Marty explaining about some scale he "made up" and how to practice them, part by part. This clip was taken from Marty Friedman's "Melodic Control" video.
He looks like at any moment he's going to yawn, stretch his arms upward, & be like...."Well, I'm gonna take a nap now." & just casually get up, set the guitar down & leave with the camera still rolling. So that we are just left staring at an empty chair & a guitar, slightly humming because he didn't bother to even shut off the amp.
He was just giving one example of how you can build a run using little patterns. The run doesn't have to necessarily ascend or descend. Instead of playing pattern 1, pattern 2, pattern 3, you can mix it up and build a solo in any direction. That's the beauty and simplicity of this lesson.
Also he’s found a way with his unusual picking technique to play runs, avoiding awkward string changes by adding in variations that he likes To be fair, it’s a good lesson to be learnt & it keeps it from being predictable I won’t name and names but there’s some Shrapnel shredders who have chops for days. I find them too stiff and samey Even Yngwie when he plays descending fours rarely plays them metronomically and it keeps him from sounding dull
Marty is playing a D harmonic minor scale in this video (D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C#, D) on top of the A major chord that he started with -the A being the fifth of the scale that he started with . If you are playing/writing a song and are desiring this effect then you can think of it in those terms, if that is helpful to the way that you learn/think about things. Hope this helps!
@@ozanmrcan Nope there's not. Marty was driven and spent time working on his skills. He wanted to succeed. When others went to the movies he grabbed bis guitar and rocked in his bedroom. That's the difference.
He literally played Phyrigian Dominant while telling us not to learn scales lol. Marty is so talented that if he learned Chordal theory he'd be a monster.
Best case scenario: he's heard that sound and ignorantly thinks he has created a scale. Worst case scenario: he's pretentiously playing down his knowledge music theory down in a bid to appear enigmatic.
@@dannyrussell1168 I don't even think he put as much thought into it as you have. Marty is an extremely successful guitar player and is trying to help frustrated people that are learning. I agree with him, most guitar teachers are fucking boring that try to make you a clone of everyone else. Marty works to help you stand a part from other's just like he has. When you hear Marty you know it's him because he isn't interested in being a stock instructor like 99% of guitar teachers out there who bore you to death.
What hes saying is you become a player with your own unique style it you dont sit around like bedroom nobodies playing scales all day. Hes saying figure it out for yourself without a scale book or by wasteful music classes and develop your own style. And in the process youll get a deeper understanding of why these notes work together and how to use them in original ways. My favorite musicians ever never took lessons. Geddy Lee being a good example. Hes my favorite bassist of all time. Dude doesnt even know what scales he happens to be playing are. But he knows the notes sound good and sure plays them better than anyone.
I relate to how he's explained this. Just sticking some notes together descending in pitch, picking each one for a certain sound or feeling that you want. Since I've started trying to learn solos a few months ago I've been doing this. This way it's fun, and it doesn't seem like slaving away for hours on learning patterns that you might never use. This is fuelled by curiosity and where there is curiousity there is interest and where there is interest there is excitement. When it feels like I've discovered something it sticks more because it feels like my own, even though someone has probably already given a name to and used whatever I've just worked out.
It's funny how the pro's always say don't waste your time on scales and yet they all know them. Learning scales isn't about memorizing the scale as much as it's about understanding the fretboard and where notes fit together. Then you can try soloing by experimenting with what you've learned. Scales do have benefits.
P.G. K They are correct,I believe though that you don't understand what they're trying to tell you. When it comes to theory it's more like "Learn the theory behind the music,but leave the theory behind you when you play"...
exactly! I think the end result of Marty's playing speaks for itself! This is why Marty sounds so different than all these other "shredders" he's not just playing it by the book.
I heard a funny story today from a friend who went to GIT, when Friedman did a clinic there. Apparently, during a session he did, the artist asked him to do a pinch harmonic during a solo. Marty will be the first to tell you that he can't do that at all, so he just plays a sweet lick to make up for it. The artist says,"That was great, but we just really want a pinch harmonic." So Marty asks someone in the room, "Can you do a Pinch Harmonic? Great, here you go" and hands his guitar over.
