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The Infinite Guitar
The Infinite Guitar
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permission from the author.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
The Art of Practicing1
The Five Areas of Practice4
About This Book7
About The Author8
CHAPTER 2: THE SPIRIT OF THE GUITAR
Betty10
Inroads to Europe11
Birth of the Blues in America12
Before you do Anything13
CHAPTER 3: CHORDS AND THEIR SYMBOLS
The Chord Symbol15
Understanding Examples and Diagrams in This Book16
Triads19
Sus Chords22
7th Chords25
Min7(b5) Chords28
7#5 and b5 Chords29
Min(maj7) Chords30
Dim7th Chords32
What You Can Leave Out34
6th Chords35
9th Chords38
7b9 and #9 chords40
Altered Dominant Chords42
Add9 Chords44
69 Chords47
11th Chords49
The Lydian Chord50
Putting 9th and 11th Chords Into Practice52
13th Chords53
13th Chords With Altered 9ths55
Putting 13th Chords Into Practice57
Extensions and Diatonic Progressions58
Upper Extension Chord Forms59
Technique118
3rds120
4ths121
5ths123
6ths126
7ths127
Modes142
Dorian Mode143
Phry gian Mode 146
Lydian Mode151
Mixolydian Mode155
Aolian Mode (The Natural Minor Scale)158
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Playing vs. Practicing
At a recent guitar seminar held at the school I run in Tokyo, Jennifer Batten said this when
asked about practicing and practice routines; "Practice as much as you possibly can stand without
it turning into something you hate to do."
Practice should be fun but challenging. Practice should be done with specific goals in mind.
I know tons of guitarists who think they are practicing but what they are really doing is just playing.
Playing is important too but practice is something different. What you practice should come out in
your playing. If it doesn't, you're not practicing efficiently. Before you sit down to practice, make
sure you know what goals you are trying to reach by practicing, short term and long. It may even
help to keep a log of your practice sessions. When, how long you practiced, what specifically you
practiced and why you practiced it. The goal must come before the process is determined.
Continuance
Just like going to the gym, the important thing is to practice just about every day. Four
hours today and nothing else for a week will amount to close to nothing. If you can only stand
practicing an hour or so, that's fine, just as long as it is almost every day. Let it become a habit.
Vision
Remember the dreaded F chord? You almost gave up didn't you? Me too. After you got it
under your fingers, it was smooth sailing for a while until the next hurdle came up. More so than any
other instrument, the guitar will challenge you this way. That is why it is important to set realistic
goals with specific time limits for yourself. Always remember, nothing can be learned in an hour or
so. The goals you set should be for weeks or months. Some of the things that I am currently
practicing will take me a year to get together. Don't get discouraged; anything worth learning will
take time.
Balance
The way you practice should change with time. I've been playing for twenty somewhat
years, so what I practice these days, is completely different than what I worked on my first few
years. I know all my scales and have enough technique that I don't need to work on those very
much. I usually work on improvising over really hard chord changes. Stuff like John Coltrane's
"Giant Steps" or a Wayne Shorter song. I may sequence my own chord changes and try playing over
them. I also find that working on the tunes for the gigs I do often turn into a good learning
experience. For that reason I never turn down gigs that I know are going to be a real pain in the butt
to get the tunes together for.
In the Beginning
If you are just starting out, you should dedicate a lot more time to technique than I do
nowadays. But don't let that be the only thing you work on. If I could change anything about the
way I practiced when I first started out, I would cut down the time I worked on technique and would
have dedicated more time to rhythm playing and reading. When I think back, it kind of cracks me
up because I was working on scales and arpeggios for about five or six hours every day. I was sure
that I was destined to be the fastest guitarist in the universe.
When I went to MI in the eighties, I was shocked because every student around me was
really, really fast. You have to recall, this was about the same time Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe
Satriani were at their zenith and Paul Gilbert was just getting his start in Mr. Big. Everyone was
lightning fast and it dawned on me that I had been focusing on something that was soon to be in
little demand. I completely failed to shine amongst my fellow students. I have to admit, all the
scales and arpeggios I worked on in my younger days left me with chops that I still have today but
there was a time that I struggled because I didn't have my rhythm and reading chops together. I
realized that I was way more likely to get a gig because I could play great rhythm or could read
anything upside down than because I have fast fingers. It is now a whole different era of music and
chops don't count as much any more. That's because the eighties was one big guitar sporting event.
I actually notice a whole different trend going on with young guitarists these days. It
seems a lot of aspiring guitarists have no interest in getting their chops together at all, which is a
whole different problem. The point I'm trying to make here is that balance is the key to good
practice. Work on your technical expertise, your reading and comping skills, your ears and your
theory knowledge.
Wasting Time
Don't practice something you aren't going to use. We guitarists often make the mistake of
practicing exercises that have nothing to do with music at all. It makes no sense because there are
so many things that we could be working on to increase our technique that we can actually use in
a song or something. Instead we tend to work on these real mathematical chromatic exercises or
something that will never find its way into a guitar solo. I often get students who ask me why, even
though they practice all the time, they don't have any chops. They haven't realized it but they
actually do have chops but the only thing they can play with real precision is the strange
mathematical chromatic lines that they practice all the time. Work on what you can use.
Ruts
If you fall into a rut, stop what you're doing. Sometimes you will feel frustrated about your
playing. Don't worry, it's completely natural. It seems like you practice and practice and nothing
seems to change. You sometimes seem to lose all your creativity. I often have this problem myself.
This is what I do: I stop whatever I'm doing and get out a CD of some musician I really admire. I
listen to the CD and find some phrase that I want to know and figure it our by ear. I may have to
slow it down to do so. I then analyze it to find out how I can use it (this is why music theory is so
important). Then I practice it over some chord changes and let it be come a part of my vocabulary.
It never fails to amaze me how something like this can start to get my creative mind working again.
When I was studying guitar at music school in the eighties, I fell into a horrible rut halfway
through the year. I asked Jazz legend Joe Diorio what he thought I should do. He asked me; "Have
you been out on a date lately?" I answered; "No." He asked; "How about to the movies?" I
answered: "No." He then asked me; "Read any good books lately?" I answered; "Well, I've kinda
been looking at a book on orchestration these days." Then he said; "No wonder you can't do
anything creative on the guitar, your life is a complete bore." He then instructed me to not touch a
guitar on Sundays and have some fun. Go on a date or read a book, see a movie, give your brain
some food. To write a love song it helps to be in love. To be a creative musician your life has to be
somewhat creative. Recently I went with all my guitar students to make pottery one weekend.
3. Reading
This is where most guitarists make their first mistake. They dont spend enough time
working on their reading skills. There is a lot demand for guitarists who can read music, especially
those who can sight read. It is important to be literate on your instrument so get started early.
Learning how to read music will help you to learn to notate music as well, and knowing how to
notate music if fundamental if you wish to communicate your ideas to other musicians.
5. Your Ears
Figuring out songs and solos are important for developing you ears. I was fortunate to not
have all the resources that we have today. I was forced to get out the records and work everything
out using my ears. I think it is great that we have everything transcribed these days but try to use
the transcriptions as a tool to help you figure stuff out. Try to learn things first by using your ears.
If your ears are not yet well developed enough to figure songs out, you can start out by trying to
identify intervals and chords.
challenge him from time to time. I drove my first teacher, Wayne Reese, nuts. I asked him some
questions he probably never heard before; "Mr. Reese, why does a blues scale work over both
dominant chords and minor chords?" and; "Why are all the strings on the guitar tuned in fourths
except the second string? Instead of a B string, shouldn't it be a C string?" and; "Why does a
melodic minor scale get played ascending one way and descending the other?" I bet he was
researching things all over the place before the next lesson. When I shipped off to California, Mr.
Reese told me that the lessons with me were fun and he learned some new things too. The student
teacher relationship is exactly that, a relationship. It shouldn't be a one sided thing at all.
He has performed, recorded or done something in one manner or another with such artists as
Lincoln Goines (Mike Stern), Richard Hartley and Soul Resurrection, Toss Panos (Steve Vai,
Mike Landau), Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big), Keith Wyatt (The Blasters), Ralph Humphrey
(Manhattan Transfer, Frank Zappa, Wayne Shorter), Kim Plainfield (Tania Maria, The Pointer
Sisters), Jay Dibbs (Vanessa Williams), Steve Bailey (The Rippingtons, Dizzy Gillespie), Jennifer
Batten (Jeff Beck, Michael Jackson), Mike Shapiro (Al Jarreau, Sergio Mendes), Jerry Watts
(Andy Summers, Billy Idol), Russel Ferante (Joni Mitchell, Yellowjackets), Kevyn Lettau,
Hussain Jiffry (Robben Ford, Michael MacDonald, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan) and The
Hideous Sun Demons.
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://chrisjuergensen.com
Betty
My heart was beating as I waited outside the door of the little studio where I was about to
get my first lesson on the guitar at twelve years old. I prayed to God the night before; "I want to be
the greatest guitarist ever." My new teacher called me into the room and asked me to take out the
$50 guitar my parents bought me for Christmas. He asked me to take a good look at it. He then
asked me what I thought it looked like. I didn't know the answer. He said; "it's shaped kind of like
a girl don't you think?" "Kinda curvy," he said. He then told me to treat it like a girl. "Hold it gently,
treat it nice and don't let it get dirty." It's true when you think about it though. Nobody I know
names his or her guitar "Pete" or "Joe." They usually give it a girl's name, like "Lucille" or something.
My guitar's name is "Betty."
Keep on Moving
Why did the guitar get built in the first place? What makes the guitar different from all the
other instruments? I'll answer it for you. Unlike a piano, you can carry it around with you. That's
why the guitar got invented. Most historians would agree that it was born in or around the desert,
somewhere in the east, maybe around the Arabian Peninsula or the Persian Gulf. You see, people
had to move around a lot in those days; you went where the water or game was. They couldn't carry
a piano around on a camel (or whatever guys rode around on in those days) so they wired some gut
strings on a wooden thing with some holes in it to amplify the sound and carried it around with them.
Without a doubt they used it by itself or in a group to accompany themselves, probably singing
tunes about life and love and things like that. I must stress the word accompany. You can carry a
violin around with you, but you are going to look silly accompanying yourself singing a tune with it.
The polyphony of the guitar, which would develop over time, is what would eventually make the
guitar the most popular instrument on the planet. Those guitars weren't called guitars in those days
and didn't have six strings like guitars do today. And they probably looked different, although it was
basically the same thing that Jimmy Page played on "Whole Lotta Love" that made me want to play
the guitar in the first place. The romance of the guitar is found in its mobility. Even the first
10
Inroads to Europe
The guitar would eventually find its way into Spain and the Troubadours would carry it
around Europe singing the same songs celebrating life in different languages. The guitar would get
all its strings in Spain, become popular and eventually develop into the modern day guitar.
Appeal
One of the reasons the guitar is so accepted by the masses is that it is the true instrument
of the common man. The problem back in the old days was there was no electricity. These days, if
you wanted to throw a party and get all your friends over to dance, you would just plug in a radio
and go to it. A few hundred years ago, if you wanted to dance you had to hire an ensemble, since
there were no radios. If you didn't have any cash, you would have to make your own music. I
imagine all the neighborhood cats would bring their guitars down to the local watering hole and play
some tunes while the girls would dance and sing and generally have a good time. This tradition is
still alive in Flamenco music today. The guitar is a radio.
Spending Money
I'm going to have to go backwards here and give you a little history lesson. In the 1300s
all of a sudden, the European population got a middle class. It is for a reason you would probably
never imagine: The Plague. The plague killed off about a third of all Europeans back in those days.
Since all those people died, a labor shortage was born. Since there weren't enough workers, the
workers demanded better wages. Europes working class finally had some spending money and
they wanted to use it. Since they didn't have Gucci downtown they wanted silks from the Far East.
Also, since they didn't have electricity they didn't have refrigerators. Since they didn't have
refrigerators they also wanted spices from the Far East, China and India. Spices would help
preserve or, yes, cover up the taste of food that was getting a little too ripe. Spices were worth their
weight in gold. Ever wonder why food around the equator is real spicy? Anyway, this gave birth to
two things: the search for an all-water rout to Asia and to the African slave trade. I know, you're
asking what does this have to do with the guitar? I'm getting to it.
11
Africans
That's right, it wasn't the rich, but the other guys who went. You need a lot of people to
build a New World, so at first the Europeans used the Native Americans as slaves. The only problem
with this idea was that besides being cruel and unethical, almost all of them died because they had
no resistance to the diseases that the Europeans brought over. That's why the scourge of mankind,
the slave trade, started. On the way over to the New World they stopped off in Africa and got
themselves cheap help.
To make a long story short (again), the Spanish and Portuguese workers brought over
their guitars (radios) with them, combined their musical ideas with the percussive skills of the
Africans and a new era of music was born. The Rumba would evolve in Cuba. Meringue starts up in
the Dominican Republic. Argentineans create the Tango. The Portuguese, trying to get around
Africa to East Asia, mistakenly ran into South America (pretty funny if you think about it) and since
nobody is around, they claim part of it and call it Brazil. The music they make is called the Bossa
Nova and the Samba. The Clave, the rhythm that can be found in all Latin music, is a present from
Africa. If you ever get a chance to hear some genuine African drum music, you will hear the same
Clave throughout. Even in Louisiana, blues players used the Clave to build rhythmic motifs. Check
out Bo Diddly's "Who do you Love" if you get the opportunity.
12
The Guitar is Like a Woman - Treat the guitar with respect. When I meet a new student for the
first time I always play his or her guitar before I do anything else. I check to see if the guitar is clean
and well cared for. It is a reflection of the student's attitude about guitar and music in general. If you
want to find out if the Sushi chef is good or not, check his knife.
The Guitar is a Radio - The guitar was built to move, not for you to play in your room. It was
designed for you to carry with you and tell your story with it. It was made so people could listen and
sing and dance and celebrate life. The guitar isn't about chops - it's about stories. Every time I
travel with my guitar, it makes me feel happy to know I'm carrying on in the tradition of the
Troubadours and blues musicians of the past. I don't care if the flight attendant is perturbed
because my guitar takes up all the room in my overhead compartment. I'm bringing it with me. And
when I get where I'm going, I'm going to tell someone a story with it.
13
The Guitar is About Adventure - The guitar was carried around the world by people looking for
new lives and new chances. All these people were risk takers, and their guitars were their best
friends. Don't ever be afraid to be a musician. No matter what bad luck and trouble comes to you
in life, you will always have the guitar to play, it will never split on you in times of turmoil. And don't
forget, one of the greatest joys in life there is, is the joy of making music, and you can do it your
whole life and the journey never ends. I would rather live as a poor, happy guitarist than a rich,
unhappy banker. Always follow your heart and you have nothing to fear.
