In this lesson, I discuss how cool it is that nearly every mode fits into the CAGED pentatonic scale shapes and how pretty much everything you're going to play can start with the pentatonic scale and get more complex from there. Then I talk about one common situation where you're likely to have to reach way outside the pentatonic scale to find chord tones - a harmonic minor i - V chord progression.
Read MoreIn this lesson we get familiar with Phrygian Mode and how cool and weird it is - then we talk about the various ways to use the chord set from Phrygian mode, how to mix and match chords from other minor modes, and how to think about soloing over those progressions.
Read MoreIn this MTM I discuss theory that is not exclusive to the blues, but tonally related. I introduce a few ideas about bending - how you always want to think about bending TO a note - and a few thoughts about how “The Blues Scale” is or isn’t directly related to the Blues depending on how you use it or look at it. I also get into this bluesy idea of playing a minor pentatonic scale over the IV chord in a major key - stealing a blues concept and plopping it into a non-bluesy song. Sometimes it sounds awesome and sometimes it sounds a little too risky!
Jam Tracks linked here:
Read MoreIn this lesson I dig into the essence of what makes the 12 bar blues so bluesy: using dominant chords for the I - IV and V chord instead of just for the V chord as in traditional music theory. This is the first time I’ve dug into the blues on Patreon so I spend a bit of time talking about the tonality of the turn around, how the 12 bars typically lay out, and how to think about soloing over the progression depending if you want to sound like a traditional bendy blues player as well as some other ways to approach the chord progression. We also talk about a #9 chord, which makes me think it’s about time to start on a Rubik’s cube series for 9 chords.
Read Moren this lesson, I discuss the two ways to think about modes - specifically Mixolydian mode. One way to think of it is as a Major Scale with a flat 7, and another way to think of it is if we create a new scale starting on the 5th note of a major scale. There are some fun chord progressions to be made in mixolydian mode, but we can also borrow mixolydian progressions for our major key progressions. I demonstrate what mixolydian sounds like and show examples of a few popular songs that use mixolydian mode. This is also related to the blues in some sense, while also distinctly being its own thing.
Read MoreI had intended to release a lesson about Mixolydian Mode today, but I think this lesson will be awesome to watch beforehand. It may clear up some confusion about how dominant 7 chord can function AND give you some fun things to play around with before next weeks MTM kind of throws a wrench in the whole concept of Dominant 7 chords.
Read MoreLast week I got a lot of comments to the effect of "don't move on, let's keep working on Dorian." So I decided to do another lesson clarifying how to think about modes in general and then the last bit is about Dorian specifically. I made some cool charts to help show my points and I made a fun little GIF which I'll post on the community forum. I hope you enjoy this lesson and keep in mind - if this is your first video of mine, definitely go back through the previous Music Theory Monday lessons.
Read MoreIn this MTM, I talk about Dorian Mode - how to think of this mode as a kind of minor key and how to play around with the chord progressions that it gives you. We talk about a few songs that use Dorian mode and how to use it in your own songwriting.
Read MoreAn overview and explanation of the 7 main categories of modes and their relationship to the major and minor scales. In this video we dig into the idea of modes - in the future we'll spend more time on each mode and get into the idea of "being modal.”
Read MoreThis episode expands on lasts week’s overview of harmonic and melodic minor by showing examples and tips for picking out chord progressions. If this is confusing, I recommend starting from the very first Music Theory Monday and working your way up to here.
Read MoreA Quick review of previous MTM lessons and an intro into harmonic and melodic minor and their relationship to the minor scale.
Read MoreNatural minor, relative minor, and making sense of their relationship to the major scale. This week we discuss the concept of relative minor and dig into why the dominant7 chord is so important in the major key and how the minor key essentially got jealous and wanted the dom7 V chord for itself.
Read MoreBuilding 7 chords with the Major scale using intervals. This week we're continuing on last weeks order of chords and one of the most important concepts in music theory: 7 chords - the order of chords in a major key, and why dominant chords are so important.
Read MoreA quick overview of what music theory is, as well as the Major scale and chords in the Major scale.
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