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Patreon only! What Scale is James Playing?! (Patreon)

Published:
2024-02-21 19:16:36
Imported:
2026-06
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  • UnforgivenIntroTAB.pdf

Missing 2 full-res photos, 1 file.

Content

Hey y'all!!!!

Hot off the presses, by request! Todd, thanks for the patience, man. Here's a cool look and discussion about the acoustic intro James played for The Unforgiven at this particular live show: 

https://youtu.be/q7nCvpWADtU?si=OJguNQTeHvEP3dwk

I've put my transcription below, be sure to snag it! But most importantly, this led to a good discussion about what scale James is playing here... this leads to the much deeper topic of harmony and modality. I hope you all enjoy it and gain some knowledge from it!

Thanks for all you do!

-BE

OH! And here's the full version of that nice little ARC ditty I was playing in the intro:

https://soundcloud.com/officialarc/01-replicant?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Files

Previews only

Patreon Only! What Scale is James Playing, Anyway!?

Comments

NYCM&AHole

The scale of how much Gibson can charge dentists, lawyers and bankers who think they’re edgy for Kirk Hammett guitars.?

Todd Showalter

I've been waiting years for this! I'm not smart enough to figure it out. Thanks Ben...

danny cabrera

That James guy isn't all that bad,he should get a job in a restaurant!

Diogo Camacho

This was fantastic. I don’t like the constraints of playing within scales, and this kinda reinforces that. Just throw in a backing track in any given key, which gives you the root, and then improvise over that with whatever shape you like and educate your ears into what sounds good or not. Then you can figure out if it’s minor, major, Phrygian, alien, or whatever else.

Eric Bullington

Pretty cool….never thought of it that way. As a rookie at best this stuff helps a lot.

Dedé

I love your theory lessons, UB! Fantastic video! We definitely need more theory stuff!

Jeffrey Bridges

Excellent explanation Uncle Ben! Modes are making much more sense to me now, thanks! Would love to see more theory.

Samuel Valle

Wow, I thought it was going to be above my head, but it was perfectly explained. Thanks Uncle Ben. And yes, a video on the subject of intervals (and a little of modes) would be cool.

Kasper Beuse Fauerby

Interesting stuff indeed! I recently started digging into harmonic minor, and once you know what to look for it's just so damn useful! To my big surprise, many songs that I previously thought of as simply being "in minor key" are actually in harmonic minor... even pop songs on the radio (ex. "Flowers" and so many more). The biggest tell, to my understanding, is that major/dominant V chord in a minor key, which just pulls so strongly back to the I chord, compared to the minor V chord that is diatonically in the minor key. In the example you discuss in this video I think you can almost hear James play a big open E chord... so starting the song on the V... and then pulling it straight into that normal Am intro riff. With E Phrygian Dominant I would have expected a lot of "E to F" action, but I guess that is indeed happening in those licks James is playing so it makes sense to label it as such. Thanks for also doing some theory stuff, useful and interesting!

Aerosmtih717

That was incredible , would love a series on this!!!

Todd Pettit

There's another Todd here!? Hi Todd! :D

Markus Dreßen

Theory? Always! I'm quite good at it but I always learn something new or different perspectives from different people. But man! What happend to the Lick Doctor? Such a fun idea and so interesting to watch! Cheers!

MrTriggerhappy

I have always been thrown off by how modality interacts with chosen scales/keys. This explanation is pure gold! I hope you bring out more theory-based videos like this, I will be ALL over them. Thanks Uncle Ben

MrTriggerhappy

Also, what were the effects you had on the guitar there? I've always been garbage at picking out different effects types. I LOVE the airy feel to it.

Phillip Avery Mitchell

Please do more Theory videos. I have studied numerous books and none of it has ever made sense to me.

BenEllerGuitars
>>130374806

that's right! Harmonic minor is rarely used as a "full-time" scale, but rather a little vacation away from "normal" harmony. This is especially true when turning that V chord dominant in a minor progression!