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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 70
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OP
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 70 |
I think I need to practice my scales but it is so boring when I do you almost cry.
Is there a way with BB to make scale practice more fun?
Woody - Sacramento
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 444
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 444 |
Hello
I would say yes.
I guess all you need to do is at least add a drum style. Of course you could then add chords to match.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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Quote:
I think I need to practice my scales but it is so boring when I do you almost cry.
Is there a way with BB to make scale practice more fun?
"Always try to make anything and everything you play sound musical."
A private teacher I had long ago stressed (maybe drummed) that sentence into me and I'm glad he did.
Proper scale practice, played with the metronome hittin' on 2 and 4, which is done inside your head by turning that met beat around, can be a beautiful and sonorous thing, man. Or it can be made to sound like a hideous drill. Avoid the latter, as that will only reinforce playing non-musically.
Some first pointers, try to Crescendo when moving upscale, Decrescendo when moving downscale. Note that wind instrument players and vocalists often will do that naturally.
Practice scales in full, then in threes, then in fours: CDE, DEF, EFG, FGA, etc. is threes. fours, add the next note to the pattern: CDEF, DEFG, EFGA, etc. and don't forget to unwind. And always keep that fingering constant as per scale books (for the keyboardist as well as the guitarist).
**Check out the BB Scale Generator function. Here we can have BB generate all the right scales on the Soloist Track for the chord changes of the song that is loaded. BB will play them on the chosen patch while the notes on the notation view highlight and scroll. A dynamite way to not only learn how to grab a correct scale over a chord, but a great way to speed up all aspects to include sight reading single notes, ear training and note selection for improvisation, all at one time. In addition to practicing the given scale runs, one can open up their arpeggiating skills by doing a couple of runs playing every other note in the given scales.**
Soloist -> Generate Scales
One button, fast, can be done over any loaded songfile.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,697
Veteran
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WAS, sure you can use a drum track instead of a metronome if that helps you and Mac's suggestions are of course right on like he always is.
My take is a bit blunter and simpler. There are certain boring prerequisites that are necessary for any serious field of human endeavor. In music scales are certainly one of those. My advice is just suck it up and start practicing.
There's basically two things you get from learning scales, finger dexterity and the scales themselves particularly the scale tone numbers such as an A is the 6th of C, the 4th of D, the flatted 5th of Eb, etc. Everything starts with scales in music. Later on you may ask how do I play or solo over Gmaj7-F#7-Em-A7-Dmaj7 changes and the answer could be just mess around with a D major scale starting on the third or fifth. Those chords are from the solo section of Spain and a D scale is a good starting point. You know what that is right? If not where have you been buddy?? You never learned basic scales??? That is what any player would be thinking if you didn't understand that answer. A basic major scale is only the beginning, there are minor, pentatonic, diminished, modal and many others.
Just an aside after 40 years of playing, I never really studied pentatonics and I'm doing that right now. Of course I've recognized that I've been doing a lot of pentatonics just by ear anyway but it's good to really have the proper grounding with them and to practice the correct fingering. I had not done that before, I've just faked it. The great thing about music is there's always something new to learn and I intend to keep doing that until I'm in the home and can't play any more.
To help a bit, there are lots of youtube vids of good players showing how these scales fit in certain songs and while that still means you have to sit and practice them at least you've heard how they work once you've learned them. Basically those vids give you faith that you're not wasting your time even if it is boring at first.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Sep 2003
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My wife used to put a ju june on the 3rd octave and if you got it right up to there you got to eat it. Worked like a charm. (for the grade school (2nd grade) kids she taught) LOL. You thought me right?? No we used something else for that....:) I can still play a waltz in 4/4 time perfect almost every time. (I cheat and right 1 2 3 / 1 2 3 at the top  )
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 70
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 70 |
@Mac
>"Always try to make anything and everything you play sound musical."
That's a really good one to remember.
Thank you
Woody - Sacramento
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