This is the final reharmonization lesson. I wanted to talk about this idea that pretty much any chord in the key can work over the melody, but I wanted to map it out and show names of chords as well as a few fun examples. I went on a few (hopefully useful) tangents but they were all related to this idea that the chords and melody can combine to create a complex cool set of chords, even if you're just playing the same chord over and over.
Great questions this week!
Question 1: Rohan had a followup about right hand technique as well as a few questions about memorizing note names and intervals.
Question 2: Leo needed some clarification about how movable the caged really system is
Question 3: Russ was wondering about this tricky chuck berry riff - I'm hoping I got the riff right but I gave a few examples of how to build up the foundational skills around the riff.
Question 4: Mateus had a question about what key this Pearl Jam song is in. I forgot to listen to it beforehand (I'm not a perfect person) but I speculated and gave some suggestions.
Question 5: Frederic was wondering when the final video in my CAGED Basics Series was coming out! Soon! Also, Frederic reminded me to update the Recommended Lesson Plan
Question 6: Zapprio asked about how to practice fingering exercises without lifting your fingers off the fingerboard.
Question 7: Rohan was wondering whether it's worth it to practice specific ear training exercises. It always is.
Question 8: Mr K wanted some help differentiating between bass and guitar technique. I gave some tips, but also recommended watching my Bass Crash Course. If people need more bass help, let me know and I'll make more bass videos. Also, use my SPJ Jam Tracks for Bass practice.
Question 9: Andy asked if I sometimes jam with my girlfriend.
Read MoreThis week's Community Challenge is: Write something in Dorian Mode
This means, write a chord progression, a melody, a whole song - whatever you like! Something simple, something complex. As long as it's in Dorian, you're good!
I love Dorian mode and I've noticed that music like funk and soul tends to be in Dorian mode very often.
Compare the chords in Em to the Chords in E dorian:
Minor: Em F#° G Am Bm C D
Dorian: Em F#m G A Bm C#° D
You've got Em, G, Bm, and D in common
Except in Em, D is D7 (dom) and in E Dorian, A is A7 (dom)
The most simple Dorian chord progression (an excellent starting point) is a i IV progression:
Em A7, for example
If you want to get fancier, you can do the "Dorian reveal" progression:
Em G D A7 (Mad World Verse does this progression i III VIII IV but in the key of F#m)
This progression is nice because it lets Em really feel like home, then ends with the A7.
Sometimes people call Dorian Mode "Hopeful" because of that major IV chord. I like to think of it as Hopeful Minor or Cool Minor because to me, Dorian is like Natural Minor but more interesting.
If you want to mix and match Natural Minor and Dorian mode, that is OK for this challenge! But do not mix it with Harmonic or Melodic Minor. (Thats ok in general, but don't do it for this challenge)
Welcome to the final shape in this series: the E shape. You are probably already familiar with this shape! It's one of the most common bar chords and usually the first movable shape folks learn on guitar. In this lesson, we put it all over the fingerboard and show how it connects to the G shape. In the next lesson, we'll put all the shapes together!
Post your homework and questions on the community forum and please post some audio or video of your practice sessions if you find some voicings of G and E shapes that you enjoy!
Here is the Jam Track: A Major I IV V IV Also attached below in mp3 form.
Once you're familiar with the relationship between these two shapes, move on to the final lesson in this series.
Read MoreQuestion 1: Rohan had questions about technique for Major Scale practice and I talked a bit about left and right hand placement.
Question 2: Taco was curious about the Roman Numeral System. Essentially, my Music Theory Mondaycourse is ALL about that.
Question 3: Wong Rowena was wondering about transposition by labeling notes in a scale 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 - I talk about how useful this is as well as how it related to the Roman Numeral system.
Question 4: Rohan had some further questions about playing scales - I introduced some practice ideas for stretching and training fingers.
Question 5: Wong had another question about wether to focus on scales or chord tones while soloing.
Question 6: Debrath was wondering if someone could sing something in the key of C while playing guitar chords in the key of G. Basically no, but a nuanced no.
Question 7: ChampC had some songwriting questions like - how to I make a verse to fit a chorus idea. I gave a few strategies!