14
Chord Symbols
The goal of the chord symbol is to simply tell the guy playing the chords exactly what you
want him to play, what he is allowed to include in the chord and what he is not. When dealing with
certain genres such as Jazz, a lot of liberties can be taken with the voicings. Not so with other
genres such as Pop and Rock, a C chord written in a rock chart generally means play a C chord,
while the same C chord written in a Jazz tune can be enhanced with a 9th, #11th, 13th or various
other extensions or combinations of extensions without much second thought. A good working
knowledge of music theory plus some experience is essential in making these decisions. The
melody line will also give you clues on what to include or exclude in chord voicings.
15
triangle meaning major. These are widely accepted and they don't bother me but I prefer the simple,
easy to read symbols: Cmaj7 and Cmin7. Sometimes the symbols maj7 and min7, get replaced
with the shorter versions: ma7 and mi7. These are okay too but maj7 and min7 seem the best
choices to me, it's hard to confuse them on a gig.
These are some common ways to notate the same Cmaj7 chord. All are correct but some easier to
read than others:
Playing Chords
It is more important for you to understand how to build your own chords than to memorize
hundreds of chord shapes. For that reason I have only included the most common voicings or
voicings of particular interest, but suggest you spend more time experimenting and finding voicings
that suit your style and the style of the music you may be playing. You are free to leave out certain
notes also. I have included the roots, but if you are playing with a bassist they are not necessary to
include in the voicing. Fifths, unless altered, are also not necessary. The notes that determine the
quality of the chords are 3rds, 7ths and the upper extension if one is given in the chord symbol. The
voicing you use for a particular chord should be determined by the voicing for the chord that came
before and comes after.
Using the previous guideline you would know this about the following chord:
The chord is a C major 7th chord and the chord symbol is commonly notated
as: Cmaj7. The major 7th chord contains a root, major 3rd, perfect 5th and
a major 7th but does not necessarily have to be voiced in that order.
16
The name written at the top of each chord diagram is the common name of the chord.
If not in open position, the fret number will be next to the appropriate fret.
Below the diagram, the voicing is written out for your convenience.
17
Using the previous guidelines you would play this chord as follows:
Voicing: 1,5,7,3,5
5th string Third fret, index finger. The note is black, advising you that this note is the root. If you
were to move the chord to the fifth fret, it would become a Dmaj7 chord. The voicing written under
the chord also tells you that this note is the root (1).
4th string Fifth fret, ring finger. The written voicing tells you that this note is the 5th.
3rd string Fourth fret, middle finger. The written voicing tells you that this note is the 7th.
2nd string Fifth fret, pinky. The written voicing tells you that this note is the 3rd.
1st string Third fret, index finger. The written voicing tells you that this note is the 5th.
18
Voicing: 1,5,1,3,5,1
Voicing: 1,5,1,b3,5,1
Voicing: 1,b3,b5,1
Voicing: 1,1,3,#5,1
Voicing: 1,5,1,3
Voicing: 1,5,1,b3,1
Voicing: 1,b5,1,b3
19
Voicing: 1,3,#5,1
Voicing: 1,5,1,3
Voicing: 1,5,1,b3
Voicing: 1,b5,1,b3
Voicing: 1,#5,1,3
20
Try the following chord progression using the major triads given. Notice how some notes stay the
same while others move up and down. This is called voice leading, a subject that I will cover at the
end of the section on harmony (page 97). Try playing the same chord progression somewhere else
on the fretboard. This use of triad voicings is what made Jimi Hendrix a genius at playing chords.
Dont worry if all the chords do not have the roots as the bass notes, the bassist takes care of that:
1.
Triads, especially the major triad, are used often in slash chords. A slash chord is simply a
chord over a specific bass note. For example, a C/E slash chord would mean a C triad played
over an E bass note. Some common slash chords: C/E, C/G, C/Bb, C/D (more on slash
chords on page 66).
2.
Sometimes the diminished triad gets notated with a small circle as in Co and the augmented
triad with a plus mark as in C+.
21
Sus chords
When the 3rd is omitted and replaced by a 4th the triad gets called a sus or sus4 chord
as in Csus or Csus4. Sometimes rather than the 4th replacing the 3rd, the 2nd replaces it. This
chord gets called a sus2 chord. Sus refers to either a suspension of the 4th above the 3rd or of the
2nd below the 3rd of the chord.
Voicing: 1,1,4,5,1
Voicing: 1,5,1,4
Voicing: 1,5,1,2,5
22
Voicing: 1,5,1,4
Voicing: 1,5,1,2
Sus4 and sus2 chords are often used together in this way:
23
1.
Sus indicates that something has happened to the 3rd. It has either been replaced by the 4th
or the 2nd (although these days the 3rd sometimes gets included in the voicing).
2.
The chord symbol sus without a 4 or 2 after it is referring to the 4th and not the 2nd. You don't
need to write sus4 at all, just plain sus will do. If you mean sus2, you have to write it that way.
Remember: sus by itself means sus4.
3.
The sus2 chord is a great replacement for a plain old major chord. While the suspended 4th in
the sus4 chord tends to beg for resolution, the suspended 2nd in the sus2 chord, being a
whole step below the 3rd, does not. The lack of the 3rd kind of neuters the chord giving it an
interesting, ambiguous, slightly modern quality. Matter of fact, the sus2 chord could
technically even be substituted in the place of a minor chord. Why not? No 3rd to complicate
things.
4.
Since the symbol sus is indicating that one of the 3rds neighbors has replaced it, there can be
no other suspensions other than the 4th and 2nd. There is no such chord as a sus5, sus6 or
sus7 chord.
24
Voicing: 1,7,3,5
Voicing: 1,5,b7,3,5,1
Voicing: 1,5,b7,3,5,1
25
Voicing: 1,5,b7,4,5,1
Voicing: 1,5,7,3,5
Voicing: 1,3,5,7,3
Voicing: 1,3,b7,1
Voicing: 1,5,b7,4,5
Voicing: 1,5,b7,b3,5
Voicing: 1,5,b7,3,5
Voicing: 1,5,7,3
Voicing: 1,3,5,7
Voicing: 1,5,b7,b3
26
Voicing: 1,5,b7,3
Voicing: 1,5,7,3
Don't be deceived
7th chords seem simple by nature, after all, there are only four notes, but if you use your
head a little and rearrange the four notes you'll be surprised with what you can come up with. Both
the chords below are simple Cmaj7 chords but the voicings are exquisite:
Voicing: 3,5,7,1
Voicing: 5,7,1,3
Voicings
1357
3571
5713
7135
1375
3517
5731
7153
1537
3751
5173
7315
1573
3715
5137
7351
1735
3157
5371
7513
1753
3175
5317
7531
27
Voicing: 1,b7,b3,b5
Voicing: 1,b7,b3,b5
Voicing: 1,b5,b7,b3
Voicing: 1,b5,b7,b3
The min7(b5) chord is commonly found in the minor iio V i chord progression:
28
Dominant 7th chords with raised or lowered 5ths come from the whole tone scale or
altered mode from the melodic minor scale (page 171):
Voicing: 1,b7,3,#5,1
Voicing: 1,b7,3,b5
Voicing: 1,b7,3,#5
Voicing: 1,b7,3,b5
Dominant chords with altered fifths tend to resolve to the tonic chord as in the following iio V
I progression:
29
Voicing: 1, 7,b3,5
Voicing: 1,5,7,b3
Voicing: 1,5,3,b3
30
As you have probably discovered, these chords sound a little strange by themselves. They generally
get played in progressions such as the following. Notice how the root of the Cmin chord on the
fourth string descends chromatically to the major 7th of the Cmin(maj7) chord and finally to the
minor 7th of the Cmin7 chord:
31
Voicing: 1,bb7,b3,b5
Voicing: 1,b5,bb7,b3
Voicing: 1,b5,bb7,b3
32
Diminished chords are generally used to connect one chord to another as in the following chord
progression:
33
34
6th chords
Back when Jazz first got its start, 6th chords used to be more popular than 7th chords.
Both the 6 and min6 chord contain the major 6th in the chord. You can just think of a 6th chord as
a triad (minor or major) with the major 6th added into the chord. Compared to the min6 chord the
major version is definitely easy on the ears. Since 6th chords don't contain 7ths, the major 6th
chord can replace either a major or dominant chord:
Voicing: 1,6,3,5
Voicing: 1,1,3,6
Voicing: 1,6,b3,5
Voicing: 1,6,3,5
Voicing: 1,1,3,6
Voicing: 1,6,b3,5
35
Voicing: 1,3,6,1
Voicing: 1,5,6,b3
Although the 6 and min6 chords can generally replace their maj7 and min7 chord counterparts,
the min6 chord sometimes gets used the following way. Notice the descending chromatic
movement that is taking place on second string:
36
1.
Although the 6 chord can easily replace any major chord, it is important to remember that the
min6 chord, containing a major 6th interval can only replace a ii chord. You may want to think
of the min6 chord as a "dorian" family chord (page 142).
2.
6th chords can also be thought of as inverted 7th chords: C6 (C-E-G-A) = Amin7 (A-C-E-G),
Cmin6 (C-Eb-G-A) = Amin7b5 (A-C-Eb-G).
37
Voicing: 1,7,3,5,9
Voicing: 1,5,b7,b3,5,9
Voicing: 1,b7,9,5
Voicing: 1,b7,9,4,b7
Voicing: 1,3,7,9
Voicing: 1,b3,b7,9
Voicing: 1,3,b7,9,5
38
Voicing: 1,b7,9,4
Voicing: 1,3,7,9
Voicing: 1,b3,b7,9
Voicing: 1,3,b7,9
Voicing: 1,4,b7,9
1.
2.
Some other 9th chords that you may want to think about are the min9(maj7) chord from the
melodic minor scale (page 168) and the min9(b5) chord from the locrian #2 mode of the
melodic minor scale (page 176). See if you can construct them yourself.
3.
There have been some adventurous musicians from time to time who lower the 9ths in major
and minor chords. Although not standard practice, if you chose to do so, notate these chords
the same way you would when notating altered dominant chords: Cmaj7b9, Cmin7b9.
39
Voicing: 1,b7,3,5,b9
Voicing: 1,b7,3,5,#9
Voicing: 1,3,b7,#9
Voicing: 1,3,b7,b9
Voicing: 1,3,b7,#9
Voicing: 1,3,b7,b9
40
Dominant chords with raised or lowered 9ths tend to resolve to tonic chords. Notice how Ive
included the natural 5th in the second chord, the A7b9:
41
Voicing: 1,b7,3,#5,b9
Voicing: 1,b7,3,#5,#9
Voicing: 1,b7,3,b5,b9
Voicing: 1,b7,3,b5,#9
Voicing: 1,3,b7,#9,#5
Voicing: 1,3,b7,b9,b5
Voicing: 1,3,b7,#9,b5
42
Voicing: 1,3,b7,b9,#5
The tension created by the altered extension begs for resolution. That is why the altered dominant
chord generally resolves to the tonic chord. You can commonly find them in ii V I chord
progressions:
1.
Altered dominant chords are derived from the altered mode of the melodic minor scale (page
171).
2.
It is not unusual for (altered) dominant chords to contain both the #9 and b9 as in C7(b9,#9).
3.
43
Add9 Chords
These chords are just like 9th chords, but the 7th is excluded from the voicing. Having no
7th, the major version of the add9 chord works for both major and dominant chords. The minor
add9 chord is characteristically dark sounding. They are notated: add9 and min add9:
Voicing: 1,5,9,3,5,1
Voicing: 1,5,9,b3,1
Voicing: 1,5,9,3,5
Voicing: 1,5,9,b3
44
Voicing: 1,3,5,9
Voicing: 1,b3,5,9
The simple addition of the 9th to the minor and major triad creates a warm open sounding chord.
Try the following progression first using triads and then add9 chords. You will be surprised what the
addition of one note to a simple triad can do. It may take you a little time to get used to the stretch,
but it is well worth the effort:
45
1.
2.
You are not likely to run across any other "add" chords besides the add9 chord. The reason is
because the "add" means that there is no 7th in the chord and without a 7th a 13th chord
would simply become a 6 or min6 chord. The min add11 chord is questionable I guess but I
personally have never run across it myself in a chart, probably because the absence of the
min7th doesn't make much harmonic difference and for that reason, not important enough to
notate it as such. It's safe to assume that the only "add" chord you are going to run into is the
add9.
3.
Sometimes the add9 chord gets notated with just a 9 in parenthesis: (9). Don't get confused
between a dominant 9th chord as in C9 and an add9 chord as in C(9). I personally don't like
the (9) chord symbol; it causes a second of unneeded contemplation.
46
69 Chords
Like the add9 chords, these chords also contain no 7th. Along with the 9th, the major 6th
is also included in the voicing. When the intervals of the chord are voiced in a particular manner
(1-6-9-5-1), it creates a series of perfect 4th intervals that give the chord a modern, angular sound.
The chords are notated: 69 and min69:
Voicing: 1,6,9,5,1
Voicing: 1,6,b3,5,9
Voicing: 1,3,6,9,5
Voicing: 1,b3,6,9,5
47
48
Voicing: 1,7,3,#11,7
Voicing: 1,b7,b3,11,b7
Voicing: 1,b7,3,#11
49
Voicing: 1,7,3,#11
Voicing: 1,b3,b7,9,11
Voicing: 1,b7,3,#11
The Lydian Chord: The maj7#11 chord is sometimes referred to as the Lydian chord. It is a
beautiful, modern sounding chord. Sometimes you may come across the word Lydian in a chart
rather than a chord symbol (more on the lydian mode on page 151). The composer is just telling
you to play a major family chord with a #11 somewhere in it. Try the following progression as an
exercise:
50
1.
For the major and dominant versions, when the 3rd is desired in the 11th chord voicing, the
11th tends to get raised.
2.
The 9th does not need to be included in the voicing but the 7th and 3rd do. Without the 3rd
present, the chord becomes a sus4 chord
3.
Is there a dominant 11th chord? Yes and no. Technically a 3rd and 4th don't get put in the same
major or dominant chord so a dominant 11th chord doesn't generally show up in a chart. With
the 3rd removed, the 11th gets considered a 4th and that would just make the chord into a sus
chord. In reality, the (modern) ear accepts the 3rd and 4th in the same chord if voiced correctly
so the dominant 11th chord does get played from time to time, it just gets notated as a 9sus
chord and the 3rd is considered an option. You may from time to time run across an 11 chord
in a chart, but the composer most likely is telling you to play a 9sus chord (1-4-5-b7-9). Add
3rds at will but be careful.
