When studying the guitar, chords are generally taught in a very isolated way. And, upon introduction to harmony, chords will yet again seem isolated - only this time to their keys (this is called diatonic harmony). To be able to benefit from chords further, it is important to study "non-diatonic" chord application. This lesson explores the fantastic sound of the world related to rare /specialty chord harmony...
This lesson will begin with an overview of diatonic chords. After that, we will study some rare non-diatonic chords that make up a few of the ways related to altering chord harmony. Combining diatonic and non-diatonic chord harmony will end up producing chord progressions that sound great and are found across many different types /styles of music... WATCH THE VIDEO:
STANDARD DIATONIC HARMONY: In getting started, we will cover the standard diatonic movement of a chord harmony that is located from within a major key signature. I will use the key of “C Major” for all demonstrations NOTE: Keep in mind that all of these chord qualities (within the exact same order and sequence) will exist not only within our demonstration key, but also within every other major key signature. The only thing that changes when switching to other keys are the root notes. Below is the diatonic harmony breakdown from the key of C Major:
The first four chords within the "C Major" harmonized scale:
The remaining chords found within the "C Major" harmonized scale:
Next, let’s take a collection of these chords and apply them into a
chord progression. By using these chords within a progression, you can hear how these chords come together to form a typical major key chord harmony… (1). Example - Diatonic Progression:
NON-DIATONIC - Minor 4 and 5 CHORD HARMONY: Now that we’ve worked through standard diatonic harmony, next we will study working on adding 'rare' chords that do not exist within the diatonic key center... When we include “other” chord types, that don’t exist within an established key, they are referred to as “Non-Diatonic.” A couple of common non-diatonic chords can be found used as minor replacements of the 4th and 5th steps. Using minor chords to replace the standard major chords can create interesting harmonic effects. Learn these basic minor chord patterns for "F Minor," and "G Minor."
Below is an example of how these minor 4th and 5th chords could work in a progression… (2). Example - Non-Diatonic (Minor 4 and 5 chord) Progression:
NON-DIATONIC - SHIFTING the 3, 6 and 7 CHORDS: Another example of a common non-diatonic harmony application are shifting to lowered 3rd 6th and 7th steps and then setting their qualities as reversed. In the key of, “C” two of the most common of these "Quality Shift" chords would turn out to be “Eb and Bb” major chords replacing the diatonic, “Em and “B dim” chords. Notice the quality flipped from "Minor" and "Diminished" to "Major" and they each dropped down a half-step as well. Learn these basic chord patterns for "Eb," and "Bb Major."
Another popular shifted chord relates to the diatonic "A Minor." This chord will also act in a similar way to what we saw happen with the "E Minor." The quality shifts from minor to major and it drops by way of a half-step. Learn this basic chord pattern for "Ab Major."
Here’s an example of how these chords could come together within a chord progression… (3). Example - Non-Diatonic (shifted 3rd, 6th, 7th chords) Progression:
CONCLUSION: these examples only scratch the surface of what is possible with non-diatonic application. If you’d like to learn more about how to zero in on specific areas of guitar playing that apply specialized concepts like this one, join my web-site as a free member and start taking a look at my “Guitar” Courses. They cover a ton of unique information on improving beginner 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 are all well planned and easy to follow and they work in a very organized way so that in the end, you’ll increase your knowledge of playing guitar and you’ll be able to start incorporating higher end guitar skills into the music that you enjoy learning and playing…
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 show all kinds of beginner to advanced ideas to help 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.
NEW Learn advanced music reading skills and abilities in this Creative Guitar Studio sheet music reading course designed to help guitar players further develop their traditional music reading skills across all fretting positions...
Lesson 005 of Music Reading Lesson five "Music Reading" carries further on up the fingerboard to the upper-mid register of the guitar neck. Four reading exercises use four key signatures located within the upper-mid register of the neck's "6th and 7th" positions. **DISCLAIMER** This guitar music reading course is not designed to be used as a "beginners" reading curriculum.
If you have no prior music reading experience on the guitar, it is strongly advised to first study the Creative Guitar - Introductory Guitar Program, as well as, the Intermediate Guitar Program.
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(1). Part one, of lesson five Music Reading, studies exercises designed to develop reading skills in the 7th reading position within the key of "C Major." Scale tone range is established from the low 6th-string "C", up to the high 1st-string "D" at the 10th fret.
(2). Part two, introduces the key of "D Major" across the 6th and 7th positions. Scale tone range is established from the low 6th-string "B", up to the high 1st-string "D" at the 10th fret.
(3). Part three, introduces reading in the key of "F Major" with notes located within the 7th position. In the exercise piece, scale tone range covers notes from the low 6th-string "Bb", up to the high 1st-string "D" at the 10th fret.
