# JP Rock Discipline



## Josh (Jul 14, 2005)

Pulled the book out yesterday and began day 1 of my new practice schedule (which merely consists of a minimum of one hour per day, and at least 40 minutes of practicing things I'm terrible at). 

Holy crap, I can't believe how fast he can play patterns that I can hardly finger through at all.  Fortunately since I'm on a computer keyboard all day, my fingers are still about as coordinated as when I stopped playing last year.

My recording shite should be here today too...I can't wait to get some of the ideas in my head onto 'tape'.


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## Drew (Jul 14, 2005)

Yeah, JP owns.  

Those opening descending "stretching" drills have actually been pretty damned helpful, not just for stretching but for general finger alignment - my fretting motion seems to be getting cleaner. 

That said, I couldn't believe how big a dork JP was, in this vid - he looks like he TOTALLY got beat up for lunch money all through high school, and only picked up the guitar because he was conflicted about masturbation or something.  

...and then when he busts out something like that arpeggio picking drill, it's just comical.  Great DVD.


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## Josh (Jul 14, 2005)

I only have the book/cd, but I want to get the vid just so I can _see_ the techniques he's teaching. 

But yeah, I can see how any notion anyone has about him goes right out the window as soon as he goes "and then you can just speed that up like this *weeedlywedlywedly weeee e e e ee*.


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## The Dark Wolf (Jul 14, 2005)

Drew said:


> That said, I couldn't believe how big a dork JP was, in this vid... and only picked up the guitar because he was conflicted about masturbation or something.



SNORT!  That's freaking great, D! 

It is an awesome vid, though.


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## Shawn (Jul 14, 2005)

JP's Rock Discipline. Great video. The guy is phenomenal.


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## Papa Shank (Jul 14, 2005)

there are some great things he says through the vid, and the excercises are good aswell.

while we're on the topic of petrucci, anyone else notice that in the bonus material from live at budokan petrucci gets a cup of coffee and he says something along the lines of "they've got this little thing, it's pretty nifty but they still haven't got the sleeve so you don't burn your hands, they haven't got that one quite yet"
artists impression of petrucci -


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## Karl Hungus (Jul 14, 2005)

Drew said:


> Those opening descending "stretching" drills have actually been pretty damned helpful, not just for stretching but for general finger alignment - my fretting motion seems to be getting cleaner.



To tell the truth, the stretching drills did absolutely nothing for me, I got some excersizes from my mentor that worked far better for me altogether.

It's definetly a good DVD, and there is stuff there that's really helped me, but on the whole I don't think it's all that.


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## Josh (Jul 14, 2005)

One thing rarely works for _everybody_.


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## Drew (Jul 14, 2005)

Yeah, and with the exception of the spread between my middle and ring fingers, the stretches themselves are pretty straightforward - I can get that one down to the second position and back up without extreme agony. But, like I said, for finger alignment and cleaning up my fretting motion, surprisingly it's helped.


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## Drew (Jul 14, 2005)

This lick:


```
|--------------------------------------------------------5-5-5-5-9-9-9-9---------|
|----------------------------------------5-5-5-5---------------------------------|
|------------------------6-6-6-6-----------------6-6-6-6-----------------6-6-6-6-|
|---------7-7-7-7----------------7-7-7-7-----------------------------------------|
|------------------7-7-7---------------------------------------------------------|
|-5-5-5-5------------------------------------------------------------------------|etc.
```

at speed OWNS. You just have to start laughing, lol.


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## Shawn (Jul 14, 2005)

Drew said:


> This lick:
> 
> 
> ```
> ...



...................lol.


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## The Dark Wolf (Jul 14, 2005)

Drew said:


> This lick:
> 
> 
> ```
> ...



 I KNOW! It's nutty!

I so love that lick now, though


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## Vince (Jul 14, 2005)

Drew thanks for posting that, I haven't dug into my Rock Discipline tape in a long time (prolly because I don't have a VCR in my music room here). 

That's fun little lick to play. I started with it at 160 and worked up to 190 then I started doing something else (I love how instructional ideas can spawn other creative ideas)....

What the hell is this scale called? Anyone? All I know is I can play the Inspector Gadget theme on it 

E|-----------------------------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------
G|-----------------7-9-7-------------------------
D|---------7-8-11--------11-8-7-----------------
A|-7-9-10-----------------------10-9-7----------
E|-----------------------------------------------

From the first 5 notes it looks phyrigian, but it's not actually modal. Anyone?