Chat questions
Question 8: Steve (CR-NAT-N) was curious about quickly transposing things down a whole step. I gave a few suggestions. Including The Moveable Chords in a Key Finder lesson
Question 9: James is working on the CAGED Soloing I -ii series and wondering if I could solo over the I-ii jam track to help get some ideas for new phrases. I also recommended MTM lessons 17, 18 and 19. From there things kind of went off the rails (in a fun way) as I brought my bin of pedals out to explore some tones and goof around.
Read MoreFor this challenge, you're going to start by playing a consistent beat with your picking-hand's thumb on the low E string. Then, while you're doing that, try playing an E minor or major pentatonic scale, or part of one.
If you've never tried this before, it can be difficult, but once you get a hold of the concept it can be quite fun. If it's really difficult, first plan the scale or scale fragment to play, practice it a bit without the bassline, then try to incorporate the bassline. This one is a little more challenging than usual, but give it a shot!
Those of you who feel like you're getting the hang of it, try writing a little melody instead of playing a scale.
For those of you feeling really adventurous, try making a melody using on and off beats.
Read MoreThis is the fourth installment of my CAGED Basics series, where we tackle the G shape. This shape shares three notes with the A shape and has some nice familiar voicings.
Read MoreThis was a great stream! Here are the questions
Question 1: Mateus was curious about pick harmonics
Question 2: Dennis wanted to know about blues turnarounds. Here is a jam track and here is another
Question 3: Dennis also had a question about the chord progression Emajor G major Amajor.
Question 4: Rohan was wondering wether or not to learn note names on the guitar while learning the scales. My answer is complicated!
Question 5: Mr K was curious about converting Twinkle Twinkle to Lydian. Among other things, I recommended checking out MTM Reharmonization lessons
Question 6: Rohan had a question about how to practice scales and I dove deep on practice methods
Question 7: C.H. Barron had a question about wether the root notes in the CAGED system stay put or move around. I used the camera guitar to explain a few things.
Question 8: Rohan was wondering when to move on from MTFG 01, AND where to watch this stream later. It will always be available after the stream AND you can check out previous streams in the Lesson Archive.
Question 9: James was wondering about the usefulness of the circle of fifths. I talked about it a bit and also pointed James toward my Music Theory for Guitar (MTFG) series.
Read MoreThis week's community challenge is simple:
Write two different parts of a song using the same chord progression
It doesn't need to be a full song! Just two sections of something. This is just practice!
Here are a few ways to approach it:
1. Guitar only
Write a progression with a simple strumming pattern, then try a different strumming pattern for the next section OR use different voicings up the neck like in CAGED Basics
2. Guitar and voice
Write a chord progression to use for both parts of the song, but write a unique melody for each section
3. Recording software
You could do all of the above, but with bass, drums, keys, etc. Have one simple section and one filled-out section.
In this lesson, I get a little fancier than I did in the previous Reharmonization lesson by using 7th chords, V of __ chords, and some other sneakiness. Check out the scratch paper and 7th chord cheat sheet attached at the bottom.
Your community forum homework for this little lesson is:
1. Write a chord progression for this melody that feels in the key of C Major or A Minor (or both)
2. Write a chord progression that feels weird and NOT in a key. Make it ugly if you like but make sure you're always harmonizing the melody!
3. Start with the standard progression (in grey in the example section) and substitute new chords as you see fit.
Read MoreQuestion 1: Jeff had some questions about hybrid picking related to my CAGED Basics Series so I did some close up detailed stuff related to holding a pick, which fingers to use, ideal hand position, etc.
Question 2: Mr K had a question about how to memorize the circle of fifths in minor keys
Question 3: Frederic's question was similar to Mr K's. He wanted to know if there was a quick way to memorize the circle of fifths without having to write everything down.
Question 4: Emil was wondering about how to take a song idea and turn it into a full fledged song! I gave a few considerations AND recommended Ten Turds I & II and Songwriting process dump.
