Swing rhythm guitar - The Earregulars

**Guillemlt** · 10-19-2016, 03:42 AM

Hi guys,

I know this topic is been discussed in other posts, even there are some videos around. But I can't get to understand a lot of the movements that, for instance, Matt Munisteri does with the Earregulars. Take this as an example:

I can identify some movements like:

- Basic major triad to Maj7 to Maj6
in Eb:
6 6 6 6
x x x x
5 5 5 5
8 7 6 7
x x x x
x x x x

- From major with root on bass to scale chord to diminished passing chord to first inversion:
in G:
3 5 6 7
x x x x
2 5 5 5
4 5 6 7
x x x x
x x x x

- From minor with root on bass to scale chord to first inversion
in G:
3 5 6
x x x
3 5 5
3 5 7
x x x
x x x

- Half step movements

- Diminished movements in minor thirds

- ii-V's

Everything else that he does is a mystery to me...I don't know if I don't understand the voicings or substitutions...but i've been looking at his videos a lot and I just don't get it...and I love it!

Any clue??

Thanks!!!

**christianm77** · 10-19-2016, 06:57 AM

Can you be a little more specific in terms of timings in the video?

The stuff you've identified will get you long way.

**Guillemlt** · 10-19-2016, 09:12 AM

Originally Posted by christianm77

Can you be a little more specific in terms of timings in the video?

The stuff you've identified will get you long way.

Sure!

For instance at 0:12, the song goes to it's second A (back to Eb) and Matt does one bar of a regular Eb major triad movement, and then some other movement (still in Eb) that I don't get but sounds great.

I don't know, every time I watch videos of the Earregulars with Matt Munisteri or the great Chris Flory I get surprised at how great they play rhythm, how original they are!

**christianm77** · 10-19-2016, 09:31 AM

Yeah, I really like Munisteri's playing.

**jasonc** · 10-19-2016, 10:25 AM

I love this stuff and the Earregulars. Just quickly looking at the section you talked about at :12 sec...I think he's just playing harmonized scales and some diminished passing stuff. This is one way of filling up that same spot (I don't know if this is exactly what he's doing but it's very close)

he starts moving on beat four
x x x x x x x x x
3 5 4 3 4 5 8 11 8
5 3 3 5 5 6 6 9 6
3 5 5 3 5 5 8 11 8
5 4 3 5 6 6 6 10 6
x x x x x x x x x

**jasonc** · 10-19-2016, 10:29 AM

I can't get the stuff to line up right but those x's should be above and below each chord...just don't play either E string

**diminix** · 10-19-2016, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by jasonc

I can't get the stuff to line up right but those x's should be above and below each chord...just don't play either E string

Jason,

in the forum editor you can change the font for your paragraph containing the chord fingerings to a non-proportional font (easiest would be Courier New):

x x x x x x x x x
3 5 4 3 4 5 8 11 8
5 3 3 5 5 6 6 9 6
3 5 5 3 5 5 8 11 8
5 4 3 5 6 6 6 10 6
x x x x x x x x x

then every character including blanks will have the same width and you can line up your stuff neatly. Or you could write them horizontally:

x3535x
x5354x
x4353x
x3535x
x4556x
x5656x
x8686x
x1910x
x8686x

Maybe easier to read the chord in a chunk. I prefer to underline a digit for "plus 10", so I need only one position for one string and all chords have equal width.

Robert

Edit: Obviously I was a bit optimistic about the Courier New formation -- HTML will condense several blanks in a row to one blank. We would need a non-breaking space here, have to find out if and how that works...

**voxss** · 10-19-2016, 02:54 PM

omg i i feel i could sit in there and play 4 choruses soloing..my band in a box studies ..id probly do johnny smiths transcription of this song...yes i read everything.....all id ask for is a pint of good ALE...

**voxss** · 10-19-2016, 03:20 PM

can someone do me a favor....play the melody to There Is No greater Love and then play the jazz guitar solo band in a box solo number 87...tell me if it fits...i think its wonderful...BPM 135....

**fasstrack** · 10-20-2016, 12:42 AM

Gonna hear sometimes EarRegular James Chirillo do just that on Saturday at Fraunce's Tavern 1-4, financial district, Big Mango. And he 'does it' very well, indeed.

A little boidy told me I can consider my ass kicked if I don't sit in. I don't do 'trad' gigs to the extent of James, Chris Flory, Howard Alden (a badass on banjo, BTW), but I CAN play The Man I Love or Jada, etc.

I never heard Munisteri. Will check it out right now...

