Guitar Lesson: The Robben Ford Scale by Nick Granville

In this lesson I cover a scale I call the Robben Ford Scale. Some call it the dorian pentatonic or minor 6 pentatonic. I'm not a big fan of either of those names because they both imply that the scale belongs to a minor tonality. Sure, it is a minor scale, but I use it over dominant 7th chords primarily.

The way in which Robben uses this scale is to play over the I chord and the IV chord in a blues or similar progression - essentially to blanket. On the I chord it clearly spells a 13#9 chord and on the IV chord it spells a Dominant 9th chord e.g Bb13#9 to Eb9 if in the key of Bb.

Feel free to fire any questions you might have about this?

Thanks for watching and keep in touch:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/nickgranny
Facebook - https://www.youtube.com/user/nickgranny
... and you can download my latest album from:  nickgranville.bandcamp.com/album/ home

Why Spotify is great and sucks.

Spotify: the company people love and hate. When I first heard of Spotify I was excited. I decided to become a musician because I love music and the idea of having access to any music I want is amazing. This generation do not know how good they have it; or maybe that makes them value it less? 

Spotify states on their website - 'Spotify gives you millions of songs at your fingertips. The artists you love, the latest hits, and new discoveries just for you. Hit play to stream anything you like.'  So surely this a good for people who love music? This is why Spotify is great. 

Spotify is a smart company. They have figured out what people want and provided this, making money in the process. The issue seems to be that Spotify is paying a pittance to use this music, which is integral to their business. I have seen people post photos on Facebook of bank cheques for less than a dollar for a huge amount of streams. This is why Spotify sucks. 

I have heard many people say the record companies are making money from Spotify due to making a little bit from each of the large number of artists they have on Spotify. Maybe this is true, but it does not makes sense to me. One only has to think back to the days when record companies actually made money from music to see that this business model is one of diminishing returns (many record companies are closing down!). 

I have also heard many people try to claim Spotify is no different from YouTube and other similar websites. I would argue Spotify is unlike anything else so really can not be compared. YouTube is essentially a community: a social network of sorts. Spotify gives access to music to anyone for free, or for a small subscription and is designed to replace CD's and tradition mediums. 

My friend Andrew London raised an interesting point the other day during an interview for Coast Radio. Andrew has noticed a few changes in the buying habits of people at his gigs. In the past people who liked the gig would come racing up in big numbers - in a  buying frenzy if you will. He has observed a decline in the number of people who now do this. Maybe this is because people are aware they can get the music afterwards for free so why buy it?! 

Here is the key - artists need to control how their music is made available to consumers. If you do not like Spotify then do not use it. You have choices. Streaming is here to say. It is not for me to say this is a bad thing; this is being driven by what the people want. Artists need to learn how to operate in this environment. Use Spotify for what it is. 

I have a new CD coming out soon and will not be using Spotify, iTunes or any similar websites to sell my music - I will be controlling this rigourously. I might loose a few sales from people who might stumble upon my CD but I think I will gain by those who really want the music going to one place for it. I have past CD's on Spotify and will be leaving them on there - using Spotify to my advantage (hopefully). I will be making this new CD only available on Bandcamp and a few physical copies for selling at gigs. Click here to go to my bandcamp page. 

I truly believe there has never been a better time to be a musician. (Click here to read my first blog to see why I say this). Remember there are still people doing well in current times - try to figure out what are they doing differently. It is most likely they are thinking differently and using the ‘services’ to their advantage. 

Keep in touch:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/nickgranny

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nickgranvillemusic

... and you can download my latest album from:  nickgranville.bandcamp.com/album/home

Do you have the four T's every great musician has mastered?

I often think about the great musicians and what it is that they do differently from the rest. In many cases there is no one answer that explains what the greats do. However, some musical elements are universally mastered by the greats. When teaching students (either individually or in workshops) I often talk about the 4 T's (tone, time, taste and technique) and these are the musical elements I consider to be universally mastered by the greats.

1. Tone. If the tone is great the music captures our attention. If the tone is bad, then nothing works - it just sounds bad. B.B.King is an excellent example of the power of great tone. He plays the guitar with minimal notes with a huge tone which draws the listener in. It is incredibly powerful and moving.

There is no one universal great tone, rather every musician has to work out their tone to suit the music and to express what they want to say. Think of the tone of a few great jazz guitarists for example and you will realise just how different they can be (I am mentioning guitarists because I am one, but these things are the same for all musicians). Comparing John Scofield with Mike Stern or Pat Metheny or Jim Hall for example and you will see that all are worthy of being called great jazz guitarists, yet none of them produce a tone that is even remotely similar.

