The Phrase Trainer: Lead Guitar Lessons: Learn Thru Looping

Most looper pedals have similar basic operating functions. We'll be looking at what you need to know based on what functions are found on most loop pedals. Obviously advanced features are built into more complex and advanced looper products:

Loop In

Loop Out

Overdub in Play Mode

Loop Undo

Loop Redo / Playback Volume

Most looper pedals have similar basic operating functions. We'll be looking at what you need to know based on what functions are found on most loop pedals. Obviously advanced features are built into more complex and advanced looper products:

Loop In

Loop Out

Overdub in Play Mode

Loop Undo

Loop Redo Playback volume

One of the most important aspects of looping is to understand measures of music and how many beats are found in a bar of music. Clean execution of your recording can only occur if you understand a few basic principles. Let's take a look at what you need to know so we can get you up and looping quickly.

It's imperative to understand how m any beats are within a measure of music and how to subdivide those main pulses. We'll be looking at how to subdivide beats into their smaller components and how to articulate downbeats and upbeats. Having a strong sense of downbeats and upbeats will help you to create interesting rhythmic and melodic phrases.

If you're new to looping, you may find that you aren't used to performing a part live and also having to initiate a foot pedal in time. This may take a little practice but there are some simple steps I'm going to show you to overcome any disconnects you may have between hands and feet. First thing to determine is whether you are left or right footed. I'm left footed and therefore orient my looper pedal where it is convenient to my left foot. Try not playing anything at first and just verbally count yourself in and execute the in and out of the recording process. Do this several times until you are comfortable with that process.

I strongly advocate knowing exactly what you plan to record before trying to execute your recording. Play through your ideas first and determine how many measures you plan to loop and what the content of that loop will be. I'm also an advocate of recording a progression twice through. let me show you what I mean and why I think it's really good idea.

Clean execution of looped sections can be achieved best by tapping your foot in time with your performance and by keeping your execution foot really close to the pedal surface. Let me show you what I mean.

Now that you have your foot in control of the pedal it's time to record a percussive scratch track. This is giving you the chance to record a rhythm without having to execute chordal parts. All you'll need to do is play in time and initiate the pedal functions.
What I'm doing is adding one additional element to ease you into the process. Let's take a look at how to record a scratch rhythm. The scratch rhythm is also going to act as a really cool percussive guide track for you to overdub your first rhythm guitar part. When you become more adept a looping you won't need the scratch guide but it's an excellent way to get you performing in time and pre-determined measures of music.

Now that you have your foot in control of the pedal it's time to record a percussive scratch track. This is giving you the chance to record a rhythm without having to execute chordal parts. All you'll need to do is play in time and initiate the pedal functions.
What I'm doing is adding one additional element to ease you into the process. Let's take a look at how to record a scratch rhythm. The scratch rhythm is also going to act as a really cool percussive guide track for you to overdub your first rhythm guitar part. When you become more adept a looping you won't need the scratch guide but it's an excellent way to get you performing in time and pre-determined measures of music.

Now we have a clean recording of our scratch rhythm, let's add our first guitar part.

One chord vamps are rhythm grooves that only use one chord. In other words, these aren't chord progressions but static grooves that revolve around one chord type. This makes them perfect for learning scales, arpeggios and the chord/scale relationship. In this section I'll show you a few cool ways in which you can record and loop 3 static chord vamps and Improvise over each one using Major and Minor Pentatonic scales, targeting the chord tones while you practice.

Now that we have our chord vamp why don't we apply the A Major Pentatonic Scale in position or the chord and target the 3 chord tones, A, C#, E. These 3 notes are your best tones and sound resolute and solid over the chord.

Now that we have our chord vamp why don't we apply the A Major Pentatonic Scale in position or the chord and target the 3 chord tones, A, C#, E. These 3 notes are your best tones and sound resolute and solid over the chord.

An excellent scale type to use for solo lines over an A Major chord is the A Major Pentatonic Scale. Many of you will already know a Minor Pentatonic scale shape. If you play F# Minor Pentatonic at the 2nd fret you also get A Major Pentatonic. In this video you'll also see and hear where those super cool resolution tones are within the scale shape. Let's dig in to making some music.

Now that we have a scale shape to work with it's time to create some melodic phrases and licks to start improvising solos. In this video I show you how to start developing melodies and target the sweet note resolutions of the chord tones found in the A Major Pentatonic scale.

We are going to record a scratch rhythm guide and play a static A Minor 7 chord vamp with a couple of variations to keep it interesting! Let's check it out!

Let's play the static chord vamp to establish the tempo and feel of the music. Once we have the feel and tempo right, we are ready to record our scratch track guide into the looper. Let's check out how to get ready to loop the vamp.

