Jake, you are an incredible musician and an excellent teacher. I've learned probably 90% of what I know about music from your channel. I wanted to say thank you for all the knowledge you've given and keep on giving us!
I left out a few important things, but did include them in the description so do check :) ALSO at 12:58, I'm missing some Sharp signs to build the proper triads :(
It is easy for me to compose a great melody/theme over a pedal tone (e.g. A minor or some other mode). But I find it very difficult to connect this melody/theme (a loop/sequence) to another bass pedal tone and find the right mode/scale for that movement. Any advice on that? :) Thank you!
I m an Indian. And 18 yrs old and has a passion of creating music. So i just watch your videos for information on song writings and you never disappoint. I have got only acoustic guitar and also i learn guitar by myself and channels like your. One day i will be a great musician.😇
Jake, it’s gotten to a point that all I need to see is the title of your video and I know I’m going to love it. Again. I haven’t even watched it yet but I know it’s gonna be awesome. Drones!! Yes!!
Also the medieval Hurdy-gurdy. Armenian Duduks and other Middle Eastern instruments and musical traditions also use drones. There are probably a ton left out of this one video.
This is the definitely one of the most solid music channels out there... Consistent high quality work, great creativity, pedagogy, and beautiful music theory put to practice. Thanks Jake
At 75 my brain cannot absorb as well compared to when I was 25. But over the years I have fumbled and stumbled over the connectivity of exactly what you have laid out here so clearly. This video is a years work for me. Thank for this homework!!
A Ritchie Blackmore lead technique 18:35 he does in "Burn" only using the G string. Jake I always learn something from every video you make. Your ability to fluidly express yourself accurately and succinctly is your superpower. You rock.
and it quiet simple to get it. Juste raise the 4th on your classic harmonic minor scale and boom, hungarian minor scale! Those 2 are pretty cool to improvise over gypsy jazz.
I'm amazed how deep you went with this, from a history in western music, to ways guitarists might already be familiar with it, to bass and melody examples and then exercises. Thank you for designing such awesome lessons!
If anyone's interested that riff he's playing around 19 minutes in is "Fearless" by Pink Floyd. I thought that song was in open G tuning. Have I been wrong all this time?
@@phloog If I was Rick I would have known the tuning and been able to accurately predict the chord progression within the first two strings being strummed. Alas, I am not Rick.
You give the most beneficial and practical uses of music theory of any other guitar channel on here. I had to learn all this theory years ago but it took several more years to put it together because of the way it was taught to me. You explain it a way thats just awesome, and I’m sure it’s benefiting countless amounts of new guitarists.
As a bagpiper I'm intimately familiar with drones. I also work in a shop that uses lots of humming machines and any time one of them is running, I find myself humming tunes over the drone of the machine. Great way to brainstorm tunes!
My wife & I visited Goa in 2018 and 2019. Listening to some live "trad" Goan music was jaw dropping, because - as you say, Jake - the single note drone gave the musicians a totally blank canvas to work with. The improvisations could, and did, go on for sometimes over an hour. Back home, I discovered the Byzantine scale and that works a treat over a bass drone.
I have NO IDEA why this channel doesn't have more subs. I see SOOO MANY people mention it in the /r/musictheory subreddit. This channel is one of my goto sources for quality material that is free of a lot of the usual "UA-cam nonsense". I'm sure I speak for all of your subs Jake, when I say we TRULY appreciate everything you do!
I liked the intro.....You are taking us on a journey of note, grasshopper, and although I am not yet ready to leave the temple, my enlightenment levels have been raised significantly.
I love the examples you used in this one. Tomorrow Never Knows, Pepper, Us and Them. I never really thought to categorize those songs under the drone category since so much else is happening on top but that's very useful for me.
Your use of examples from pop/rock is an excellent way to get the point across. Lots of info packed into a small space. Good stuff. You definitely deserve to cross the 500K threshold.
thank you , you just helped me figure out part of the reason why this little song idea I have been playing around with sounds so good.....I love the synchronicity of the algorithm. l
I’ve noticed a lot of other guitar channels throw a lot of hate/shade your way.. tbh I’m not sure why? I think you make excellent concise videos that are clear, to the point, and very helpful.. keep up the great work 👏🏼
I've often thought I couldn't write or compose music, but thanks to your videos, I'm starting to feel more confident in approaching expressing myself musically, and I can't thank you enough. Still a lot to go to feel more confident, but for once I feel like I'm not totally lost in how to connect theory with practice.