4.
What is the difference between a 7#11 and a 7(b5) chord? Hmm.. Not too much on the
surface but there are a few differences that need to be discussed. One thing that needs to be
considered is what liberties can be taken with the chord. Derived from the lydian dominant
mode of the melodic minor scale, the 7#11 chord can contain the natural 5th. The 9th, and
13th are also in the scale so they too can be added to the chord. Since the 7(b5) chord is most
likely coming from the altered mode of the melodic minor scale, altered 9ths can probably be
added without any complications. The 7#11 chord generally resolves down a half step, while
the 7(b5) chord generally resolves up a 4th to the tonic chord.
51
52
Voicing: 1,7,9,3,13
Voicing: 1,b7,b3,9,13,1
Voicing: 1,b7,3,13,1
53
Voicing: 1,b7,4,13,1
Voicing: 1,5,7,9,13
Voicing: 1,5,b7,b3,13
Voicing: 1,3,b7,9,13
Voicing: 1,5,b7,4,13
1.
For the major and dominant versions, when the 3rd is desired in the voicing, the 11th tends to
be raised.
2.
The 9th and #11th do not need to be included in the voicing but the 7th and 3rd do. Without
the 7th included in the voicing the chord is considered a 6 chord.
54
Voicing: 1,b7,3,13,#9
Voicing: 1,b7,3,13,b9
Voicing: 1,3,b7,#9,13
Voicing: 1,3,b7,b9,13
55
The next example demonstrates how the dominant chord from the half/whole diminished scale
works. Notice how the G triad on the top three strings of the Emin11 chord moves down a half step
to a F# triad in the A13b9 chord:
Points to remember about 13th chords derived from the half/whole diminished scale
1.
The #11th can also be though of as a b5th so sometimes the 13#11 chord shows up as a
13b5 chord in a chart, as in C13b5. Some possible chord symbols from this chord family:
C13b9, C13#9, C13(b5,#9), C13(b5,b9), C13(b9,#11), C13(#9,#11), etc..
2.
Just remember: we've traded our raised 5th from the altered mode for a 13th.
56
Jazz Blues
Although I have included the roots in the voicings, they are unnecessary to play when a
bassist is present. If you must play them, try to use your left hand thumb or sacrifice one of the
upper extensions to free up a finger:
57
Diatonic Chord
Extensions
Notes
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13
ii
iii
IV
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, #11, 13
1, 3, 5, b7, 9, 11, 13
vi
viio
58
Useful Shapes
I tend to use certain shapes or forms over various bass notes to get desired chords. This
not only makes things simpler because one shape can be turned into a half dozen chords but is also
a great aid in voice leading. Let's start with some shapes you may already be familiar with, here is
our first one:
Our first chord is a C9 chord. The important thing to take note of is the upper form (the white dots).
While keeping the same (C) root and moving the shape to a different location, we can make a new
chord, in this case a C7(#5,b9) chord. I've included the roots in black but I usually don't play
them:
voicing: 1,3,b7,9,5
voicing: 1,b7,3,#5,b9
Compare a G7(#5,b9) and Db9 chord using the previous voicings and you'll see why the Db9
chord works as a bV substitution for the V chord, G7. You will hear it better by comparing these two
chord progressions: Dmin7 - G7(#5,b9) - Cmaj7 and Dmin7 - Db9 - Cmaj7.
59
Our next shape can be thought of as a half/whole diminished scale chord shape:
Next we'll turn a C7#9 chord into a C13b9 chord. If you absolutely have to play the bass note on
the C7#9 chord, use your thumb:
voicing: 1,3,b7,#9,5
voicing: 1,b7,3,13,b9
voicing: 1,3,b7,#5,#9
voicing: 1,b7,3,13,9
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voicing: 1,3,b7,9,13
voicing: 1,b7,3,#5,#9
Our next shape can also be thought of as a half/whole diminished scale chord voicing:
voicing: 1,b7,b9,3,13
voicing: 1,b9,3,5,1
61
While the last examples dealt primarily with dominant chords the next shape works quite
well for both major and minor sounds. This shape is built from the major scale. First, let's memorize
the shape:
These are all major scale modal family chords that can be made with the shape:
voicing: 1,5,1,2,5
voicing: 1,6,9,3,6
voicing: 1,b7,b3,11,b7
voicing: 1,7,3,#11,7
voicing: 1,1,4,5,1
voicing: 1,3,13,7,3
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The next shape is also a very useful one. Unlike the previous shapes, you can use this
shape to make major, minor, dominant and altered dominant chords. This shape can be found in
both the major and melodic minor scales (page 168). First memorize the shape without the root:
Ive included the roots in black but I don't usually include them when playing the chords. I do
however use the roots as a reference to locate the chord. If you chose to think modally, all these
chords can be thought of as both major and melodic minor family shapes with the exception of the
C7(#5#9) chord which is strictly melodic minor (from the altered mode). Our first chord, C13 can
come from either the mixolydian or lydian dominant mode. Our second chord, Csus(b9) comes
from either the phrygian or dorian b2 mode. As I mentioned before, our third chord, C7(#5,#9) is
strictly altered. The fourth chord, Cmin69 comes from either the dorian mode or the melodic minor
scale. Our fifth chord, Cmin11(b5) can come from the locrian mode or the locrian #2 mode from
the melodic minor scale. And last but not least, our sixth chord, Cmaj7#11 comes from either the
lydian mode or the lydian augmented mode:
voicing: 1,b7,9,3,13
voicing: 1,b3,5,6,9
voicing: 1,b9,4,5,1
voicing: 1,b5,b7,1,11
voicing: 1,3,#5,b7,#9
voicing: 1,1,3,#11,7
63
The next shape is strictly melodic minor modal harmony. Memorize the shape before we
move on to the individual chords:
Our first chord below, a C13(#11) chord comes from the lydian dominant mode. The second chord,
the C13sus(b9) chord comes from the dorian b2 mode. Our third chord, the C7(#5,#9) chord is
derived from the altered mode. You won't be able to play the root in this voicing. I included it as a
reference but you'll have to leave it to your bassist. I had to think about how exactly to name our
next chord, the Cmin9(maj7) chord. It is a beautiful voicing derived from the melodic minor scale
itself. Our fifth chord, the Cmin11(b5) chord comes from the locrian #2 scale. This voicing
contains the natural 9th. There is no minor 3rd in the voicing but the minor harmony is implied so
strongly that it really makes no difference. Our last chord, the Cmaj7#5 chord comes from the
third mode of the melodic minor scale, the lydian augmented mode, it may help to think of it as an
E/C chord:
voicing: 1,b7,9,#11,13
voicing: 1,b3,5,7,9
voicing: 1,b9,4,13,1
voicing: 1,3,#5,1,#9
voicing: 1,b5,b7,9,11
voicing: 1,1,3,#5,7
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I'm taking a lot of liberties with the voicings in this example. In a Jazz setting, this is okay
as long as the voicings don't clash with the melody. With minor chords, usually the upper
extensions with the exception of the 6th (13th) can be added to the chord without any conflict but
be careful with dominant chords, check where they are going before adding your extensions. Notice
how I used a Csus2 chord as a replacement for the final Cmin7 chord, as there is no 3rd present
in the chord it can function as either major or minor. I like the ambiguous quality of the chord used
in this manner, Im letting the listener decide if it is major or minor:
65
Triad Inversions
The first type of slash chords we will deal with are just simple triad inversions. Simply by
voicing any triad with the 3rd or 5th in the bass will yield a slash chord. Ex: a common C major triad
voiced with the third, E as the bass note will yield a C/E slash chord, voiced with the 5th, G as the
bass note will yield a C/G slash chord. When the triad has as the bass the root, it is said to be in root
position. With the 3rd in the bass, 1st inversion and with the 5th in the bass, 2nd inversion.
Bass Note
Inversion
root position
1st inversion
2nd inversion
Play each inversion below. The roots are in black for reference:
root position
1st inversion
2nd inversion
66
The previous chord examples are just a few of the many triad voicings that can be
constructed, see if you can come up with some more voicings of major triads. After you figure some
more of the major voicings out, try to come up with the minor shapes also.
Although the bass movement works fine, we can create a smoother bassline by playing the first G
chord in 1st inversion. This will make the bassline for the first two chords descend chromatically.
The bassline will also descend through the diatonic scale for both measures:
67
Lets take this concept a step further. Play the "before" version...
And now the "after" version. Check out how the bassline is completely chromatic for the first four
chords:
The first inversion major chord (3rd in the bass) is probably the most commonly used of the
inversions. While triads in root position and in their inversions are the rule in pop and rock, you
aren't likely to find triads in root position very often in Jazz, the 1st inversion major triad however
can be found from time to time as in the example below:
68
And once again the "after" version. While the chords descend in whole steps, the bassline ascends
creating some musical interest.
69
Bass Note
Inversion
root position
1st inversion
2nd inversion
3rd inversion
Some of the inversions work better than others. While the maj7 chord in first and second
inversion sound beautiful, the 3rd inversion (7th in bass) sounds horrible. I couldn't even come up
with a decent example for this book (give it a shot anyways, you never know). While the 3rd
inversion for the maj7 chord sounds pathetic, the 3rd inversion of the dominant 7 chord (b7th in
the bass) is somewhat common. Generally the inversions of the maj7 and dominant 7 chords are
used more commonly than the inversions of the min7 chords, the min7 chord in first inversion
simply turns into a maj6 chord. Ex: Amin7/C = C6. Try out the chord progression below and you'll
hear how beautiful and spacious the maj7 chords in 1st and 2nd inversion sound. Oh yeah, I'll
explain the Bb/C chord a little later, try not to think about it too much for now:
70
Voicing: 1,b3,5,b7
I moved the bass an octave lower than it is notated so we can hear the actual C triad over the A bass
note.
71
I wrote the last example just to simply show you that you've been playing slash chords all along and
might have never realized it. Before we move on to more complex harmony I need you to make
sure that you know all of the triad shapes. The shapes are going to get put on top of various bass
notes and open up into some fairly harmonically complex chords. Generally major triads get used
way more than minor triads for this kind of thing so I'm only going to cover them. First review all
the major triad shapes on page 20 before moving on to the next section.
72
1. Major triad up a 5th - By placing the major triad a 5th above the bass note we can make a slash
chord that functions as a maj9 chord. Ex: To make a Cmaj9 chord using a slash chord, simply place
a G triad on a C bass note and you'll render a maj9 chord (without a 3rd). G is a 5th above C: G/C
= Cmaj9. Check the example below:
Voicing: 1,5,7,9
Rule: a major triad superimposed a perfect 5th above the bass note will render a slash chord that
sounds and functions as a maj9 chord.
Try it yourself: Try putting together the following slash chords using the triad shapes we learned
earlier: E/A, B/E, F#/B, D/G, A/D, G/C, C/F.
This slash chord pretty much replaces any major chord. Anywhere you would play a maj7 or maj9
chord, use this one instead. The following example just illustrates how this slash chord could
replace the standard I chord in a ii - V - I:
73
2. Major triad up a 2nd - By placing the major triad a 2nd above the bass note we can make a
maj13#11 chord. Ex: To make a Cmaj13#11 chord using a slash chord, simply place a D triad on
a C bass note and you'll render a major chord that sounds and functions like a maj13#11 chord
(without the 3rd, 5th and 7th). D is a 2nd above C: D/C = Cmaj13#11. I tend to think of this slash
chord as the "lydian" slash chord because of the #11th. Check the example below:
Voicing: 1,13,9,#11
Rule: a major triad superimposed a major 2nd above the bass note will render a slash chord that
sounds and functions like a maj13#11 chord.
Try it yourself: Try putting together the following slash chords using the triad shapes we learned
earlier: E/D, C/Bb, G/F, D/C, A/G.
You could argue about what this slash chord actually is; if you analyze it assuming the
bass note is the root it looks like a maj13#11 chord but it could also be argued that it is a dominant
7th chord in 3rd inversion (the bass note being the b7th of the chord). Both are correct. That's right
this slash chord could replace either a Cmaj7 chord or a D7 chord. This is one of the gray areas
regarding slash chords:
74
In the example below, the second and last slash chords are our "lydian" slash chords while the
fourth chord in the sequence is a 2nd inversion Eb chord:
75
3. Major triad up a 3rd - By placing the major triad a 3rd above the bass note we can make a
maj7#5 chord. Ex: To make a Cmaj7#5 chord using a slash chord, simply place an E triad on a C
bass note and you'll render a maj7#5 chord. E is a 3rd above C: E/C = Cmaj7#5. Check the
example below:
Voicing: 1,7,3,#5
Rule: a major triad superimposed a major 3rd above the bass note will render a maj7#5 chord.
Try it yourself: Try putting together the following slash chords using the triad shapes we learned
earlier: F/Db, C/Ab, G#/E, B/G, E/C.
Play the following chord progression; the slash chord in the third measure is our maj7#5 chord.
The first and last chord is the slash chord from the first example (maj9 functioning slash chords).
This example is similar to what Wayne Shorter does in his some of his compositions:
76
4. Major triad down a 2nd - By placing the major triad a 2nd below the bass note we can make
a dominant 9sus chord. Ex: To make a C9sus chord using a slash chord, simply place a Bb triad on
a C bass note and you'll render a 9sus chord. Bb is a 2nd below C: Bb/C = C9sus. Check the
example below:
Voicing: 1,b7,9,4,b7
Rule: a major triad superimposed a major 2nd below the bass note will render a slash chord that
sounds and functions as a dominant 9sus.
Try it yourself: Try putting together the following slash chords using the triad shapes we learned
earlier: C/D, A/B, G/A, D/E, Eb/F.
This slash chord replaces any unaltered dominant chord. Anytime you run across a 9sus chord in a
chart, use this slash chord. The example below is somewhat similar to what Herbie Hancock may
have done in one of his compositions:
77
5. Major triad up a b5th - By placing the major triad a tritone (dim5th) above the bass note we
can make a dominant 7(b9,#11) chord. Ex: To make a B7(b9,#11) chord, simply place a F triad
on a B bass note and you'll render a slash chord that sounds and functions as a 7(b9,#11) chord.
