"Musicality" & What Makes a Great Chord Progression?

[maguchi]

Speaking of Ted. I bought his book many, many moons ago. Still haven't ever used an Ab7/13.

Still have time, though.

I use it all the time actually.
Yes, I'm serious. Especially when warming up. It's one of my go to shapes.

View attachment 26536

Interesting
Thumb over the low E?

Yes, one of my favorite chords, and one of the easiest to finger. Works great for funk, R&B, even blues. I usually play it with the thumb on the back of the neck. This one's a Bb13.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Fwiw, here's a quick shot on that "Rikki..." solo from yours truly. Backing slapped together quite quickly, but it works for noodling purposes.

 

[Sascha Franck]

And as far as that 13th chord with the root on the low E string goes, IMO the thumb is the way to go. Not only can you dampen the A string a lot better than with the "half-lifted flesh" of your index finger (or the tip of your middle finger), no, in case there's a bass, you can easily just play the thing as if nothing ever happened by just leaving the thumb out. Also adds one more finger for further adventures (should you want to, say, make a Bb/b13/#9 out of that chord (for which there might be pretty good reasons...).

 

[FuzzyAce]

Fwiw, here's a quick shot on that "Rikki..." solo from yours truly. Backing slapped together quite quickly, but it works for noodling purposes.

Nice effort.
In your context you can better tell how those changes are tricky. Tricky in the sense of making it flow properly without sounding forced.

I think Baxter's take works great because it starts with a vocal quality in the first 3 bars, with vibrato and phrasing. Other than a few runs and double stops it's a very vocal solo altogether.

 

[FuzzyAce]

And as far as that 13th chord with the root on the low E string goes, IMO the thumb is the way to go. Not only can you dampen the A string a lot better than with the "half-lifted flesh" of your index finger (or the tip of your middle finger), no, in case there's a bass, you can easily just play the thing as if nothing ever happened by just leaving the thumb out. Also adds one more finger for further adventures (should you want to, say, make a Bb/b13/#9 out of that chord (for which there might be pretty good reasons...).

I do it more with my index because I like to slide those shapes sharp or flat and the timbre of the thumb over the low E string is not as defining as I'd like it to be when playing a bit faster. So it's a mix of comfort, tone, execution that I do it that way mostly. I will use my thumb when the root changes a half step. Something like this:
X
5
5
4
X
5

X
5
5
4
X
4

 

[Sascha Franck]

I think Baxter's take works great because it starts with a vocal quality in the first 3 bars, with vibrato and phrasing.

To be honest, the only parts I like in his solo are those before the G chord turns up. After that it's falling apart at least somewhat for me and more like some "whoops, that chord" affair, there's no continuous thread through it all anymore.
But then, I actually happen to like less Steely Dan guitar solos than most guitarists seem to do - which has likely to do with the parts they come up with to solo over. Take "Kid Charlemagne". I sort of like the composition/arrangement. I also like Carlton and his playing in general. And I like the end solo. But the main solo is something making me not listen to the tune. It's like "inaccessable" or whatever one might say. Just doesn't flow naturally. At least not for me (and I'm defenitely not unfamiliar with more complexed harmony and stuff). Fwiw, I don't even like Jay Graydon's solo on "Peg", which gets a truckload of reputation.
And just before someone gets at me: I can both understand why people like these solos and I can as well appreciate their value in a music-historical context. After all, these were bringing jazz and fusion vibes to pop music, which was quite an achievement (see La Szum's and your posts about SD's achievments in general - which I totally agree with). It's just not for me.

 

[FuzzyAce]

To be honest, the only parts I like in his solo are those before the G chord turns up. After that it's falling apart at least somewhat for me and more like some "whoops, that chord" affair, there's no continuous thread through it all anymore.
But then, I actually happen to like less Steely Dan guitar solos than most guitarists seem to do - which has likely to do with the parts they come up with to solo over. Take "Kid Charlemagne". I sort of like the composition/arrangement. I also like Carlton and his playing in general. And I like the end solo. But the main solo is something making me not listen to the tune. It's like "inaccessable" or whatever one might say. Just doesn't flow naturally. At least not for me (and I'm defenitely not unfamiliar with more complexed harmony and stuff). Fwiw, I don't even like Jay Graydon's solo on "Peg", which gets a truckload of reputation.
And just before someone gets at me: I can both understand why people like these solos and I can as well appreciate their value in a music-historical context. After all, these were bringing jazz and fusion vibes to pop music, which was quite an achievement (see La Szum's and your posts about SD's achievments in general - which I totally agree with). It's just not for me.

No, I totally get it. We all are drawn to different styles and harmonic content. Kid Charlemagne is certainly a more 'correct' solo compared to Rikki, and I do like it too, but I can see where it may be a disconnect with some listeners. It has a more 'angular' approach to it.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

To be honest, the only parts I like in his solo are those before the G chord turns up. After that it's falling apart at least somewhat for me and more like some "whoops, that chord" affair, there's no continuous thread through it all anymore.
But then, I actually happen to like less Steely Dan guitar solos than most guitarists seem to do - which has likely to do with the parts they come up with to solo over. Take "Kid Charlemagne". I sort of like the composition/arrangement. I also like Carlton and his playing in general. And I like the end solo. But the main solo is something making me not listen to the tune. It's like "inaccessable" or whatever one might say. Just doesn't flow naturally. At least not for me (and I'm defenitely not unfamiliar with more complexed harmony and stuff). Fwiw, I don't even like Jay Graydon's solo on "Peg", which gets a truckload of reputation.
And just before someone gets at me: I can both understand why people like these solos and I can as well appreciate their value in a music-historical context. After all, these were bringing jazz and fusion vibes to pop music, which was quite an achievement (see La Szum's and your posts about SD's achievments in general - which I totally agree with). It's just not for me.

Yeah, what kills that band for me even more are the vocals