Chickin Pickin to "The Last Thing on my Mind"
Sometimes you hear a song which that you can't get out of your head and play on repeat- for me this week, it has been "The Last Thing on my Mind" sung by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. Maybe I'm a little nostalgic for these old-timey country duets that suggest simpler times. But it's also obvious in the video below that both artists, aside from their great performances, are having fun, making it a joy to watch.
Plus the Christmas aesthetic is a nice touch, and I'm amazed that Dolly Parton's hair stays put.
Sure it's not jazz, no lydian dominant runs, quartal harmony, or altered scale licks. But ultimately I'm interested in all types of music, and how that music is constructed. Working in triads (no seventh chords here, except maybe on the V) with fewer and simpler changes (just I, IV, and V), how does the guitar lead create such active, and captivating lines?
I decided to transcribe some licks from the studio recording because although some parts are inaudible, you can mostly hear the lead guitar in the left channel.
Lick 1
Lick 2
Lick 3
Lick 4
Lick 5
Lick 6
The key to these lines is the major pentatonic scale, with some flat thirds and flat sevenths thrown in there to make it blusey. If you occasionally bend into the third or seventh, even better! You also gotta land on chord tones on the downbeat, preferable the root. Most lines begin on the downbeat, sometimes on the & of 2. So pretty straightforward rhythm and harmony, and you must pick each note evenly so it just sounds like a continuous stream of eighth note consciousness.
Plus the Christmas aesthetic is a nice touch, and I'm amazed that Dolly Parton's hair stays put.
Sure it's not jazz, no lydian dominant runs, quartal harmony, or altered scale licks. But ultimately I'm interested in all types of music, and how that music is constructed. Working in triads (no seventh chords here, except maybe on the V) with fewer and simpler changes (just I, IV, and V), how does the guitar lead create such active, and captivating lines?
I decided to transcribe some licks from the studio recording because although some parts are inaudible, you can mostly hear the lead guitar in the left channel.
Lick 1
Lick 2
Lick 3
Lick 4
Lick 5
Lick 6
The key to these lines is the major pentatonic scale, with some flat thirds and flat sevenths thrown in there to make it blusey. If you occasionally bend into the third or seventh, even better! You also gotta land on chord tones on the downbeat, preferable the root. Most lines begin on the downbeat, sometimes on the & of 2. So pretty straightforward rhythm and harmony, and you must pick each note evenly so it just sounds like a continuous stream of eighth note consciousness.
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