F is a tritone above B: F/B = B13(b9,#11). Check the example below:
Voicing: 1,b9,#11,b7
Rule: a major triad superimposed a tritone (dim5th) above the bass note will render a slash chord
that sounds and functions as a 7(b9,#11) chord.
Try it yourself: Try putting together the following slash chords using the triad shapes we learned
earlier: C/F#, A/Eb, D/Ab, F#/C, B/F.
This slash chord, like the example before, is also derived from the half/whole diminished scale. Try
the example below:
78
6. Major triad up a 6th - By placing the major triad a maj6 above the bass note we can make a
dominant 13b9 chord. Ex: To make a C13b9 chord, simply place an A triad on a C bass note and
you'll a chord that sounds and functions as a 13b9 chord. A is a 6th above C: A/C = C13b9. Check
the example below:
Voicing: 1,3,13,b9
Rule: a major triad superimposed a major 6th above the bass note will render a slash chord that
sounds and functions as a dominant 13b9 chord.
Try it yourself: Try putting together the following slash chords using the triad shapes we learned
earlier: B/D, A/C, F#/A, D/F, C/Eb.
This slash chord technically is derived from the half/whole diminished scale. Try the example below:
79
80
7. Major triad up a b3rd - This example is the same one we looked at before, the plain old min7
chord. The only reason you may want to use this slash chord rather than a plain old min7th chord
is only to tie harmonic motifs together. In a series of slash chords it may help to think of an Amin7
as a C/A chord to keep the triad voicings moving in a congruent manner.
Voicing: 1,b3,5,b7
Rule: a major triad superimposed a minor 3rd above the bass note will render a plain old min7
chord.
Try it yourself: Try putting together the following slash chords using the triad shapes we learned
earlier: E/C#, D/B, G/E, F/D, Eb/C.
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This slash chord simply makes a min7 chord. It helps to notate it as a slash chord if you want to
make sure the person playing the chords specifically voices it with a triad on top, by simply notating
the chord as a min7 chord, the person comping the changes may take the liberty of playing a min9,
min11 or min13 chord. The min7 chord notated as a slash chord will make sure the harmonic
motif stays uninterrupted.
82
8. Major triad down a 2nd - We've also looked at this one before in Ex.4. As I mentioned before,
slash chords often don't have 3rds of 5ths present so they can be looked upon as either. This slash
chord works well as both. Consider it either a 9sus or a min11 chord:
Voicing: 1,b7,9,11,b7
Rule: a major triad superimposed a major 2nd below the bass note will render a slash chord that
functions as a min11 chord.
Try it yourself: Try putting together the following slash chords using the triad shapes we learned
earlier: B/C#, A/B, E/F#, D/E, C/D.
83
This slash chord in its minor form works well for any genre but it gets used quite often in a rock
setting. It tends to follow a min7th chord with the same root. It often gets used in the following
manner:
84
Slash Chord
Extensions
Common Progressions
-
Notes
C/C
1,3,5
Db/C
b9,4,b13
Cmin7-Db/C or Cmin7-D/C-Db/C-C
Phrygian tonality
D/C
9,#11,13
C-D/C or Cmin7-D/C
Eb/C
b3,5,b7
Eb/C-D/C-Db/C-C
E/C
3,#5,7
F/C
5,1,3
F#/C
b7,b9,#11
G/C
5,7,9
Ab/C
3,5,1
Db-Ab/C or Dbmin7-Ab/C
A/C
3,b9,13
Gmin9-A/C-Fmaj9
Bb/C
4,b7,9,
B/C
b3,b5,7
Gmin9-F#/C-Fmaj9
Dmin7-G(alt)-B/C
Try to experiment and have some fun. I've only described what can be done by superimposing
major triads over bass notes, see what you can do with augmented and minor triads. Also see what
happens when you superimpose 7th chords over various bass notes, Ex: Gmin7/C. A great
example illustrating the use of slash chords in a composition is Mahavishnu Orchestras Resolution
from the Birds of Fire CD.
85
Sliding The guitar is special because your fingers actually touch the guitar strings.
Sliding can be done on violins and other stringed instruments but lets face it, the
guitar is perfect for using this technique because of its long neck length and
commonly used amplification which enhances the effect. You can also use a slide like
guitar legend Duane Allman did.
Harmonics This is also a technique that reeks of the guitar. Pinched, natural and
tapped harmonics are very typical guitar techniques. Use them at will.
Open strings Using open strings in chords and scales is also very typical to the
guitar. I try to incorporate an open string or two every chance I get. Anytime a chord
or scale contains an E, A, D, G, and/or B note, an open string can be substituted for
the fretted one. This is exactly the subject that I will talk about in this chapter.
86
While the minor ii - Vs in the exercise below are perfect for Jazz, the other voicings will
work well for any style. Try the chords below and try to find ways to get them into your playing:
voicing: 1,b7,9,b3,b7
voicing: 1,5,9,3,#11
voicing: 1,1,3,9,5
voicing: 1,5,9,11,b7,b3
voicing: 1,5,9,#11,7,3
voicing: 1,b7,b3,b5,11
voicing: 1,b7,b3,9,5
voicing: 1,6,b3,9,5
voicing: 1,b7,b3,11,b5
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voicing: 1,9,#11,9,5
voicing: 1,3,b7,b9,1
voicing: 1,3,b7,#9,b9
Voicing: 1,#11,5,9
We will use the voicing as the base for six new voicings, all you will need to do is simply
move every chord tone in the chord voicing up by one scale step. Because the first chord contains
both a raised 11th and natural 5th, the only scale you can technically use is the lydian scale. More
so than the major scale, the lydian mode is a more balanced scale for creating major family
chords as the #11th and 3rd get along fine together and can show up in the same chord without any
complications. Use the following A lydian scale for your reference:
88
Now lets harmonize the next chord from the scale. The B note (the 9th of the chord) on
the first string will move up to a C note while the E note on the second string (the 5th) will move up
to an F# note. The D# note on the third string (the #11th) will move up to a E note and the A note
on the fourth string (the root) moves up to a B. The reason I picked an A chord is because we can
leave the fifth string throughout for the whole process. This way you can hear what all the separate
upper chord voicings sound like over the root, the A note:
The next step is to move every chord tone in our new chord up a scale step to form our
new chord. The C# note on the first string moves up to a D# note. The F# note on the second string
moves up to a G# note. Next, the E note on the third string moves up to an F# note. Finally, the B
note on the fourth string moves up to a C# note. Our root on the fifth string stays the same
throughout the process:
89
If we continue the process through the whole diatonic lydian scale, we will get a set of
seven lydian family chords:
Things to try:
1.
Change the root to make other modal family chords in the same key. By changing the root in
the previous exercise from A to F#, you will get seven F# dorian family voicings. G# = G#
phrygian, C# = C# aolian, B = B mixolydian, etc..
2.
Arrange the intervals of the first chord to accommodate a different mode based on the same
root. Ex: change the first chord voicing from the current (1-1-#11-5-9) to (1-1-11-5-9) and
harmonize the next six chords using the A dorian mode (G major scale). Change the first
voicing to (1-1-11-5-b9) and harmonize the next six chords using the A phrygian mode (F
major scale), etc..
90
If we do the same thing using the half/whole diminished scale we get interesting results.
The symmetrical structure of the scale will only yield two different repeating shapes. First, the
chord we will use:
Voicing: 1,b7,3,13,b9
The half/whole diminished scale that we will now use to create a new set of chords (keep
in mind; where as the major scale is a seven note scale, the half/whole diminished scale is an eight
note scale yielding eight chords rather than seven):
The chords we get by harmonizing our original chord through the scale:
91
92
Voicing: 1,9,b3,b7,11
The A dorian mode to use for harmonizing the next six chords:
Write your six new voicings in the blank diagrams using a pencil (in case you make a
mistake):
93
Harmonize six more voicings from the following chord using from the A dorian (G major
scale) mode:
Voicing: 1,b7,b3,11,9
The A dorian mode to use for harmonizing the next six chords:
Write your new voicings in the blank diagrams using a pencil (in case you make a
mistake):
94
Harmonize six more voicings from the following chord using from the A lydian mode (E
major scale):
Voicing: 1,7,9,3,13
The A lydian mode to use for harmonizing the next six chords:
Write your new voicings in the blank diagrams using a pencil (in case you make a
mistake):
95
Harmonize six new voicings from the same chord, this time using from the A lydian
augmented mode (F# melodic minor scale). The A lydian augmented mode to use for harmonizing
the next six chords:
Write your new voicings in the blank diagrams using a pencil (in case you make a
mistake):
Use this technique to harmonize new chords from voicings that you like the sound of. Not
only will you increase your chord vocabulary but it will also force you to use your head a bit.
96
Contrapuntal Motions
The lessons I learned about voice leading while studying classical music in college haven't
change since Bach. We have learned to stretch harmony, melody and rhythm but voice leading still
generally works the same way. The four types of contrapuntal motions:
1.
Parallel motion - Both voices move in the same direction the exact same distance. This
is an example of parallel major 3rds:
2.
Similar motion - Both voices move in the same direction any distance. An interval of a major
3rd moves up to an interval of a minor 3rd in the example below:
3.
Contrary motion - Both voices move in opposite directions. In the next example, both voices
are moving in opposite directions to form a perfect 5th.
4.
Oblique motion - One voice stays the same while the voice moves in one direction or the
other. This example of oblique motion demonstrates how one voice stays the same while the
upper voice moves up to form a perfect 4th.
97
So far we have only dealt with two notes at a time. The same principles hold true for chords also.
Chords
The first thing you start working on in your music theory class in college is four part
harmony. You start by analyzing and writing Bach Chorales. Although it is four part harmony
(chords with four voices), it is mostly triads with one of the notes doubled somewhere in each of the
chords. Bach was adventurous compared to his predecessors; he used a dominant 7th chord as a
V chord from time to time. A dominant 7th chord has a tritone (diminished 5th) inside of it that kind
of scared musicians back in those days so Bach may have been considered a rebel amongst his
peers, Ex: G7 = G - B - D - F, the tritone is B - F. Play the interval and see if it scares you. Bach was
also a master of counterpoint, the art of writing two melodies on top of each other.
Dominant chords usually got resolved to the tonic chord this way back in Bach's days. At least I had
to resolve them this way or my Theory II teacher would get angry with me and threaten to call the
Baroque police:
Some rules or at least some standard practices for the *Baroque period (Key:C):
1.
The b7 in the V chord (F) moves down to the 3rd of the I chord (E)
2.
The root of the V chord (G) stays as the common tone (if possible) in the I chord (G)
3.
The 3rd of the V chord (B) moves up to the root in the I chord (C)
4.
The 5th of the V chord (D) moves either up to the 3rd (E) or down to the root (C) of the I chord
*Most of music historians tend to believe that the Baroque period ended with the death of Bach.
Another famous Baroque period composer was Vivaldi (an Italian). Before the Baroque period we
had the Renaissance. The Classic period begins with Bach's death and pretty much gets going with
Mozart. While both Bach and Vivaldi wrote sacred music (for the church), Mozart started writing
music for the common people (operas) in German (so people could understand what the hell was
going on). The classic period ends with the death of another great German composer, Beethoven.
98
After that we get into the Romantic period. Tchaikovsky and Wagner are some names associated
with this period. After the Romantic period we move into the 20th century, which we left behind
recently.
Parallel 5ths
Parallel motion wasn't really considered cool back in the Baroque days. Especially parallel
5ths and Octaves. Other intervallic parallel motion such as 3rds or 2nds, etc. was considered okay.
The reason that parallel motion wasn't cool is simple, the separate notes in the moving chords
should move around in different directions or at least not the exact same distances to create a
sense of melody inside the harmony or at least to create some musical interest. Everything moving
in identical intervals is boring to the ear. These days parallel 5ths and octaves are standard
procedure for some genres of music such as hard rock, but for now let's concentrate on the more
traditional form of voice leading.
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A blues turnaround like the one in the last example probably came into fashion in the
1930's or so. Funny how some blues cats made a musical statement that would have made Bach
proud. Muddy Waters or Robert Johnson definitely didn't study music theory in college, did they? I
guess it's safe to assume that all these music theory rules are really universal musical laws already
known by the ear.
100
1.
2.
Only one kind here also, what kind of motion do you think it is? Compare the sound of this one
to the last example:
3.
Two types of motion going on here, what are they? Hint: look at the top note in both chords and
then the ones below:
101
4.
Notice in the first two chords how the notes on the fourth and third string slide down a half
step while the note on the second string stays where it is. In the Bbmaj7#11 chord, is there any
common tones carried over from the previous F7#5?
102
The next example is similar to the previous one except I included notes on the first string.
Feel free to leave off the notes on the sixth and fifth strings when playing with a bassist.
The voicing for the Bbmin11 chord is worth the stretch. Avoid the roots for these chords
when playing in an ensemble situation. If you have to play the roots, you'll have to use your thumb
on the first one. The root on the Abmaj9 chord is on the fourth string so it is probably safe to leave
in when playing with a bassist because it is in a high enough register.
Parallel motion
2.
Similar motion
3.
4.
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triads
5
b5
#5
b3
b3
maj
min
dim
aug
Triads: Triads are three note chords (a music theory text book will probably state that a chord must
have at least three notes to be considered a chord). Any of the notes can be repeated and the order
of the notes makes no difference. Triads are often played above a bass note that is not present in
the triad itself. This technique creates what is known as a slash chord because a slash mark is used
in the chord symbol. Ex: G/A (a G triad placed over an A bass note).
sus chords
5
sus4 sus2
Sus chords: In sus chords the 3rd is replaced with a 4th or a 2nd. Although this is the general rule,
these days some musicians voice the chord with the natural 3rd included also. Best to be careful
when including the 3rd with the 4th, they kind of rub together causing a dissonance but good
voice-leading can make it work.
104
7th chords
7
b7
b7
b7
b7
b7
b7
bb7
#5
b5
b5
#5
b5
b5
b3
b3
b3
b3
maj7
maj7#5 maj7b5
min7
min7b5 min/maj7
7th chords: 7th chords are four note chords. It may help you to think of them as triads with the
extension of the 7th added on. You may want to figure out what triad the top three notes of a 7th
chord make. Ex: C maj7#5 (C-E-G#-B) = E/C (E triad over an C note).