**Guillemlt** · 10-20-2016, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by jasonc

I love this stuff and the Earregulars. Just quickly looking at the section you talked about at :12 sec...I think he's just playing harmonized scales and some diminished passing stuff. This is one way of filling up that same spot (I don't know if this is exactly what he's doing but it's very close)

he starts moving on beat four
x x x x x x x x x
3 5 4 3 4 5 8 11 8
5 3 3 5 5 6 6 9 6
3 5 5 3 5 5 8 11 8
5 4 3 5 6 6 6 10 6
x x x x x x x x x

Hi Jason,

could you explain whats going on there? I don't get it...

**grahambop** · 10-20-2016, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by Guillemlt

Hi Jason,

could you explain whats going on there? I don't get it...

have a look at post no 7 by diminix - it's clearer using the 'x3535x' format. (i.e. chord expressed as fret number for each string starting from 6th string, across to 1st.) 'x' means don't play that string.

**Guillemlt** · 10-20-2016, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by grahambop

have a look at post no 7 by diminix - it's clearer using the 'x3535x' format. (i.e. chord expressed as fret number for each string starting from 6th string, across to 1st.) 'x' means don't play that string.

I understand the notation, what I don't get is the explanation of the chords moving...

**grahambop** · 10-20-2016, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by Guillemlt

I understand the notation, what I don't get is the explanation of the chords moving...

Actually I'm not sure which way round those string numbers are meant to be, I'll have to listen to the clip.

**Rob MacKillop** · 10-20-2016, 01:34 PM

They're surely the wrong way round...

**diminix** · 10-20-2016, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop

They're surely the wrong way round...

Sorry, didn't get into the music, just wanted to help with the notation (which didn't work for the non-proportional notation because of compressed whitespace--asked Dirk if there is a feature in the forum editor to write several blanks in a row, waiting for answer). Jason's notation the other way round would look like this:

x5353x
x4535x
x3534x
x5353x
x6554x
x6565x
x6868x
x0191x
x6868x

Don't have a guitar here at the desk to hear how that would sound like...

Robert

**jasonc** · 10-20-2016, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by Guillemlt

Hi Jason,

could you explain whats going on there? I don't get it...

Yeah man I'm sorry I couldn't get those to line up like I wanted. Basically the x's on the top are the high E string and the x's on bottom are the low E and everything is read down from the top. So the first voicing is a D minor with the D on the third fret B string and then the C on the 5th fret G string and the F on the third fret D string and root again on the A string 5th fret. I hope that makes sense...or do you want to know whats happening harmonically?

**grahambop** · 10-20-2016, 04:07 PM

OK it's very hard to hear much, but based on a line I can hear descending and ascending in the chords, and what I can see on the fretboard, my approximate guess starting at the first beat of the bar at 0:12 and for the next 3 bars would be as follows:

x657xx (Eb)
x657xx
x655xx (Eb6)
x654xx (Eb #5)

x653xx (Eb)
x542xx (D)
x653xx (Eb)
x564xx (D dim)

x785xx (C7)
x553xx (C9)
x785xx (C7)
x785xx

Not saying that's exactly right, but it sounds very similar. I think he's mostly playing only strings 5, 4 and 3.

**Guillemlt** · 10-20-2016, 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by grahambop

OK it's very hard to hear much, but based on a line I can hear descending and ascending in the chords, and what I can see on the fretboard, my approximate guess starting at the first beat of the bar at 0:12 and for the next 3 bars would be as follows:

x657xx (Eb)
x657xx
x655xx (Eb6)
x654xx (Eb #5)

x653xx (Eb)
x542xx (D)
x653xx (Eb)
x564xx (D dim)

x785xx (C7)
x553xx (C9)
x785xx (C7)
x785xx

Not saying that's exactly right, but it sounds very similar. I think he's mostly playing only strings 5, 4 and 3.

Hey that's great! I think that's exactly it, or at least pretty close. Thanks for your time!

**grahambop** · 10-20-2016, 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by Guillemlt

Hey that's great! I think that's exactly it, or at least pretty close. Thanks for your time!

No problem, I learned something from it! I'm getting more and more interested in this kind of rhythm playing, it's a lot of fun to try on different tunes.

**matt.guitarteacher** · 10-20-2016, 05:34 PM

Originally Posted by jasonc

Yeah man I'm sorry I couldn't get those to line up like I wanted. Basically the x's on the top are the high E string and the x's on bottom are the low E and everything is read down from the top. So the first voicing is a D minor with the D on the third fret B string and then the C on the 5th fret G string and the F on the third fret D string and root again on the A string 5th fret. I hope that makes sense...or do you want to know whats happening harmonically?

Yeah. I had no clue what this was honestly.

Horizontal is the standard, and it also immediately solves the formatting problems. For whatever reason, some people actually get really pissy about this kind of thing, but at the very least, it marginalizes your content, as many won't even bother trying to decipher.

Beyond formatting though, it's pretty helpful for immediately understanding it, to have things simply notated in the common format. It's like a chord grid: left side is 6th string, right side is 1st. When you are used to it, it will also save you a ton of time typing.