Funny, I figured the CTC forum would be mostly metal heads. Cool to see the diversity.
Another nice device using rhythmic displacement is the Hemiola. For example, take a repeating four note pattern and subdivide/emphasize it as triplets. It has a nice effect. Sounds Vinnie Moore ish
To some extent, theory is to music in general, as microeconomics is to macroeconomics. Take an economist fan of Marx and an economist fan of Adam Smith, and youāll have a lively debate, if not bloodshed. Discuss microeconomic principles and youāll find more agreement than argument.
Theory models what we as humans perceive as musical thus far. For anyone interested in exploring the commonalities, Bernsteinās āUnanswered Questionā lectures at Harvard back in the day are a nice starting point for many. The unanswered question being, āWhither music?ā
While styles branch outward, our humanity is relatively static. We have ears and brains, and we all respond to external stimuli within a relatively bounded range of expected ways.
Iād like to explore your accenting and resolving the tension 9 idea. Can you please tell us the function of the first note in your tablature example? If those are the first, second, and third strings, then the first note is an E, but what is the context you have in mind? I can infer from the line, but Iād like to be on the same page with you without additional question. Thanks in advance.
Those are meant to be the B and high E strings, so the first note is E, the fifth of A, riff is in A minor. The first note of the third triplet is the 9 tension. Both examples sound very Vinnie Moore ish to me. For some reason most of my riffs sound like that when I practice this kind of stuff.
Would love to see some examples you come up with!
So Iāve reformatted. Does this capture itā¦? (Extra space to show triplet groups.)
- - - 5 8 5 7 8 7 5 - - - 8 7 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5 7 8 - - - - - - - 8 7 8 - - - 8 7 5 7 8 5 8 7 5 - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7 5 4 5 7 2
I didnāt have ready access to Vinnie Moore when Vinnie Moore hit the scene, so Iāll need to do my Vinnie Moore listening homework today.
@JakeEstner, check me for typos and cognitive failsā¦? 
so la te do me do re me re do te la
te me re do te la so la te so te la
so fa me re me fa do
@Tahoebrian5, ignoring the solfege, do I have the phrase grouped roughly as you imagined?
Have a great day everyone! Peace, Daniel
p.s. Having written out the phrase, I observe weāre really talking about a Dorian minor phrase. That noted, I likely would have written this out differently, without the need for chromatic solfege āmeā and āteā. Unless of course, weāre borrowing Dorian minor and truly playing in A natural minor? This way though, you can see the b3 and the b7 clearly if familiar with the notation.
Speaking of which, what is the rationale for solfege using different syllables for enharmonic sharps and flats, rather than using one set of 12 syllables for everything? Is it just for reducing confusion when reading off a staff?
Yes thatās exactly it. Just strict triplets and I was really only paying attention to the first note of each triplet and filling in the other two notes with whatever fell into place with the scale. Itās just a very basic example, but if the idea was used to create lines that fit over chord changes, add some accidentals and rhythm, a bit of phrasing, ends up creating a very cool sound.
If you havenāt listened to much Vinnie, this is probably my favorite song of his. The intro is a wicked cross picking nightmare!
Hey there @Frylock Frylock! Iāve used the fixed-do descending chromatic solfege set in my own music projects related to exploring perfect pitch. I also notice that the āMusicianās Dice (Solfege Version)ā only uses descending.
Iāve since gone fully over to moveable Do and am liable to view any musical fragment several different ways. The extended syllables allow me to represent a #4 as a āFiā consistently, when it really is not a b5 or āSeā. It also allows me to indicate direction when singing chromatic passing tones.
Really shifting context all the time these days*, and sometimes at the same time. For example, I might sing the bass line to a progression Iām learning using āLaā as the tonic minor. When I go to practice scales through the progression a la Barry Harris, I may start each new chord on āDoā.
The chromatic solfege is tremendously useful when reading off of a staff, yes, but since Iām focused on hearing the phrases, Iām generally using it more often than not to indicate function, depending on the day at least.
*With a shout out to perfect pitch researcher, Chris Aruffo of wehearandplay.com, for encouraging me to break free of a single system. Very glad I did!
Cool. From having analyzed the phrase, I note that where you emphasized the 9, you also de-emphasized the b3. (At least with regard to putting chord tones on triplet beginnings.) Was that intentional? The R 2 5 structure is useful for creating some ambiguity of where next without completely abandoning where one is at scalarly-wise (scalar wise?).
Youāre right, the riff never does put the flat 3 on a string beat. It was not intentional other than using my ear and whatever notes seem to feel good at the time. I have several variations of the same line, one of which starts on the flat 3.
Which is your favorite, soundwise? And then, in what contexts? I know you were looking to create some harmonically friendly chunks to work withā¦
It just depends on what youāre playing over I think. I havenāt really put as much specific though into it as you might think. I mainly just have a general position in mind and a timing/rhythym, then align a few chord tones to get the sound Iām looking for. I then practice a few that I like to get some muscle memory going. If I was composing a lead to record or play live I would probably spend more time getting specific.
Alright people, letās see another example from someone!
Doesnāt have to be triplets or even straight time, just looking for lines with a rock or fusion type feel. Or if anyone has a riff they are working on and looking for ideas to help it outline a chord, post it up for fun.