Question 5: Mateus had questions about mixing - specifically about what to use on the master bus. I talked a bit about how it works in the industry and why it will take a LOT of practice to get the hang of mixing
Question 6: Colin had a question in the chat about Dorian mode and how to tell if something is "in Dorian"
Read MoreThis weeks challenge: Write something using 7th chords
This could be:
• A simple chord progression
• A simple chord progression, but played as arpeggios
• A combination of riffs and chords, as long as you use at least one 7th chord
• A whole or partial song using partly or mostly 7th chords! Bonus if you include the 7th of a chord in the melody
• Basically write whatever you want this week as long as it has some 7th chords
I want to keep it simple this week. If you haven't had a chance to participate, this is a great community challenge to start with.
Read MoreQuestion 1 Mr K wanted some ideas to help a friend stick with her guitar practice goals
Question 2 Leo from Florida was curious about a practice routine centered around a goal of playing with others in any key
Question 3 Jacko1014 wants to be able to play any chord. I recommend my Rubik's Cube series, but also Music Theory Mondayseries to help put that information in the right context
Question 4 Justplayandhavefun had some questions about Logic Pro and how to comp takes on guitar parts so they don't sound obvious
Question 5 Mateus had questions about string noise while recording. I offer some solutions
Question 6 Kylir was wondering how to play chords up the neck. I recommend Rubik's Cube AND CAGED Basics Series.
Question 7 Jeff had a question about why I labelled scales with CAGED shapes in my Music Theory for Guitar series. I gave some brief answers, but I'm going to have to go deeper as my CAGED videos get deeper and deeper.
Question 8 Frederic asked about MTFG 04 | Circle of Fifths, questions 3 and 4. I could work on the wording a little to be more clear, but we talk about it a bit.
Question 9 Aku wanted some specific ideas for how to make melodies over a specific chord progression and I gave a lot of suggestion for how to break down things.
Question 10 Mr K wanted a recommendation on practicing modes and I gave a fun exercise
Question 11 Frederic has some questions about how to write basic songs. I recommend MTM so you can get into writing chord progressions and writing melodies
Questions 12 Mateus had questions about some cool guitar pedals in the background
Read MoreIn this lesson we're talking about the A shape, which is linked to the C shape. Just like the previous lessons, we dive into the variety of triad voicings we can get out of the A Shape as well as the most common 4, 5, and 6 string versions of this movable chord shape. We also talk about how the A shape connects to the C shape and how you can get some interesting movement between the two shapes.
Read MoreThis week will be fun but still a challenge. Your goal is to write a riff for at least a section of your creation.This could be interpreted as loosely as you like.
Here are a few ways to look at it:
1. Write an intro riff, then play a chord progression during a melody. If you don't feel comfortable singing OR you haven't delved into recording software, you could just write a riff followed by a chord progression in the same key.
2. Write a simple riff as a turn around/ending section of a chord progression. This could be as simple as Am Am Dm riff.
3. If you want to be more adventurous, you could write a chord progression with a melody over the top, then write a riff to replace the chords.
But what is a riff?
A riff is an incredibly vague term, which is great! It means this challenge might be based on your interpretation. Often the word "riff" is accompanied by another word to clarify it. For example, above I talked about an intro riff, a turn-around riff, a verse riff.
For an intro riff, your role is to take over the spotlight. That could be playing the melody the vocalist will be singing later in the song (maybe the chorus melody or part of it, for example)
For a turn around riff, your role is to (usually) turn attention away from the singer for a second or sort of let your audience know "we're going to repeat this section now" or "we're moving on to something new now."
For a verse riff, this could be thought of as a rhythmic figure that you play for each chord, kind of like a bass line. Specifically, you could write a bass line, but for guitar to play instead of chords! For example. You could play R 5 R 3 for each chord instead of actually strumming the chord and you'd be playing a riff instead of a rhythm part. If you're sticking to a set pattern per chord, I tend to think of that as a vamp, which is just a more specific term under the umbrella of "riff." But not everyone uses the word that specifically so watch out.
In this third installment of my CAGED Basics series, I show the similarities and differences between the D Shape and the C shape and how they are linked together to create an awesome map of roots, thirds, and fifths. We also work through some homework together AND I show some fun examples of how to practice the surprising variety of voicings you can play to a chord progression between these two shapes.
Post your homework and questions on the community forum and please post some audio or video of your practice sessions if you find some voicings of C and D shapes that you enjoy!
Here is the Jam Track: A Major I IV V IV Also attached below in mp3 form.
