Give your solos an unexpected twist by using math to craft musical

phrases

Utilizing number sequences to approach songwriting will yield unusual

results, as Dweezil Zappa explains...

In this lesson, I’d like to continue talking about numbers and

sequencing approaches in regard to creating improvised lines. It’s not
math rock per se, but rather normal guitar playing with an approach
that allows one to explore phrases that can move decisively away from
scalar-type lines, wherein you can utilize more interesting and
unexpected rhythms that will surprise you, your friends and anyone
who listens to your music.

A very easy way to dive into this concept is to select a series of

numbers, and each collection of notes will be made up of those
sequential numbers. For example, you can use a phone number as the
basis for structuring a series of melodic phrases. If the first number is 5,
the first phrase will be five notes long; if the second number is 8, the
next phrase will be eight notes, and so forth.

Let’s use a phone number everyone is familiar with: 867-5309, which

comes from the title of Tommy Tutone's huge hit song from the
Eighties, 867-5309/Jenny. So the first musical phrase is eight notes,
followed by a six-note phrase, then a seven-note phrase. Obviously, the
note choices and melodic possibilities are endless.

FIGURE 1 illustrates a simple eight-note phrase built from the notes of

the A minor pentatonic scale (A, C, D, E, G), played in descending order
(G, E, D, C, A), with two notes per string. FIGURE 2 is a six-note phrase,
wherein we have two three-note groups, played three notes per string.
If we combine these two sequences and play them as straight 16th
notes, we get the melody shown in FIGURE 3.
Next is a seven-note sequence, as shown in FIGURE 4. Note that in the
middle of this phrase, I barre my ring finger across the B, G and D
strings at the 7th fret and use an upstroke to pick those three notes.
FIGURE 5 combines our eight-, six- and seven-note phrases into one
longer one.

Okay, now we need a five-note sequence. To shake things up, let’s play
all five notes on one string. In this way, we are creating a variety in the
manner by which the notes are executed. In FIGURE 6, I use a pair of
hammer-on phrases to create the five-note pattern. In bar 2, I combine
the previous seven-note phrase with our new five-note one. FIGURE 7
combines all of the melodies into one long phrase.

For the 3 (not shown), I play E - G - A on the B string. The next number is
the hardest one of all - 0. That means you have to stop playing, which
for many of us is, um, difficult. The zero can last as long as you like.
We’ll use a quarter-note rest.

The zero is followed by a nine-note phrase, as shown in FIGURE 8. Now

we have our entire phone number represented as a series of melodic
phrases, presented in FIGURE 9.

Now that you have the idea, try using things like your license plate
number (convert a letter to the appropriate number), your date of birth,
or the serial number of your favorite guitar. This approach is sure to
yield totally unexpected results.