Guthrie Govan - Pitch Axis Theory - Session 14 Licklibrary

[MrAlexGTV]

Pitch axis is a complicated name for something soooo common

[firstgearlead]

for once, guthrie doesn't quite get it right.. weird.. i don't know how to feel at this moment...

[EpictheEpicest]

I was doing this the whole time and had no idea what it was...

[SkillerGuyVids]

Lol, better explanation than any 3 page website about PAT on the internet.

[timrocket2]

leaving it up to the player is so much better than telling a player what to do

[lilnetty2]

what a mind...love this guy.

[F4TB0Y69]

Guthrie at the start of this video stated he thinks, therefore he wasnt sure, pitch axis isnt something Guthrie uses as much as guys like Satch. =]

[TheXPrisoner]

@Testament2222 almost many guitarisst in a certain phase if he is progressing (exception- a vague term) subconsciously uses pitch axis..

but as @jspartacus said , the above video is very vague for people who are thinking that they have figured out what pitch axis is with this 2 min video.

[CantDoThatOnStage]

Guthrie is guessing it wrong, it's about the different modes over a certain key (pitch). Look on youtube for satriani pitch axis and you will find Joe explaining himself. For example going from A myxolydian to A phrygian in one song. The A remains, the mood totally changes.

[guitarz333]

@CantDoThatOnStage That's the impression I've always had as well.

[panamanian911]

@CantDoThatOnStage It's the same thing. Satriani explained it in terms of melody and Guthrie in terms of harmony, but it's the same concept.

[TruthSurge]

Wow. Guthrie knows Joe's mind better than Joe! amazing!

[jspartacus]

So, he doesn't understand Pitch Axis. The theory is that, given a common note, there are certain KNOWN progressions that can work over that note. It is the OPPOSITE of knowing what notes can work over a particular chord. Contrary to what Govan says here, experimentation is not necessary: Satch has already mapped out the possibilities and has a formula. Going back 20+ years through his many instructive articles, Satriani explains it in-depth.

[Mo7Vsta]

trollin on J Satch haha

[Testament2222]

Check out a track called Lie by Dream Theater, the end solo uses this theory.

[gnryeah]

@Testament2222 Great song!

[WyattTheGuitarist]

Sounds like he's talking about pedal tones.

[detroidxl]

MORE HELPFUL? YOU SPEAKING IS BEST THING IVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE

GUTHRIE GOVAN 4EVER <3

[cris931609]

cool didnt know this was like a theory

[jiri1991]

my god every time I hear this guy talk I think he's a genius

[raphaeljsn]

isn´t it the same of scales? i didn´t understand

[playingforbritain]

@raphaeljsn the difference is these aren't in the same scale - they just share the root notes. As long as one note is always there, it doesn't matter what chord you play. That's what he's saying.

[024leoj]

I started doing this when i first started playing and didn't know and still don't about scales or chords. I couldn't tap very well, so I started to tap on different strings using the same open string to make the drone note. So keeping on the A with 1 or 2 note and tapping on the next string to make the 5th or 7th or 3rd, you get these arpeggiated sounds while not picking and you can play them in any order and they sound sweet. So I wouldn't think Joe(which is my name too) Thought about it much.

[Quikfingers]

Haha, not a lot of guitarists can call bullshit on Satch. JK. Great lesson though!

[darkenedmindband]

pitcth axis ......ever heard of pedal notes?

[jacknarcotta]

@darkenedmindband Agreed on this... Guthrie even says it's like pedal notes (@ 1:27). So... what's different?

[Chippie0703]

@jacknarcotta The difference is that it goes through different modes keeping one note as the root of each mode eg. A Dorian, A Lydian, A Phrygian, back to A Dorian. It is similar to having a pedal note, but specific in that it uses modal variation instead of diatonic varation. Hope this helps!

[ShadowLancer128]

@Chippie0703 well- erm-

if you switch from ionian to aeolian through relative intervals, um... I hate to be a bummer here, but technically you're switching from major to minor. no offense!

:X

[MrMu5iQ]

@ShadowLancer128 thats his point.. do this;

start in aeolian maybe blues scale if thats your sound, change to dorian, then to mixolydian, youve now drifted from minor to major and when youre familiar with it, it can sound great, then from mixo to lydian or inion do what you want, pedal point allows you to change keys under the same bass, very cool stuff

[bobby12756]

He's like Sean Connery with long hair.

[Scracar]

@bobby12756 Hahaha holy crap I see it !

[ThePugnaciousAnt]

I read the whole wikipedia page on it and was like o.O

Then I saw this vid and the guy explains it in 1:30... possibly the most helpful 1:30 video I've ever seen.

[1madaboutguitar]

I always used Pitch axis theory to find out what key im in, cant be without it, but just came naturally.

[Harvester66633]

i think there couldnt be any simpler explonation i thought it was something really complicated but he just explained it in the simplest way

[returnofthejazz]

how is pitch axis different than a pedal point?

