March 31, 2019:
EAR TRAINING 006:
EAR TRAINING 006: Suspended and Add Chords
 
 NEW  Musicians rely on their ears for everything they do. This means that the ability to accurately listen to and quickly recognize musical, tone and pitch is vital. The EAR TRAINING course offered at Creative Guitar will help guitar players drastically improve their sense of note identification, recognition and recall...


Lesson 006 of Ear Training Lesson six of "Ear Training" focuses on the sound and structure of developing Suspended and Add chord types.

EAR TRAINING - DISCLAIMER:
If you have no prior experience with basic music theory, basic rhythm, key signatures and how scales work on the guitar, it is strongly advised to first study the Creative Guitar - Introductory Guitar Program, as well as, the Intermediate Guitar Program.

If you are a guitarist that has no background in basic music theory, key signatures, treble-clef staff /note recognition, or foundational rhythmic duration, then it is advised that prior to working on this course, you study the "Introductory" and "Intermediate" guitar player programs prior to working on this course.

Those preliminary courses, (for beginners and Intermediate players), will lay the foundation for understanding how the nuts and bolts of ear training relate musically and how the principles relate to guitar (as well as other instruments).

The preliminary courses will also help guitar players better comprehend rhythm duration and key signatures.

(1). Part one, of lesson six Ear Training introduces the "Suspended 2nd" chord. This chord is created by stacking two intervals. The root note moves up a "Major 2nd" and then from there up a "Perfect 4th." This creates a three tone chord type known as the, "Sus 2," chord. It does not offer a "quality," (it is neither major nor minor).

(2). Part two, moves on to the study of the "Suspended 4th" chord. The "Suspended 4th" chord is created by moving off of the root note up a "Perfect 4th" and then up a "Major 2nd." This stacked interval collection creates the "Sus 4," chord type. Like the "Sus 2," it does not offer a, "quality."

(3). Part three, studies what is often called the 'dreamy-chord' known as the "Add 2" chord. This chord can be major or minor in quality. The Major add 2 is created by stacking a "Major 3rd," then a, "Minor 3rd," and then a, "Perfect 5th." The Minor version is created by stacking a "Minor 3rd," another, "Minor 3rd," and then a, "Perfect 5th."

(4). Part four, practices the sophisticated chord sound of "Add 4." Like the "Add 2," this chord can be either major or minor in quality. The Major add 4 chord is constructed by stacking a, "Major 3rd" to a "Minor 2nd," onto a "Major 2nd." The Minor version of the add 4 is created by stacking a "Minor 3rd," then a, "Major 2nd," and then another, "Major 2nd."

(5). Audio Track Training Exercises: Use the MP3 audio tracks (contained within the lesson download), to study the sound of each Sus and Add chord. These chords on the table (provided on page 5 of your PDF handout), are performed upon the guitar and on the digital piano. Sing and match pitch to each arpeggiated interval as they are performed on the audio tracks...


Watch the Part One Video FREE on YouTube:

The unique sound created when playing the Major or Minor Add 2 Chord produces a melancholy effect that is perfect for many styles of music. Layering this sound has given us some of the coolest music in history. From Pink Floyd, to Supertramp, and the Eagles the Add 2 stands as one of music's "Go To" staples for creating pensive wistful sound-scapes...




There are a lot of guitarists out there who are not familiar with using “Add 2” chords. And, that’s not great, because these chords have a sound that's very cool.

The "add2" can be especially wonderful when a musician wants to dream up some interesting fretting variations and apply these chords along with open strings.

If you are one of those musicians who does not know about “add 2 chords” these are chords that are built off of either the Major or Minor triad and they include the 2nd degree of the scale along with the original triad. Let's get started by learning a few shapes on the neck.

WATCH THE VIDEO:



CHORD PATTERN SHAPES:
Below are examples of two moveable (horizontally) patterns for a 6th and a 5th string root shape for the "Major add 2" chord on the guitar…

Major Add 2 Chords:




The add 2 chord patterns aren’t locked down to Major quality, they can also be performed as Minor chord quality variations.