Also of note would be organ music. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in F major (BWV 540) begins a two part canon over a held F in the bass pedal board and then a held bottom C. So much fun to play when you get the registration right and the low drone starts to shake the organ 😁
For you metal heads out there, the intro riff to Hangar 18 is (mostly) hanging on a drone open D string (although strumming it everytime) while ascending chromatically underneath. Very cool stuff!
It's good to see you covering up this topic. After my Western classical guitar, I'm now pursuing Bachalor of music in Hindustani classical. So, to see you talk about this was really interesting as I'm getting exactly what you're saying. Cool! 🤘🏿
@@SignalsMusicStudio So far, I've learn that, hindustani classical is poor in theory. Western is very much rich in theory and if there's only one option to choose between the two, I'd suggest to go for Western classical. Only because, it helps you fine answers to all your WHYs, HOWs, WHATs etc theoretically. Now, while singing ragas, every person sings differently and with different style only keeping the main tune. In western, whatever is written in the notation, everyone will play or sing it exactly the same as it is written. The notation system (Bhatkhande's notation system as they call it) in Hindustani classical is just like anglicized solfège. And there's nothing like syncopation, no measures, no dynamics etc. For instance, if you hear someone singing a raga and you're noting it down, exactly how he sang with every dynamic, like Piano, forte, crescrescendo you name, the next time, that person will sing totally different only keeping the main melody in line. And that's not wrong, it's just the way it is. In Hindustani, it's more like improvisation while singing/playing. Just like, when you use slash on staff notation with some keys on top to indicate that, the musician is free to improvise. So even the notation are just for the melody. But the distance between two notes(example syncopation) and all these are just improvisation stuffs. I mean, there's nothing like note division, like in western (semibreve, ninim, crotchet etc.) I don't know, if you'll understand my poor explanation. But yeah, all I mean to say is, it's poor in theory. However, practically, both Western classical and Indian classical have their own difficulty and beauty. But practical, that's different topic again.
@@JAAHUNGHAAM Great explanation! I've noticed that in general the Western world is very intellectual based, but the eastern world is far more experiential based. We both need to learn more from each other.
Classic examples that come to mind are Blackbird with the droning G and the intro to Thunderstruck. Also, when I was learning modes, droning the root was the only way I could get out of me trying to resolve to the ionian or aeolian in my chord progressions. Great stuff Jake, as always!
Probably won’t see this, but your videos are my favorite teaching style. Very comprehensive. I will always check if you have a video on a new topic I am learning. Great examples, both existing songs and then new music you make on the spot to demonstrate the concept. Thanks for your hard work.
Great video. Covers a lot of ground in a relatively short time but doesn't skip on the essential underlying ideas and never descends into arcane theorizing.
avant-garde metal band "Kayo Dot" has a song called "Gemini becoming the Tripod" which incorporates a violin and vocal drone throughout the center piece of the song. :)
I've had a really hard time finding long lasting motivation to keep doing one thing over the past years and your videos have finally made me able to continue making music for more than just a few weeks. Thank you for that!
Hearing Led Zep with and without that note just made me realize the magic of this, nice. Thank you for this awesome video, I always appreciate your enthusiasm with music.
*Pedal Tone* The pedal tone is so called because the practice first originated with the organ. It also was known as organ point. It is merely the sustaining of a tone while the other voices move through a succession of harmonies. It is most often the tonic of the various scales as Jake points out. Sometimes the dominant is used. Jake's demo at 16:44 is stellar. Jake is a strong player too. His note selections are excellent.
A guitarist that does a lot of pedal tones and drones is Bob Mould. Although his music is rarely ambient at all he has a tendency to hold out notes a lot, especially the E-B and G-D on the two highest strings. It can be hard to recognize at first but you'll hear it in everything from his hardcore punk stuff with Hüsker Dü through his alternative rock band Sugar to his modern solo work.
First: That solo stuff over a pedal tone had some serious Satriani-vibe. Really nice. Second: There is even another use for a pedal tone in the bass. It can function as a tension/release-thing. I don't have an example off the top of my head, but I've realized that in some compositions, you'll hear a familiar, fairly common, chord progression, but the bass stays on a single note. In that case, it doesn't hold things together as in some of your examples. Instead, it holds the progression back. Repeat a couple of times, preferably in a static rhythm, and it builds tension that is then released when the bass finally starts to move along with the chords.