You are correct. Though Marty is playing the same notes as the D harmonic minor scale (D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C#, D), he is playing from the fifth of the scale to harmonize with his starting chord, A major. This scale, A phrygian dominant (A, Bb, C#, D, E, F, G, A), also known as the Jewish Ahaba Rabba or Freygish, the harmonic minor perfect fifth below (in jazz) or hijaz (in Arabic music), Spanish Phrygian or Spanish Gypsy Scales begins with A. Thank you for pointing out my error, bfiorvante.
@@merabalaraq45 I think they just don't count "that" as practice or such, for an example, playing the guitar itself is basically also counted as practice, but most people wouldn't count it as practice, yet the guitarist does improve bit by bit everytime they play the guitar.
1. Yeah no shit, there's a label for everything on the guitar in music theory, he knows this, and he explains how he uses his own scales. Any sequence of notes that fit together is probably a scale. 2. There are many guitarist who don't practice (Dimebag too), bc they know that when they play for fun, they get their best material. They may warmup before a show, but they don't need practice 3. I see no problem with the 2nd reply, just needed a 3. To finalize the rant
If you guys were wondering what he's playing (funny, he doesn't know himself, he had an amazing natural talent), it sounds like a Phrygian lick. If you are trying to go for a marty-like sound in your solo's then this is perfect, it has that egyptian/exotic sound to it and really stands apart from standard blues/pentatonic fare.
such an amazing guitarist... pure talent right there one of the best of all time.. and his guitars man the jackson kellys i would kill to have one of those
I think it's called "rythmic phrasing". Paul Gilbert, Satch, Malmsteen, Petrucci are masters of this technique. Basically just means altering how many notes are being played between the beat. Like he said, a 5 pattern, then a seven pattern, then a triplet feel.
Which is pretty much the same thing. "A phrygian dominant" is just the name for what D harmonic minor sounds like when played over it's V chord, which would be A7b9.The effect isn't as dramatic when you just use a bass note, or a triad like A major, but it still works.
Marty is hands down the best guitar player in history no doubt. But He says "it's got a name. Harmonic minor OR SOMETHING" He knows it's the harmonic minor he didn't make that one and he knows it.
I THINK it's based largely off of the japanese Hirajoshi scale and lots of Harmonic minor scales. The hardest part is trying to emulate his half-bends... He's crazy unique.
There are literally dozens of scales that cover every possible combination and permutation of the 12-tone-chromatic scale. For every beginning guitarist that shouts "Eurika! A New Scale!" there's literally a hundred other guitarists that shouted the same thing while hundreds of years of musical literature collect dust. Knowing the scales that already exist will not limit you unless you LET them. It's like a cookbook -- the recipes are there for STARTING POINTS.
If you are practicing scales, remember that a guitar that has the action set up good is easier to play. Also, light gauge guitar strings can make you a bit faster too. #guitarlessons #guitartips #guitarsetup #guitaraction #guitartechtips
@aaronmackguitar the point of an instrument is to act as a medium between the notes you hear in your head and the projector of the sound. he is so familiar with the guitar that he knows what each fret is going to sound like. knowing scales is useless if you are that comfortable with your instrument. scales only make it easier to remember the sounds that each note makes. he already has this knowledge, so technically, he knows a tremendous amount of theory, just in an unorthodox way.
Learning scales the way he describes it is the equivalent of trying to navigate a maze with your eyes closed. You'll stumble around for MUCH longer than you need to before you find the correct path. What he says does have some merit though. Some practice time should be dedicated to creativity, although what he's "discovering" are scales that already exist. He is an expert at phrasing these seemingly random ideas. Source: I'm a guitar teacher.
He's right it's not like you need all the theorie or that learning theory at some advanced school makes you a better guitarist. Theory are just names for every move you make on the guitar that is "namable". I had a discussion once with a bassguitarist and he said, you need theory or at least know more then 5 scales by name. So i challenged him, gradually lowering the tremelo bar and raising it and ask him to name me every note per 1 mn, he couldn't. There nothing wrong with some theory but not knowing what you do seems to be allot more exiting the all just read the same book with the phrygians modes and stuff. And besides, he can keep up with all the theory, i lost the knowledge after 3 lessons and asked my teacher to just learn me how to play instead of giving me those big math scales and wouldn't remember anyhow.
