In the April 2013 issue of Guitar World, you’ll find a feature on the fabulous Malina Moye. Moye, a lefty player who flips her guitar over and plays with the strings upside down, is a fearless performer who knows how to put on a show! Her new release, Rock & Roll Baby, is slated to drop in the spring.

The Fender bass. I love it, probably more than most, but like the Stratocaster, it is heavily copied. The classic feel and sound have kept those instruments current, even after 60 years. Speed things up to today: Technology says, “Hey, we can make a few minor improvements,” and, with money being tight, sometimes buying a cheaper instrument to upgrade later is the best route.

For this blog, I would like to talk about applying the altered dominant scale over a dominant seventh chord in a minor chord progression. The altered dominant scale (sometimes referred to as super locrian) is the seventh mode of the melodic minor scale. It is a widely used favorite among jazz guitarist because of its eerie dissonant tension on the dominant chord creating a pleasant resolution to the tonic chord.

It was one of those happy accidents. When I arrived earlier than expected for the San Francisco Noise Pop Festival at the Great American Music Hall on Saturday night, boy, was I glad. The aim was to catch the inaugural tour performance by Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, but little did I know that the other three bands on the bill would delight me just as much.