I found this channel a few weeks ago and it has already helped my songwriting . Your the only person on UA-cam that I have found who approaches music education with the composer and artist in mind . Great work . What a tremendous resource for music creation .
Thanks for the lesson! This reminds of how much pedal point bass playing I've borrowed off of James Jamerson and how often he bounces to the pedal points for his transitions and licks. Also, as a banjo student, there is literally a drone 5th string that is open G to pick between any chords if played in open G tuning. The reason you get that fast bluegrass picking is because the efficient use of drone/ pedal strings integrated in banjo rolls.
Nice tips Sir. I note many popular bands tend to use these ideas with changing melody phrases and peddled bases, or changing peddled note with consistent melodic phrases. I won't say who because there are so many that use these techniques.
I literally clicked this video on accident and am really glad I did. Title grabbed me because I've been listening to and learning a lot of TOOL so these things are something I want to know more of Intro was hilarious and I knew this was a personality I could get behind. And of course the video itself was very well done. Subscribed! and smashed dat like button
Hi Jake, I've only been following your videos for a few months now, but you have changed my perspection on some elements of how I approach writing/composing as well as recording my music. Thanks so much, not only for this video, but for many of your others that have helped guide me.
3 роки тому
that smash the like buton was so smooth, that for the first time in my life i smashed it!!!!
I am now firmly implanted in the Drone Zone. But seriously, this is a topic I don't see discussed too often! I love the variety of examples you give - I don't often see a musician reference Dave Matthews and doom metal in the same concept video. You really cover a lot of bases very well, it's refreshing!
My man, you have a way of bringing forward ideas that I may have intuitively known and used, but the way you explain them make them clear usable tools for exploration. Cheers to you brotha
Love your momentary cosmic allusion on the whole tone scale. It's like you musically peaked into the entire universe. Hey, man, ok, maybe just the entire galaxy, but still that's saying something on the power of your technique.
Never clicked on a video this fast. Speaking of the drone concept though, if you want to create something hypnotic and driving in all kinds of music, you need to stay on one note A LOT. See metal breakdowns, dubstep drops, techno music, rock riffs etc etc. Sets the tone and then you get to work on texture/character a lot more focused.
I think BHS's "Pepper" works because of repetition. Once you feel the groove of it, then it starts to work musically and the variations and breaks through the song become points of interest before returning to the chorus. I like it a lot, it's a unique song of that era.
There's also lots of drones in a lot of (at least European) folk music. Most types of bagpipes have drones. Sometimes, you just get one drone, sometimes it's the same note, sounded in two or three octaves. Sometimes, though more rarely, you get double drones, mostly at the tonic and the fifth, or more rarely, the fourth. Oftentimes, there's also droning in music played by instruments like bouzoukis, with one of the open strings being played constantly (or as pedal tones). Then there's also hurdy gurdies with drones, which have double drones even more commonly than bagpipes.
Every time I watch one of your videos I wanna write a new song with the concept you teach. It's so well explained and your example are great. I am also very jealous of talent :D Great Job !!!
I am scratch guitar player and some how run across this video. Amazing very interestting topic, presented in a professional way and very informative. Thank you very much chief. Cheers from Indonesia.
Nice lesson! I use atmospheric synths to glue together verses sometimes playing just the root tucked underneath. And also on guitar I use pedal point on my melodic lines that don't follow the chord progression they're more lines you might play on a keyboard verses solos but sometimes In solos too. Trance (EDM) music used to use a lot of static bass lines, not sure what the genre is like now I haven't listened to it in years.
14:52 I can think of no better example of this than the song Love Is...A Cigarette by Mourning Widows. Talk about withdrawing chords and letting the lead player "stretch out"!! Nuno Bettencourt composed the song and did some of the most amazing lead guitar playing I've ever heard.
Brian Eno added a drone to Djivan Gasparyan's duduk simple melody and made something incredible. In general, simple high melody over a low drone really does something.
For the record, I would like to congratulate you on your excellent content (especially in THIS video). Your delivery, insight and excellent examples, including videos and graphics do a great job of bringing your points home. Although I am a long serving professional musician and producer, I always find inspiration in your lessons, even if it is merely to drive home stuff I know - or should know better! Keep up the great work.
This lesson was great. I make psychedelic music and have started experimenting with drones now. I find using a delay pedal and setting the feedback to 100 then playing notes off the rhythmic pulses it creates works really well. Also, using the volume knob on the guitar can create these swells that goes great with the drone effect.