+Arjan Snijder Pretty much. Also, any thing you play on a guitar - or any instrument for that matter - can be pretty much anything at all theoretically -- depending on what the progression you are playing over is. Just changing the underlying chords or melody can change everything. In that respect theory is fairly well useless. Look at all the greatest guitarists for example - they dont have the time to stand up and play to an audience and explain what they are doing. And when they are playing they cant think about what they are doing because it would take too long. Composition wise it is useful for mapping out an interesting song. But practically its nearly useless really. Mostly theoretical ramblings are just there to show off understanding of theoretical ramblings. Also, some of those big name guitarists are fairly well useless when it comes to a live improvisation on the spot. That's really where being a player matters.
A Bb C# D E F G A its kinda like an F major scale starting on A witch makes it phrygian and with the added C# give it a major third interval from the a major third with a b 7th is a dominant so the scale is phrygian dominant the fifth mode of D harmonic minor. Hope that helps
His method is great, but I dislike how he implies that his approach isn't based in learning theory - it is. 'Limiting yourself' isn't a case of learning scales vs making them up yourself (any scale you can 'make up' already exists anyway) but how you use them in your playing, like with the phrasing techniques in the video. The fact that Marty can come up with runs like that has virtually nothing to do with him 'making up' the scales, as if you just learn them you'd have the same starting point. Not to mention you'd have made your life a whole lot easier by not feeling your way through the dark trying to find what does and doesn't work.
Sam Todd there’s your mistake. In music, there’s no such a thing as “it doesn’t work.” If you think otherwise, if that wasn’t the case, we would be still be playing boring classical music.
Juan Correa Exactly Heavy metal rhythm playing wouldn't even exist because they're mostly parallel fifths- power chords. And in classical music theory, that is forbidden. So yeah, exactly. That's why jazz music theory is different too.
Just to clear it up for beginner guitarists: The scale Marty's showing is actually the A phrygian dominant, not A harmonic minor. It's very similar to an A harmonic minor, because these two scale TYPES(not the both "A" harmonic minor and phrygian dominant scales) are also modes of each other, but the difference between the two A scales(if both have the A note as the root) is that A harmonic minor is that it differs from the natural A minor with having a major 7th degree in it, instead of a minor 7th, whereas the phrygian dominant differs from A natural minor with having the minor/flattened 2nd and the major 3rd degrees.
The scale he is playing is called "Phrygian dominant", and it is the fifth mode of harmonic minor. Btw, I suggest not listening to him here. The irony is that he basically reinvented the wheel (or phrygian dominant) with this method of trial & error. Learn the scales, learn the applications, learn everything. By actually knowing the theory, you can reliably use the tools in situations they are known to work well in. There's no good reason not to know the names and applications. Everything that sounds good in tonal music already has a name. Google this stuff. It's like a big web that starts making more and more sense the more you learn, and you see how everything is connected. If you stay in the dark and just trial & error by yourself, you will never make sense of it and can't properly utilize it in your playing to enhance your musicianship. The advice he gave here is terrible and counterproductive. The only benefit to not learning theory is that you will be impressed by music more easily because you can't explain/understand what's happening in a piece. I'd say that's nothing compared to being a better musician overall. The good news is that there's always music that will impress you; it's just that the bar is raised higher.
Multishape I think you can hear that scale in Teo Toriate by Queen. I don't know how much they knew about scales. Geniuses think and do things differently from the rest.
Multishape He's trying to teach you to use your creativity rather than playing boring scales and getting stuck in boxes. I think the point he's trying to make is that "creating" your "own" scales and patterns and licks will help you develop your own unique style. Plus, Marty is extremely modest, he definitely knows more theory than he wants us to think.
right on Jake. Marty relies on Pentatonics a lot like most guitarists but it's the stuff he adds during his shuffling what it's exquisite.. he tends to end in same root note but his minor/Hungarian scales (gypsie or Egyptian) or whatever notes he plays and connects and adds soul is really what makes him special.. Yea, anyone can understand music theory and study but it is hard to teach 'Feel' or 'Soul' as these are subjective in nature : )
Marty is right, and this is why he's so much better than almost anyone. When someone like him makes up the scale, there's no filler. He's finding a new idea for almost every riff that he has to play over top of. The result is that there are no "formula" notes like most lamers who play "scales" have littering up their solos.
