time into the detail of your melody writing can give them a twist or a sound that you might not come to just by ear. Of course, the ear is still king, but there are several ways to examine a melodic line. The approach I’m outlining today is counterpoint. Counterpoint is simply the movement of two or more melodic lines together. The lines should stand on their own, that is, they will sound good and make some sense played separately. And while counterpoint lines do create harmony, that is incidental to the independent lines. They way the lines interact should be seen as the creation of tension and release. (more…)
More About: Motion , Lodi , Melodic

How To Listen
2007-07-16 13:05:00
The music business: a weird, wonderful and sometimes ugly world, where we all try and find our way in. It can be a very confusing place, and I have been working in it one way or another for the past 17 years and have been living inside of it for the last 24. I have played in bands, released albums, produced demos and albums, worked as a stage hand, tour manager, A&R, sound engineer and audio editor amongst others. Hopefully using this platform that ‘Intellectual Musician’ provides, I’ll be able to share some of the knowledge and experience that I have gained, with any of you who may find it useful. I will try and do this in the form of articles, that will be uploaded once in a while; which will each loosely revolve around a specific theme or subject attempting to highlight certain areas of the music industry and provide some pointers that might be helpful to anyone trying to navigate inside this world. Well enough of the ramblings, let’s try and get down to business, I ...
More About: Listen