Traditional banjo music has a drone too. The short string on the five string banjo is played as a drone. It's a high g(same note as the high e of the guitar on the 3rd fret) that is not fretted. It's just played open throughout the song. Ok after getting to the very end of your video i realized that the banjo is pedal point, because of the staccato nature of the sound and the way it's played.
Hi Jake! A huge fan here. I'd also like to share an insight. It actually originates from the art of focusing or "meditating" on one single point to free your mind from all thoughts leaving room to carve a path to connect with the supreme. Like mythical sages did using the universal sound OM.
No one else comes up with such unique content on the practical use of music theory and makes it approachable for anyone to use. Can't thank you enough. I purchased your course and look forward to diving into the content and your continued videos. Keep on rockin!
@@glenmacdonald5423 I purchased the course to support Jake and found the course to be a concise program instead of having to hunt around UA-cam for information. Regarding content, I haven't made my way through all the videos yet but I've reviewed all the print material, there's definitely areas of theory that I don't think Jake has public videos for. Music theory is a big topic, I'm not sure I can say the program is exhaustive but if you work through it you'll be armed with likely all the practical knowledge you need to create music. I appreciate that it doesn't get too in the weeds of academic theory and focuses on what can be applied. For the ridiculously low cost it is well worth it.
Hi Joel, thank you for responding to my question. I really appreciate your input. The way Jake teaches has reinspired me to put all of this theory together to write better compositions. 🍻 cheers.
![Demonstrating 7 Ways that Composers Make Music Using Modes [SONGWRITING / THEORY]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sC2qXLnVU3A/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to Sound Like Daft Punk, Tool, or EVERY Rock Band using Minor/Aeolian [Riffing With Modes #6]](/img/n.gif)
Jake, you are an incredible musician and an excellent teacher. I've learned probably 90% of what I know about music from your channel. I wanted to say thank you for all the knowledge you've given and keep on giving us!
Agreed. Jake truly is an excellent teacher. Jake throws out no b.s. His love for music and for others to learn the love of music comes through.
"You have a deep desire to smash that like button" I am already so in
"im already so in" huh, that's what she said 😏
14 people didn't want to learn music theory
@@nabhchandra_ I only know "Are you in yer?"
˘U˘
How did he make the like button light up just as he said that? Pure magic!
I left out a few important things, but did include them in the description so do check :) ALSO at 12:58, I'm missing some Sharp signs to build the proper triads :(
Pin this comment!
Thank you! Big hug from Serbia!
It is easy for me to compose a great melody/theme over a pedal tone (e.g. A minor or some other mode). But I find it very difficult to connect this melody/theme (a loop/sequence) to another bass pedal tone and find the right mode/scale for that movement. Any advice on that? :) Thank you!
I m an Indian. And 18 yrs old and has a passion of creating music. So i just watch your videos for information on song writings and you never disappoint. I have got only acoustic guitar and also i learn guitar by myself and channels like your. One day i will be a great musician.😇
Keep playing!
🙌
Jake, it’s gotten to a point that all I need to see is the title of your video and I know I’m going to love it. Again. I haven’t even watched it yet but I know it’s gonna be awesome. Drones!! Yes!!
I've gotten to a point where i only need to see that a video was made by Jake and i know i'm already going to love it.
The one cultural reference you missed was celtic (example: bagpipes).
I tried to explain this omission in the description, still, it should have made an appearance but I couldn't find a way to edit it in
Bagpipes are not Keltic. Found everywhere in the world from cultures much older than Kelts
Also the medieval Hurdy-gurdy. Armenian Duduks and other Middle Eastern instruments and musical traditions also use drones. There are probably a ton left out of this one video.
@@HazeMotes Absolutely true
@@bouzoukiman5000
You are a major wind-bag!
This is the definitely one of the most solid music channels out there... Consistent high quality work, great creativity, pedagogy, and beautiful music theory put to practice. Thanks Jake
I'm just impressed how you can play a song and speak at the same time!
next level skills
Your videos keep getting better man
thank you, I honestly think this is the best lesson I've made yet!
Sorry Jake, I zoned out...I mean droned out during this video muhaha
I knew you were here somewhere.
At 75 my brain cannot absorb as well compared to when I was 25. But over the years I have fumbled and stumbled over the connectivity of exactly what you have laid out here so clearly. This video is a years work for me. Thank for this homework!!
A Ritchie Blackmore lead technique 18:35 he does in "Burn" only using the G string. Jake I always learn something from every video you make. Your ability to fluidly express yourself accurately and succinctly is your superpower. You rock.
