A few weeks ago I issued the first community challenge where I asked Patrons on the community forum to write a chord progression using only the I, ii, V and vi chords. Those of you who participated wrote some AMAZING, fun, and beautiful music.
Read MoreThis is a lot more fun than it sounds! In this lesson, I take a simple tune (Twinkle Tinkle) and completely rearrange the chords. This is your entry into reharmonization! Check out the Cheat Sheet, the Scratch Paper, and jam tracks that go with this lesson.
This was an interesting stream! I didn't get a lot of question this time, so I decided to write some music and that sparked some more discussion and questions.
Question 1: Leah Nicole asked about the difference between a Jazz Bass and a Precision Bass. This sparked some discussion of other related topics
Question 2: Mr K asked about Ear Training resources online and I somehow missed it! Sorry about that. I recommend checking out this website. https://www.musictheory.net/exercises There are others out there but this one looks good for:
a) listening to and identifying intervals (scroll down to "interval ear training")
b) listening to and identifying scales
c) listening to and identifying chords (they call a fully diminished chord a "diminished 7th")
d) other cool stuff! Explore and check it out - tell me what you think in the comments.
Question 3: Mr K asked in the chat about how tone woods affect guitar tone in both acoustic and electric guitars.
Thing: There were no more prepared questions so I started writing some music
Question 4: Brian had a question about GarageBand but I interpreted it as a question about the variety of inputs on an audio interface: hi-z guitar input, mic input, and line level inputs. Then I answered Brians actual question about GarageBand track types.
Question 5: I used the camera guitar to talk about the chords in my progression, which are Em and F. I figured out some interesting voicings of an Em7 and Fmaj7 to play on my track.
I record guitar harmonies. This track ended up being a fun adventure with guitar harmonies and there were a few questions about it, but I basically just went for it and wrote out some guitar choir. The first set of harmonies were a simple choir of notes that harmonize, then I tried to get fancy and harmonize the bass line which proved to be difficult but super fun.
I wrote out my harmonies on my notes AND attached the little jam below.
Read MoreIn this lesson, I'm taking a similar approach to the previous lessons, MTM 21 & 22. I'm exploring which chords feel good together and then how to substitute or add in funkier chords to spice up your progressions. Minor Keys have a lot of variations and alterations, not to mention the modal options we cover, so this one is heavy.
Read MoreQuestion 1. Mr K wanted to know if there is a way to figure out the key of a song using just the melody instead of using the chords. There totally is a way!
Questions 2 & 3 Ray and Andrew had some questions about playing with other people. I launch into some tips for band management, how to organize your group, how to prepare for playing with others, and a handful of other ideas.
Question 4. Dennis was wondering why it's easier to play strumming patterns to a metronome or foot tap than it is to play with a jam track. We get into it, but I recommend watching questions 2 & 3 first!
Question 5. Kevin Z was wondering about some of my daily warm ups.
Question 6. Brandon had some follow up questions about ear training and how to go about practicing and training your ear.
I also issued a challenge related to the 1st question. I want to see if you can figure out the key of songs using the WWHWWWH method and I'm devoting this community forum thread to it. Try it out! I'll attach some scratch paper.
Read MoreIn this lesson we continue where we left off on the previous lesson: Taking basic Major Key chord progressions and substituting chords to make the progression more interesting.
We go a step further in this lesson with secondary dominants and how to make them feel like they belong in the key, as well as some mixolydian substitutions. We talk a bit about Lydian substitutions too.
This whole lesson is about exploring and getting to know the Major Key. At the end you get a nice little cheat sheet for writing major chord progressions. Hopefully with this lesson and the previous one you'll have a little more familiarity with how to make a major chord progression "feel" like it's in key, or you'll be able to deliberately muddy the waters if you don't want it to be obvious which key you're in.
General homework ideas for the community forum:
1. Write some basic 7th chord progressions that convince the listener you're in right key
2. Write some chord progressions that muddy the waters so your listener might struggle to figure out the key
3. Write some basic progressions using I IV V, then substitute for relative minors. THEN, on a second line, swap out the diatonic (standard) chords for a few others (like secondary dominants or mixolydian stuff.)
Read MoreQuestion 1: Leah Nicole was wondering if there were anything to consider or watch out for when writing a melody over a walking bass line.