So, before we put these Major add 2 chords to work in a couple of progressions I’ve got for you to practice, let’s also learn how to play a 6th and 5th string root Minor version of these add 2 chord types.





Below are examples of two moveable (horizontally) patterns for a 6th and a 5th string root shape for the "Minor add 2" chord on the guitar…

Minor Add 2 Chords:




CHORD PROGRESSION EXAMPLES:
Now that you’ve got a collection of 6th and 5th string root Major and Minor add 2 chords, let’s take things to the next level and create some music with them.





Coming up next, I’m going to introduce two chord progressions... The first progression will use a collection of chords from the key of “C Major.” But, it will include the use of the Major add 2 off of the root chord of “C” and the 4th chord of the key signature, (which is “F”).

Example 1). Major key progression using the "Major Add 2."



The second chord progression will be within the Minor key center. It uses “D Minor” as the key, and it only applies two chords. The root chord of, “Dm” and the 4th chord of the key, “Gm.”

To spice things up a little bit, both of these chords will be performed as the, “Minor add 2” chord type. Here’s how this progression sounds...

Example 2). Minor key progression using the "Minor Add 2."






CONCLUSION:
If you’d like to learn more - visit my website and start looking through my Guitar courses. There are dozens of lesson plans all with very detailed videos along with PDF worksheets that you can download and print out to start learning more about the guitar.

The lessons are all well planned they’re easy to follow – and they all work in a very organized way so that in the end, you’ll increase your knowledge of guitar, and you’ll be able to start incorporating higher end guitar skills for the music that you enjoy.





VISIT THE WEBSITE:
If you’d like to learn more about topics like this one and many others, join my members site as a free member and start looking through my, “Guitar Courses.”

I’ve spent years creating hundreds of detailed step-by-step guitar lessons for my website members that cover beginner to advanced ideas to help you improve your playing.


LIMITED TIME OFFER:
If you join my site as a Premium member, you’ll receive a FREE copy of my popular Guitar Technique eBook.

My Guitar Technique eBook is 28 pages of jam-packed exercises and studies for mastering all of your technical skills at playing Guitar.

There are a number of ways to change the tone of your guitar without having to go out and buy a more expensive higher-end guitar. In this discussion I'll cover four ways that you can use to create a significant change to the tone of your guitar with only a small amount of money invested...




When I’m teaching private lessons, I’m always surprised at how many players don’t understand that there’s a lot of simple inexpensive things they can do to change the tone of their guitars. And, some of them are so easy to do, in literally minuets the guitar tone can be changed…

WATCH THE VIDEO:




Let’s get things going with a list of four of the easiest ways to begin exploring the changes you can do today to make changes to your guitar tone…




Tone Change 1).
If you have a guitar with a fixed bridge, it’s really easy to change your strings and your action, (action; is how high your strings sit above the frets).

Fixed Bridge

 If you try changing up to thicker strings, and you raise-up your string height – your action, your guitar tone gets deeper and it gets thicker.

Action (String Height)

If you want an excellent example of thick rich tone generated from having bigger gauge guitar strings and high fret-board action then, have a listen to Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Stevie Ray had strings that were thick - with a gauge of .013 to .056 through most of his career.

SRV also had extremely high string action as well. But, with this large string size and high height, he also needed to lower the tuning of his guitar in order to support normal playing techniques that are standard with regular strings and lower action.

NOTE: you don’t require a fixed bridge to experiment with this string and action set-up, but if you have a floating bridge it may need to be locked down in order to use thicker strings.





Tone Change 2).
Another straight-forward way to make changes to your guitar’s tone is by replacing the pick-up’s that were installed from the factory.