We have our guide scratch rhythm part recorded into the looper. Now it's time to record the A Minor 7th and A11 chord into the looper so that we can start building overdub parts and eventually solo over this groove. Let's check that out.

We can overdub additional guitar parts over our first rhythm to add interest and texture musically. A great way to do that is to choose chord voicings that are higher in pitch and are voiced differently to the original guitar part. Let's check out how to do that and start building our orchestration.

The perfect scale to use for improvising over this A Minor vamp is the A Minor Pentatonic Scale. In this video I'll show you where the chord tones exist in the scale and therefore the best tones to target when you improvise.

In this video you'll hear me play some simple phrasing and melody ideas that can give you a great starting point to developing your own lines and licks.

One of the best ways to choose the tones you use for your melodic phrases is to analyze the chord tones found in the chord progression. We've discussed those on the Minor 7 chord, but we can also target tones of the A11 (G/A) chord too. In this video I show you those exotic tones to make you sound like s pro level improviser...let's check it out.

Rehearsing the guitar part before recording the scratch rhythm guide allows us to find the right feel and tempo for the music. Let's check out the guitar chord/part and how to get ready for the recording phase.

It's time to rehearse and record the first rhythm guitar part for the A7 static vamp. The cool thing about this vamp is that you will have the added challenge of playing the suspended chordal parts and the chromatic passing chords. Take time to rehearse your guitar part before recording it. Let's take a listen to this cool R&B groove.

We are ready to start adding overdub rhythm parts. I've chosen to use chord voicings that are an octave above the original guitar part to separate those frequencies for recording clarity. These chord shapes may be new to you but please try to learn them...I promise they will be well worth the effort.

Bubble parts are single-note muted melodic lines that add energy and drive to a recording. These parts sit extremely well in a mix and are often used to outline chords and chord progressions. Let's check out this cool funky approach.

A Minor Pentatonic Scale and Blues re both great tones to use over an A7 chord. This scale option will evoke a bluesy tonality...let's check that out.

The A Major Pentatonic Scale is an excellent option for improvising over an A7 chord. Let's check out that scale shape and melodic approach.

Arpeggios are literally the tones that are found I the chord. An A7 arpeggio for example contains all four tones that make up an A7 chord. These chord tones are the best tones to resolve your lines and licks to over the A7 chord. We can also use those arpeggio tones to improvise with. Let's take a look at how to improvise with an A7 arpeggio.

Double-stops are two notes of a different pitch that are played at the same time. Double-stops are used to create memorable motif-based ideas for a harmonically rich solo approach. Double-stops can be used to outline chord tones and chord progressions. Let's check out this cool approach to improvising.

In this video I'm going to combine the ideas and approaches so that you can see that all of them work together for more variations and combinations. Let's check that out!

Most looper pedals or floorboard devices have an insert Jack to add external audio sources like an MP3 player. let's take a look at how to insert an external source like a drum groove, record it as a loop and why you need to disable the original source before continuing your loop performance.

If you are using an acoustic guitar you have a great opportunity to add your own percussion groove using the sides and top of your acoustic guitar. I like to use the top of the guitar to create a kick drum pulse and the sides of the guitar to add the snare pulse. Let's take a listen to how that sounds and record a simple groove into the looper.

Now that we have a solid approach to looping static chord types and how too phrase simple lines over them, we'll expand our harmonic palette to recording chord progressions. A chord progression is can be a s simple as two chords or as complex as a jazz composition. Typically, looped progressions will contain between 2 and 4 chords...especially if you are planning to improvise over them. Simpler is often. better.

My suggestion is to play your 2-bar phrase twice into the looper. This means you'll have a recording that is 4 bars (4 measures 0 in length. This will allow you to create longer overdub variations over your loop.

In this video we learn a cool two bar chord progression featuring the 'Hendrix' chord...E7(#9). We'll move the same shape up 2 frets to get F#(#9) and finally B7(#5). This chord progression is going to be a great backdrop for some additional guitar parts and a solo. Let's check it out!

In this video we'll apply the E Minor Pentatonic Scale to create a single-note muted guitar part. Muted single-note lines are often called bubble parts. A bubble part sits nicely in the mix as an overdub to a chordal guitar part. The bubble part often outlines the chord changes and adds a really nice energy to a recording. Let's take a look at this great guitar technique and musical approach to guitar playing.

Let’s improvise over our 2-bar loop using the E Minor Pentatonic Scale. A great way to improvise over a 2 bar phrase is to think rhythmically in 2-bar phrases as well. I like to use an idea I call 3 plus 1. I play a 2 bar phrase or motif the first time, I play it a second time with a small variation, I repeat the idea for a third time with another minor change...and my fourth line is a crescendo line that is totally different from the first 3. This gives us an 8 Bar solo that incorporates 3 motif-based ideas and a final line to complete an 8 bar solo. I find this works really well in constructing improvised solos.