Question 2: Taco s wanted to know about jamming with someone and if there was a quick way to figure out the chords in a minor key, like A Minor. I gave a little demonstration of the concepts I laid out in Moveable Chords-in-a-key finder.
Question 3: Rene was wondering about the pros and cons of a particular fingerpicking technique AND about the minor iv chord that ends up in a major key like in Creep by Radiohead.
I paused to give a book recommendation. For those of you feeling timid, scared, or unworthy of being an "artist" or calling yourself a "musician," I highly recommend you check out this book, The Artists Way.
Question 4: Leo was wondering - can you just use ANY voicing you want anywhere on the neck for any song (essentially) - the answer is fun and complicated. Check out SPJ Rhythm Jam Tracks for practicing.
Question 5: Kevin wants to know when we can use 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords - and we also end up talking about sus chords.
Question 6: Andy would like to know how to practice Rubik's Cube stuff. I also recommend SPJ Jam Tracks.
I start writing a little music. Just something simple to jam out on for a bit.
Read MoreWriting chord progressions is (in my opinion) at the core of understanding music theory, making sense of ear training, and learning to write music. In this lesson, I talk about how the simple set of 7 chords (I ii iii IV V vi vii°) can sometimes lead you to astray and make your audience think you're NOT in the key you intended to be. I experiment with how to make a chord progression "feel" like it's in the right key
This lesson will hopefully give you a better understanding of and more familiarity with the Major Key. You'll also get a better sense of how to write chord progressions that pull the listener to the I chord, and you'll have a nice writing method where you start with a basic progression and then substitute chords to make it more interesting.
Question 1: Pauly was wondering why scale patterns on guitar don't always start and end on root notes.
Question 2: Kevin is having difficulty with A Shaped bar chords, so I troubleshoot the various things that make the A shaped bar chord tricky
Question 3: Mateus "jokingly" asks how to build a guitar from sticks in the woods and I ended up just showing some pictures of guitars I've made.
Question 4: Barry wanted to know if I'll be doing more Rubik's Cube style lessons - I'm considering it (but Barry, if you want to tell me more specifically what you want out of those lessons, let me know)
Question 5: Kevin would like to solo and combine chords! I give some ideas for how to practice.
Question 6: Russ was wondering if there was a more visual or obvious way to navigate my content. I have the Lesson Archive but I'm considering another approach on my website.
Question 7: Riccardo wanted to know what kind of maintenance I do on my guitars - not much, but I did talk a bit about truss rod adjustment AND adjusting intonation
Question 8: Davin had some questions about DAWs and how to tell if you're singing in tune. I came up with some weird fun vocal exercises to get you more comfortable with controlling the pitch of your voice.
Question 9: Vinícius wanted to know if it was worth it to get a bass - my answer is pretty much always yes. Playing bass helps you understand guitar better. Playing guitar helps you understand bass better.
Read MoreThis lesson kicks off my new CAGED System Basics series. In this overview lesson I give you a sense of what we'll be working on over the next handful of lessons in the series. Check out the PDF as well!
The following lessons will have homework sheets to help you visualize the concepts AND play along practice tracks for you to explore and experiment with using CAGED shapes in your own way!
The general idea of this series is to get you really comfortable with:
a) what the CAGED System is at it's core
b) how to get familiar with the 5 shapes
c) playing rhythm parts up the neck AND knowing their shape names
I highly recommend you watch the Music Theory for Guitar Series before getting into this series, otherwise you might get a little lost.
Read MoreQuestion 1: Dennis asked about some "diads" or two note chords, specifically about the blues in this case. We talked about how when you're in a band, you don't always need to play ever note in a chord because other folks in the band are likely doing it already. Also, we got specifically into this cool weird thing about the blues and how this weird diad/interval (in this case a tritone/flat fifth) scoots up or down half a step to change from the I chord to the IV chord and V chord.
Question 2: Andy was wondering about whammy bars or tremolo systems and how to start using them. I launched into my own complicated feelings about them and got specific about how to set up your strat to get the most out of your trem OR set it up to make sure it DOESN'T work so your guitar stays in tune better.
Question 3: Bob wanted to know some right hand patterns for arpeggios. I attached some Note Name Scratch Paper below for you, Bob, so you can figure out some of your own preferred arpeggios! There are so many options with the CAGED system. Also, check out my two-chord jam tracks for practicing arpeggios!