Today I learned that there is such a thing as a Hungarian Minor scale. Thank you Signals Music Studio.
and it quiet simple to get it. Juste raise the 4th on your classic harmonic minor scale and boom, hungarian minor scale!
Those 2 are pretty cool to improvise over gypsy jazz.
Never thought I'd see the day where Jake mentions Sunn o)))
Finally! You’ve explained this with enough substance that it clicks, thank you
I'm amazed how deep you went with this, from a history in western music, to ways guitarists might already be familiar with it, to bass and melody examples and then exercises. Thank you for designing such awesome lessons!
Iv been playing and studying about 20 years properly and every time there’s always something new to learn if you fully apply yourself.
Great video. Some parts I knew, but other parts I was unfamiliar with. The illustrations were great, both visually and harmonically.
That intro was so good!
If anyone's interested that riff he's playing around 19 minutes in is "Fearless" by Pink Floyd. I thought that song was in open G tuning. Have I been wrong all this time?
Not sure how it was recorded, but I'm very lazy about retuning my guitar so I always just played it in G :P
@@SignalsMusicStudio I completely understand that. I'll try to get Gilmour on the phone so we can solve the mystery.
I knew that sounded familiar. Thanks for solving the riddle for me. It would have bugged me all day.
@@happiness1772 Is that you, Rick Beato? ;)
@@phloog If I was Rick I would have known the tuning and been able to accurately predict the chord progression within the first two strings being strummed. Alas, I am not Rick.
You give the most beneficial and practical uses of music theory of any other guitar channel on here. I had to learn all this theory years ago but it took several more years to put it together because of the way it was taught to me. You explain it a way thats just awesome, and I’m sure it’s benefiting countless amounts of new guitarists.
As a bagpiper I'm intimately familiar with drones. I also work in a shop that uses lots of humming machines and any time one of them is running, I find myself humming tunes over the drone of the machine. Great way to brainstorm tunes!
My wife & I visited Goa in 2018 and 2019. Listening to some live "trad" Goan music was jaw dropping, because - as you say, Jake - the single note drone gave the musicians a totally blank canvas to work with. The improvisations could, and did, go on for sometimes over an hour. Back home, I discovered the Byzantine scale and that works a treat over a bass drone.
I have NO IDEA why this channel doesn't have more subs. I see SOOO MANY people mention it in the /r/musictheory subreddit. This channel is one of my goto sources for quality material that is free of a lot of the usual "UA-cam nonsense". I'm sure I speak for all of your subs Jake, when I say we TRULY appreciate everything you do!
I liked the intro.....You are taking us on a journey of note, grasshopper, and although I am not yet ready to leave the temple, my enlightenment levels have been raised significantly.
I love the examples you used in this one. Tomorrow Never Knows, Pepper, Us and Them. I never really thought to categorize those songs under the drone category since so much else is happening on top but that's very useful for me.
Another fantastic lesson! The low tempo progression at 13:43 is like candy to my ears. Thanks, Jake!
Jake, I f*cking love all you video intros, they are always funny and original how you get that ideas haha
Your use of examples from pop/rock is an excellent way to get the point across. Lots of info packed into a small space. Good stuff. You definitely deserve to cross the 500K threshold.
That chords vs. static bass example after 10:00-> has that "going for the final boss in a video game" feeling!
This is AOR
thank you , you just helped me figure out part of the reason why this little song idea I have been playing around with sounds so good.....I love the synchronicity of the algorithm.
l
I’ve noticed a lot of other guitar channels throw a lot of hate/shade your way.. tbh I’m not sure why? I think you make excellent concise videos that are clear, to the point, and very helpful.. keep up the great work 👏🏼
I've often thought I couldn't write or compose music, but thanks to your videos, I'm starting to feel more confident in approaching expressing myself musically, and I can't thank you enough. Still a lot to go to feel more confident, but for once I feel like I'm not totally lost in how to connect theory with practice.
Also of note would be organ music. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in F major (BWV 540) begins a two part canon over a held F in the bass pedal board and then a held bottom C. So much fun to play when you get the registration right and the low drone starts to shake the organ 😁
8:19 "Pretty cool, right?" Indeed. I've been waiting for this moment for all my life. Oh, lord.
You can play happy and melodic over drones too. It's how you style the scale. Taxim's are solos over drones as an intro to songs. Hendrix did it often
For you metal heads out there, the intro riff to Hangar 18 is (mostly) hanging on a drone open D string (although strumming it everytime) while ascending chromatically underneath. Very cool stuff!
