LorenFL
Well-known member
I spend too much of my time noodling. I noodle chord progressions. I pick around various scales, usually the Minor Pentatonic Blues scale, but also the Major scale sometimes, and one Asian scale that I'm fond of.
It tickles me when I accidentally "discover" a common melody or riff.
I was just plunking around on the Major scale and came up with "Sunshine On My Shoulders" by John Denver. It's absurdly simple, I can just imagine him "finding it" exactly the same way I did.
Of course, I can't remember crap. I'll forget this one in five minutes. (I guess that's why most song writers either take notes, or keep a recording device handy to capture "new" ideas) I can't remember a lot of the ones I've found. I know David Gilmour's opening riff from Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" is among them (Blues scale). "Narrow Your Eyes" by They Might Be Giants is a fun one (Major scale). Frank Zappa's repeating riff from "Muffin Man" (extended Blues scale, seems like it's an additional 7 note next to the normal b7). A couple from the Grateful Dead, but I never can remember most of their song titles.
What have you stumbled upon while noodling? I think a lot of "rock" songs come out of the Blues scale. Just about anything you can play on the Major scale will get you some recognizable tune, as well.
I'm not ready to invest that kind of time and effort, but I can see how it would be fun to use a looping device to lay down a repeating motif and then jam/riff/solo over it.
It tickles me when I accidentally "discover" a common melody or riff.
I was just plunking around on the Major scale and came up with "Sunshine On My Shoulders" by John Denver. It's absurdly simple, I can just imagine him "finding it" exactly the same way I did.
Of course, I can't remember crap. I'll forget this one in five minutes. (I guess that's why most song writers either take notes, or keep a recording device handy to capture "new" ideas) I can't remember a lot of the ones I've found. I know David Gilmour's opening riff from Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" is among them (Blues scale). "Narrow Your Eyes" by They Might Be Giants is a fun one (Major scale). Frank Zappa's repeating riff from "Muffin Man" (extended Blues scale, seems like it's an additional 7 note next to the normal b7). A couple from the Grateful Dead, but I never can remember most of their song titles.
What have you stumbled upon while noodling? I think a lot of "rock" songs come out of the Blues scale. Just about anything you can play on the Major scale will get you some recognizable tune, as well.
I'm not ready to invest that kind of time and effort, but I can see how it would be fun to use a looping device to lay down a repeating motif and then jam/riff/solo over it.