Question 4: Mateus liked my Chords in a Key Finder lesson and wanted to know if there was a system to quickly find the chords in a key on the higher strings. I walked through a couple fun ways to think about the chords in a key on the top three strings.
Question 5: Glen wanted to know if there were common movements through the CAGED shapes when soloing. I gave him a few ideas for some "standards" but also got into this concept of finding your own comfort zone and learning to branch out from there.
Question 6: Mike had questions about how the heck you figure out which fingers to use when sliding from one CAGED pentatonic shape to another. I gave him a few ways to think about it but also emphasized heavily that it would involve a lot of deliberate and mindful practice.
Question 7: Kevin wanted to know how to practice the solo from Hotel California and I gave him a few suggestions about how to practice any solo as well as some ideas for what lessons to help bolster some concepts related to that kind of stuff.
Read MoreIn this lesson I'm talking about general mixing ideas, adding effects, EQ, and some extremely basic ways to master your track.
I made a little song seed for this lesson and you're welcome to watch me make it here.
This whole course is about how to get comfortable using GarageBand. At this point, you've learned general navigation skills in Lesson 1, how to record, manually input, and manipulate MIDI data in Lesson 2, how to use an audio interface and properly set gain levels in Lesson 3, and how to get a general sense of mixing and good recording process in Lesson 4.
In this lesson we talk a little more about mixing, but we mostly focus on:
• adding your own plugins to a basic track so you don't have to rely on presets
• learning how to "see" musical frequencies on the EQ spectrum
• learning to do a rough master of your track to get it to glue together a little and sound louder
The idea here is to make some music and just explore and experiment with effects, plugins, reverb, delay, etc. Have fun making something and get into the mix and EQ and share whatever fun, weird, cool, strange thing you come up with to the community forum. Or share questions and issues for troubleshooting.
Keep in mind, there are SO many facets to recording, mixing, adding effects, etc - I could spend a year on this stuff. I do intend to dig into more recording concepts in the future, but I feel that these lessons are a good starting.
Read MoreI'm trying something new - each question is time-stamped for ease of use.
Question 1: Rod asks about V of V chords and if I'm going to do lessons on making chords to a melody instead of making a melody to chords!
Question 2: Quinn ask about proper left hand placement and pressure and I give some ideas on how to double check your technique so you don't hurt yourself in the long run.
Question 3: Davin asks about 6/4 chords leading to a discussion about the difference between slash chords and inversions.
Question 4: Greg asks what I use for making my PDFs (Adobe Illustrator) and writing on them on my iPad Pro (Goodnotes)
Question 5: Russ asks about how to practice switching between chords and rhythm in a blues context - I recommended a backing track like this one.
Question 6: John asks for a simple way to play an F# half diminished.
Read MoreIn this fourth installment of GarageBand Lessons, we'll be discussing how to organize your recording session with good foundations so that as you build more layers, your timing and intonation are tight a solid.
Generally speaking, I always like to start a recording project with drums as the foundation so that each layer can refer back to the drums as the "standard of rhythm" for the recording. On the same note, its always important to tune your instrument to a tuner (preferably set to A440Hz) and keep checking your tuning throughout the recording!
In this lesson I also explore a few ideas behind mixing - adjusting levels first of all so you don't max out your Master volume, and second of all to make sure you're adjusting out of preference and not necessity by setting your baseline levels to the drums.
Read MoreIn this lesson we talk about how to use an Audio Interface with GarageBand. First, how to make sure that GarageBand recognizes the device, then how to set the gain for your guitar or microphone to ensure that your recorded signal is just right to avoid any background noise or clipping.
Once you have the gain settings dialed in, you can record with input monitoring selected, or you can record with the "direct monitoring" button enabled on your device for low-latency recording. Input monitoring gives you the advantage of being able to try out the plethora of available amp modeling software on GarageBand but invites the risk of latency on older or slower computers/devices. Once you record, you can playback your recordings through the amp modeling software.
This stuff is at the very core of how to get good recordings and have fun trying out the software effects that make GarageBand so inviting and helpful for creative music writing.