6th chords
6
b3
min6
6th chords: A triad with an added major 6th. Since the 6th chord doesn't contain a 7th interval,
this chord can function as either a major or a dominant chord. The only other thing you may want
to keep in mind about the 6th chord is that if you rearrange the order of notes, it turns into a min7th
chord. Ex: C6 (C-E-G-A) = Amin7 (A-C-E-G). The notes of the min6 chord can be rearranged to
make a min7b5 chord. Ex: Amin6 (A-C-E-F#) = F#min7b5 (F#-A-C-E). For this reason, the min6
chord is a common substitution for a min7b5 chord. Try it yourself, any time a min7b5 chord shows
up in a song, play a min6 chord a min3 above it. Ex: F#min7b5 = Amin6, Bmin7b5 = Dmin6,
etc..
Rule: a 6 and a 13 are the same note, so what's the difference between a 6th chord and a 13th
chord? Simple; a 6th chord contains no 7th while a 13th chord contains a 7th. Some textbooks may
state that where the 6th is placed also makes a difference (placed above the octave makes it a
13th) but I don't buy it.
105
9th chords
9
b9
#9
b9
#9
b9
#9
b9
b7
b7
b7
b7
b7
b7
b7
b7
b7
b7
b7
b5
b5
b5
#5
#5
b3
b3
7b9
7#9
9sus
sus b9
9th chords: I've included chords with and without altered extensions.
Remember: 9ths are the same as 2nds. Also, you may from time to time run into a chord with both
a raised and lowered 9th. Ex: E7(b9,#9).
Add9 chords
9
b3
add9 minadd9
add9 chords: A triad with the 9th added, no 7th allowed here.
106
69 chords
9
b3
69
min69
69 chords: A minor or major triad with both the major 6th and 9th interval included, no 7th.
11th chords
#11
11
#11
(9)
(9)
(9)
b7
b7
b3
maj7#11 min11
7#11
11th chords: When chords get this big you may have to leave some notes out. An 11th chord
doesn't need a 9th. After that the 5th will not change the quality of the chord so it can technically
be left out. If you are playing with a bassist you won't need to play the root (some bass players
actually get mad at you if you play roots at all).
Rule: technically a major 3rd and natural 11th (4th) cannot be included in the same chord (They
kind of rub together being so close and all). For this reason, when a major 3rd is present in the
chord the 11th gets raised to a #11th. The 3rd can also be omitted; this will however turn the chord
into a sus4 chord (when a 3rd is not present, the 11th is considered a 4th). Ex: 7#11
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(1-3-5-b7-#11), 7sus4 (1-4-5-b7). For this reason I consider the lydian mode the perfect major
scale, simply because the raised 11th doesn't rub against anything (same in regards to the lydian
dominant mode). When dealing with the major scale you have to be careful of the natural 4th, but
by building chords using the lydian mode, anything goes. The rule about 4ths don't apply to minor
chords, the min 3rd doesn't get in the way of anything so don't even worry about it.
Breaking the Rules: Although the natural 3rd and 4th technically can't be included in the same
major or dominant chord, you can pull it off by placing the 4th in a different octave, either above or
below the 3rd and it will keep them from rubbing together. It will create a few naming problems but
it still can be done. Try these voicings from the 5th string and you'll see what I mean: Cadd4
(C-F-G-C-E) or B7#9(11) (B-D#-A-D-E). Your ear is the final judge on these matters.
13th chords
13
13
(#11)
(11)
(9)
(9)
(9)
b9
#9
(9)
b7
b7
b7
b7
b7
b3
maj13 min13
13
13
13
13
13
-
13th chords: The biggest of all the chords. All scale notes are included. Feel free to omit the 11ths,
9ths, 5ths and roots (when a bassist is present).
Rule: As I stated before, without a 7th present, the 13th is considered a 6th.
108
The first two notes C and D are two notes apart so it is considered a "whole step," the
same for the second and third notes D and E. But the third and fourth notes E and F are only one
note apart therefore considered a "half step." The order of "steps" will never change for the major
scale (even if the key does). The order: W-W-H-W-W-W-H. If you remember the order of steps,
you can construct a major scale starting on any note.
109
Other Keys
Try to write out the major scale in other keys. If you stick to the pattern of half and whole
steps, you should be able to figure out all the major scales. Fill in the blanks and have one of your
teachers check the answers for you:
F#
F#
C#
C#
D#
F#
G#
F#
G#
C#
C#
G#
A#
F#
A#
C#
E#
F#
C#
E#
G#
A#
B#
C#
Cb
Db
Eb
Fb
Gb
Ab
Bb
Cb
Gb
Ab
Cb
Eb
Eb
Gb
Ab
Bb
Ab
Bb
Eb
Eb
Bb
Bb
110
111
About Picking
There a basically three different ways to pick:
1.
Alternate - This is the most standard way to pick. Simply play everything with a down stroke
followed by an up stroke. Down, up, down, up.................
2.
Economy - Shredders use this picking technique quite often. You simply take the quickest
route to the next string. Using the C major scale that we have been working with as an
example, if you were to start on the lowest note on the sixth string (7th fret, index finger), you
would pick: (sixth string) down stroke, up stroke, down stroke, (fifth string) down stroke, up
stroke, down stroke, (fourth string) down stroke, up stroke, down stroke, etc.. Players who use
this technique tend to play scale patterns that have three notes per string. If you get this
technique down you can achieve light speed.
3.
Legato - You would only pick one time per string. Using the same example as above (from the
lowest note on the sixth string): (sixth string) down stroke, hammer on, hammer on, (fifth
string) down stroke, hammer on, hammer on, etc..
I would suggest you work first on the alternate picking and try the other two later on. They are all
useful techniques and the combination of them will lead to spectacular results.
112
113
Things to consider
What would happen if you harmonized the scale in 9th, 11th or 13th chords? If you were
to harmonize each chord to its full potential, you would get seven completely different chords, what
would they be?
Ex.1)
Ex.2)
114
Ex.3)
Ex.4)
Pattern 1
Pattern 2
Pattern 3
Pattern 4
115
Pattern 5
Other keys
When you have the C major scale down you can try to move to other keys. All five patterns
will stay the same only the frets will change:
G major
E major
Bb major
116
Key
ii
iii
IV
vi
viio
F#
F#
C#
C#
F#
G#
F#
G#
C#
D#
C#
D#
F#
G#
A#
F#
F#
G#
A#
C#
D#
E#
C#
C#
D#
E#
F#
G#
A#
B#
Cb
Cb
Db
Eb
Fb
Gb
Ab
Bb
Gb
Gb
Ab
Bb
Cb
Db
Eb
Db
Db
Eb
Gb
Ab
Bb
Ab
Ab
Bb
Db
Eb
Eb
Eb
Ab
Bb
Bb
Bb
Eb
Bb
maj
min
min
maj
maj
min
dim
117
CHAPTER 9: SEQUENCES
Building Technique
Now that you have the major scale under your fingers, it's time to move on to the next
step, which is to start building technique. We will do this by working on various sequences and
patterns until they become effortless. I must admit, sequences are and sound very mathematical
which, by the way, is exactly what good improvisation shouldn't sound like. But by learning and
practicing the various sequences I'm about to show you, you should eventually be able to forget
them while retaining a high level of technique that will allow you to play practically anything your
ear tells you to. Each sequence you learn will pose a different technical challenge and that is where
true learning begins. The ultimate goal of this section is to gain technical fluidity.
"Group of" Sequences - "Group of" sequences rather than jumping directly to the interval, the
player plays the diatonic notes between the starting note and the interval in question (4ths in this
example). The process continues from every consecutive note in the scale. The example below is an
ascending group of 4 sequence:
118
1.
2.
Practice them using different rhythmic figures such as triplets, sixteenth notes and various
combinations.
3.
Figure them out descending as well. Just do the same thing in reverse, high to low rather than
low to high.
4.
5.
When you have the major scales under your fingers, move on to the other scales such as the
harmonic and melodic minor scales.
119
Diatonic 3rds
1. Intervallic 3rds sequence - No real technical problems here except for the F to A interval on
the third to second string (third measure, third beat). You'll have to use your pinky to play both
notes but since there is no jumping over strings, it doesn't pose too much difficulty. What we are
basically doing with this sequence is simple; we play the first note of the scale (C in this case) and
then play the note that is up a diatonic third from it, not playing any of the notes in between. We
then do the same with the next note of the scale (in this case, from D):
2. Group of 3 sequence - No real technical difficulties with this one either. As it is a "group of 3"
sequence it may sound more natural using triplets, I've simply notated it using eighth notes to
make it as simple as possible. It actually "rubs" a little bit played this way, which is to my liking:
120
Diatonic 4ths
I'm going to get into specific variations with the 4ths section only. The last two sequences
were just to get you warmed up so now I'm going to show you some different variations of the
different sequences. I'm only going to do this here with the 4ths and not with the other intervals for
two reasons: one, it's way to much work to transcribe them all and it will take me forever. But the
most important reason is because I want you to use your head. The only way you are really going
to learn these things are by figuring them out for yourself. I'll only help you here with the 4ths;
you'll have to figure out how to do the same things with the other intervals yourself.
3. Intervallic 4ths sequence - This is one of my favorite sequences and it poses a lot of problems.
Because 4ths generally fall on the same fret of the adjacent string, you'll have to use a lot of the
same fingers for corresponding notes. You'll also get your first taste of string skipping. The F and B
notes (third measure, third beat) fall on the third and first string which means you'll have to jump
over the second string to get there. We are doing the same thing as in the our first sequence only
this time using 4ths rather than 3rds:
121
6. Intervallic 4ths sequence (variation 3) - Rather than playing the root followed by a diatonic
4th and continuing the intervallic jump from each consecutive note in the scale, the next sequence
starts with the root followed by two diatonic 4ths:
7. Group of 4 sequence - No real road blocks here. To create interest you might want to play this
sequence using triplets:
122
Diatonic 5ths
8. Intervallic 5ths sequence - Tons of string skipping going on in this intervallic 5ths sequence:
9. Intervallic 5ths sequence (variation 1) - Same as sequence no.5, utilizing 5ths rather than
4ths:
123
10. Intervallic 5ths sequence (variation 2) - root followed by a diatonic 5th, but rather than
continuing the pattern from next consecutive note (D in this case) we skip the note and play the
interval from the third note (E) before returning to the second note (D):
11. Group of 5 sequence - The first five notes of the scale followed by the next five. You will notice
that the "group of 5" sequence played using eighth notes will rub rhythmically against the common
time meter of most songs. Again, something I like:
124
12. Group of 5 sequence (rhythmic variation) - Sometimes the "group of sequences work
best applied using the same rhythmic figure as the number in the group. Since the notes are
grouped in fives, see if you can play each group of five notes over one beat. This is difficult to do so
it may help to verbalize the rhythm by verbalizing a five-syllable word. One I use for five is;
"opportunity" OP-POR-TU-NI-TY. Just tap your foot and say opportunity to each beat and you'll be
verbalizing a 5 over 1 rhythm. As the following sequence is basically the same as the previous one
using a different rhythm, I've only notated one measure:
125
Diatonic 6ths
13. Intervallic 6ths sequence - The string-skipping thing is getting out of hand:
14. Group of 6 sequence - The most natural way to play this sequence would be using triplets but
any rhythmic figure will work fine:
126
Diatonic 7ths
15. Intervallic 7ths sequence - You have a big jump on the last beat of the second measure, over
two strings:
16. Group of 7 sequence - If your tempo is slow enough, try this sequence using seven notes per
beat:
Make these and the other sequences you come up with part of your everyday practice routine. They
are a must for developing technique.
127
Dmin
Emin
Amin
Bdim
1. Diatonic one-octave triad arpeggio sequence Although the trick to using arpeggios is to
use them over the proper chord, in other words, a C arpeggio over a C chord, a D minor arpeggio
over a D minor chord and so forth, this sequence is a good exercise to get you started:
128
Dmin
Emin
Amin
Bdim
2. Diatonic open-voiced triad arpeggio sequence - Similar in theory as the previous exercise
except the 3rd is placed last and an octave above the 5th, Ex: 1 - 5 - 3. This technique is sometimes
called octave displacement. These triad arpeggios are similar to the type Eric Johnson uses:
Dmin7
Emin7
Fmaj7
G7
Amin7
Bmin7(b5)
3. Diatonic one-octave 7th arpeggio sequence 7th arpeggios only contain four notes and
should be practiced in every possible combination. There are twenty-four different combinations
(use the chart on page 27 for a reference). There are too many to give individual exampled for them
all but I will give you a few starting with the most simple: 1-3-5-7:
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4. Diatonic one-octave 7th arpeggio sequence (variation 2) 7th arpeggios in this order of
intervals: 1-5-3-7:
5. Diatonic one-octave 7th arpeggio sequence (variation 3) 7th arpeggios in this order of
intervals: 1-7-5-3:
6. Diatonic one-octave 7th arpeggio sequence (variation 4) 7th arpeggios in this order of
intervals: 3-1-7-5:
130
7. Diatonic one-octave 7th arpeggio sequence (variation 5) 7th arpeggios in this order of
intervals: 7-3-5-1:
Dmin add9
Emin add(b9)
Fadd9
Gadd9
8. Diatonic add9 arpeggio sequence - If we include the diatonic passing tone between the root
and 3rd before playing the 5th, we get an add9 arpeggio that John Coltrane used quite often. The
order of intervals: 1-2-3-5:
131
This technique will come in handy when playing over chords that are not completely related and at
a tempo where using scales may not be practical. The following example changes keys several
times:
Practice using arpeggios over various chord progressions both diatonic and not. Try to make the
arpeggios sound musical by varying the order of intervals and using various rhythmic figures. When
you are familiar with all the arpeggio shapes, you can move on the next section that deals with
superimposing them.
132
Arpeggio Substitutions
A substitution is a simple way to create upper extensions by superimposing specific
arpeggios over a chord. So far we have practiced using arpeggios over the same chord, for example
a Cmaj7 arpeggio over a Cmaj7 chord but other arpeggios can be superimposed to create more
musical interest. Ill give some of the more common ones as examples but the possibilities are
endless.
1. Min7 arpeggio played on the 3rd degree of a Major Chord For demonstrative purposes,
lets say that the major chord in question is a Cmaj7 chord. The 3rd of the chord is E, so the
substitution would be an Emin7 arpeggio. Take a look at the analysis below and you will understand
why. The Emin7 arpeggio simply creates a Cmaj9 tonality so rather than playing a Cmaj7
arpeggio over a Cmaj7 chord, an Emin7 arpeggio is another alternative:
In the following example, an Emin7 arpeggio is being superimposed over a Cmaj7 chord:
133
2. Min7 arpeggio played on the 6th degree of a Major Chord Again, by studying the analysis
below we can see that the Amin7 arpeggio played over a C major chord implies a C6 tonality:
In this example, I superimpose both an Amin7 and Emin7 arpeggio over the Cmaj7 chord:
What other arpeggios could you superimpose over a Cmaj7 chord? Try these: Gmaj7, D. What
extensions would they create?