It's good to see you covering up this topic. After my Western classical guitar, I'm now pursuing Bachalor of music in Hindustani classical. So, to see you talk about this was really interesting as I'm getting exactly what you're saying. Cool! 🤘🏿
The UA-cam space needs more western explanations for Indian music - maybe when you finish your degrees you can make some videos to help teach me!
@@SignalsMusicStudio So far, I've learn that, hindustani classical is poor in theory. Western is very much rich in theory and if there's only one option to choose between the two, I'd suggest to go for Western classical. Only because, it helps you fine answers to all your WHYs, HOWs, WHATs etc theoretically.
Now, while singing ragas, every person sings differently and with different style only keeping the main tune. In western, whatever is written in the notation, everyone will play or sing it exactly the same as it is written. The
notation system (Bhatkhande's notation system as they call it) in Hindustani classical is just like anglicized solfège. And there's nothing like syncopation, no measures, no dynamics etc. For instance, if you hear someone singing a raga and you're noting it down, exactly how he sang with every dynamic, like Piano, forte, crescrescendo you name, the next time, that person will sing totally different only keeping the main melody in line. And that's not wrong, it's just the way it is. In Hindustani, it's more like improvisation while singing/playing. Just like, when you use slash on staff notation with some keys on top to indicate that, the musician is free to improvise. So even the notation are just for the melody. But the distance between two notes(example syncopation) and all these are just improvisation stuffs. I mean, there's nothing like note division, like in western (semibreve, ninim, crotchet etc.) I don't know, if you'll understand my poor explanation. But yeah, all I mean to say is, it's poor in theory. However, practically, both Western classical and Indian classical have their own difficulty and beauty. But practical, that's different topic again.
@@JAAHUNGHAAM Great explanation! I've noticed that in general the Western world is very intellectual based, but the eastern world is far more experiential based. We both need to learn more from each other.
@@peejay1981 agreed
This video just drones on and on... in the best possible way. Drones are one of the musical techniques which can most reliably give me the chills.
Classic examples that come to mind are Blackbird with the droning G and the intro to Thunderstruck.
Also, when I was learning modes, droning the root was the only way I could get out of me trying to resolve to the ionian or aeolian in my chord progressions.
Great stuff Jake, as always!
Probably won’t see this, but your videos are my favorite teaching style. Very comprehensive. I will always check if you have a video on a new topic I am learning. Great examples, both existing songs and then new music you make on the spot to demonstrate the concept. Thanks for your hard work.
3:00 John Cale has been doing a lot of drone music. Velvet Underground's "Venus in furs" is an early example.
Their albums with John Cale laid the groundwork from which post-rock is derived.
The debut single of TVU is Loop by John Cale. That is drone, plain and simple. I really like Lamonte Young too, he made drone in 1958.
Great video. Covers a lot of ground in a relatively short time but doesn't skip on the essential underlying ideas and never descends into arcane theorizing.
avant-garde metal band "Kayo Dot" has a song called "Gemini becoming the Tripod" which incorporates a violin and vocal drone throughout the center piece of the song. :)
I've had a really hard time finding long lasting motivation to keep doing one thing over the past years and your videos have finally made me able to continue making music for more than just a few weeks. Thank you for that!
Hearing Led Zep with and without that note just made me realize the magic of this, nice. Thank you for this awesome video, I always appreciate your enthusiasm with music.
*Pedal Tone*
The pedal tone is so called because the practice first originated with the organ. It also was known as organ point.
It is merely the sustaining of a tone while the other voices move through a succession of harmonies. It is most often the tonic of the various scales as Jake points out. Sometimes the dominant is used.
Jake's demo at 16:44 is stellar. Jake is a strong player too. His note selections are excellent.
An amazing job of explaining a very complicated subject! Opened my horizons!
Wow! 16:50 was so much like Steve Hillage!
A guitarist that does a lot of pedal tones and drones is Bob Mould. Although his music is rarely ambient at all he has a tendency to hold out notes a lot, especially the E-B and G-D on the two highest strings. It can be hard to recognize at first but you'll hear it in everything from his hardcore punk stuff with Hüsker Dü through his alternative rock band Sugar to his modern solo work.
First: That solo stuff over a pedal tone had some serious Satriani-vibe. Really nice.
