This lesson assumes you already know what triad chords are, and what the numbered chord progression system is.
As of the writing of this lesson I do not have a triad explanation lesson, but I do have one one the numbered chord progression system. CLICK HERE for the numbered progression lesson. Eventually there will be an entire course on chord theory. This lesson will go over how you can approach practicing and learning your triad chord shapes. This will be kept in the key of C. All of my in person students learn their triads in the way this lesson is presented. First, get comfortable playing the following chord shapes in the order they are presented:
Once you've familiarized yourself with playing those chords in order, it's time to use some chord progressions using the numbered chord progression system.
These are the 8 chord progressions to use:
What you will do with each progression is important. You will start with the first group of chords you played earlier. The first group of chords are all the chords that start on the low E string.
Play the first chord progression to begin. Play the I - IV - V - IV plus repeat. You can use the tab from above and match the Roman numerals that are underneath each chord to the chord progression(s). So, you'll be playing C, F, G, F, repeat. Play each chord 4 times. That's what each slash represents in the above image with the chord progressions. Each slash represents one chord strum. The video at the end of this lesson demonstrates this idea. After you can play the first progression with no mistakes, move on to the second progression with the same group of chords. Keep doing this until you play all 8 progressions. Then, move on to the second group of chords; the chords that start on the A string. After you can play all 8 progressions with the second group of chords, move on to the third group of chords. After completing all 8 progressions with the third group of chords, move on to the fourth group. Once all that is done, it's time to play the chords in a more practical manner. Instead of making large jumps from left to right, it's now time to play the chords in close proximity. The following tabs show all 8 chord progressions played in 4 different ways so you can get very familiar with how these triad chords are laid out on the fretboard in the key of C.
If you want more chord progressions I recommend going to Random.org and putting together random generated progressions. Use the numbers 1 and 7 for the variables. You're welcome to put together progression that use less or more than 4 different chords. Have fun with it!
This lesson does not cover voicings and inversions. Voicings and inversions open up far more possibilities on playing triad chords. If you'd like a lesson on them, tell me! Check out the following video for demonstrations of this lesson:
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This lesson will demonstrate triad arpeggios in the key of A minor on the bass guitar.
Just a brief explanation on triads - Triads are 3 note chords built by stacking 3rds. You have a Major 3rd and minor 3rd. A Major 3rd is 2 hole steps (4 frets apart) and a minor 3rd is 1 1/2 steps (3 frets apart). For example, if you are on the 1st fret and go up a Major 3rd you will end up on the 5th fret. If you wish to go down a minor 3rd from the 10th fret you'll end up on the 7th fret. An arpeggio is playing the notes of a chord one at a time. This lesson will show just one of many many ways to play these arpeggios. Here they are tabbed out:
Check out the following video to see and hear these arpeggios, as well as a demonstration on how they can help you create more interesting bass lines:
This lesson will cover triad chords found in the A Harmonic Minor Scale.
Just a brief explanation on triads - Triads are 3 note chords built by stacking 3rds. You have a Major 3rd and minor 3rd. A Major 3rd is 2 hole steps (4 frets apart) and a minor 3rd is 1 1/2 steps (3 frets apart). For example, if you are on the 5th fret and go up a Major 3rd you will end up on the 9th fret. If you wish to go down a minor 3rd from the 9th fret you'll end up on the 6th fret. The notes used in the A Harmonic Minor Scale are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G#
Here are the triad chords found in A Harmonic Minor tabbed out:
Check out the following video for more information and a demonstration of this lesson:
Ever hear of the I - IV - V progression? That's 1, 4, 5 for those who don't know how to read Roman numerals.
The I - IV - V progression is one of the most heavily used progressions in music, and is used in AT LEAST 90% of every blues song out there. So, I thought it would be interesting to hear how this progression would sound if you just changed the mode you were playing in. But first, let's talk about how you get to that progression. You have 7 notes that make up the Major scale. You can build a chord off of every note in the Major scale. If you build triad chords starting on the first, fourth, and fifth note of the Major scale, you'll get the chords used in a I - IV - V progression. That was just a brief explanation of how to get the I - IV - V progression. To get into more details on how chord progressions by numbers works we'd need an entire lesson devoted to it. Like this one! Chord Progressions by Number We'll be playing the chords in this order: I - IV - V - IV with a repeat and resolve back to the I chord. Here we go!
E Ionian
E Dorian
E Phrygian
E Lydian
E Mixolydian
E Aeolian
E Locrian
Check out the following video to hear and see these chords being played:
I want to start a new series of video lessons that takes fairly popular (or straight up popular) riffs and change the mode they're played in.
Learning how to change the mode you're playing in can open up new possibilities in your song writing. Changing the mode can create an entire new array of emotions. This lesson will take the intro riff to The Trooper by Iron Maiden. I will share the mode the riff was written in, and the key it's in. Then I will share the same riff, but in the different modes found in the Major scale.