134
1. Maj7 arpeggio played on the b3rd degree of a Minor Chord For demonstrative purposes,
lets say that the minor chord in question is Cmin7. The b3rd would be Eb, so the arpeggio to be
played would be a Ebmaj7 arpeggio. The maj7 arpeggio superimposed this way, creates a min9
tonality:
In this example, Ive superimposed an Ebmaj7 arpeggio over the Cmin7 chord and combine both
a Dmin7 and Bbmaj7 arpeggio for the Bbmaj7 chord:
What other arpeggios could you superimpose over a Cmin7 chord? Try these: Amin7(b5), Gmin7.
What extensions would they create?
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1. Dim7 arpeggio played on the 3rd degree of a Dominant chord Another common
substitution that creates the sound of a 7b9 chord:
In this example, the Edim7 arpeggio played over the C7 chord creates a 7b9 tonality:
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2. Dominant 7 arpeggio played on the b5th degree of a Dominant chord This is a very
common substitution used to create an altered tonality. Examine the analysis below:
And in this last example, the F#7 arpeggio superimposed over the C7b9 chord creates a
C7(b5,b9) tonality:
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Arpeggio Overview
The following charts should give you some insight on what arpeggios can be
superimposed over specific chord types. Along with the ones we have covered previously in this
chapter, I have also included other possibilities. Some of these will work better over vamps but
regardless, feel free to experiment. Starting with major family chords:
degree to be played on
major triad
1,3,5
major triad
9,#11,13
major triad
5,7,9
major triad
3,#5,7
min7
3,5,7,9
standard substitution
min7
1,3,5,6
standard substitution
maj7
5,7,9,#11
lydian tonality
min7b5
#4
1,3,#11,13
lydian tonality
min(maj7)
1,3,#5,13
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comments
lydian tonality
degree to be played on
comments
augmented triad b3
b3,5,7
augmented triad 5
b3,5,7
augmented triad 7
b3,5,7
major triad
b3
b3,5,b7
major triad
1,11,13
major triad
5,7,9
major triad
b7
b7,9,11
major triad
b3,b5,7
major triad
b5,9,13
maj7
b3
b3,5,b7,9
min7b5
1,b3,5,13
degree to be played on
comments
augmented triad
b5,b7,9
locrian #2 tonality
augmented triad
b5
b5,b7,9
locrian #2 tonality
augmented triad
b7
b5,b7,9
locrian #2 tonality
min(maj7)
b3
b3,b5,b7,9
locrian #2 tonality
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degree to be played on
comments
augmented triad
b7,9,#11
augmented triad
b5
b7,9,#11
augmented triad
b7
b7,9,#11
major triad
9,#11,13
min7b5
3,5,b7,9
min7b5
#4
1,3,6,#11
min(maj7)
5,7,9,#11
degree to be played on
maj7
b7
4,b7,9,13
major triad
1,4,6
major triad
b7
4,b7,9
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comments
degree to be played on
comments
dim7
3,5,b7,b9
diminished tonality
dim7
3,5,b7,b9
diminished tonality
dim7
b7
3,5,b7,b9
diminished tonality
diminished triad
b2
3,5,b7,b9
diminished tonality
augmented triad
1,3,#5
altered tonality
augmented triad
1,3,#5
altered tonality
augmented triad
#5
1,3,#5
altered tonality
major triad
b3
5,b7,#9
diminished tonality
major triad
b5
b5,b7,b9
altered tonality
major triad
3,b9,13
diminished tonality
major triad
b6
1,#5,#9
altered tonality
min7b5
b7
3,#5,b7,b9
altered tonality
min(maj7)
b2
1,3,#5,b9
altered tonality
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The order of the modes will never change even when the key does. Examine the chart below. By
checking the very bottom column of the chart you can find out what chord the mode works over. Ex.
the D dorian mode is the same as the C major scale and works over an Dmin7 chord.
Key
ionian
dorian
phrygian
lydian
mixolydian
aolian
locrian
F#
F#
C#
C#
F#
G#
F#
G#
C#
D#
Chord
maj7
min7
min7
maj7
min7
min7b5
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Warning!
This is where a lot of players get confused. They ask; "How come when I play the D dorian
scale it sounds the same as the C major scale?" Of course it does, cause it is! It's not the scale; it's
the chord that counts. If you play a C major scale, D to D, over a C major chord, it's going to sound
like a C major scale because that's what it is. You have to use the mode over the appropriate chord
to get the modal effect. In this case, you have to play the D dorian mode over a D minor chord.
Matter of fact, you don't even have to play it D to D, you just have to play a C major scale over a D
minor chord to get the dorian sound.
Remember: It isn't where you start and stop in the major scale; it's the chord or chord progression
you play over. The C major scale played over a D minor chord is a D dorian scale whether you start
on the C note or not.
D dorian scale
D major scale
143
144
Now that you should be able to play the dorian scale at the drop of a hat, it's time to get you
improvising over some different chord progressions. The first four bars are all D minor. What major
scale are you going to play to get the D dorian mode? Remember you need to play the major scale
that is down a major 2nd from D. The answer is? C major. How about the next four bars of F#
minor? The major scale that is a major 2nd down from F# is? E. You'll need to play an E major scale
over the F# minor chord. When you become comfortable improvising over the following progression,
try to make up some chord progressions of your own using two or more unrelated minor chords:
Making Music
The goal is to make music. Simply by playing the proper major scale over the modal chord,
although theoretically correct, will not necessarily make your solo musical. You must use your ears
and pay close attention to the strong notes in the chord you are playing over. Try to think of your
solo as a separate composition all together, a song inside a song.
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By using the chart below you can determine what major scale to play to get the mode you are
looking for and what chord the mode works over, Ex: the C phrygian mode is the same as the Ab
major scale and works over a Cmin7 chord.
Key
ionian
dorian phrygian
lydian
mixolydian
aolian
locrian
Db
Db
Eb
Gb
Ab
Bb
Ab
Ab
Bb
Db
Eb
Eb
Eb
Ab
Bb
Bb
Bb
Eb
Bb
Chord
maj7
min7
min7
maj7
min7
min7b5
146
C phrygian mode
C dorian mode
C major scale
147
148
149
This mode also lends itself well to Neo-Classical hard rock. You may want to try playing over a Cmin
- Db chord progression with a hard rock feel, if that is the kind of music you are into. By the way,
the king of the ancient kingdom of Phrygia (somewhere in what is now known as modern Turkey I
believe) was King Midas, who by legend could turn anything he touched into gold. Maybe the
phrygian mode is the golden scale!
150
For demonstrational purposes, let's take C lydian as an example. As you can see in the chart below,
the C lydian mode is the same as the G major scale and works over a Cmaj7 chord.
Key
ionian
dorian
phrygian
lydian
mixolydian
aolian
locrian
F#
F#
C#
C#
F#
G#
F#
G#
C#
D#
Chord
maj7
min7
min7
maj7
min7
min7b5
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C lydian mode
C major scale
152
153
154
For demonstrational purposes, let's take C mixolydian as an example. As you can see in the chart
below, the C mixolydian mode is the same as the F major scale and works over a C7 chord.
Key
ionian
dorian
phrygian
lydian
mixolydian
aolian
locrian
Eb
Eb
Ab
Bb
Bb
Bb
Eb
Bb
F#
Chord
maj7
min7
min7
maj7
min7
min7b5
C mixolydian mode
C major
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156
157
For demonstrational purposes, let's take C aolian as an example. As you can see in the chart below,
the C aolian mode is the same as the Eb major scale and works over a Cmin7 chord.
Key
ionian
dorian
phrygian
lydian
mixolydian
aolian
locrian
Ab
Ab
Bb
Eb
Eb
Eb
Ab
Bb
Bb
Bb
Eb
Bb
Chord
maj7
min7
min7
maj7
min7
min7b5
C aolian mode
C dorian mode
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Chords from the aolian mode: min7, min9, min11, minb6, min7b13
The Aolian (Natural Minor) Chord Family The aolian mode is important because its chord
family has been used to write and harmonize music for centuries. Unlike the other modes, which are
generally used to play over static modal chords, the aolian mode and its inherent chords have been
the foundation of minor harmony. As progressions are more common with this mode, take some
time and familiar yourself with its family of chords. This will be important as well for understanding
the harmonic and melodic minor scale which both are based on this scale. As you did with the
diatonic chords of the major scale, try to come up with some chord progressions using the diatonic
chords from the natural minor scale and use the aolian mode to improvise with.
Hundreds of years ago, composers had problems dealing with the minor v chord, it does not want
to resolve to the tonic chord like the major or dominant 7th V chord in major keys. They came up
with an interesting way to solve this problem that we will discuss later.
159
I'll end the lessons on the modes of the major scale here with the aolian mode. The locrian mode
works over a min7(b5) chord but the locrian #2 mode from the melodic minor is a better choice
(page 176) .
160
If we were to stack all the notes of the major pentatonic scale on top of each other what you would
basically get is a C69 chord. If you haven't yet started doing this type of analysis, it is a good time
to start. Try to look at scales not just horizontally but vertically as well. That's right, chords are
scales and scales are chords just depending on how you place the notes in time. As I said before,
pentatonic scales only contain five notes and because of that they don't sound nearly as "scalular"
as regular seven note scales and sound somewhat like arpeggios. Some musicians find it easier to
sound more musical using the pentatonic scale.
C major pentatonic
C major scale
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Pattern 1
Pattern 2
Pattern 3
Pattern 4
Pattern 5
162
C minor pentatonic
C dorian mode
Pattern 1
Pattern 2
Pattern 3
Pattern 4
163
Pattern 5
Use in combination both the C minor pentatonic and C dorian scales over the following chord
progression. The dorian scale patterns are notated with the dorian modal roots in black:
164
165
166
Pattern 1
Pattern 2
Pattern 3
Pattern 4
In a rock context, the harmonic minor scale gets used quite often over a major V chord in a minor
progression. Ex: Amin G F E. For a progression like this you would use an A aolian mode over
the first three chords and an A harmonic minor scale over the E chord.
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To be able to use and understand the melodic minor scale modes, it is important to know
all five of the scale patterns. Take some time and learn the patterns if you are not already familiar
with them. Oh yeah, I need to warn you about something here; this scale may sound wrong to you.
I first learned about it when I got into jazz in my early twenties and I could not get this scale to work
for me. No matter how I played it, it sounded awful to my virgin ears. Don't give up, take my word
for it, when you get it together, it will become one of the most, if not the most important scale you
will know. You might want to get your ear going ahead of time by buying a John Scofield CD like;
"Still Warm" or something similar.
Pattern 1
Pattern 2
Pattern 3
Pattern 4
Pattern 5
History Lesson
The melodic minor scale is built by raising the 6th and 7th degrees of the natural minor
scale (the aolian mode). In the old days the rule of this scale was that while ascending you raised
the 6th and 7th scale degrees but when descending you lowered them back to the natural pitches.
Why do you think they did this? I have heard different theories, one being that the scale is simply
easier to sing that way, and also that passages that ascend tend to favor the raised pitches while
descending passages favor the natural pitches, but regardless, the final result is a whole new set of
diatonic chords to work with. As I described in Chapter 13, about a few hundred years ago, the
composers didn't like the way the minor v chord sounded (from the natural minor scale), it doesnt
resolve strongly to the tonic or i chord. So they just added a G sharp (raised 7th) note to the A
168
minor scale and everyone was happy because they all of a sudden got a dominant V chord. That's
how the harmonic minor scale came in to existence. After a while maybe they just wanted more
chord choices than the harmonic minor scale could give so they and added the raised 6th to match
the already raised 7th. With the creation of the melodic minor scale, a whole new set of diatonic
chords came into being.
If you were to harmonize the diatonic chords as 9th, 11th and 13th chords from the scale
you would see why the melodic minor scale becomes of particular interest to the modern day
musician and composer.
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1. Melodic Minor
2. Dorian b2 Mode
3. Lydian Augmented Mode
4. Lydian Dominant Mode
5. Mixolydian b6 Mode
6. Locrian #2 Mode
7. Altered Mode (Super Locrian Mode)
170
C altered mode
C mixolydian mode
171
172
173
C mixolydian mode
174
One big giveaway for this scale is when a bV sub pops up in a ii - V - I. Check out the
example below. Play C dorian (Bb major) over the Cmin11 chord, B lydian dominant (F# melodic
minor) over the bV sub, the B7#11 chord. Play Bb lydian (F major) over the Bbmaj7 chord.
175
C locrian mode
C locrian #2 mode
176
177
For the following exercise, use a C dorian (Bb major) scale over the Cmin7 chord, the F# locrian #2
mode (A melodic minor) over the F#min7(b5) chord, F dorian mode (Eb major scale) for the
Fmin7 chord and finally the Db lydian dominant mode (Ab melodic minor scale) for the Db9 chord:
178
C lydian mode
179
180
C dorian b2 mode
C phrygian mode
C dorian mode
181
182
By looking at the complete half/whole diminished scale diagram below you can see that it
is the same pattern repeated over and over again:
183
C half/whole diminished
C altered mode
C mixolydian mode
184
Chords from the half/whole diminished scale: C7, C7b5, C13, C7#9, C7b9, C7, C7(b5,#9),
C7(b5,b9), C7(b9,#9), C13(b9), C13(#9), etc.
185
The half/whole diminished scale also works well over the V chord in a ii - V - I chord
progression. Just remember: no raised 5ths are allowed in the chord if you want to use this scale.
For the progression below, use a G dorian scale (F major) over the Gmin9 chord, a C half/whole
diminished scale over the C13b9 chord , a F lydian scale (C major) over the F69 chord and finally
a D half/whole diminished scale over the D13b9 chord:
Another commonly used symmetrical scale is the whole tone scale. The whole tone scale is a
six-note scale based on a series of whole steps. The chords that come from the scale are dominant
chords with altered 5ths only.