Wow... this is a big relief for some people like me who have learning disabilities and and diagnosis like ADD and find it hard to learn every single fucking scale and don't even understand all of them and why. So simple and hes a great metal solo guitarist. From a 16 year old metalhead who have wanted to become a Metal solo guitarist since he was 5 years old, omg Thank you man!! :`) And great thanks bro for putting up this video! :) Deadzid Fardus
Haha... its me, Holy shit dude.. thank you :´) That made my day brother. (Ive been told i look like Dead and like young Miachel Myers from Rob Zombies halloween haha)
Filip Andersson well don't let the diagnosis fool you. I don't know how severe your condition is but use small steps to increase your ability to focus on a particular subject. Don't let it frustrate you and if you lose focus, don't mind it. Reset your intention and try again. Also if you can and if you're willing to, try to schedule a lot of your things to do. Having a definite deadline could give you some mental ease. For example, 5 or even 10 minutes of really concentrated work and after which you take a break, reflect and evaluate. Basically try to find or create strategies which benefit you to enable you to do anything you set your mind to. Please, for your health also try to eat as clean as possible as processed food can have a negative effect regarding such conditions. Taking omega 3 supplements with high EPA and DHA values are something to consider as well. More expensive is not always better and if you haven't done this yet, let your gp check your vitamine D and such. At the end of the day I can't relate to any of what you experience but in my opinion it is very important that you should realise that nothing can stop you from learning and doing the things you set your mind to.
My friend, I just said something and apparently I need to say it again, THEORY IS NOT USED AS A TOOL FOR SONGWRITING PURPOSES. IT IS USED TO UNDERSTAND MUSIC. I'd even go that far and say that one needs to comprehend a certain amount of theory in order to understand, play and/or write certain types of music. In this case, ofcourse, we're talking about very complex stuff, but still. Try to play some proggy stuff and you won't get far without any knowledge on time sigs and (poly)rhythm. (example
@OralAgreement69 The thing is that he doesn't give a shit what people like you think. He is absolutely humble if you watch any interviews. He is an accomplished player with his own UNIQUE style. If i hear one bar of music with marty playing a solo, i know it is him. His bends are what get me. There isn't many guitarists who are truely unique when it comes to this style.
+Foo Rankoo But almost every possible scale has been invented and is already in some book, you will just be reinventing them, it just seems a bit clueless...
@Arachnidius then B-G# (B12-E16) is back to B Spanish Phrygian to finish it off... if you want to keep similar to the rest of your scale by missing out the 7th play (high) E19 to return to your root at the top end (to make it B-B)... if you want to add in these 7ths play E17-19 so its two different scales alternating between octaves :D...
this lesson was very helpful, thanks for posting. And people...don't be hating Marty for playing pop music. If someone asked you to play pop music and make MILLIONS of dollars wouldn't you?
watched this tutorial just in time, i'm in the process of learning the solos for Ashes in your Mouth, and man the length of the scale is similar in this video.
Awesome, im sure thats also how most Jazz mucisians started. They were black and/or they couldn't afford taking music classes or learning to read sheet music. Reading sheet music and knowing scales by all means is professional but music is a form of art and you can make it be anything you want.
89 of this people didn't understand the meaning of talent and being self taught and being an awesome guitar player one of a kind...and they hit the dislike button by accident :( they didn't understand!!
Basically, a scale is usually 5 or 7 notes played one after the other. If you have just started playing guitar,learn the major scale first... C D E F G A B [C], then go for minor scale, blues and minor pentatonic. If you're here watching Marty Friedman, I'm guessng you're into rock and metal styles. These scales will set you up nicely! Use a metronome too when practicing! Good luck.
It's awesome when you realize you been doing this naturally since you started playing. I could never use all these scales and shit, I would maybe just base it off a sound, find the notes, then just build a lick off of it. Makes more sense, also makes it where you can get exactly what you want just by going off of your ear.
@Arachnidius from B-B (E7-D9) it would be B phrygian harmonic minor minus the 7th (AKA. B Spanish Phrygian minus the 7th) ... to add this 7th back in play D7 just after A11 (there is a degree missing from the first octave) then next B-B (D9-B12)which is also missing its 7th degree just Dorian Mode ... put in a flat 7th to complete it (after G13 play B10)
Its perfectly valid because playing an instrument "by ear" equates to singing. You need not know any music theory to create music. There are countless famous musicians that do this. I never said I was against learn theory. I just stated that it isn't necessary and in many cases a hindrance to some people because their song writing becomes mathematical and formulaic. I can sing a three part harmony over a progression just from feel and never need to know what key I'm even in.
a great middle eastern sounding scale is the harmonic minor scale its just a regular natural minor scale but with a 1 and a half tone distance between the 6th and 7th degrees
