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I want to play improvisation over guitar chords at a jam session I'll be at on the streets of Okayama, Japan this weekend. Any thoughts on what key would be best for the guitar player to be in if I'm playing a 1.8. I'm wondering if you just go with the fundamental which in this case is "D" or perhaps the relative minor? Anyone have any thoughts on what might sound nifty?
Matt
Last edited by matthew (2006-08-07 08:45:00)
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Hi Matt,
A good key to start is Dmin7. You can a play a minor blues is D, and you will sound at home with a 1.8.You can play all the traditional technics that you know, and will sound Cool.
Its good for beginning improvisers.
The possibilites are endles, dipends from the guitar player...
The keys that you can play are D min7, f maj 7,am7, cmin6..this are good for a start.
Later, more harmony (chords) you know, more you can play.
Its good idea to study some jazz with shakuhachi. Will open your ears to a lot of stuff. You will be able to improv anywhere.
Geni
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This might be too late for your jam session but Larry Tyrrell who is on this forum is working on a set of scale flashcards for exactly this purpose. You might want to contact him and see if it is available yet. I have seen it and it's really nice.
But for now basing on the following notes as the roots:
Ro: either D minor or D major are easy
Tsu: F major
Chi: A minor
Ri: C major
If you have trouble figuring out the exact notes for the scale get back here and I will tell you.
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Hey Guys,
Thanks for the thoughts. I’ve heard some pretty neat jazzy sounds coming from the shakuhachi and I’d like to head in that direction. Playing outside of “D” and “D minor” will involve half covering holes on some notes I’m guessing and I’m just not there yet. It’s a bit different than playing whistle where I just grab an instrument in the appropriate key and go for it. I wish my shakuhachi collection was big enough to do that, but that’s not the case yet.
The advice is really helpful and I’ll give it a go and share it with my guitar players. One of the guitar players will be staying with me for a few days so we should be able to work something out. He is a well rounded player doing everything from classical to jazz. It should be a pretty cool vibe since the guitarists are Japanese and the American will be on shakuhachi. The beauty of crossing cultures is too wonderful to put into words.
Anyway, the falsh card bit sounds great. I'll be looking forward to it and I'm sure it would be helpful.
Thanks again,
Matt
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I have a 1.6 that I made (E). The register is nice for playing with old funk/soul tracks - hearing the bamboo against the horn section makes a nice vibe.
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