E Aeolian - Key of Em
E Ionian - Key of E
E Dorian - Key of Bm
E Phrygian - Key of Am
E Lydian - Key of G#m
E Mixolydian - Key of F#m
E Locrian - Key of Dm
Check out the following video to hear and see each mode demonstrated:
Got any riffs/parts of songs you'd like to hear get changed with different modes? Leave a comment!
It's very easy to get a lot of unwanted noise when bending strings on the guitar. You must be able to mute out adjacent strings to the one you're bending.
Some things that can help is to always use your picking hand to mute out all strings lower than the one you're bending. That means if you're bending the G string, your hand should be aiming to mute the E, A, and D strings. If you're bending the high E string then you'll be trying to mute out the E, A, D, G, and B strings. Having at least one finger on the fret hand muting the adjacent strings helps too. Let's take your index finger for example, and you're bending the B string. Your index finger needs to be barely touching the G string AND the high E string. These ideas will make a lot more sense after you watch this video:
A discussion I had with a student recently led me to think about certain aspects that go into becoming a proficient guitar player. So, just what is a realistic time frame for a guitarist to become really good on their instrument, or can you even give a time frame?
I've touched on this before, and mentioned how it comes down to how much time you put in. How you practice also makes a big difference. However, I'd like to mention some other things this time, and give some numbers so you can get a perspective of how many years it may take you to reach your goals, whatever those goals may be. For those of you who don't know, I'm very much into weight training, health and fitness. One goal I had when I got into lifting was to get as big as Arnold. I have recently learned about putting my goals into a more realistic perspective. Without taking performance enhancing drugs, I'll never be as big as Arnold, and I'm fine with that. Also, there's a really good chance Arnold, just like so many top level athletes, has fantastic genetics that allowed him to do what he did. Does that mean genetics can play a role in how well you can play and learn an instrument? Unfortunately, yes. Does that also mean you need to take steroids in order to play extremely well? Thankfully, no! So, when you begin comparing yourself to guitarists like Paul Gilbert and Steve Vai, you're basically comparing yourself to top level athletes. You're being unfair to yourself when you do this. We can't all have fingers that are 2 feet long! The only person you need to compare yourself to is yourself. Celebrate every small victory you make. If speed is your goal, and you can play 1 BPM faster in a day, or a week, that's still an accomplishment. I'm a big believer that as long as you practice correctly and put in enough time, you can basically do anything you want on your instrument. However, after teaching for several years now, a somewhat humbling conclusion has been made: Some people just "get it." Some people just seem born to play, and they learn very quickly. Some people have a very difficult time learning how to play, and even if they put in the right amount of effort and correct practice, they still won't be able to learn as fast as someone seemingly born to play. Have you seen any of these child prodigies on YouTube? You may have seen someone around 10 years old playing extremely difficult and technical songs like they've been playing for decades. These kids seem to have some kind of genetic advantage over the majority of players. Now, that doesn't mean they haven't practiced their butts off to get to where they are. You still need to practice, and put forth effort. In fact, maybe these kids just put in way more hours than we realize. That is something I believe is often overlooked. Just because someone has only been playing a few years doesn't mean that someone who's play for 20 years has spent more time with the instrument. I've had some people tell me I'm gifted at playing the guitar, and even the bass. Now, I don't know if this is true. I put in tons of work, especially in my first few years of playing. Now, my dad is a guitar player, and his dad a guitar player. Does that help me out in some way? Possibly. I really don't know. I would say there is a good chance though. Regardless, I still put in a lot of work, just like any of the guitar greats. (No, I'm not calling myself a guitar great.) 10,000 hours of practice is what it takes to become an expert at something. Well, at least that's what I've been told. I've also read that this idea has been debunked. But, let's just say it's true for the sake of making an example. If you're only practicing for 30 minutes a day, everyday for a year, that gives you about 182 hours of practice each year. It will take you 55 years to reach the mark of 10,000 hours. That's a pretty long time. If you're only putting that much practice time into your playing, than you can expect to be at it for a very long time before you become a proficient player. What about 60 minutes a day? That will give you about 365 hours for the year. You'll still have about 27.5 years to be super good. If you put in 2 hours of practice a day, you'll have put in about 730 hours for the year. Now you'll only have 14 years of practice and playing until you've hit that 10,000 hour mark. So, hopefully you see that the more practice you put in, the closer you get to becoming an expert, professional, etc. It's not about how many years you've been playing, but about how many hours you've actually put into learning your instrument. Genetic capability aside, nothing trumps hard work and dedication. Someone putting in the right kind of practice for the right period of time will always be better than the gifted musician who never practices and is lazy with their instrument. I completely understand how difficult it can be to get in a lot of practice time once you've hit good ol' adulthood. Working a full time job can be draining, and eat away at your energy to practice. Throw in having a family, and the job gets even harder. But, no excuse in the world is suddenly going to make you a better player. So save the excuses, and just accept the fact that you may have to take a lot longer at reaching your goals due to your life schedule. If you stay persistent you will get better. Make sure you are practicing properly and the correct material too. Practicing the wrong thing for 10,000 hours won't do anyone any good. If you can, get an instructor. It's what I did, and I'm truly grateful for it. Check out this video for more advice on this subject:
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