A couple of days ago we looked at How to Easily Learn Multiple Scale Patterns in parallel using just three different scale patterns/positions. In this lesson, I’d like to revisit those scale patterns and give you an easy way of…
Tag: chords
Chords: How to Learn the Harmonized Major Scale (Part 2)
In Part 1 we looked at the basic theory behind the harmonized major scale and how to learn four sets of root position chords that will give you over 300 if you include all 12 keys. These chords, and a…
Chords: How to Learn the Harmonized Major Scale (Part 1)
A great way to learn chords and chord progressions is to learn them in context, whether it be a song or the chord chart for a backing track (yes, don’t just wail over them, learn the chord progression). Chords are…
The 2 Golden Rules for Combining Scales with Chords
We’ve been talking a lot on the blog lately about improvisation methods and systems. The guitar is a double-edged sword in this regard as a solo can be approached in many ways depending on the player and the desired result….
Guitar Hacks: Making the Connection Between Chords and Scales
This little guitar hack is particularly useful if you’re at that stage in your learning where you want to know which scales work over which chords without having to trawl through theory books, or rely on some app to tell…
Guitar Hacks for Soloing Over Complicated Chords
If you’re comfortable soloing over major/minor and seventh chords, but things get a little shaky when you have to come up with something to play over a scary chord like a maj11, maj13, or a 13b9#11, these quick hacks will…
5 Steps to Knowing Which Chords Are In Any Key
When you come to write your own material as a solo artist, band member, composer, or anything else, you’re going to need to know which chords belong in which keys. Even if you plan on ignoring all the rules and…
Guitar Chords and Language Learning
Chords and Language LearningYou’ve probably heard the phrase, ‘learning music is like learning a language’, bandied around by musicians, and while most just repeat the phrase for effect, it is very true. The process for learning chords is a lot…
How to Come Up with Funk Chords on the Fly
My first guitar teacher was and still is a great funk player. I’d go see him play at the local venues where I remember being blown away by the sheer number of chords he seemed to know when playing funk-style…
The Quick Guide to Barre Chords and Beyond
Barre chords are almost a rite of passage after learning all the open chords. I see a lot of beginners straining their wrists and ripping their fingers to bits trying to play them; this is also the point where a…