If you could only pick one guitar technique for powerful melodic and harmonic punch then the "dyad" (double-stop) technique would rank as number one for presenting the best example of strength across melody lines.

 

 

 

 

This video will show you how to use the most popular notes that are found in common dyad melodic statements performed by the world's top guitar players. You'll learn how to apply them and how they can be modified to work in different musical situations.

 

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THE POWER OF 2-NOTE HARMONY:
The best double-stop phrases are the ones that meet quite a few criteria, most of all, they ones that function as the most effective way for helping you add depth to the sound of your melodic lines. 

 

The exercises in this lesson will cover; Major and Minor 3rd's, and the inversion of the 3rd which you will learn as the 6th. There's also an example riff for you to learn as well that demonstrates the effects of this idea.

 

WHY RANK IT AS NUMBER ONE?
If you had to pick one example of a technique so widely used and one that carried such a strong impact upon the listener when it’s applied, what would that technique be? 

 

What technique is used by every famous guitar player, whether that’s; Eric Clapton, or Jimi Hendrix, or Slash, or Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour it doesn’t matter who you think of, they all use this one technique and it instantly makes an impact on any idea when performed.

 

When I asked my students what they ranked as the most powerful guitar technique they all agreed on the same technique.
 

 

 

 

They all heard about this technique and many of them had even tried it. But they weren’t 100 percent positive about how this technique was organized on the fingerboard and how it worked musically when it was applied in a song or a solo. 

 

So, let’s find out the best way to learn and master the application of this number one ranked technique on guitar!

 

The dyad, also often called the “Double-Stop,” is an interval. But, we don’t focus on every interval when we solo or play melodies. We tend to focus on 3rd’s as our most popular interval, and that’s what our initial focus has to be if you want to learn Dyad’s fast. 

 

The 3rd’s that you need to know are the major and minor. So, let’s start with those ones right now.

 

Example 1). Major 3rd

 

 

Example 2). Minor 3rd

 

Practice Example:
Popular shape layout

 

Practice Example:
3rd and 2nd string shape layout

 

 

Coming up next, I’m going to introduce you to an idea that’s used by blues players, as well as, jazz and country players that takes the sound of what we just worked on up to a whole new level. 

 

But first, I want to tell you about a special promotional offer for the most valuable handouts I have here at my studio, it’s my; Handouts Collection eBook. 

 

 

Example 3). Inverted 3rd (the 6th) 

 

Minor 6th:

Major 6th:

 

Before we wrap up, I want to apply everything that we’ve been working on so far into a guitar riff that uses Dyad’s. I’ll play the example riff for you first. Then I’ll break it down in detail - so that you can learn it too.

 

Example 4). The example riff

 

 

 

Millions of guitar players around the globe love the sound of smooth emotional guitar playing. It's both rich and soulful and while it can also be sad to listen to, it is often very uplifting and calming as well. If this style interests you, then you'll definitely want to check out this guitar lesson. We'll cover the important elements that create this style and we'll break down the options guitar players can have for composing in this style...

 

 

 

 

In a recent online poll, pop music was declared as the most sad music, with country, R and B and soul coming in close behind. 

 

On the guitar we tend to hear an interesting blend of all these "sad" music styles performed as instrumental pieces. Often times this musical blend is played on the acoustic guitar. 

 

For the guitar player, one problem with learning to play this emotional style of music can be not knowing the best way to approach the chords along with the inter-woven melody lines so that they work together effectively to achieve the best sound.

 

In this lesson, I put together a collection of the best ways that a guitar player can use to develop both harmony and melody. 

 

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This emotional style of playing offers up a smooth and captivating sound for both the guitarist, as well as for the listener. The result is a style of guitar playing that is easy to relate to and more natural feeling to perform.

 

 

 

 

Guitar Players LOVE Playing This Style!
The focus of this lesson is all about the favorable artistic taste that millions of guitar players have for practicing guitar ideas that sound very captivating to the listener. 

 

You've heard those open sounding guitar picked lines that when played in both a smooth and emotional way come across as being very endearing to those who are listening to the music. 

 

What’s really cool is that this sound is not very difficult to develop and it makes for some fantastic guitar music to perform any time that somebody goes and says to you, “Oh hey, you play guitar, play me something.” I’m sure that’s happened to you.

 

Let’s begin by looking at a couple of things that you can start doing right away to make this sound a part of your guitar playing and help you begin dreaming up guitar music in this style as soon as possible. So, grab your guitar, and let’s get started.

 

 

 

 

Example 1).
One of the most popular ideas that create this style of guitar playing is the addition of open strings around small chord patterns accompanied by single-note melody lines. 