Once you're familiar with the relationship between these two shapes. move on to the A shape.
Read MoreThis was a chill stream with some funky mishaps. Mainly, Ernie (our dog) is terrified of the very occasional fireworks so I had to take care of her a bit. Also, I took the sound absorption down in my room so it sounds echoey in here. Also, I just realized I spelled absorption as "absorbtion" during the stream. Whatever! Sometimes you have days like that.
Anyways, question 1 was from Mateus, who was wondering about some modal chord progression stuff. Apparently I already answered his question in Progressions that feel in Key
Question 2 was from Honiken. He wanted to have a better sense of how soloing over chords actually works. I recommended watching MTM 17, 18, and 19 about melody making, as well as my CAGED Soloing Series (I - ii, I - iii, I - VI) I also talked about the hierarchy of things to consider when soloing: chord tones, pentatonic, major/minor, chromatic. Check out the attached PDF of my notes for a little reference.
Honkinen also asked about wether or not you HAVE to learn other people's songs. No, you don't. But it's a nuanced "no."
Then I launched into a little discussion about the difference between sound proofing, sound absorption, and sound diffusion. This might be useful for those of you trying to get into recording or even just trying to make your cell phone voice memos sound a little better.
After that, Leo had a question about practice routine and we had some technical difficulties with chat (so sorry Leo!) but we got through it!
Read MoreThis week's Community Challenge is to write something in Mixolydian. That's it! You can either stick to exclusively mixolydian the entire time, or you can write in a Major Key (or even minor if you wanna get fancy) and use Mixolydian substitutions.
Read MoreThis is the second installment of my CAGED Basics series, where we focus on getting to know the D Shape. While this might seem like a simple concept at first, getting comfortable with the variety of voicings the D Shape has to offer can take a bit of work! The more time you spend getting to know each shape in this series, the easier it will be to move on to the next lesson.
This lesson is fairly straightforward, especially if you've already worked through my Music Theory for Guitar Course. Work through the homework with me and then try out the practice tracks - even tab out some of your own D shaped chord voicings! These concepts apply to rhythm guitar, soloing, and just general creative guitar knowledge. By the end of this series you'll have a much stronger sense of how to navigate the fingerboard. Look out for the next lesson, where we discuss the intricacies of the C shape and how it connects to the D shape.
Here is the jam track I used for this lesson: A Major I IV V IV
I've also attached an audio version of the jam track at a variety of speeds. You'll find it with the PDFs at the bottom of this page.
Post your homework and questions on the community forum. Also, if you come up with some nice D shape voicings during the practice session, please post what you find, whether that is an audio recording, video link, or tabs!
Read MoreThis was a great Q&A Session. Here is what happened:
Question 1: Honkinen was wondering how to get the most out of a 2 hour break every day ay work. We talked about how to set goals and how to practice around them.
Question 2: Bill wanted to know how to practice singing and playing difficult parts simultaneously. I recommended a few things and gave a practice exercise that uses the "Eighth Note Strum Scratch Paper" - just ignore the instructions on the paper (or make your own scratch paper.)
Question 3: Dennis had some great questions about bending.
Question 4: Tasha had concerns about left hand discomfort and also muting with left hand during fingerpicking. Tasha, please post a video to the community forum when you can.
Question 5: Rene Lorelai posted some lovely reharmonization homework from MTM | 24 - Sounded lovely! Also, do you prefer to be called Rene or Lolelai or Rene Lorelai?
Question 6: Tyler had some questions about ear training! He uses this online quiz for solfege scale degrees and this one for intervals. I also touched on this website if you want songs to think of when trying to remember intervals.
Question 7: Justplayandhavefun was curious about the importance of learning to read sheet music. I went into the situations where you're likely to need to read music and where you're not. I recommend Mel Bay Modern Guitar Method Grade 1 for those who are interested in learning to read music.
Question 8: Mateus had some melody making homework to share from MTM | 19
Question 9: Riccardo had a chat question about Logic Pro fade tool. I suggested using automation and I showed how to use it!
Question 10: Davin had a question about the III chord in harmonic minor - does it have to be augmented? Can it be augmented? What do you do with it?
From there the Q&A turned into a little more of a hangout (fun!) and there were a few questions in there.
Read More