Read MoreIn the first GarageBand lesson, we talked about audio recording. In this lesson, we're talking about MIDI. This lesson covers the basics of how to record, edit, and manipulate MIDI data and make it sound like actual music.
This is the stuff that makes a recording session a lot of fun and lets you apply your music theory knowledge to a whole host of instruments. We didn't fully explore all the possible instruments available to you with GarageBand, but they are all in the library on the left side of the screen.
Read MoreIn this stream we covered these topics:
• The difference between 3 notes per string and the CAGED system - drawing some key thoughts about how they interact.
• Strategies for how to make things more interesting when you're playing a "boring" guitar part for the full duration of a song - how to zoom in on practicing more specificity with rhythm and how to make things more interesting with different voicings and whatnot.
• How half diminished chords are typically used and what that sounds like - if you find other uses for a half diminished chord, feel free to share in the community forum!
• Resources for practicing rhythm guitar. I suggest my Rhythm guitar playlist combined with my Strumming Patterns series - that should get you some fun resources to practicing strumming patterns.
• Techniques for how to practice singing in tune better - ways to dig in on vocal control and thinking clearly about what note you're playing.
• Places to find people to play music with and what skills you'll need to play with other people. Basically, do a google search for open mics in your area (when the pandemic allows, obviously.)
• Wether you ought to know what notes you're playing at all times.
In this lesson I start very slow with GarageBand and general recording software concepts. Creating a basic track, recording audio from your computer microphone without causing feedback, getting a basic sense of buttons, shortcuts, looping and trimming audio, monitoring yourself while recording.
In future lessons, I'll be showing you how to use an audio interface and midi controller (and what those things are) as well as how to use a microphone and plug your guitar into your audio interface to use software amps and other plugins.
Check out the attached PDFs for a list of GarageBand buttons, layout, shortcuts, and more. We'll add more shortcuts and labels as the lessons continue but for now, just get to know the basics covered in this lesson!
Read MoreWhat a stream! We laughed, we cried.... jk. We had some great questions AND a technical glitch toward the end, resulting in two separate streams.
We covered questions about where my Patreon is going in terms of content, direction, and what I'm hoping Patrons will get out of it. Then we talked about what to look for in a private guitar teacher and why you would want to have one! Then we dug into the idea of tuning your whole guitar down one half step and then somehow got into chromatic transposition.
Then we dug into a question about where to go when songwriting: how to get OUT of the key with your chord progression using similar chords AND how to just launch into a totally different key by just cramming in the V or IV of the key you're headed.
After that I launched into a (hopefully encouraging) rant about how while you're learning music theory, you HAVE to be ok with just writing music that you like without worrying about wether or not it's "music theory correct." Eventually you'll be able to analyze what you're working on for the purpose of making it sound deliberately the way you want it, but you don't HAVE to KNOW why things work to enjoy what you make.
Read MoreIn this video I develop one of my "turds" from the previous "Songwriting Challenge | Ten Turds."
Essentially, if you like one of your "turds," it must not be a turd! It may actually be a nice song seed thing! But now what?
In fact, if you chose one to work on, you should probably stop calling it a turd. It is now a "song seed," though I didn't mention that in the video. Remember, calling it a "turd" in the first place was just a sneaky way to not put too much pressure on yourself to "write something amazing."
This lesson is about developing a (somewhat) organized system to get your "song seed" to a place where you can start taking it a little more seriously.
We're not finishing the song yet, we're developing it. Seeing what it needs. Seeing what it wants to say.
You could think of this as a mystical thing where you get to know the song and figure out what it wants to say, but you could also see it as a practical way to quickly shape the song into an organized arrangement without thinking too much about how many millions of options there are in the world. How many millions of things you COULD write about. Narrowing in and organizing is the idea here. Don't overwhelm yourself with the possibilities. Keep it simple. In this video I help you
a) understand the meter of your B.S. lyrics and learn how to use that to your advantage
b) use the meter to tinker with writing new lyrics to replace your B.S. lyrics
c) write some cohesive starter lyrics to get a sense of the content of your song before committing to the "real" lyrics
d) arrange your basic Verse-Chorus sections into VCVC, then into IVCVCBC or whatever arrangement makes sense to you, based on how the song feels so far
e) how to approach writing a bridge with either a "lean in" bridge or a "somewhere new" bridge
I hope you enjoy this exercise!
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