Theory
The past two days you built the smear. Today you bring it into the vamp. The signature vamp is Dm9→G13. Lay the chord on beat 1 and slip a smear ornament lick into the remaining beats, and the space between chords bleeds like paint.
The method is simple. Each bar, strike the chord briefly on beat 1, then run the b3→3 smear lick you've built into beats 2–4. The chord is background; the ornament lick is the voice that fills over it. Over Dm9 it flows b3→3→5; over G13 it flows b3→3→b7.
Today's goal is one line of ornament in the vamp. Slowly at BPM 72, hear the chord and ornament link in one breath. When the hand slides smoothly from chord to ornament, today is a success. First, lay the home chord Dm9 again.
▶ Bar 1 home chord Dm9. Lay the chord from the 5th-string root and start the smear lick right away on the 4th string.
See it
Now link chord and ornament. Strike Dm9 on beat 1, move to the b3→3 smear from beat 2, and flow to the 5th. The next bar strikes G13 and flows through the same smear to the b7. Chord short, and the ornament bleeding to the green 3rd sings behind it.
▶ BPM 72. Beat 1 chord → beats 2–4 smear ornament. The lick flows to the 5th over Dm9 and to the b7 over G13.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up At BPM 60, alternate just the two chords (Dm9·G13). Strike briefly on beat 1 and lift to prepare the next chord. Learn first the feel of the chord cutting short and clear.
10–20 min · Brain training (joining the smear) Silently fret the chord, then draw the path from that hand into the b3→3 smear. Find where the chord fingers and the smear fingers overlap.
20–40 min · Real vamp ornament (BPM 72) Repeat the four bars below without a break — one chord, one smear each. Watch just one thing: that the beat doesn't drag as you move from chord to ornament.
▶ BPM 72. Two loops of the vamp. The chord is short on beat 1; the remaining beats are filled by the smear ornament.
40–50 min · Recording / self-feedback (recommended) Record the four bars and listen back. Check that chord and ornament read as one flow and the beat doesn't drag.
Done when: You can slip the b3→3 smear ornament into the Dm9·G13 vamp at BPM 72 and loop chord and ornament as one flow.
Here are just the mistakes that show up most when slipping ornament into the vamp.
▶ After the chord, move on the 4th string into the smear (green 3rd), then flow to the 5th over Dm9 and the b7 over G13.
- The chord is too long. Keep the chord to just beat 1 and move straight into the ornament.
- The beat drags in the ornament. Don't rush the smear; place it clearly on the beat.
- All the chord fingers release. Moving into the smear, shift only the fingers you need and leave the rest relaxed in place.
- You raise speed first. Drop to BPM 60 and make the chord→ornament path smooth first.