Guitar Pick-ups (single and double coil)

Even low-budget guitars ($300.00 and under), can get a brand new lease on life with respect to their sound, output level and overall tonal response by simply upgrading to another (more high-performance), guitar pick-up.

Pick-up manufacturing companies like, “Seymour Duncan,” “EMG,” and “DiMarzio,” are all popular pick-up makers that specialize in above average performance.

Plus, there’s also a wealth of custom-shop / boutique guitar pick-up's that are being made by companies that are creating some really amazing products as well.

The best part is, if you know how to use a soldering iron and are fine with dealing with wiring, you can quite easily change pick-ups on your own - at home.



But, even if you can’t, most guitar shops will swap out pick-ups for you at a fairly low cost for the labor-cost charges...





Tone Change 3). One part of your guitar that you never want to overlook, or take for granted, is your guitar’s nut. The nut is an important part of your guitar’s tone. 

Also, if the nut isn’t cut well and if the strings don’t roll across its front EDGE perfectly, your tone will suffer greatly. This will also cause tuning and intonation problems as well.

The Guitar Nut (guides the strings to each tuner)

One company who really has this area of your guitar down 100% is Graph Tech. 

They make precision molds and engineered nuts to create the most; consistent tone, string balance as well as precise string spacing.

All of this comes together in a "Graph-Tech" nut (or saddle) to create the most perfect string ride and support for premier instrument tone.

I’ve used their products now for years and their Black TUSQ XL is awesome.

Graph Tech (Black TUSQ)

The Graph Tech, "Black TUSQ XL," is 5x more slippery than Graphite and creates absolutely excellent tone as compared to stock plastic nuts that come from the factory…






Tone Change 4). The final “Tone Affecting” item on your guitar is one that most guitar players never even think about.

This shouldn't be the case because it is not surprisingly one of the biggest factors that operates in conjunction with your guitar's pick-ups to actually create the end tone of your guitar and it is the volume knob.

Guitar Volume Pot

The volume dial on your guitar, along with the tone dial, are actually one of those secret areas that you need to get looking at and start experimenting with.

If you have the stock volume pot in your guitar, then try switching to a new volume pot. It can be a tone-changing experience, and it can play a big role in how your pickup tone is processed.

The volume pot on your guitar along with the tone control’s are a serious area to start going and experimenting with. They are however one area where you’ll want to seek out assistance from a good guitar repair shop.

The resistance load and the capacitors that are used - both need to work in conjunction with your guitars particular type of pick-up.

A guitar volume, tone and pick-up switch assembly

WARNING: The core electronics of your guitar are not exactly an area that you’ll want to try messing around with yourself if you do not have experience in the world of electronics.





CONCLUSION:
Well, I hope that this lesson on guitar tone helps you start thinking about your guitar differently when you consider tone.

There is another side to of all this, and is has to do more with your hands, your playing skill, competence and your and your ability level when it comes to playing guitar.

The more time that you can spend on the practice of your guitar ability - the better your tone will become.

If you have a high degree of competence when it comes to scales, chords, phrasing and music theory and the more songs you learn, the more your hands will start producing far  better tone from your guitar...

If you’d like to learn more about how to further develop your guitar playing, join my web-site as a free member and start taking a look at my “Guitar” Courses.

The courses cover a ton of specific information on improving general and advanced playing skill. There are dozens of lesson plans with very detailed videos along with PDF worksheets that you can download and print out to start covering all types of exercises, Music Theory, rhythm training and technical drills.

The lessons on my web-site are all extremely well planned and they are easy to follow – plus they're highly structured, so they work in a very organized way.






VISIT THE WEBSITE:
If you’d like to learn more about topics like this one and many others, join my members site as a free member and start looking through my, “Guitar Courses.”

I’ve spent years creating hundreds of detailed step-by-step guitar lessons for my website members that cover beginner to advanced ideas to help you improve your playing.


LIMITED TIME OFFER:
If you join my site as a Premium member, you’ll receive a FREE copy of my popular Guitar Technique eBook.