Second: There is even another use for a pedal tone in the bass. It can function as a tension/release-thing. I don't have an example off the top of my head, but I've realized that in some compositions, you'll hear a familiar, fairly common, chord progression, but the bass stays on a single note. In that case, it doesn't hold things together as in some of your examples. Instead, it holds the progression back. Repeat a couple of times, preferably in a static rhythm, and it builds tension that is then released when the bass finally starts to move along with the chords.
I found this channel a few weeks ago and it has already helped my songwriting . Your the only person on UA-cam that I have found who approaches music education with the composer and artist in mind . Great work . What a tremendous resource for music creation .
You share one of the most exciting contents on the whole of UA-cam, no matter I don't even own a guitar. Thank you very much!
Thanks for the lesson! This reminds of how much pedal point bass playing I've borrowed off of James Jamerson and how often he bounces to the pedal points for his transitions and licks. Also, as a banjo student, there is literally a drone 5th string that is open G to pick between any chords if played in open G tuning. The reason you get that fast bluegrass picking is because the efficient use of drone/ pedal strings integrated in banjo rolls.
I need to start following this channel in a more serious way. Content, creativity, these are the way forward.
Your videos just keep getting better, and better!
The section at 12:30 on building chords around one single note common to all of them was so insightful. I learned something. Thanking you kindly!🙏
Nice tips Sir. I note many popular bands tend to use these ideas with changing melody phrases and peddled bases, or changing peddled note with consistent melodic phrases. I won't say who because there are so many that use these techniques.
I literally clicked this video on accident and am really glad I did.
Title grabbed me because I've been listening to and learning a lot of TOOL so these things are something I want to know more of
Intro was hilarious and I knew this was a personality I could get behind.
And of course the video itself was very well done.
Subscribed! and smashed dat like button
Dude what a fun lesson. Made me want to go home and play guitar and write something and that improv at the end was awesome.
thx bro!
When you break into fearless during your explanation of pedal point, my subscription was justified :)
Thanks, Jake! You are Fearless in your teaching. Great lesson, as always.
this channel just gets better and better. Upnext, harsh noise tutorial
Hi Jake, I've only been following your videos for a few months now, but you have changed my perspection on some elements of how I approach writing/composing as well as recording my music. Thanks so much, not only for this video, but for many of your others that have helped guide me.
that smash the like buton was so smooth, that for the first time in my life i smashed it!!!!
I’ve learned more from you than any other guitar teacher on the internet. Really good stuff. Thank you.
I am now firmly implanted in the Drone Zone.
But seriously, this is a topic I don't see discussed too often! I love the variety of examples you give - I don't often see a musician reference Dave Matthews and doom metal in the same concept video. You really cover a lot of bases very well, it's refreshing!
Still the absolute goddamned best music theory channel on UA-cam. You've expanded my theory and playing beyond anybody else. 😊
My man, you have a way of bringing forward ideas that I may have intuitively known and used, but the way you explain them make them clear usable tools for exploration. Cheers to you brotha
You are the most diversified tutor with utter clarity and purpose with no fluff on the internet. I really enjoy your tutelage.
Love your momentary cosmic allusion on the whole tone scale. It's like you musically peaked into the entire universe. Hey, man, ok, maybe just the entire galaxy, but still that's saying something on the power of your technique.
Never clicked on a video this fast. Speaking of the drone concept though, if you want to create something hypnotic and driving in all kinds of music, you need to stay on one note A LOT. See metal breakdowns, dubstep drops, techno music, rock riffs etc etc. Sets the tone and then you get to work on texture/character a lot more focused.
Awesome tips. Have a great weekend!
I think BHS's "Pepper" works because of repetition. Once you feel the groove of it, then it starts to work musically and the variations and breaks through the song become points of interest before returning to the chorus. I like it a lot, it's a unique song of that era.
I am constantly amazed at the way you come up with great tunes just by employing very practical methods.
"Beatles..." "Trips..." "Influence..." mhmm yes I hear what you're saying
I was waiting until sunn 0))) was mentioned. That band took the droning and ran with it
Me too 😂
As soon as he said drone metal I knew sunn o))) was going to be mentioned 😂
Had to check them out..... WOW! Why hadn’t I heard of these guys earlier? 🤘❤️
There's also lots of drones in a lot of (at least European) folk music. Most types of bagpipes have drones. Sometimes, you just get one drone, sometimes it's the same note, sounded in two or three octaves. Sometimes, though more rarely, you get double drones, mostly at the tonic and the fifth, or more rarely, the fourth. Oftentimes, there's also droning in music played by instruments like bouzoukis, with one of the open strings being played constantly (or as pedal tones). Then there's also hurdy gurdies with drones, which have double drones even more commonly than bagpipes.