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## Vince (Jul 14, 2005)

Oh yeah, thanks Drew for leaving out the descending part of the lick, dick


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## The Dark Wolf (Jul 14, 2005)

desertdweller said:


> What the hell is this scale called? Anyone? All I know is I can play the Inspector Gadget theme on it
> 
> E|-----------------------------------------------
> B|-----------------------------------------------
> ...



Looks like a dominant b2 scale (starting on V), or a Locrian bb7 (starting on III).


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## Vince (Jul 14, 2005)

Well, I'm pretty sure it's not a variation of the Locrian scale, there's no flatted 2nd. It's definitely an off-shoot of phyrigian, I just don't know what the actual name for this scale is, if there is a name for it.


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## The Dark Wolf (Jul 14, 2005)

desertdweller said:


> Well, I'm pretty sure it's not a variation of the Locrian scale, there's no flatted 2nd. It's definitely an off-shoot of phyrigian, I just don't know what the actual name for this scale is, if there is a name for it.



Hmmm, it's like a diminished scale, but missing a scale degree (Dim scale is a 9-tone scale).

Formula- *Diminished scale* 1, 2, b3, 4, b5, *b6*(Missing), bb7 (also called #6), 7, 8

With it being a dominant b2 like I said before, well, it's played in the fifth mode the way you have it tabbed (hence starting on V). I don't _think_ that mode has a name, as it's a pretty exotic scale...? I dunno, mixolydian dominant b2?  Inspector Gadget, I love that. 

Play it in the first mode and you'll see the flattened 2nd (same scale pattern, but start on A, I believe). The other scale I mentioned is just an enharmonic equivalent. Same scale formula, just different name/mode. Alot of times they'll call a sharpened 6th a double flat 7... go figure (see formula above) 

It certainly isn't any conventional (or psuedo conventional) scale.


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## Drew (Jul 15, 2005)

Just for you, Vince 


```
|-9-9-9-9---------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------5-5-5-5-----------------------------------------|
|---------6-6-6-6-----------------6-6-6-6-------------------------|
|-------------------------7-7-7-7-----------------7-7-7-7---------|
|-----------------------------------------7-7-7-7-----------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------5-5-5-5-|
```

Petrucci walks this through a random chord sequence (next is up a m3), but I just jump around the neck randomly on this one. 

And, to rearrange that one in another position, A-A... unless the coffee's just been a little lax here and I need another (a definite possibility), it LOOKS like it's just a phrygian dominant, inverted over the 5th...

```
|-------------------------------|
|-------------------------------|
|-------------------------------|
|-------------5-7-5-------------|
|-----4-5-7-8-------8-7-5-4-----|
|-5-6-----------------------6-5-|
```

As far as naming it... You could just say it's a phrygian dominant run (lol), but the PD is the harmonic minor scale inverted over the 5th. Invert that over the 5th again, and it's effectively a harmonic minor scale played off it's second (i.e - C harmonic minor, the 5th would be G, and the 5th again would be D, which is the second degree of C harm. minor). This gives us R-M2-b3-4-b5-#6-b7. As Dorian is the second mode of the regular major scale, my thought would be to call it a Dorian b5. 

-D


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## The Dark Wolf (Jul 15, 2005)

Drew said:


> Petrucci walks this through a random chord sequence (next is up a m3), but I just jump around the neck randomly on this one.



 Me too, dude. That damn lick IS addictive, isn't it?

FYI...The second mode of the harmonic minor is Locrian natural 6.

A harmonic minor scale played off its second would be

*1, b2, 3, 4, b5, #6, b7, 8*... that flat 2nd throws off your scale, D. And there it is... a locrian with a rasied 6th. Hence, locrian nat 6. As far as a Dorian flat 5, I don't think such a thing exists, in name. There's a dorian flat 2...  

The problem with your scale construction is that fret 8 on the A string (f natural). That is an accidental to Vince's scale... f natural doesn't occur. It doesn't follow the scale pattern either. If that was the case, Vince's 2nd would be flat, which it isn't. At least that's how it looks to me! 

But! If you play a dominant flat 2 in first mode, you get your scale formula

*1, b2, #3, b4, 5, 6, b7, 8*. Transposed (on 5), this becomes
*1, 2, b3, 4, b5, #6, b7, 8*. See?  Vince's scale formula. Which is dominant flat 2 (fifth mode).


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## Drew (Jul 15, 2005)

fucker, looks like you're right, and as the harmonic minor is based off the aeolean, you even got the name. More coffee, Garco'n!  

