Guitar Lesson: The Pitch Axis Theory
If you're a close friend of mine, you'd have heard me mention this musical theory time and time again whenever we listen to the tapping break of Joe Satriani's song "Satch Boogie." I only realized today that in all the years I have learned this technique I have never explained why that song's a perfect example of the theory.
In the barest of all contexts, The Pitch Axis Theory is a technique used in forming chord patterns or progressions. The theory is employed by retaining one root note for the chords all through out the progression. An example would be the chord progression E major 13, E minor 7 sharp 5, back to E major 13 and then to E7 suspended 4 wherein the root note of E was retained but the progression criss-crossed over several modes. Namely E Lydian, E Aeolian and E Myxolydian respectively. (more on modes next time)
I know most people found that previous paragraph as just plain mumbo-jumbo. But in layman's terms, any chord with the same bass note all throughout the assortment of chords is considered to be pitch axis. And even though this musical theory is tied-in to the realm of guitar playing, it can also be applied in conjunction with other band instruments like the keyboards and the bass. (Ala Dream theater who also employs this theory in some of their songs) Using the example I provided earlier, a simple way of doing this is by letting the bass player play the E note over four bars while the guitar and keyboard play the Emaj 13-Em7(#5)-Emaj13-E7sus4 progression over it.
Going back to the song "Satch boogie," Joe Satriani is an avid user of this technique in his songs. Other notable songs where in he used this method are "Always with me, Always with you" from his 1987 album
Surfing with the alien and "Not of this earth" from his first album of the same name.
The tapping portion of "Satch Boogie" starts at the 1:50 mark of the song, midway through. The segment is in the pitch Axis of A which can be heard a lot clearer when the bass comes in playing the static A note at around the 2:15 mark. No chords can be heard during the sequence. Instead, Satriani is actually tapping notes out that go through the outlines of the respective modes of chords all based on the A note. By doing so, Satriani has just made an ingenious but harmonious sequence that gives a clear example of this simple theory in action. I hope that clears up the mystery of The Pitch Axis Theory. If any of you have a question regarding this topic, feel free to message me. Peace out!
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Bidding farewell
After 2 rockin' years with Freedom and Liberty Alone, I have finally decided to close the curtain. Yes, you heard me right.
I have decided to call it quits.
I will keep my reasons disclosed. I really think that we're entitled to keep our discretion to this topic as a band. The decision is amicable however and we're all in relatively good terms with one another.
I just want to thank everybody who's supported me and the FLAmily through my brief stint with the band. You people were my driving force in the band and it wouldn't have been as much fun without you guys.
I learned a lot from my tenure. Things that I know I'll carry over to the next chapters in my life. All I know is that these people were one of the finest musicians I've ever worked with and I leave the band in good hands. So on I go to the next page.
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The 2008 NBA Champions: The Boston Celtics
After over 22 years The Boston Celtics are once again on top of the mountain. Their place in the NBA as the franchise with the most championships still stands strong and the big three's place in the annals of Celtic history has finally been cemented.
Judging from the way they played all season long, I really can't say they didn't deserve it. On top of that, the big three was fortunate enough to have a very supportive reserve team that made their quest for gold a very short one. The 131-92 victory in game 6 pretty much sums their season up as the Los Angeles Lakers were buried in what was the biggest margin of victory in the history of the NBA finals --31 effin' points!
But let's not completely cut out the LA Lakers' valiant efforts. Kobe Bryant played a stellar MVP season. Not to mention his relatively young team mates were a far departure from the Laker teams of the previous season. Their performance though insufficient, was a very commendable one still.
In my opinion, the Lakers' team lacked enough time. No, I'm not talking about time in the court. I'm talking about time to mature as a team. Kobe has very young and inexperienced team mates who are not very familiar to the Finals setting. So although they he may give good looks to them, they're not confident enough to turn them into points just yet. Compared to the Celtic players, The Celts have a line-up with very seasoned players. Players like Sam Cassell, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and so on out number the younger guys significantly and thus providing more of the output during game time.
As far as the Lakers are concerned, there's always next year. Provided they pushed just as hard as they did this season. But for now, it's all about number 17 for the Celts. Congratulations to the 2008 NBA Champions The Boston Celtics. You guys did Red proud!