 

This is a powerful approach to obtaining this emotional guitar sound and it is one that allows a melody to be built directly into an already existing harmony. Here’s an example, (see below) of exactly how this can work. 

 

 

Coming up next, I’ve got another way for you to be able to add this type of guitar style into your playing. Then, we’ll also learn a short 2-part example song that applies this idea into a musical context.

 

But first, I want to tell you about a special promotional offer that’s related to my; Handouts Collection eBook. 

 

 

 

 

Example 2).
Another interesting compositional idea that works very well to generate this style of playing is based upon adding a wider interval between the notes in use up in the treble along with bass-tones. 

 

The larger separation between bass and treble tones (typically separated by at least one guitar string), will go a long way to producing a sweet sound from the guitar.

 

Along with the larger interval you’ll also still want to maintain the use of a few open guitar strings as well. Here’s an example of how all of this can come together… 

 

 

 

There’s a lot you can take away from learning the techniques of this style! We’ve just covered some of the important ones. 

 

But, the thing is, if you go beyond the techniques and start trying to write some original ideas of your own, you’ll actually get a lot more out of what you could ever possibly get from just learning a composition written by somebody else. 

 

In wrapping up, what I want to do is perform and then break down a simple example piece (it was performed at the start of the video). This piece applies all of the ideas we have been discussing in the lesson.

 

 

 

 

Example 3).
This piece applies as well as, adapts and evolves each technique that we discussed earlier. Spend time practicing to be able to play the piece as perfectly as possible and also practice creating songs like this using the techniques as well.

 

 

Learning the neck is not just one of the best, but it's one of the only options for a guitarist to really master the instrument. If you want to know keys and scale intervals, and if you want to write riffs and play great lead, then you need to learn how to build a strong awareness for your guitar fret-board... 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of us don’t spend enough time working on really effective ways for understanding how the neck works - which is costing every guitar player not only the chance to build the best awareness for the instrument that we can - it's costing us the understanding for how music works on the neck.

 

In this video, I show you the best way to learn the neck for a better awareness of scales and tonality with a 3-string shape that anyone can memorize in only a few minutes by realizing just one small (but important) understanding of the way you can use this powerful shape. 

 

WATCH THE VIDEO:

 

 

 

In this lesson I’m going to show you the best way to learn the neck across the all-important lower string groups. 

 

This low string group area (that we are going to study), is easy to learn once you know the note locations for how everything is laid out and the layout is easy to memorize - there’s practically nothing to it.

 

But, what is most valuable is how incredibly important it is to learn how to navigate using the notes of the shape we’ll cover because these notes are the most important ones for locating root notes on the fingerboard. 

Once you can become familiar with the 6th, 5th and 4th guitar string note names you’ll be able to use them to learn to play pretty much any song that you encounter moving forward in your musical studies.

 

So, grab your guitar and I’ll begin by showing you how to get into learning this shape as it sits on the guitar fret-board, so that you can take it and start using it right away to learn your neck at a much higher level of awareness!

 

Example 1). The note group, (you can see below), is very easy to understand because it is so linear and geometrical. We refer to this layout as, "Double Whole-Steps."

 

 

The red dot is going to be our target tone and it functions as our Minor Key root. The layout is called a double whole-step MINOR layout due to the two-note distance between the root and the other tones. This layout will always occur in every key that we have in music.

 

Every key that we use to learn and compose a piece of music in will have this double whole step shape. 

 

This shape is always behind the root in Minor keys:

 

 

And, it will occur ahead of the major key root in major keys.

 

 

Example 2). Above the middle note of the MINOR double whole step pattern is another important tone. This tone is called the, "relative tone."

 

Relative in this example refers to the Major key root in relationship to the root of our double whole step pattern. It also functions as a color tone that’s called the "Minor Third."

 

 

 

 

Example 3). Below the Root of the Double Whole Step Minor Pattern is another important tone. It’s called the “Perfect 5th.” 

 

The 5th is a tone which can offer us a lot of impact in a riff or in a melody line, so it’s important to learn about where it is and what it can offer.

 

But first, I want to tell you about a special promotional offer so that you find out how to get yourself a copy of one of the most valuable handouts I have here at my studio, it’s my; Handouts Collection eBook.

 

 

Example 4). The shape that you see below right now is the complete diagram of all of the important tones associated to the "Double Whole-Step" layout on the neck. 

 

 

 

This shape can be moved anywhere and it is very important because it covers the critical major and minor tonality “the relative key roots.” Plus, it offers guitar players a way to understand important intervals like the third and the fifth.

 

Example 5). Now that you understand the overall layout of the shape and you know how the tones connect everything, let’s wrap things up by learning a riff that functions entirely within the fret-board shape we just reviewed.