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187
Diatonic 4ths
1. Intervallic 4ths - Perfect 4ths are difficult to play on the guitar because they usually fall on the
next adjacent string on the same fret, which means you are forced to use the same finger. This is
fine when you only want to play the 4th interval once but if you want to play a line utilizing a series
of 4ths it becomes quite difficult to play the line smoothly. Although it is quite a stretch, I found that
rather than playing the 4th on the adjacent string it is possible to play it on the same string. For me,
doing this using a legato style of playing works great. Check out the line:
2. Intervallic 4ths (variation 1) - This example is simply expanding on the last one:
3. Intervallic 4ths (variation 2) - This example runs through the whole series of 4ths in the C
major scale. Take notice of the one augmented 4th (F - B). I also jump down an octave twice to
accommodate the line:
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4. Intervallic 4ths used over chord changes - Next I'm going to use the same intervallic idea
to play through a ii - V - I in the key of C:
Diatonic 5ths
5. Intervallic 5ths - In order to get you used to playing and hearing 5ths, I'm going to get you to
play through the major scale using them. You are already familiar with the shape of the 5th interval;
it looks like a simple power chord. The only exception is the B - F interval which is a diminished 5th:
6. Intervallic 5ths (variation 1) - I'm stacking 5ths on top of each other for this example. Notice
how every note in the C diatonic scale gets used:
189
7. Intervallic 5ths (variation 2) - A variation on the last example using pull offs and slides. Play
the intervallic 5th, pull-off to the diatonic note below, slide up to the 5th again with your first finger
and repeat the process:
8. Intervallic 5ths used to make arpeggios - You can make some very wide sounding arpeggios
by using stacked 5ths. These can be sweep-picked for a spectacular effect:
To explore this subject further, see if you can find the book "Intervallic Designs" by Joe Diorio. It is
probably the most concise book on the subject but may be difficult to get a hold of. You can also try
to pick up one of Joes cds. He is the master of this kind of thing. Another guitarist who uses
intervallic lines quite often is Jennifer Batten.
190
191
Sequences
The same blues licks that you always play may or may not work in these new applications
that I'm about to teach you so you may want to break away from your usual pentatonic phrases.
The pentatonic scale is full of 4ths and 5ths intervals, try to take advantage of them as much as you
can. Not that sequences should be relied on too much but these are some sequences that I tend to
use, starting with an intervallic 4th sequence.
192
Play the previous sequences descending as well as ascending. There are also dozens of
other sequences you should try to discover on your own. Sequences are great tools when used
tastefully but if you over do it, you'll sound like a computer.
193
Over a major chord, you can play a minor pentatonic scale based on the 7th, 3rd and 6th
of the chord.
1. Minor pentatonic played on the 7th degree of a major chord - Yes it's true, on the 7th. This
means that you first need to locate the 7th of your maj7th chord, in this case, Cmaj7. What is it?
That's right, the major 7th of Cmaj7 is B. So, you can play a B minor pentatonic scale against the
Cmaj7 chord. I know it seems strange but check out the analysis below and you'll see why it works:
The first thing that might strike you as odd is that there is no root present in the scale.
Don't worry about it, roots are not a necessity in scales when used for improvisation. When I
realized the fact that roots don't need to be present, it opened up thousands of new scale/chord
relationship possibilities. It may be helpful to think of this pentatonic scale as "lydian" because of
the #11 present in the scale. As the scale played over a C major chord contains all the upper
extensions (9, #11, 13) it may work better over a chord with the same or some of the same
extensions (Cmaj7#11, Cmaj13, etc.) but it functions well over simple maj7 and maj9 chords as
well.
194
2. Minor pentatonic played on the 3rd degree of the chord A minor pentatonic played on the
3rd degree yields us another nice choice. The 3rd of C is E, so all we need to do is play an E minor
pentatonic scale. Check the chord tones we get below:
As in the previous example, we also do not have a root present in the scale. Unlike the
common major pentatonic scale, we get the nice addition of the major 7th. We are kind of trading
our root we get in the major pentatonic scale for a major 7th in this one.
3. Minor pentatonic played on the 6th degree of a major chord - The 6th of C is A, so we need
to play an A minor pentatonic scale to give us our next possibility. Check the scale tones we get with
this choice:
If you know your theory, you know that the A minor pentatonic and C major pentatonic
scale are one in the same. So nothing new and exciting here but it will still come in handy later.
Formula Chart
Here is the handy-dandy formula chart for applying the minor pentatonic scale to major
chords:
2,3,#4,6,7
2,3,5,6,7
1,2,3,5,6
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chord
minor pentatonic
Amaj9
G#
chord
minor pentatonic
Amaj9
C#
or maybe...
Cmaj9
Cmaj9
Emaj9
G#
Emaj9
C#
Record the changes and experiment with all possible pentatonic scales:
196
The reason I picked these pentatonic scales is because for the Cmaj9 chord all I have to
do is move the G# minor pentatonic scale up a half step to an A minor pentatonic scale. Not so
much for a lack of effort but because it is a great way to connect a motif over the barline. Check out
how I use this intervallic 4ths and 5ths pattern to do so:
197
Over a minor chord, you can play a minor pentatonic scale based on the root, 2nd and 5th
of the chord.
1. Minor pentatonic played on the 1st degree (root) of the chord - This scale over this chord
is most likely how you've been using it anyway so I'm not going to get into much detail here. Before
you move on to the next examples at least check what chord tones we get with the most common
application of the minor pentatonic scale:
2. Minor pentatonic played on the 2nd degree of the chord - You can play a minor pentatonic
scale a whole step up from a minor chord. Check out why:
This application of the minor pentatonic scale played on the 2nd of the minor chord will
give you the major sixth which is "dorian" by nature so I tend to think of this scale used in this
context as the "dorian" pentatonic. Superimposed this way, the minor pentatonic scale contains all
the upper extensions of the minor chord (9th, 11th, 13th) and works nicely over a min6 or min13
chord.
198
3. Minor pentatonic played on the 5th degree of the chord - This is another nice alternative
for the plain old minor pentatonic. Played up a fifth you will get the following chord tones:
Unlike the straight minor pentatonic scale, you get the nice addition of the 9th when
played in this context. You will also be losing your b3rd, which gives the scale more of an ambiguous
tonality, which I personally like.
Formula Chart
Once again the formula chart, this time for applying the minor pentatonic scale to minor
chords:
1,b3,4,5,b7
1,2,4,5,6
1,2,4,5,b7
199
or maybe...
Emin9 B
chord
minor pentatonic
Cmin9
Emin9
F#
200
Over an altered dominant chord, you can play a minor pentatonic scale based on the
b3rd, 4th and b7th of the chord.
1. Minor pentatonic played on the b3rd degree of the chord - The b3rd or #9th of C is Eb so
that is the minor pentatonic scale we will play here. Check out what we will get:
What more could you ask for here? You get all four of the altered extensions (b5,#5,b9,#9).
2. Minor pentatonic played on the 4th degree of the chord - In the case of C7(alt), a F minor
pentatonic scale:
Maybe not the best choice for a 7(b9,b5) chord but a great match for a C7(#5,#9) chord.
You will have to be a little careful in your handling of the natural 4th but because the pentatonic
scales have so many perfect 4th intervals anyway, it doesn't seem to bother the ear too much.
201
3. Minor pentatonic played on the b7th degree of the chord - In the case of C7(alt), a Bb
minor pentatonic scale:
As with the previous example, you'll need to exercise a little caution with the 4th but other
than the b5 you get all the other extensions for the altered dominant chord (#5, b9, #9).
Formula Chart
Once again the formula chart, this time for applying the minor pentatonic scale to altered
dominant chords:
b3
b5,#5,b7,b9,#9
1,4,#5,b7,#9
b7
4,#5,b7,b9,#9
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chord
minor pentatonic
chord
minor pentatonic
Dmin7
G7(alt) Bb
G7(alt)
Cmaj7 B
Cmaj7
Dmin7 A
or maybe...
Notice how in this example I simply move the pentatonic scale up half steps to
accommodate each chord:
203
Using the same pentatonic scales over a two chord per measure ii - V - I chord
progression in the same key:
In this example I use the same intervallic motif as our first example but this time starting
on an E minor pentatonic scale, moving up a half step for the G7(alt) chord and resolving it by
moving back to the E minor pentatonic scale:
It is still important to learn all your scales and arpeggios but the various applications of the
minor pentatonic scale we covered in this lesson are just one improvisational tool that you can keep
up your sleeve.
204
Scale Overview
The following charts should give you some insight on what scales can be superimposed
over specific chord types. Starting with major family chords:
degree to be played on
Kommentare
major
1,2,3,4,5,6,7
ionian mode
major
1,2,3,#4,5,6,7
lydian mode
minor pentatonic
2,3,#4,6,7
No root present
minor pentatonic
2,3,5,6,7
No root present
minor pentatonic
1,2,3,5,6
melodic minor
1,2,3,#4,#5,6,7
degree to be played on
Kommentare
major
b3
1,2,b3,4,5,b6,b7
aolian mode
major
b6
1,b2,b3,4,5,b6,b7
phrygian mode
major
b7
1,2,b3,4,5,6,b7
dorian mode
minor pentatonic
1,b3,4,5,b7
minor pentatonic
minor pentatonic
1,2,4,5,6
minor pentatonic
1,2,4,5,b7
melodic minor
1,2,b3,4,5,6,7
melodic minor
melodic minor
b5
b2,b3,4,b5,b6,6,7
whole tone
b2,b3,4,5,6,7
no root present
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degree to be played on
Kommentare
major
b2
1,b2,b3,4,b5,b6,b7
locrian mode
melodic minor
b3
1,2,b3,4,b5,b6,b7
locrian#2 mode
degree to be played on
Kommentare
major
1,2,3,4,5,6,b7
mixolydian mode
melodic minor
1,2,3#,4,5,6,b7
minor pentatonic
1,4,5,b7,#9
blues tonality
minor pentatonic
1,2,3,5,6
degree to be played on
Kommentare
major
1,2,3,4,5,6,b7
mixolydian mode
major
b6
1,b2,#2,4,5,b6,b7
melodic minor
b7
1,b2,#2,4,5,6,b7
minor pentatonic
1,2,4,5,6
minor pentatonic
1,2,4,5,b7
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degree to be played on
half/whole diminished
1,b2,#2,3,#4,5,6,b7
whole tone
1,2,3,b5,#5,b7
melodic minor
b2
1,b2,#2,3,#4,#5,b7
minor pentatonic
1,4,5,b7,#9
minor pentatonic
b3
b5,#5,b7,b9,#9
minor pentatonic
1,4,#5,b7,#9
minor pentatonic
b7
4,#5,b7,b9,#9
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Kommentare
altered mode
altered tonality
Art or Science
This lesson is going to walk you through the basics of song writing. One thing you have to
remember: writing a song is more of an art than a science. There is no one correct way to write
music, all composers use different methods and various combinations of those methods to come up
with the finished product. In order to study composition, you will also have to study some theory.
A good understanding of music theory is not completely necessary to write good music but it is
essential to analyze well-written music and to conceptualize various compositional techniques. A
word of advice: if you have little experience writing songs and/or you don't have some basic theory
under your belt, this lesson is going take you a while to get through. Take your time; there is no
need to rush. If you have some writing experience and/or some theory knowledge, the first half of
this lesson will give you a chance to review before moving on to some advanced ideas in the second
half.
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As I stated on page 113, large case Roman numeral (I, IV, V) refers to major quality chords while
small case Roman numerals (ii, iii, vi) refer to minor quality chords. Small case Roman numerals
followed by the small circle (viio) stand for diminished quality chords.
Voicings
It makes no difference how we stack the three notes. C, E and G stacked in any order and
doubled as many times as the person voicing the chord pleases will not change the fact that it is still
a C chord, the "I" chord in the key of C. Play every C major chord voicing you know and you'll see
what I mean, each one is made up of only C, E, and G notes. Check out the example below, each
chord below is a C chord:
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Analysis 1 - OK, time to get you going on harmonic analysis. Try to figure out what the chords are
below. We are looking for both the chord name (above) and the Roman numeral below. Check your
answers at the end of the lesson.
These three chords are the only chords in the key of C that contain a C note, so they are (for now)
our only choices. Our melody note, C is the root of a C major chord, the 3rd of an A minor chord and
the 5th of an F major chord. Try to sing the C note and play each of the chords. Although you may
prefer one over the others, you should find that all three chords are all pretty good matches.
210
Melodic Analysis
I need to have you do a different type of analysis, melodic analysis. In the last exercise we
tried to determine what chords we were looking at. In this exercise we will try to determine what
chord tone the melody note is. The rules for triads are as follows:
triad
chord tone
major 1
minor 1
b3
dim
b3
b5
Analysis 2 - Try to figure out what chord tone each melody note is. Check your answers at the end
of the chapter.
211
Getting started
Writing a song is just a series of decisions, choosing the right chord for each note of your
melody is the objective. Let's try it out on a super simple melody. The melody below is as simple as
they come, a descending C major scale.
Let's try to pick some chords for our melody. As I said earlier, this is more of an art than
a science so there are no real rules that you have to worry about breaking but there are a few
guidelines that you might want to keep in mind: Try to think of the diatonic chord family as a
neighborhood:
vi
viio
Think of this chord as home, you may want to start and end here
A transit chord, like the park. You may stroll through here on your way somewhere else but you
probably don't want to sleep here.
Another transit chord, the 7/11. Pass through on your way to better things.
Strong tonality, this is the bank. You may want to go back home after here especially if you just
withdrew a bunch of cash. You also may go somewhere else.
This is the super market. You just bought ice cream and a fish so you want to get home. If you went
to the bank before coming here, you really might want to be heading home.
Grandma's house. You could actually hang around here for a while. You may even want to make this
your new home.
Your local criminal's house. If you pass by here after the bank and super market you'll shoot home like
a rocket.
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I've written out all the possible chord choices above each melody note. The Roman
numerals are also written below the staff. Try each chord and try to come up with a chord
progression that you like. I would also suggest that you sing the melody note while you try out each
of the three chords choices:
Harmonization 1 - I've written a pretty standard chord progression for the same melody. This
chord progression is similar to the one *Pachelbel used for "Pachelbel's Canon" written about three
hundred years ago. Remember, there is no correct or incorrect here, what ever pleases your ear is
the right choice.
*Pachelbel was this German Cat who made his debut in the late 1600s. He used to hang around
with Bach's father, Ambrosius who asked him to teach one of his sons, Johann Christoph how to
write and play music. Johann Christoph would later teach his younger brother Johann Sebastian
(the famous Bach) music. It's funny how the whole thing fits together.
213
214
Take a good look at the G major and B diminished triad above and you will realize that the B
diminished triad looks a lot like a G7 chord without a root:
The G7 chord probably started replacing the G and Bdim chord progression. They sort of got
combined.
215
Choices
Creating a series of 7th chords simply gave them one more choice for their melody note.