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And you thought it only happened in the movies!
Browsing through the web, I stumbled across this news story a couple of months back. It's about this man bumping into the girl of his dreams. Sounds common right? Here's the catch: She doesn't know him and neither does he. All he remembers was that she was sitting down, writing on her journal on the number 5 train. After that day he put up a website dedicated to finding her. And you know what? He actually f*ckin' found her again! Read it:
Love quest leaves bloggers' hearts a'flutter
Ian Munro, New York
November 12, 2007
IT DOES not just happen in the movies. Whatever else becomes of New Yorker Patrick Moberg and Melbourne girl Camille Hayton, they have given hopeless romantics everywhere a reason to believe again.
That at least appeared to be the bloggers' consensus after the pair appeared on Good Morning America to discuss his internet quest to find her, the girl of his dreams. It was, several bloggers said, the sweetest thing they had ever heard, and one middle-aged man claimed to have been moved to tears.
For his part, Mr Moberg, 21, could not explain what attracted him to the girl with a flower in her hair on the No. 5 subway train except: "There was this natural draw to her. I could not shake it."
They had made fleeting eye contact and then she disappeared. It was visceral, inexplicable, something beyond words. Little wonder the romantics were quivering.
In the Friday morning interview, Mr Moberg told how they had met the night before: "And totally clicked."
At which point Meg Ryan's agent must be thinking it is time to get some of those striking writers in for some serious script development. It does look like destiny, Ms Hayton conceded. There she is, on the other side of the world from her home in Melbourne, and if her flat had not been destroyed days earlier in a fire she would not have been on that train.
"I could not have imagined (the week) ending in a more bizarre way," she said.
But no, she had not noticed him. Despite Mr Moberg's belief they had made "semi-eye contact" and then, as she left the train "solid eye contact", Ms Hayton said it had not registered.
"I was writing my journal," she recalled. Not only that, she had not noticed the internet site nygirlofmydreams.com that he created in order to track down the girl he had not found the courage or opportunity to approach on the train.
"I was walking to a mate's place for dinner," she explained, when a work colleague rang to say he had made the link between her and his website.
"I had to (meet him). You can't not," Hayton said.
The pair left the television studios together — by subway.
Source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/11/11/1194766505331.html
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The 2008 NBA Finals: The Boston Celtics vs. The Los Angeles Lakers
It's that time of the year again! And might I say with sheer enthusiasm that this year's match-up is more than picture perfect. The Boston Celtics will go head to head with The Los Angeles Lakers in what will be the 61st NBA championship series and the 11th time the two teams will meet in the championship round the last being 21 years ago in 1987.
This rivalry's roots go all the way back to the late 50's and early 60's with Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell going at each other. Ultimately the Celtic's dominated most of their early face-offs in the beating The Lakers in all 7 meetings from 1959 to 1969. This rivalry would once again resurface in the 1980's with Larry versus Magic. The Lakers would have more success in the decade winning the last 2 championships against the Celts in 1985 and 1987. It goes without saying that these two teams are without a doubt two of the most successful teams of the NBA with The Lakers with 14 championships and The Celtics with a record of 16.
This season's reincarnation of the LA-Boston rivalry just like much of the previous historic meetings also comes with its own milestones. Phil Jackson, the head coach of the Lakers is currently vying for his 10th NBA Championship ring. It's also the first time in 11 years that the eastern conference has home court advantage and the first time in 8 years that two number one seeded teams met in the NBA Finals.
Personally, I'm pretty torn between the two teams. Coming into the 2007-2008 post-season I was routing for The Boston Celtics for the big three's collective effort and at the same time for The Lakers --Kobe Bryant specifically who has been doing a highly commendable job this whole season. Never in my wildest of dreams did I think that the two would face-off. This is a series definitely worth watching.
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5 years
On May 22, 2003 an incoming freshmen student from La salle Zobel put up a weblog entitled "Phillipians 4:13" to vent out his frustrations in life. 5 years and 243 posts later, here it still stands. Thank you for visiting all these years, Whoever you people are!
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