Writing Melodic and Shredful Solos in Lydian

Hi everyone, I’ve got some fun news for you despite the tumultuous times. First off, I’ve just posted a new video on my YouTube channel that details how to go about composing a fast, technical lead. The idea came about through a recent discussion with Shred Master Scott from YouTube. Some of you here may know him, he’s a well-educated instructor and has a lot of great insight into Neoclassical writing. You can find his channel here:

Along with this post, I’ve attached the MuseScore and PDF for the tabs/music of the solo. I’ve also attached an MP3 of the Lydian track so you can experiment with your own shreddian ideas. 

The new bit of news that I think many of you will benefit from is that I’ve decided to do more production videos and composition livestreams. However, I’ll be uploading them on a separate youtube channel, aptly titled “Jake Lizzio”. You can subscribe here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6A2N-wLpFHC2drJZuxMdtg

This week, I’ll be working on a video to answer a Patreon member’s question about chords. I’ll need to make some music for this video, and instead of doing it all behind the scenes, I’ll be livestreaming the entire process start to finish. Doing this on a separate channel allows me to keep the Signals page curated to only contain well edited lessons, while still finding a way to put out more educational content. 

I’ll be jumping back on Twitter too so you can all be up to date as to when I begin a livestream. I won’t post here every time I begin streaming, and I can’t realistically set it up as a schedule right now, so it will be intermittent. In case you don’t follow me on twitter, the handle is @signals_music. I haven’t been active on there in maybe a year but it’s time to boot it back up, so stay tuned. 

These livestreams are going to be as educational as I can make them, but they’re going to be casual too, so feel free to stop by, ask questions, and add suggestions. I also plan on uploading other videos to this new YouTube channel that don’t quite fit into the Signals theme, things like performances, advice videos, etc. 

On a totally separate note- there’s a lot of going on in the world that I feel an obligation to comment on. As a general practice, I try not to open my mouth when I don’t know what I’m talking about – especially in a public forum. I don’t think there’s much I can educate anyone on since I’m not on expert on social justice or racial issues, and I certainly can’t write eloquently on the subject. But I would like the opportunity to make my positions clear. 

I believe that America (as well as many other countries) still suffers from systemic and institutional racism. It’s a reality that I was ignorant to for most of my life, having lived most of my years in a homogenized suburb, and having enjoyed the privilege of never being discriminated against due to my skin color. Only 7 years ago, when I first heard and saw the phrase “Black Live’s Matter,” my immediate reaction was to think “Well what about white lives?” It took longer than I’d like to admit to realize what the phrase actually meant. 

When people say Black Lives Matter, they’re not saying that White Lives Don’t. They’re saying they need our help. They’re saying “we’re being brutally oppressed by the same people we pay to protect us.”  And judging by the videos I’ve seen this week  and over the last years, I believe them.

If you disagree with these statements, part of me is empathetic- at one point in my life, I would have too. So if you’re one of those people, I implore you to learn something new, and seek out the opinions and thoughts of black friends, artists, writers, directors, etc. before making up your mind about institutional racism and its effects today, because I believe you’re misled if you think there is no such thing as institutional racism. But in the rare even that you think it does exist, and you want more of it, please just unsubscribe.

For the rest of you , the ones I’d gladly call my friends, sorry for the interruption and I’ll see you all soon :)

-Jake