I am quite into open strings voicings as I think they are one of the few things you can only play on guitar and no other instrument, and I would compare the sound to that of a piano when the sustain pedal is used: the sound is fuller, sustained, rich in harmonics. in this video I will show you how to find more interesting sounds from the most basic chords, you’ll see it is very easy. I am sure you’ll benefit from this whether you are a songwriter, a jazz guy or into speed metal. In the PDF file you’ll find some of the chords I show you in the video.
This is a another classic chart to understand how modes are built by comparing them to the major scale staring from the same note…you’ll see right away how D Dorian is a minor mode and how it differs from D major scale.
C Ionian = C major by constitution and it is a Major mode.
C Ionian
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C Major
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
D Dorian
D Dorian
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
D Major
D
E
F#
G
A
B
C#
As you can see the difference here is that the Dorian mode has the minor 3rd (F natural instead of F#) and the minor 7th (C natural). The Dorian Mode is a Minor mode
E Phrygian
E Phry
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
E Major
E
F#
G#
A
B
C#
D#
Here not only we can see the minor 3rd and the minor 7th but also the minor 6th and 2nd . This last note gives the characteristic sound to this mode. This is a minor mode.
F Lydian
F Lyd
F
G
A
B
C
D
E
F Major
F
G
A
Bb
C
D
E
A major mode with the raised 4th (Bb raised to B natural). Quite an interesting sound, used a lot for its dream like qualities.
G Mixolydian
G Mixo
G
A
B
C
D
E
F
G Major
G
A
B
C
D
E
F#
This is called a major dominant mode, the characteristic note is the minor 7th on a major scale.
A Aeolian
A Aeol
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
A Major
A
B
C#
D
E
F#
G#
This mode is also known as Relative minor or Natural minor. Has a minor 3rd, minor 6th and 7th
B Locrian
B Locr
B
C
D
E
F
G
A
B Major
B
C#
D#
E
F#
G#
A#
Maybe not as popular as the other modes, but used quite a lot in many jazz standards and similar tunes this is a minor mode with minor 2nd , 3rd, 6th and 7th. Also the characteristic note is the diminished 5th, that makes this mode one of kind among those from the major scale.
In this video I will show you how jazz standards are actually much easier that most people think. I bring as an example the famous standard ‘Autumn leaves’. You’ll notice right away that this is mostly made up by two 2-5-1 progressions one in major, the other one in minor. I have already show you previously how to approach those two progressions and what to use to solo over them. So now all you should do is learn the chords and record a backing track for yourself to solo over.
There are when times you can get bored of playing just the pentatonic on a blues, or maybe you’ve heard more contemporary blues players like Robben Ford, or blues influenced jazz guys like John Scofield and Scott Henderson. Well, here I come to help you out with a couple of tips: first I go over the ‘blues scale’, still quite a basic concept. Just add the b5 to a minor pentatonic and there you go, you have the ‘blues scale’.
A much more interesting thing happens when you start mixing up the H-W Diminished scale with a minor or major pentatonic scale. This will give you a few nice tensions:
Half step – Whole step Diminished scale in C:
C Db Eb Fb Gb G A Bb
T b2 b3 3 b5 5 13 b7
C minor pentatonic:
C Eb F G Bb
T b3 4 5 b7
C major Pentatonic:
C D E G A
T 2 3 5 6
Well, mix and match tastefully and you’ll get some new flavors, guaranteed. Listen to some of the examples I play in the video. Good luck!
I am quite a big fan of the blues, and I definitely advice studying no matter if you like it or not, as the majority of modern music originates or relates to this genre.
The most popular blues form is based around 12 bars. The first four are usually filled by the I7 chord. So this is the first characteristic of the blues: when we talk about a ‘blues in C’ we don’t strictly mean C major. The center of gravity of the whole structure is based around a Dominant 7th chord (the chord that sits on the 5th degree of the Harmonized Major Scale, so to speak) instead of a major7th chord. The following two bars are filled by another Dominant 7th chord, but this time on the fourth degree (IV7). Two bars of I7 follow. The last four bars are made up by one bar of V7 (the dominant chord on the 5th degree), one bar of IV7, one of I7 and finally another bar of V7 to ‘turnaround’ back to the top.
| I7 | | | |
| IV7 | |I7 | |
|V7 |IV7 | I7 |V7 |
In the video I suggest two more advanced forms. Just download and print out the PDF file, learn the chords and go to the next step, the pentatonic.