[tabotabojayar]

so...just sit there,,,pick a pedal note....think ,,,,then just play..

[dopeypickles]

hagrid, did you loose weight?

[Jivesey1]

NOOOOOOOOO joe definitely came up with that tapping lick based on the varying modes. one of the ideas of pitch axis theory is that certain chords exemplify the modes (eg m7 for aolian or dom7 for mixolydian). what joe does is he's tapping the chords of various modes, all with the same tonic.

[finchvincent]

gotta love those unconnected chords

[gnrcr]

This guy is good. Fuck it, he exists, he's God.

[legatrix]

he's made a powerful enemy there.

[petervsthechicken]

i like how hes only on for 1:36 and basically concludes he "knows fuck all" and they still feature him XD

[AriClark93]

I figured this out by myself a few weeks ago before I even heard of it and I thought I was a musical genius. Now I feel like a musical genius just cause I was thinking along the same lines as Govan and Satch. Now if only I had a billionth of the talent of these guys, it would be worth something :(

[HOUCEMATE]

He's such a humble guy yet so great at what he does, why aren't there more people like him.

[machinesway0x3]

DUDE WTF theres humor in every vid i cant stop watching these XD

[Som1onu2be]

Thumbs up if licklibrary had 666 videos when you watched this

[Asixtirids]

we must go to the sourceeeeeeeeeeeee!! xaxa :P

[GregoMorgan]

he should be in politics he keeps not really answering the questions and still you're happy with what he tells you

[ZurabMelua]

haha that smile at the end reminded me of 'the moon' from the mighty boosh

[astralfarts]

this guys super fuckin intelligent

[happyapple248]

lol he's dissing satch's writing

[wagatabuchunga1]

he seems to not be so fond of satch boogie and joe satriani in general. its kinda funny

[Sxrule]

Yeah I have had it explained a tiny bit different to this, but the same concept at the core,

[SirFightsalot]

jesus plays guitar!

[guitar15243]

I'm just wondering if rotosound strings are worth trying out on my electrics?

[strNpwrKC]

@guitar15243 Personal Preference question FTL

[JacarandaMusic]

@guitar15243 yes Rotosound are well worth trying on your electrics. And acoustics.

[BostonWidowers]

so goddamn well spoken :)

[Guitareben]

Not of this earth is a great example of a song doing this :D

[bebeard17]

The entire concept is not to simply change chords, but to change modes. Like going :I7-II7/I-I7: Would go :Mixolydian-Lydian-Mixolydian: The chords are only there to emulate the modes, so you could actually go like : IVmaj7 - iii min9- I7: (Idk, just made the progression up off the top of my head to prove a point)

[zyxomma1]

you might have oversimplified the concept a bit.

[TheRealAchilleZ]

Satch Bewwwgie

[Shun101010]

I think thats how i write music. I just fo with whatever chords sound good, I don't think of it much.

[wslx0195]

damn Guthrie talks so freaking intelligently. He's like a professor of guitar and music.

[flowerdrop1]

doesn't seem like a big Satriani fan ... I'm with him on that

[jonw82]

@flowerdrop1 lol big assumption based on predetermined beliefs me thinks

[Mesa4Life]

Rad

[andymcguitar]

@crucifyme88 he isnt calling satch a liar. he is hinting towards the fact that a seasoned player such as joe probably doesn't conciously sit and think now I will compose something using pitch axis theory. it is somethng which is ingrained in his playing and he has the ability to explain the concept as pitch axis theory.another example would be any scale or mode. once you have it internalized, you are not thinking about scales and modes as you play...only music

[AOCRkid]

@andymcguitar you don't even have to be a GREAT MUSICIAN for that though. You just need the mindset that music isn't a math problem or a philosophy lecture

[TearTheRoofOff]

@crucifyme88 I don't think he's calling Joe a liar, just saying that he wasn't necessarily overly conscious of going into the theory of pitch axis at the time of writing it. He was still entitled to go into detail about the theory of how it works in interviews.

[PackAPunchify]

Pitch axis learned in 1.30 mins, so yea that was helpful Guthrie

[str4to]

@PackAPunchify you're a pretty fast learner... now's the time for exploring ;)!

[beenozoar]

very cool idea, thanks whoever asked that question, i had no idea this kind of idea existed

[gemini51212]

JESUS

[Danger05Productions]

Geez those chords sound amazing linked together !

[BlazeandGrave]

that was very helpful!!!!

[twothirdsrasta]

I thought it was where you use a progression of scales or chords based upon the same root note; like A Ionian followed by A Lydian followed by A Mixolydian. I could be wrong though!

[frannyp46]

@twothirdsrasta No your spot on matey. As long as you hit say the A string as a drone or pedal tone then you can expand into different modes or unrelated chords in A which are not in the same key.It gives a sense of unpredictability.

[F4TB0Y69]

mmkay pitch axis, open a string chord progression got it thanx

[NickMercurio]

haha govan youre the man