Monday, April 29, 2013

Chico's Instrumental 3


This "Chico's Instrumental" feels quite different that the first two.  While 1 and 2 are seriously metal influenced, this one is more blues-rock and improvisatory.  There's a clear reason for that.  Guthrie Govan.

I tend to wear my influences on my sleeve.  "Chico's Instrumental 2" had quite the Steve Lukather vibe.  I get called out quickly on the John Petrucci influence on the "Doctrine of Ethos" EP.  I don't have a problem with this - I'm proud of my inspirations, and I look for them all over.  I'm a huge metal-head, but my music collection is like a record store gone mad.

My latest obsession has been Guthrie Govan.  If you haven't heard of him, go check out that link.  He's a genius.  A musical chameleon, he's clearly most at home improving over blues-rock, and it is that which inspired "Chico's Instrumental 3."  Every Chico's Instrumental thus far has been meticulously written out.  This time I left vast spaces to just "go for it" (like the entire B section).

The A section has a melody, which was the germ of the whole piece.  I sat down intentionally to write a melody in Dorian.  Then I had to come up with a chord progression to fit it!

The B section is all improved, with no clear melodic motive.  The harmony in this section is something I'd like to cover in a Theory of Ethos lesson soon.  Lately I've been working on improvising through chord progressions that change modes, and that's exactly what the B section does.  There are only two chords - Em9 and D#maj7#11.  Over the Em9 I play E Dorian, and over the D# chord I play D# Lydian.  I love trying to link the two together, and if you pick your lead notes just right each chord changes feels resolved - as if both are tonic, and landing on them feels like "home."  I tried to get that feeling here.  Hope you enjoy "Chico's Instrumental 3."


Doctrine of Ethos - EP - Doctrine of Ethos    

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