CCM/worship music with an acoustic guitar and an "infinity pad" droning on the root of the key really help fill in a space sonically.
Every time I watch one of your videos I wanna write a new song with the concept you teach. It's so well explained and your example are great. I am also very jealous of talent :D Great Job !!!
I am scratch guitar player and some how run across this video. Amazing very interestting topic, presented in a professional way and very informative. Thank you very much chief. Cheers from Indonesia.
Your content is EXTREMLY USEFUL AND AMAZING! Keep doing this bro and thanks for share the knowledge! Saludos desde Cuba
I couldn't resist smashing that like button before the lesson started
Love the intro jajaja !
One of the best videos about drones and pedals out there..if not the best...!
Nice lesson! I use atmospheric synths to glue together verses sometimes playing just the root tucked underneath. And also on guitar I use pedal point on my melodic lines that don't follow the chord progression they're more lines you might play on a keyboard verses solos but sometimes In solos too. Trance (EDM) music used to use a lot of static bass lines, not sure what the genre is like now I haven't listened to it in years.
That intro was the best one yet, you continue to blow me away with your content
Insanely helpful video. One of the best educational music channels on here. This is not just some rote analysis of concepts. This is inspiring.
the intro though xD hilarious!
But seriously, thank you so much for these videos jake. They're so well-made and so helpful
Awesome guitar solo at the end! I loved the raking at the end. Very nice!
14:52 I can think of no better example of this than the song Love Is...A Cigarette by Mourning Widows. Talk about withdrawing chords and letting the lead player "stretch out"!! Nuno Bettencourt composed the song and did some of the most amazing lead guitar playing I've ever heard.
Brian Eno added a drone to Djivan Gasparyan's duduk simple melody and made something incredible.
In general, simple high melody over a low drone really does something.
Always learning something new when I watch your videos. Huge thanks.
For the record, I would like to congratulate you on your excellent content (especially in THIS video). Your delivery, insight and excellent examples, including videos and graphics do a great job of bringing your points home. Although I am a long serving professional musician and producer, I always find inspiration in your lessons, even if it is merely to drive home stuff I know - or should know better! Keep up the great work.
I have no word to express how much I like your lesson about drones and pedals - Your musical examples at the end are so beautiful . Thank you Jake.
This lesson was great. I make psychedelic music and have started experimenting with drones now. I find using a delay pedal and setting the feedback to 100 then playing notes off the rhythmic pulses it creates works really well. Also, using the volume knob on the guitar can create these swells that goes great with the drone effect.
Traditional banjo music has a drone too. The short string on the five string banjo is played as a drone. It's a high g(same note as the high e of the guitar on the 3rd fret) that is not fretted. It's just played open throughout the song.
Ok after getting to the very end of your video i realized that the banjo is pedal point, because of the staccato nature of the sound and the way it's played.
Hi Jake! A huge fan here. I'd also like to share an insight. It actually originates from the art of focusing or "meditating" on one single point to free your mind from all thoughts leaving room to carve a path to connect with the supreme. Like mythical sages did using the universal sound OM.
How about Sonic Youth’s album Daydream Nation? The Sword often pedals on the open B (de-tuned E) string to great effect.
One of your bests, Jake. You have opened so many creative doors for me.
No one else comes up with such unique content on the practical use of music theory and makes it approachable for anyone to use. Can't thank you enough. I purchased your course and look forward to diving into the content and your continued videos. Keep on rockin!
Hi Joel, how has the course been for you? I'm thinking of getting it but wanted to hear first from someone going through it. Thanks.
@@glenmacdonald5423 I purchased the course to support Jake and found the course to be a concise program instead of having to hunt around UA-cam for information. Regarding content, I haven't made my way through all the videos yet but I've reviewed all the print material, there's definitely areas of theory that I don't think Jake has public videos for. Music theory is a big topic, I'm not sure I can say the program is exhaustive but if you work through it you'll be armed with likely all the practical knowledge you need to create music. I appreciate that it doesn't get too in the weeds of academic theory and focuses on what can be applied. For the ridiculously low cost it is well worth it.
Hi Joel, thank you for responding to my question. I really appreciate your input. The way Jake teaches has reinspired me to put all of this theory together to write better compositions. 🍻 cheers.