Anyway, we're agreeing on the scale degrees for vince's scale, right? 1, 2, b3, 4, b5, 6, b7? As such, I still think Dorian b5, while not a modal derrivative of any scale I'm aware of (modally, it'd suggest a major with a b6 as it's parent) is probably the most apt name - call it an altered modal scale?


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## Drew (Jul 15, 2005)

(I suck at this, without a guitar in hand  )


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## The Dark Wolf (Jul 15, 2005)

Drew said:


> fucker, looks like you're right, and as the harmonic minor is based off the aeolean, you even got the name. More coffee, Garco'n!
> 
> Anyway, we're agreeing on the scale degrees for vince's scale, right? 1, 2, b3, 4, b5, 6, b7? As such, I still think Dorian b5, while not a modal derrivative of any scale I'm aware of (modally, it'd suggest a major with a b6 as it's parent) is probably the most apt name - call it an altered modal scale?



Yeah, we definitely agree about that, D.

And the scale DOES have a name... Dominant b2!  But as I posted before, it has more than one, so enharmonic namings for it are all probably moot, and if Dorian flat5 helps ya remember it (like I'LL ever use this frickin' scale ) I say, more power to ya! I think of it like a bastard harmonic minor scale, myself.

This one is tricky, which is strange, because it's similar to the melodic/harmonic minor scales (my guess is in practice the diminished scale is probably used more. With the sequence of half-step/half-step/half-step in it, being 9-tones, it is probably more harmonically pleasing and opens up a few more doors. Just a guess, though). I guess that augmented sixth throws everything outta whack. I thought to myself when looking at it, "Vince is pretty smart... it almost certainly isn't a conventional scale/mode. Nope. ... a melodic minor mode?! Nope... must be an exotic."


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## Drew (Jul 15, 2005)

Dominant b2? How the hell does THAT make sense?  A dominant would suggest 1-3-5-b7, and while there's a 1 and a b7, that's about it, lol. I'm missing something, I think. 

-D


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## The Dark Wolf (Jul 15, 2005)

Drew said:


> Dominant b2? How the hell does THAT make sense?  A dominant would suggest 1-3-5-b7, and while there's a 1 and a b7, that's about it, lol. I'm missing something, I think.
> 
> -D



Hey, I don't make the rules. I just enforce'em! 

The scale structure (in the first mode  ) has a min 2, an aug 3rd (*relative to the min 2nd*, otherwise normal 3rd (ie, there's a whole and a half step between the 2nd and 3rd is what I'm saying here. But the 3rd falls on the normal scale degree for the major scale, of which the dominant chord is constructed  ), normal 5th and a b7. Um... that's dominant, dood.There ya go! 1, 3, 5, b7... make that a chord, and ta da! Dominant like ya say. Obviously the scale is named for the first mode... (well, maybe not so obviously). THAT's why it's a dominant flat 2... dominant scale construction but with a flattened 2nd. In the first mode, that goofy augmented interval falls between 2 and 3, but in the fifth mode (Vince's scale) it falls between 5 and 6.

But see, Vince's scale is NOT in first mode. It's in the fifth. Do the math. Start the same note progression on A instead of E, and you get "our" scale formula (1, 2, b3, 4, b5, #6, b7, 8)


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## Drew (Jul 15, 2005)

Oh, the parent scale of Vince's modal form.... 

Gotcha, lol. I was looking at his scale (1, 2, b3, 4, b5, 6, b7) and trying to see how in god's name that spelled out a dominant chord.  

By the way, my turn to be anal - that 3rd in the parent scale is major, not augmented - they're named in relation to the root, not the previous scale degree (else it'd be an 2+, not a M3 )

Good to have a chance to think/talk this stuff again, though.  

-D


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## The Dark Wolf (Jul 17, 2005)

Drew said:


> Oh, the parent scale of Vince's modal form....
> 
> Gotcha, lol. I was looking at his scale (1, 2, b3, 4, b5, 6, b7) and trying to see how in god's name that spelled out a dominant chord.
> 
> ...


Duh, no shit, Drew . That's why I said *relative to the min second* (it's an aumented interval ). I was a music major, D  Thanks for pointing that out, though. 

See, you're trying to catch me and it ain't happ'nin!


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## Drew (Jul 17, 2005)

The Dark Wolf said:


> *1, b2, #3, b4, 5, 6, b7, 8*



Don't fuck with the american lit major!  

Haha, sorry.


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## The Dark Wolf (Jul 17, 2005)

Drew said:


> Don't fuck with the american lit major!
> 
> Haha, sorry.



 

Alright, ya got me


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