SOME BASIC ESSENTIALS

Something to Learn From

It is undeniable that there is a direct route of evolution from the Pentatonic Scale to Blues to Jazz and then to Rock ‘n’ Roll, especially, regarding the latter, the subgenre of Rhythm and Blues. To achieve any level of real musicianship in any of these genres, including the Rock ‘n’ Roll subgenre of Rhythm and Blues, one needs to master some basic essentials. It takes a lot more than strumming chords to perfect instrumental aptitude. After you watch and listen to the video linked below, you may read my description of exactly what I did to improvise this original example of Rhythm and Blues.

To begin with, most of this makes use of a standard harmonic progression that The Beatles used often, namely One, Two, Four, One (in this case A,B,D,A). Songs as diverse as Eight Days a Week, You Won’t See Me, and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and others, feature this chord progression, One, Two, Four, One, in the verses. In addition to that I broke away a few times to give a very different melodic and harmonic sound by playing a progression of F major to D major, then C major to A major where I returned to the main progression. The roots of F to D, and of C to A, are a minor third apart each, something you will not hear in traditional classical music.

Now, to make things interesting when playing the One, Two, Four, One progression, I used an evolved concept that stretches the Blues Scale. As I have pointed out several times, the standard Blues Scale is a pentatonic scale that adds the tritone, namely that note between the fourth and the fifth (that can also be called an augmented fourth or a diminished fifth - which amount to the same thing and are distinguished only for purposes of maintaining a key signature in a written score). In each variation I ran both the major and minor thirds against each other and added, here and there, the minor seventh. This turned every chord in the progression into a skeleton for creating patterns of melody within the context of each one.

In Rhythm and Blues it seems only right for the time signature to be four/four. Unlike strophic music, the melodic emphasis ought to be on the off beats, syncopated rather than on the beat. This, when done well, pulls the listener in physically. Making use of the off beats effectively, whether it comes from Scott Joplin or John Lennon (to name a couple of masters of it), or any musician, has a physical effect on the listener, and almost irresistibly causes a bodily reaction, quite often such involuntary motions such as the tapping of a foot. To allow oneself to “get into it” is a most enjoyable sensation.

The Drum Track

In the video you see me on my Yamaha DGX-660 when I improvised everything I have explained above. I coupled two sounds, a “Pop Grand” piano (sound number 3) and a “Fretless Bass (sound 57)” together. In the higher ranges the fretless bass sound adds an almost unnoticeable guitar like sound; but in the lower ranges, when coupled with a piano sound, adds a richness to the bass. On Track Two, the only other track in this recording, I used sound 156 on my Yamaha, a “Rock Kit” drum set.

I have used this drum set sound many times, and have memorized which keys make which sounds, a specific drum or symbol, or some other percussive sound. On my YouTube channel you see this in my rendition of Rain. What I did in Some Basic Essentials was to play the drums as I felt the music. I suppose that the almost life long influence, that may come across as you listen, is that of Ringo Starr. My brother David Bentley Hart has said it best: “Ringo is the most musical drummer in Rock.” I do not believe you will find that in any of his books or articles; but he once said it while we were discussing the song Rain, and how it would have fit so well into the album Revolver.

It has been the practice of many musical ignoramuses to claim that Ringo Starr is and always was a second rate drummer. Let me make something very clear: Anyone who says that is making a fool out of himself. Ringo has never been flashy like the late Keith Moon, but none of The Beatles has ever competed for attention against the band, whether with each other or with the bands that have backed them up in what is called their solo careers. Anyone who knows anything about music, especially about the almost impossible task of being the drummer, will tell you the same as I: Ringo is a genius, a living metronome, and, as my brother put it, “the most musical drummer in Rock.” Every note he has ever played (and, yes, that is a correct way to speak about drumming and percussion in general) has been exactly what was needed to enhance the music. Frankly, having mastered the keyboard, including sound number 156 on my Yamaha DGX-660, I approached my recording of Track Two by considering the deeply religious question, “What would Ringo do (WWRD)?”

Well, now you know a bit about improvising Rhythm and Blues. Let me finish by telling you one final thing about the evolution of the Blues Scale: Adding the ninth (or the second note of the scale an octave above) to a seventh chord, that is a major triad with the minor seventh, always makes a good ending. We call it a ninth chord for short. So I added that note, B, while the A7 chord was still being sustained. it was the closing touch.