Besides the root, 3rd and 5th, they got to use the 7th of the chord as a melody note. Instead of
three chord choices per melody note, they got four. Previously we only had the choice of three
chords for our C melody note, now we also get the addition of the Dmin7 chord:
Melodic Analysis - Let's try the melodic analysis thing again. This time we'll be checking our
melody note against the diatonic 7th chords. Here are the rules:
7th chord
chord tone
maj7
min7
b3
b7
min7b5
b3
b5
b7
b7
Analysis 3 - Try to figure out what chord tone each melody note is. I've included a few of the
answers already: for our first chord, the melody note is a C, which is the b7th (minor 7th) of the
Dmin7 chord. Try it yourself, answers at the end of the chapter:
216
Harmonization 2 - Using 7th chords will give you a very adult sound. Sometimes the addition of
just one 7th chord in a sea of triads will do wonders for one of your compositions. As far as melody
notes go, roots, 3rds and 5th are very strong tonally. Generally using a 7th as a melody note will
give you more of an ambiguous sound but sometimes ambiguity works very well. Check out the
example below. Again, try to sing the melody while you play the chords. Try to determine what
chord tone the melody note is in each individual chord. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I took some
liberties with both the V chords. Think about it a little and you'll figure out what I did:
1.
2.
3.
Make sure your melody note can be found in the chord somewhere (1,3,5 or 7).
4.
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Diatonic Triads, 7th Chords and Secondary Dominant Chords in the Key of C
Diatonic Chords
ii
iii
IV
vi
viio
Dmin
Emin
Amin
Bdim
G7
Amin7
Bmin7b5
V/ii
V/iii
V/IV
V/V
V/vi
A7
B7
C7
D7
E7
Harmonization 3 - I took our song and reharmonized it using secondary dominant chords where
the melody permits.
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Jazz
Secondary dominants are used in just about all styles of music, from the Baroque period
to Blues and Jazz. Jazz musicians also tend to stick, not only the V, but both the ii and V before the
chord being led up to. For example, in the previous harmonization you might put a Bmin7 before
the E7 chord and a Gmin7 before the C7.
Key of G Test - See if you can fill in the appropriate chords in the graph below. Answers at the end:
Diatonic Triads, 7th Chords and Secondary Dominant Chords in the Key of G
Diatonic Chords
ii
iii
IV
vi
viio
Gmaj7
V/ii
V/iii
V/IV
V/V
V/vi
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Borrowed chords
Key: Cmin
iio
III
iv
VI
VII
Eb
Ab
Bb
min
dim
maj
min
min
maj
maj
If this is getting difficult to understand read this explanation very slowly: the III, VI and
VII chord in the chart above are all flatted compared to the chords in the parallel major key (C
major). The iii, vi and viio chords from the major scale are all built on natural pitches and because
of this, when we export the three chords from the C minor scale to C major we have to notate them
with flats: the iii chord in C major is an E minor chord while the III chord in C minor is an Eb major
chord thus notated bIII when imported into the major key. The i chord does not get borrowed as
it would simply change the key to its minor counterpoint. The most common borrowed chords are
the bIII, iv, bVI and bVII chords:
Diatonic Triads, 7th Chords, Secondary Dominant and Borrowed Chords in the Key of C
Diatonic Chords
ii
iii
IV
vi
viio
Dmin
Emin
Amin
Bdim
Emin7
Fmaj7
G7
Amin7
Bmin7b5
Cmaj7 Dmin7
-
V/ii
V/iii
V/IV
V/V
V/vi
A7
B7
C7
D7
E7
iio
bIII
iv
bVI
bVII
Ddim
Eb
Fmin
Gmin
Ab
Bb
Borrowed Chords
220
Try making up some chord progressions using some of the borrowed chords. The following
chord progressions are just a few that I came up with for you to try out. The borrowed chords are
bold:
I vi
iii
iv I
ii
vi
IV bVI
vi
bVII
IV
bVII
Harmonization 4 - Once again I took our song and reharmonized it using secondary dominant and
borrowed chords. I took the liberty of flatting the E note in the third measure so I could use the
borrowed Ab chord. When you are writing, feel free to change the melody as needed.
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Chromatic Harmony
There is another method of composition, one completely without rules of any sort,
complete harmonic freedom. The concept is simple: use any chord you want. It starts the same way,
decide on a melody note and find a chord for it. Your melody note also does not have to be limited
by a scale. This might seem simple but it is not. You will have to know a lot of chord voicings to
make this method successful for you. Up to this point we limited ourselves to roots, 3rds, 5ths and
7ths as our melody notes but now we will dispose of those restrictions. As you will see the choices
we have now become limitless. Let's take the same melody note as before, a C note and try to come
up with as many chords as we can:
chord choices
root
b3
b5
#5
b7
b9
#9
4 (11)
#11
6 (13)
b6 (b13)
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Harmonization 5 - Let's go back to our previous simple descending C major scale melody and I'll
give you an example of some of the chord changes I might come up with. Using this method will
render the Roman numeral system obsolete.
223
Test Answers:
Amin
Emin
vi iii IV
Analysis 2:
b3
Analysis 3:
b7
Analysis 1:
b3
b7
b5
b3
b7
b5
Diatonic Triads, 7th Chords and Secondary Dominant Chords in the Key of G
Diatonic Chords
ii
iii
IV
vi
viio
Amin
Bmin
Emin
F#dim
D7
Emin7 F#min7b5
Secondary Dominant
V/ii
V/iii
V/IV
V/V
V/vi
Chords
E7
F#7
G7
A7
B7
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Whole note
(1
4)
Whole Rest
Half Note
(1
2) (3
Half Rest
Quarter Note
4)
(1)
(2)
(3)
Quarter Rest
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(4)
Eighth Note
(1)(+)(2)(+)(3)(+)(4)(+)
Eighth Rest
Rhythmic Exercises - Play or clap the following rhythms. Remember, it is important to look ahead
while reading. If you find the examples simple, turn the page upside down and read them again:
Ex.1)
Ex.2)
Ex.3)
Ex.4)
226
Ex5.)
Ex.6)
Ex.7)
Ex.8)
Ex.9)
227
Ex.10)
228
(Keep in mind, music written for guitar is played an octave lower than written)
Reading Exercises Play the following exercises in a tempo comfortable for you. Use a
metronome and try looking ahead. Record the chord changes or have someone accompany you:
Ex.1)
Ex.2)
Ex.3)
229
Tied Notes Tied notes are written with a curved line connecting each note. Notes of any length
may be tied together, and more than two notes may be tied together. The two tied notes will sound
like one note of the combined lengths. Although dotted notes can be used to produce the same
results, tying notes is the only method to lengthen notes over bar lines.
(1
3)
(4)
(1
2)
(3
1)
(2
4)
Rhythmic Exercises - Play or clap the following rhythms. Remember, it is important to look ahead
while reading. If you find the examples simple, turn the page upside down and read them again:
Ex.1)
Ex.2)
Ex.3)
230
Ex.4)
Ex.5)
231
Reading Exercises Play the following exercises in a tempo comfortable for you. Use a
metronome and try looking ahead. Record the chord changes or have someone accompany you:
Ex.1)
Ex.2)
232
Reading Exercises Play the following exercises in a tempo comfortable for you. Use a
metronome and try looking ahead. Record the chord changes or have someone accompany you:
Ex.1)
Ex.2)
233
Dotted Notes A dot placed next to a note or rest increases its value by exactly half.
(1
3)
(4)
(1 + 2) (+) (3 + 4) (+)
(1
3)
(4)
Rhythmic Exercises - Play or clap the following rhythms. Remember, it is important to look ahead
while reading. If you find the examples simple, turn the page upside down and read them again:
Ex.1)
Ex.2)
Ex.3)
234
Ex.4)
Ex.5)
235
Reading Exercises Play the following exercises in a tempo comfortable for you. Play each as a
duet with another guitarist or try to play both parts together as a fingerstyle piece:
Ex.1)
Ex.2)
236
Rhythmic Exercises - So far all the songs and exercises we have practiced so far have been in
common time or 4/4. The following rhythmic exercises will introduce 3/4 time meaning that there
will be three beats per measure rather than four:
Ex1.)
Ex.2)
Ex.3)
237
Reading Exercises Play the following exercise in a tempo comfortable for you. Play it as a duet
with an other guitarist or try to play both parts together as a fingerstyle piece:
Ex.1)
238
Reading Exercises Play the following exercises in a tempo comfortable for you. Play each as a
duet with another guitarist or try to play both parts together as a fingerstyle piece:
Ex.1)
239
Ex.2)
240
Ex.3)
241
Triplets a triplet sub-divides one note into equal thirds. When you tap your foot, you should
play three notes per one beat.
(1)
(2)
(1)
(4)
Rhythmic Exercises - Play or clap the following rhythms. Remember, it is important to look ahead
while reading. If you find the examples simple, turn the page upside down and read them again:
Ex.1)
Ex.2)
Ex.3)
242
Ex.4)
243
Reading Exercises Play the following exercise in a tempo comfortable for you. Play it as a duet
with another guitarist or try to play both parts together as a fingerstyle piece:
Ex.1)
244
245
Reading Exercises Play the following exercise in a tempo comfortable for you. Play it as a duet
with another guitarist or try to play both parts together as a fingerstyle piece. Remember, the key
signature is telling you that all F notes are to be played raised:
Ex.1)
246
(1)
(2)
(3)(e)(+)(a)
(4)
(1)
(2)(e)(+)(a) (3)
(4) (+)
Rhythmic Exercises - Play or clap the following rhythms. If you play the rhythms using chords, try
to pick from your wrist:
Ex.1)
Ex.2)
Ex.3)
247
Ex.4)
Ex.5)
Ex.6)
Ex.7)
248
Reading Exercises Play the following exercise in a tempo comfortable for you. Play it as a duet
with another guitarist or try to play both parts together as a fingerstyle piece:
Ex.1)
249
Reading Exercises Play the following exercises in a tempo comfortable for you. Play each as a
duet with another guitarist or try to play both parts together as a fingerstyle piece. Dont forget,
every B note will be flatted except where otherwise noted. Beware of accidentals in exercise 2 (the
B natural and G sharp in measure six) and in exercise 3 (the B natural in measure ten that you will
have to play twice):
Ex.1)
250
Ex.2)
251
Ex.3)
252
Reading Exercises Play the following exercises in a tempo comfortable for you. Play each as a
duet with another guitarist or try to play both parts together as a fingerstyle piece. Beware of
accidentals:
Ex.1)
253
Ex.2)
254
Reading Exercises Play the following exercises in a tempo comfortable for you. Play each as a
duet with another guitarist or try to play both parts together as a fingerstyle piece. Play all F and C
notes raised except where otherwise noted. Beware of the accidental in the ninth measure:
Ex.1)
255
Perfect Pitch
There are certain musicians who have the uncanny ability of being able to identify any
pitch you throw at them. That means that if you played a B flat on your instrument, they could tell
you what it was immediately with little or no hesitation. Because of this, if they develop this
interesting ability to its full extent, they can also learn to listen to something and play it back
without much effort. Some musicians using this strange and bewildering musical sixth sense can
even transcribe stuff without even using their instruments to help them along the way. Pretty cool,
don't you think? I know this bassist who not only has perfect pitch; he also has a photographic
memory, the ability to look at something and kind of take a mental photo of it, and recall it perfectly.
Just like looking at a photo for reference, a digital camera in his brain. He can just look at a chart
of anything, take a mental snapshot of it and play it back without having to look at the chart again.
Jeez, I can hardly even read a chart!
How to get it
Unfortunately, if you don't have it now and you're old enough to be reading this without
the help of your Mom or Dad, it's probably going to take a little work. Most of the musicians who
have perfect pitch developed it as kids. I would assume it's because they started learning music
while their brains where developing and their brains got wired for sound better then the rest of us.
Guitarists generally don't have perfect pitch. I think the reason for this is simple: we guitarists tend
to start playing later in life. Pianists often get started by their parents really early in life, some as
young as four or five.
256
Colors
Some musicians who have it, describe the sounds of certain notes as colors. There are
some courses and programs to develop perfect pitch. I don't know if they work or not but I have an
open mind. You may want to try one of the programs out for yourself. If it works out, let me know
and I'll do it too.
Will Perfect Pitch Make You the Greatest Guitarist in the Universe?
I'm not sure, but it can't hurt. I know a lot of musicians, some of them have perfect pitch
but most of them don't. One thing I do know for sure, perfect pitch or not, all the really great
players I personally know have good ears. It is important to develop your ear. I know one musician
with perfect pitch, a pianist. He can tell you what any note is, figure out any phrase in half the time
it takes me, listen to song once and play it back for you. But you know what? He really isn't that hot
a player. Because of his gifted ear he could definitely be a better player than me but I don't think he
really works on all the other stuff that I did. He doesn't write well, doesn't understand scale/chord
relationships and doesn't seem to practice very much. I would love to have his ear but I wouldn't
trade it for the other things that I have as a player.
Relative Pitch
Relative pitch is a little different than perfect pitch. People who have relative pitch have
the ability of recognizing what one pitch is in relation to another. I know I just confused you, sorry.
I'll give you an example: If you play one note and tell me that it is an E note and then play, let's say,
a B flat note without telling me that it is a B flat note, I would know what it is because my ear tells
me that the interval between the first note (E) and the second note (B flat) is a diminished 5th. I
just know the sound of a diminished 5th interval and because I know my music theory, I know that
the note that is a diminished 5th from E is B flat. The cute girl sitting next to me in the car on that
day in Studio City would know the B flat without having to hear the E note first.
257
Perfect 4th - Song examples: "Here Comes the Bride", "Amazing Grace."
Perfect 5th - Song examples: "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," Theme to "Star Wars."
Major 3rd - Song examples: "When the Saints Go Marching In", "On Top of Old Smoky."
258
Major 6th - Song examples: "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," "My Way."
Diminished 5th (Augmented 4th) - Song examples: "Purple Haze" intro, "Maria" from
West Side Story.
259
Major 7th It is hard to come up with a song that jumps directly to a major 7th interval but Over
the Rainbow is a decent example. The melody is an octave followed by a major 7th interval.
Get used to the sounds and shapes of all the intervals. Move them up and down the
fingerboard and on to other strings. You will find the shapes will stay the same till you get to the
fourth and third strings. Get together with a guitar friend and test yourselves: have him play an
interval and see if you can tell what it is by its sound. You'll find your ears improving a little
everyday and before you know it, you won't need a beautiful brunette to tell the names of various
daily pitches anymore.
260