It’s 28 pages of jam-packed studies for mastering all of your technical skills at playing Guitar.

There are commonly two principle reasons behind why guitar players can't improvise /play solos. In this lesson, we will explore both of those reasons along with ways that you can practice that will aide in fixing them...




Players who’ve learned a few scale shapes and how to start making musical riffs from them already know how difficult it can be.

Leaning to take those scale ideas to the level of improvised music isn't something that is easily done. When first attempted, it may have felt like you were unable to build smooth lines with strong melodic phrasing. If it did, then that's normal. But, with the right practice, it becomes easier.

Not being able to solo very well is one of the most common problems that guitar players experience when they start trying to improvise.

The good news is that there is a path to success with being able to play guitar solos and I’ll be discussing it - in this video...

WATCH THE VIDEO:






GETTING STARTED:
If you’re a guitarist and you want to learn to improvise and play decent sounding lead guitar, there’s a group of things that you’ll need to be able to do first.

These skills will need developing before you’ll be able to improvise guitar solos. They include;

• good left and right-hand playing technique
• a knowledge of the guitar neck’s general note layout
• a feel for time and an ability to create rhythm
• melodic knowledge (from other people’s solos)
• a fairly good ear for musical movement
• time, dedication, practice and patience

Being able to play a nice smooth sounding melodic guitar solo isn’t something that happens easily for most guitar players. It generally takes time to learn how to do this successfully.

But, out of that soloing skills list (above), there are two other very important elements - that (when focused on intently) will give you the best and the fastest results when it comes to developing the ability to learn how to play guitar solos.




COMPOSE WORKED-OUT SOLOS:
The first thing to understand is that learning to play solos has a lot to do with actually starting out with the practice of writing melodies first. When you stop and consider the whole process, improvisation is nothing more than spontaneous composition.

Start your path toward soloing by first spending time composing melodies. Work with jam-tracks, write your own riffs, and maybe even try using a looper pedal to makeup your own original loops - that you can go over with your own composed – pre-written, worked out melodies.

Once you get going in a decent way for being able to compose well-orchestrated worked out melodies, you’ll discover that improvisation is really just around the corner.


DEVELOP YOUR EAR SKILLS:
The other area that will help you become a great musical improviser is the study of, “Ear Training.” This means doing a lot of singing.

You’ll need to sing; scales and arpeggios, plus you’ll need to learn to match-pitch to chords and also to fully understand how to recognize the intervals used in our musical language and do it all by ear.






EXERCISE:
I’m going to leave you with a practice idea to work on. It involves recording a riff and then using a group of just five notes to compose your own original melody.

I’m going to ask that you create an original composed melody using these five notes all based around the key of the chord progression, (key of, "A Minor").

Start by learning the chord progression for this exercise…


After learning the key of "A Minor"  progression shown above, start work on composing a performance piece that contains a few lines of a composed melody that is using the 5 notes (of the "A Minor" scale), shown in the example given below.







CONCLUSION:
 If you’d like to learn more - visit my website and start looking through my Guitar Soloing course. There are 20 lesson plans all with very detailed videos along with PDF worksheets that you can download and print out to start learning more on performing guitar solos.

The lessons on my web-site are all well planned and easy to follow and they all work in a very organized way so that in the end, you’ll increase your knowledge of guitar soloing, and you’ll be able to start incorporating higher end guitar skills for the music that you enjoy.

VISIT THE WEBSITE:
If you’d like to learn more about topics like this one and many others, join my members site as a free member and start looking through my, “Guitar Courses.”

I’ve spent years creating hundreds of detailed step-by-step guitar lessons for my website members that cover beginner to advanced ideas to help you improve your playing.

LIMITED TIME OFFER:
If you join my site as a Premium member, you’ll receive a FREE copy of my popular Guitar Technique eBook.

It’s 28 pages of jam-packed studies for mastering all of your technical skills at playing Guitar.