Instructional Series
Relating a mode to the major scale from which it is derived — the relative approach — is one way of thinking about a mode.
Viewing a mode as an independent scale and comparing it to the major scale with the same root note — the parallel approach — is another way of thinking about a mode.
This post will use the parallel approach to construct the modes of the major scale and provide instruction on how to play them on a guitar with any root note.
read moreEach of the seven modes of the major scale has a particular application when it comes to soloing:
This post will take us through the process of identifying the modal scale or scales that are compatible with any given chord. It will also provide instruction on how to play the scale or scales on a guitar using the relative and parallel approaches.
read moreTo this point in the series, we have defined and constructed each type of chord according to a formula based on the major scale with the same root note as the chord.
But each type of chord can also be defined by the intervals it contains.
This post will analyze the intervals contained in the triads covered to this point in the series — major, minor, diminished and augmented.
Common fingerings for the triads, along with instruction on how to play them with any root note were provided in the post entitled Triads and Chord Formulas.
read moreTo this point in the series, we have defined and constructed each type of chord according to a formula based on the major scale with the same root note as the chord.
But each type of chord can also be defined by the intervals it contains.
This post will analyze the intervals contained in the seventh chords covered to this point in the series:
Common fingerings for seventh chords, along with instruction on how to play them with any root note are provided in the post entitled Seventh Chords.
read moreEach type of chord has its own unique structure and sound and can function in multiple ways in a chord progression.
This post will cover the dominant seventh chord’s structure, sound, characteristics and important harmonic functions.
Common fingerings for a dominant seventh chord, along with instruction on how to play them on a guitar with any root note are provided in the post entitled Seventh Chords.
read moreTo this point in the series, we have primarily used major and minor scales to solo over chords diatonic to those scales.
For example, we have used a C major scale to solo over the chords diatonic to the key of C major, the chords that result when you harmonize a C major scale (C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and B°).
And while you can use any of the notes in a scale to solo over the chords diatonic to that scale, some notes in the scale are more important than others, and these important notes are the notes contained in the chord you are soloing over.
It’s these chord tones — or arpeggio notes — that you need to emphasize when soloing.
read moreMy last post covered triad arpeggios and how they relate to various scales. This one will cover seventh chord arpeggios.
This post will provide fingerings for seventh chord arpeggios, along with instruction on how to play the them on a guitar with any root note. It will also illustrate how each type of arpeggio relates to a specific scale.
read moreAn extended chord is a seventh chord to which an extension note — the ninth, 11th or 13th degree of the major scale — is added.
A ninth chord — as the name suggests — is a seventh chord to which the ninth scale degree is added.
This post will cover how to construct ninth chords and provide examples for each type of chord.
It will also provide common fingerings for each chord, along with instruction on how to play them on a guitar with any root note.
read moreAn extended chord is a seventh chord to which an extension note — the ninth, 11th or 13th degree of the major scale — is added.
An eleventh chord — as the name suggests — is a seventh chord to which the 11th scale degree is added.
This post will cover how to construct eleventh chords and provide examples for each type of chord.
It will also provide common fingerings for each chord, along with instruction how to play them on a guitar with any root note.
read moreAn extended chord is a seventh chord to which an extension note — the ninth, 11th or 13th degree of the major scale — is added.
A thirteenth chord — as the name suggests — is a seventh chord to which the 13th scale degree is added.
This post will cover how to construct thirteenth chords and provide examples for each type of chord.
It will also provide common fingerings for each chord, along with instruction on how to play them on a guitar with any root note.
read more