Play a melody, any melody
Dave of Sans Direction had a really cool post last week, the gist being that if you can sing a melody in your head, you should be able to grab your guitar and play the melody without thought to scales or fretboard patterns. So, Dave challenged folks to play the well-known “Happy Birthday.”
Dave, sorry, I could not get hip to the birthday song. But, I’ve had the 007 movie theme in my head for a long time. (I think since I watched a 007 flick at my bass player’s house a few weeks ago.) So, I went with the 007 melody, AND I had the nerve to open up Garage Band and make this exercise into a little project.
So, here it is, by IG, the 007 theme:
If you’re curious on the production, I used drum and bass loops from Garage Band, as well as the orchestral sequence that rises up towards the end. Two guitar tracks are me on Strat, going direct to computer and processed with Garage Band effects. Go ahead, laugh.
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Oh yeah, and to Dave’s point, all guitarists face the big wall of guitar scale patterns at times (maybe too many times for some). And, make no mistake, these are good tools of learning and analysis. But, sometimes, you just gotta play what’s singing inside your head.
IG dishes out inspiration and ideas to guitar players everywhere. 
The cool lick is the low lick on the E string. But that does sound good.
Nice job - IG. I’ve been thinking a bit about my failure to focus on melody when I’m just noodling around with my guitar. I tend to search for interesting chord progressions at the expense of the melody, or ignoring melody. I had seen a video of David Gilmore about a year ago and he commented on that, and you have to admit he knows a thing or two about creating a song that surrounds a meldoy, but not overpowers it.
The name is Bond– Ig Bond.
Another thing about melodic playing is to make your solos breathe like a singer. SRV’s playing did that. Most SRV clones play way more notes than he did because they don’t breathe. Also because they don’t create that constant flow of vibrato to phrase between, and because that implied velocity, they just play way more notes to offset.
Play what you sing and sing what you play. And breathe it!
Lately, I’ve been listening to the Spock’s Beard album “Day for Night”, and I’ve had the main melody for the song “Gibberish” in my head a lot. So I have been doing that on my acoustic bass. Also, I was listening to Paul Simon’s “The Rhythm of the Saints” yesterday, and I just tried to play along with the melodies I heard all along that album as well. The bass player he has on that one is pretty amazing, and he dances all around the main progressions, just as it was done on the previous album, “Graceland”.
It’s very interesting. I don’t have theoretical composition studies, but i am sometimes surprised by my own songs when I sing them in my head, while doing something else, with no guitar. I get pretty nice melodies, unfortunately most of them never make it on the guitar…
You can’t play the Bond theme until you’ve arranged the big finish, too, ya lazy bum.
The big finish is all horns, Mark.
(But seriously, you need to hear the John Zorn version on Naked City. It’s crazy.)
Ovidiu, get a portable tape machine or something. Hum those into the tape. That way you can keep ‘em until you can learn ‘em on guitar.
One of our fav’s around the studio is the Peter Gunn theme. What’s cool for all of us old farts that remember it from the classic 80’s “Spy Hunter” video game is that teens today recognize it from “that cool car commercial that looks like a video game” LOL.
That is one of the first things I picked up, Jason, and I showed it to my eldest yesterday. I associate it with Jake and Elwood driving the Bluesmobile through a dark Chicago night, myself.
Took the test. Managed:
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Happy Birthday
When the Saints Come Marching In
Still failing miserably to get Smells Like Teen Spirit to sound like the original. What does it all mean???
Luahg! That was really cool! I like to do that kind of stuff-playing melodies to things that are unique-when my son watches one of his cartoons, or DVDs I try to play the melodies. Or if a commercial comes along, trying to play the melody to that. I think its kinda fun to do that kind of thing-it can break you out of a funk-especially if its a silly song! and maybe even give you a few ideas for your own stuff!
Thanks for this post and Sans Direction for the original post!
oops! I meant-Laugh?! not “Luagh” sorry!