(4). Part four, introduces reading in the key of "G Major" with notes once again located entirely within 7th position. Scale tone range is established from the low 6th-string "B", up to the high 1st-string "D" at the 10th fret.
(5). Reading Exercise: The upper-mid register summary piece for lesson five is a 16-bar melody that blends the 6th and 7th positions together covering all of this lessons key signatures (C, D, F and G).
NOTE: Paid members of the Creative Guitar website can watch both video lessons and download the PDF handout...
Join the member's area to download the PDF handout and start your practice of the exercises. With a membership, you can study each music reading example with full access to all of the corresponding video lessons...
Do you need to study music theory right now at this moment? Advanced scale, chord and music theory is a deep subject. It is important to decide whether or not it’s necessary to know and understand theory for where you're at currently as a player...
For a lot of guitar players the area of music theory is weak. Many guitarists will learn the “A Minor” Pentatonic scale as their first scale. Then, they’ll discover that they can slide it around and they find out that other locations create other keys. Quite often the keys of “A and E” Minor are two of the earliest keys guitar players will learn. Then, as their skills develop they will often hash out that little bit of knowledge for many years to come. At some point however, either the information they comprehend or their skills for playing music will hit a ceiling. WATCH THE VIDEO:
NOT KNOWING THEORY: A large percentage of guitar players tend to use only a few Pentatonic scales for many years. So, a legitimate question is whether it is it actually necessary to go a lot further with the study of scale and chord theory in the early days of playing guitar. For many guitar players, scales and chords are nothing more than shapes on the fingerboard. Throughout the early years of playing, more often than not, technical ability seems to play a bigger role for guitar players than music theory.
However, if a guitarist continues to play long enough and if (and when) they are hit with situations where they feel lost (unable to grasp concepts in certain musical situations), they very likely will tend to want to begin study of more advanced music theory. Let’s have a look at an example. Perhaps you’re playing in a band and you get asked to perform a short guitar solo over a common sounding chord progression. Something like maybe a; classic rock, country or blues riff in the key of, “G.”
Example 1: Typical common riff
That riff from example 1 is pretty basic. We can use some “G” Pentatonic and have some fun over those chord changes quite easily. But, what do we do if things get a little more complicated? What would you do if you encountered a chord progression that is based upon more complex chord and scale theory, perhaps a progression like this one.
Example 2: Complex harmony
When chords are applied across progressions that are more complex harmonically, or that perhaps present no direct relationship to any of the standard diatonic harmony principles, most guitarists (who are uneducated with higher levels of theory), will get lost. Normally, if a guitarist can’t even play the chords in a song or a riff with advanced harmony, they certainly would not be able to play a guitar solo over them either.
KNOWING ADVANCED THEORY: Back to the question of how important it is to know music theory... Or, perhaps rather is it the “right time,” to start learning theory. If you’re just jamming on basic chords and the progressions you play over never leave the sounds of diatonic harmony, then maybe you don’t need to spend several weeks learning about advanced scale application and non-diatonic harmony. Plus, on top of that, spend several more months after that practicing how to play lead guitar in those situations. Everything will come down to how much time you have to invest into this stuff, and if you feel like it will be something that you can start to apply in the music that you enjoy playing.
TAKE STOCK OF YOUR SITUATION: If you stop and think about all this, the entire topic of what we’re discussing here is actually a much bigger issue than you likely thought when we started this discussion in the first place. If you have no motivation (and no real tangible reason) to study an advanced musical topic, and if you examine the playing situations that you’re participating in at this moment, realizing that you’re never going to play music that uses certain topics, the answer is probably this… It is perfectly okay to leave information alone that does not relate specifically to where you are at as a player right now. Unless you’re attending a music college program, or maybe working on your bachelor’s degree in music at university, advanced theory may overwhem you rather than help you. It might be the best to just save the learning of advanced topics for when you feel that you’ll be able to apply them. Instead, work on topics that you know full well that you’re involved with now, but weak at. Improve those topics – especially if they directly relate to the music you normally; perform, write, or record within your own immediate musical network of musicians.
CONCLUSION: I hope that this discussion on whether you need to know music theory has helped you to better understand where you’re at and what topics are important to you right now. That was really my underlying goal with making this video. There are a lot of subjects and “topics of study,” to learn about within the world of music training and guitar education. There are also a lot of guitar techniques and music philosophy topics with respect to composing songs. Plus, let’s not leave out rhythm education - that is another one which is often neglected. So, divide your learning into compartments. Think of your education as subjects with groups of underlying topics. And, be sure to do all that in combination with asking whether you’re going to be able to immediately apply what you learn. That approach will be the best way to really start improving your skills.
EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS: If you’d like to learn more about how to really zero in on specific areas of your guitar playing, join my web-site as a free member and start reviewing my “Guitar” Courses. They 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 are all well planned and easy to follow – and they work in a very organized way so that in the end, you’ll increase your knowledge about theory and guitar, plus you’ll be able to start incorporating higher end guitar skills into the music that you enjoy playing.
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 show all kinds of beginner to advanced ideas to help 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.
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 004 of Ear Training Lesson four of "Ear Training" focuses on the sound and structure of developing the sound of triad harmony.
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.
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(1). Part one, of lesson four Ear Training introduces the "Major" triad chord. This chord is created by stacking two kinds of interval. The root note moves up a "Major 3rd" and then from there up a "Minor 3rd." This creates a "Major Triad."
(2). Part two, adds practice of the "Minor" triad chord. The minor chord is created by moving off of the root note up a "Minor 3rd" and then from there up a "Major 3rd." This creates a "Minor Triad."
(3). Part three, shifts chord quality to the last diatonic chord type which is the "Diminished" chord. This chord is created by stacking two "Minor 3rd," intervals.
(4). Part four, introduces a symetrical chord called the "Augmented" triad. When working within a symetrical chord or scale format any note can function as the root note. The augmented chord is constructed by stacking "Major 3rd," intervals.
(5). Audio Track Training Exercises: Use the MP3 audio tracks (contained within the lesson download), to study the sound of each triad type.
The triads from 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 interval as they are performed on the audio tracks.
Paying members of the Creative Guitar website can watch both video lessons and download the PDF handout...
Join the member's area to download the PDF handout and start study of these exercises. Study all of the examples with full access to both video lessons...
PART ONE: (Free on YouTube) Developing Major triads. Learn associated triad ideas for determining the sound of stacked major 3rd to minor 3rd intervals.
PART TWO:Developing Minor triads. Learn associated triad ideas for determining the sound of stacked minor 3rd to major 3rd intervals.
PART THREE:
Developing Diminished triads. Learn associated triad ideas for determining the sound of stacked minor 3rd to minor 3rd intervals.
PART FOUR:Developing Augmented triads. Learn associated triad ideas for determining the sound of stacked major 3rd to major 3rd intervals.
Learning to perform multi-octave arpeggios can open up a whole new world of sound across chord changes. This lesson demonstrates three octave arpeggio patterns across all six strings...
When arpeggios are developed all across the fingerboard a guitarist can apply these long arpeggios either through linking together chords with the same arpeggios, or by playing diatonic substitute arpeggios within a key signature. If you like learning about arpeggios, and you enjoy the sound of arpeggios, this lesson is going to be fantastic. I’m sure that most of you reading /watching this have already learned how to play a Major Scale and a Minor Scale. However, for a lot of guitar players out there, the basic knowledge of triad arpeggios (that operate from the diatonic scales) can be weak. In this lesson, I’ll be discussing a way to practice the diatonic triad arpeggios, and how they operate all across the neck within the harmony of a key signature. Plus, we’re going to learn the arpeggios across three octaves. WATCH THE VIDEO:
DEVELOPING THE ARPEGGIOS: Let’s get started by learning how the major triad can operate across three octaves of the guitars fingerboard... Example 1). Major Triad:
The next shape that we’re going to study is the shape for playing the Minor triad arpeggio. Here’s how that arpeggio sits on the neck in 3 octaves… Example 2). Minor Triad:
Next, we’re going to move on to one other layout for the Major triad. This pattern is a little bit more condensed (as far as fingerings go), but it can be a nice alternative to the pattern covered from the first shape that we learned...
Example 3). Alternate Major Triad (Condensed):
When it comes to organizing a triad for the seventh degree of our harmonized scale, we need to be able to perform the “Diminished.” For our key of “G Major” harmony, we’ll need an “F# dim.” triad to cover that step. Here’s what the diminished triad arpeggio looks like… Example 4). Diminished Triad:
CONCLUSION: Now that you have a collection of triads that form all of the shapes that fit within the structure of diatonic harmony, practice developing them technically as well as, for practical use. Once you have a good handle for playing these shapes off of this key signature, ("C" Major), be sure to take them into all of the other key signatures. After some point in time, every one of these patterns will feel comfortable and you can begin implementing them more musically across your melodic compositions and for improvising.
Continued Development: Arpeggios are one of the most overlooked areas of guitar practice when it comes to patterns.
If you feel that you’re ready to start learning more about scales and arpeggios, then have a look at my “Advanced” Guitar program (within the members area) of my website. You can join the web-site as a free member and start looking around through all of the “Guitar Courses.”
Every guitar course in my core curriculum offers students a 10 lesson structure, taught in a step-by-step approach – that’s all based upon related /progressive topics... If you’re looking for a way to start vastly improving your guitar playing, visit; CreativeGuitarStudio.com 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 show all kinds of beginner to advanced ideas to help 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.