2. Time. This is a very close second for me. Time, timing and rhythm all fall under the category of time. Every great player has his or her way of feeling and playing the time and being able to project that to the listener. A few years ago I heard guitarist Pat Metheny and was blown away with the sheer power of his time and groove. It was an eye opener to say the least. A few years ago I got to play with guitarist John Scofield (Sco) in a duo format while on tour. Sco's time was so strong that there was never any doubt as to where the time was and it was super solid, yet he had the freedom to completely manipulate where he placed notes to great effect. Again, this was an eye opener.

3. Taste. Taste is subjective, but every great player applies their own taste to the music they play and it influences their decision making; whether they know it consciously or not. We choose instruments based on our tastes, we choose musicians to work with based on our tastes, we create tones based on our tastes etc, etc. So when people like what we are doing, it is often our tastes that they are agreeing with. When musicians get to a certain level there is no such thing as better or worse. No one can say Pat Metheny is better than John Scofield for example; that is a matter of taste. People who like Metheny better are basically saying they like his style of playing better - that they agree with his taste.

4. Technique. If we produce a sound then there is a technique required to doing this. All the great musicians have their technique worked out and developed to the level required to create the music. Great technique does not necessarily mean being able to play fast, unless that is what the music requires: for example, if someone is wanting to be a bebop player then the ability to play fast is very important. Any way you look at it though, having great technique and chops is an incredibly valuable asset. I work a lot on my technique, especially the ways in which I use the guitar pick, and the use of hammer-on's / pull off's (guitar techniques) and more. I do this because I want to be free to play what I want, when I want and not have technique get in the way.

So, when considering what to practise and how to do it, I keep these points in mind. I recommend the same approach to students and try to keep them focused on this. I  hope this helps on your musical journey.

Keep in touch:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/nickgranny

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nickgranvillemusic

... and you can download my latest album from:  nickgranville.bandcamp.com/album/home

The State of the Music Industry

I hear many people complain about the state of the music industry. At times I have been one to complain too. Only recently have I changed my opinion about the state of the music industry. The most common complaint I hear is that the music industry is not what it once was. Correct, it is not what it once was, and never will be again.

I have done a lot of thinking about this lately, and have come to the conclusion that the only way to think about the music industry is to think positively. In many ways the music industry has never been better. Lets look at the positive:

1. It has never been easier to promote ones work. Almost everyone on earth uses the internet. My four year old uses the internet and from the age of three years old had an iPad completely figured out. Most things on the internet are free to use e.g Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc and can potentially reach many, many people. So letting people know what you are up to is easy and in the hands of the artist nowadays.

2. Websites like bandcamp.com mean musicians no longer need a record label in order to sell their product to the public (labels are good for many things, I'm not knocking them). Direct to fan sales via websites like bandcamp will grow. iTunes is fine, but bandcamp is a much better model for the artist. (my bandcamp page is here).

3. YouTube is amazing. As I write this blog I am listening to a live concert of the Pat Metheny group on YouTube. I can't keep up with all the amazing content. My guitar playing would be different if YouTube was around when I was learning. It has many benefits for promotion, learning, research and more.

4. Recording music has never been easier or cheaper. I have a Mac Book Pro and with this computer and software (I use logic pro X) I have the technology to record professional quality recordings with ease. Logic cost me $250 NZD (approx. price). I remember a time when logic was $1000+.

5. Great musical equipment is getting cheaper all the time and is more accessible. Living in New Zealand it can be tough to get good equipment due to the shipping costs - this has changed in recent years and is continuing to improve.

One major negative of the music industry in it's current state is the theft of product e.g. file transfer sites, downloading etc. However, if one is to thinking positively, then this negative could be a positive and emerging artists can use these websites etc to spread the word about who they are easily, and create a name for themselves. Look at Lorde the Kiwi artist who's original intention was to give away her music, then once it had been downloaded x amount of times she started charging for it. She won a grammy yesterday and is the first New Zealand artist to win that award.

Following Lorde's lead we can see the best way to think about this is that the music industry has changed, and to work with it, not against it. If people continue to do things the way they did 20 years ago then they will be left behind.

Many argue that there are less gigs than there once was. This is true... but there are many other ways to do gigs that people don't think about. Again, following on from that idea of working with trends not against; live broadcasts on YouTube could one idea worth pursuing and constitute a gig, right?

Some people are doing really well in this current industry. They are doing lots of great gigs, earning a decent living and making great music etc. Try to figure out what they are doing differently, often it is the way they think about it all.

Someone once said to me to take care of the music first and foremost and the money will find its way to you. I do not do gigs or anything in music just for the money. I know people who do and they are unhappy people. I am not saying I do not need to earn money just that it is not my primary motivation. So, if one considers the art to be most important then it is a great time to be a musician due to how easy it is to create that art, to spread the word about it and to discover other peoples art.

In my opinion there has never been a better time to be a musician or music listener for that matter. Change is a good thing and is the one thing you can guarantee will happen. So, go forward, and create the music you want, working with the industry.

Keep in touch:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/nickgranny

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nickgranvillemusic

... and you can download my latest album from:  nickgranville.bandcamp.com/album/home