When I record overdub parts as a loop artist I think like an arranger. I want my overdubs to work seamlessly with the other layers in my arrangement. Planning your overdubs in advance is a really good idea. Clean execution and precision timing of additional parts is paramount to achieving solid, well-orchestrated loops. Remember these tracks may also serve as platforms for your improvised solos...so leave s space for the melodies!

Let’s improvise over our 2-bar loop using the E Minor Pentatonic Scale. A great way to improvise over a 2-bar phrase is to think rhythmically in 2-bar phrases as well. I like to use an idea I call 3 plus 1. I play a 2-bar phrase or motif the first time, I play it a second time with a small variation, I repeat the idea for a third time with another minor change...and my fourth line is a crescendo line that is totally different from the first 3. This gives us an 8 Bar solo that incorporates 3 motif-based ideas and a final line to complete an 8 bar solo. I find this works really well in constructing improvised solos.

Let’s improvise over our 2-bar loop using the E Minor Pentatonic Scale. A great way to improvise over a 2-bar phrase is to think rhythmically in 2-bar phrases as well. I like to use an idea I call 3 plus 1. I play a 2-bar phrase or motif the first time, I play it a second time with a small variation, I repeat the idea for a third time with another minor change...and my fourth line is a crescendo line that is totally different from the first 3. This gives us an 8-Bar solo that incorporates 3 motif-based ideas and a final line to complete an 8-bar solo. I find this works really well in constructing improvised solos.

In this video I share with you some tips on how to create clarity and nicely orchestrated guitar parts by changing the tone of your guitar for each overdub part. Changing tones will help the parts find their own place in. the mix of your recording and loop orchestrations.

In this section we learn a simple A Dorian chord progression. The progression contains the chords Ami, C, and D. We'll rehearse our guitar part before recording a 'scratch' guide track to make sure I have the tempo, fell and progression length correct. Let's dig into this video and learn a cool chord progression.

In addition to the parts you write and subsequently record in your looper, you may want to consider the tone and effects used on each overdub part. If your first harmony part was played with a warm tone on the neck pickup, the overdub part may sound clearer if you use the middle or bridge pickup.

Riffs are hook lines and repeated phrases generally played in the lower register of the guitar. The riff may be an overdub or replace a sequence of harmony. Riffs and chords work well together too if carefully planned and executed with the right balance of tones. We’ll add a simple riff to the end of our 4-bar phrase and double track it with an octave above to make it nice and full.

Now we have the Riff in place lets phrase some solo ideas that don’t get in the way of the riff...in other words we need to phrase the ideas and package them to leave space within our orchestration. This is a great way for you to practice phrasing motif and simple lead lines and solos. It’s a discipline that will make you a stronger improvisor.

We’ll use the single-note line we recorded to act as our vocal melody line. You’ll notice that the single-note bubble part sits in the first bar of each two-bar phrase, which means we’ll be looking to play our lead fills in bar two. We want to stay out of the way of the vocal line so phrasing these licks to embellish the vocal is what we are trying to achieve.

Looping orchestrations is a great way to practice and build your chord voicing vocabulary. It will also give you a great perspective on what works best to support melodic lines and guitar solos. I personally think having one solid rhythm guitar part and groove is the best platform for melodies and solos, it leaves the most space for complex lines and you'll be able to hear the resolutions better.

The guitar I'm using in this course is the Yamaha Revstar 502TFM in Vintage Japanese Denim. The pickups are P90 single-coils. Please check out the Revstar range of guitars...you won't be disappointed. I'm using the Line 6 Helix for all amp and effects tones. We recorded the Helix direct to camera audio. To find out more about Yamaha guitars please visit yamahaguitars.com for more information on Line 6 Helix please visit line6.com My tones for Helix are available as Tones and Tracks packs in line 6 Marketplace.10 tones and 5 backing tracks.

I love for you to follow my social media channels and check out my other guitar courses and stay in tune with what's going on with live performances, studio sessions, workshops, clinics and trade show events. Here are my links to connect with me.

robbikecalvo.com

YouTube.com/robbiecalvoguitar

instagram.com/robbiecalvo

Facebook.com/robbiecalvoguitar

An example of building a loop in real time.

Watch me build a loop and improvise a solo using some of the tools we discussed throughout this course...I also added some cool double-stop lines and intervallic lines...enjoy!

Thank you so much for working through this course. You are well on your way to achieving the goals on perfecting your guitar loops and knowing how to create solid rhythm grooves. Using your looper to record rhythm parts is the perfect way to orchestrate overdubs and also work on your scales, arpeggios and solo lick ideas. I use my looper on a daily basis for all of those uses...plus at my live shows to expand my song performances. I wish you well on your guitar journey!