Silent Lucidity - theory

Hi Mike,

I'm into my second year as a GT subscriber (and guitar player.) Great site.

This is a slightly long winded question about music theory, which I've started trying to take on board a bit more when I learn new songs.

I'm having a go at Silent Lucidity by Queensryche. The song is in G major, which I understand to mean it should be played using the notes from the G major scale: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#. In the opening, the arpeggiated chords are based on G/E, then C/A, which I guess still fits in with the G major scale – 1st, 6th, 4th and 2nd chords.

Now, during the lesson, when you're teaching the E minor chord variations (Emadd9, Em7), you start by discussing the E minor scale intervals. At first, this confused me, because you're now talking about the E minor scale during a song in G major. But then I noticed that in the stripped down, arpeggiated versions of the Em chords you play, all the notes coincide with ones that also appear in the G major scale. Same with the C and A chords later on.

So, is it true to say, as a composer, that it's fine to use chords based on scales other than that of the key signature, as long as the individual notes do form part of the main key? And should you avoid notes not in the main key signature, even as part of a chord? (E.g. in this example, avoiding the 4th of a C chord, because then you get F instead of F#?

Hope that makes some kind of sense. You can go crazy trying to figure out how it all fits together.

Great question!

You are correct, and in fact, E minor is known as the "relative minor" of G major because the notes in those scales are the same.

You can also think of it the opposite way - G major is the "relative major" of E minor.

This applies to all keys --- for example: A minor is the relative minor of C major. The notes in A minor are exactly the same as C major.

Now, let's talk about the C chord you mentioned. The notes that spell a C chord are C (root), E (major third), and G (fifth) - all of which are in the key of G major, so a C chord is a good chord choice if you want to stay in the key of G.

You are correct that choosing to play, say, a Csus4 chord would take you out of the key of G, because the fourth note of the chord (F) does not fall in the G major scale.

That said, it's not like you need to avoid that note at all costs! Just because a Csus4 chord isn't in the key of G major doesn't automatically make it a bad chord choice ... it might sound interesting and desirable -- it's just that the chord doesn't fit into the key of G major. Plenty of songwriters and composers borrow from other keys all the time (this is called "modal interchange").

Hope this helps!!
Mike

Yes, that helps, thanks. Definitely at least as much art as science in the mix.

I do think I need to spend more time learning the fretboard to really get it though. Thus far I rely completely on tabs, so I know what fret numbers to play, but not always which notes.

Worthwhile investment of time for a relative novice in your opinion? I can't really see a better alternative.

Thanks again,
Chris

Hey Chris!

Learning where the notes are on the fretboard is definitely a worthwhile use of your time! I highly recommend it.

This channnel episode I filmed awhile ago has an exercise for learning where the notes are on the fretboard that might be useful for you:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1626

Keep at it and have fun!
Mike

Yes - this is the kind of thing I've been looking for. I like the approach of taking it one note at a time. G today, A tomorrow etc. Makes it seem more manageable, so now part of my practice routine.

In the same channel episode, I also like the riff you play at the start and end of the clip, and have tried to pick that up. It's a nice practice / warm-up routine for some rock basics like powerchords, 16th note rhythm and palm muting.

Any chance you could have a quick look over the attached transcription, and tell me if I got close to it? (Also, any pointers you have on the bits I missed at the end of the second bar and start of the fourth would be great).

There's no time signature - I just threw it all into a spreadsheet, and assume every cell represents a 16th. So hope it makes sense.

Many thanks,
Chris

Hey Chris, glad the "learn the notes on the fretboard" exercise is helpful for you. It definitely was for me!

As for that riff I was playing, you've got it exactly!!

The spot you're asking about is just a quick riff using double stops (2 notes at a time). The first strum is an A power chord double stop - 2nd fret of the D and G strings. The next strum is a G power chord double stop - open D and open G strings, but I'm hammering onto the 1st fret of the G string, which then makes the double stop outline an E7 chord (D is the flat 7 of E7, and the G# note is the major 3rd of E7).

I learned that trick from Randy Rhoads. He plays a similar lick (up at the 12th fret) in the live version of Ozzy's "Paranoid".

Keep rocking!!
Mike

Cool.

Back to the practice room now...

One final thought, now I've practiced it a bit (and to bring the thread full circle......)

The chords in the riff are A, B, C, D, E, F# and G - so it looks like we're in the key of G.

In that second bar, the G# note doesn't belong in that key.

So - in this riff we have a great example of modal interchange!?

I hope that's right - if so, I've definitely learned something new this week.

c.

Chris,

You are dead on correct with regard to the end ascending part of the riff. That is in the key of E minor (same as G major, but since we end on the E chord, E min makes more sense).

As for the main riff, E minor (or G major) isn't quite correct. Here's why:

The chords in the main riff are E, D, A/C#, A, G. Notice the C# note! That's not in the key of E min. Neither is the hammer-on lick to G#! How do we explain this?

It turns out that we are actually using notes from the A major scale (A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#). But our progression starts and resolves on the E chord!

The concept of "modes" explains what's going on here. Modes are a bit of an advanced subject, but in a nutshell: You can play a major scale using a root note from anywhere inside the scale. So for example, if I played an A major scale, but started on an E note, I would be playing in the E mixolydian mode.

Whew!! I'm sure that can be a bit to absorb. Another way you can think about the E mixolydian mode is: it's an E major scale, but with a flatted 7th note.

In this case, the b7 note is D, which works perfectly with our progression. What is the major 3rd of an E major scale? G#!!! Explains our hammer-on lick!

Where this comes in very handy is ... say you wanted to solo over the main riff. You can solo using E mixolydian, and every note would work perfectly with the chords in the progression!

Make sense?

Mike

Well, kind of. It's a little advanced to sink in completely, but that's ok. I think I get the idea, and anyway, I'm happy to spend time more time on the basics for now. It feels like absorbing notes and intervals is the best grounding for the time being.

In the midst of all this, I managed to learn Silent Lucidity, and I can play it in time even with the time signature changes at the start. Still making quite a few mistakes in the full performance, but it's great to be able to learn songs at the same time as theory and practice exercises. Big motivation.

Guitar Tricks is just immense. I wish it had been around 20 years ago when I was last trying to learn.

Regards,
Chris

Excellent work - keep at it!! More and more, the advanced concepts will creep their way into your knowledge, and before you know it, you'll be surprised at how much you've learned.

Mike