Intro to Chord Fragments

Today's post is...(drum roll).....my first video lesson! I hope you enjoy and there will be several more on the way. Next time I might get fancier (a.k.a. zooming in!) but I included the chord diagrams and picking exercise in a Guitar Pro file as well as a tab file you can view in Microsoft word. I HIGHLY recommend the Guitar Pro software, it is a great learning tool. If you don't already own Guitar Pro, you can download a free demo here.

About today's lesson:
This is an introduction to using major chord shapes up the neck. In the video I show you how to play a G major chord in several positions using mostly the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd strings. Over the next several lessons we will learn the ins and outs of the major scale: how to harmonize the major scale in chords, other inversions, and major scale positions throughout the CAGED system of chords. If this sounds like mumbo-jumbo, just tune into the video and work your way through these introductory chord shapes for now.

Please give me some feedback as to how I can improve my lessons and cover subject matter that you want to learn! Thanks for tuning in and please spread the word that there will be multiple FREE VIDEO LESSONS here in the months to come. Thanks!

Download the .gp5 or .tab file for this lesson.

Spice It Up Part Deux

Welcome back for part two of our discussion on "spicing" up ordinary chord progressions. Last time we talked about altering the existing chords in a progression. Today is all about chord substitution.

Two ways to begin substituting chords are:
- diatonic substitution
- chromatic substitution

Diatonic substitution means you replace one chord with another chord from the same major scale.
For example in the key of G, the relative minor to G major is E minor. What does this mean?
The notes in G major: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G
are the same notes as in the E minor scale: E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, E

So if the song calls for a Gmaj7 chord, you could substitute that chord for an Emin7.
Or, instead of replacing the chord altogether, if 2 bars of Gmaj7 are written, you could play one bar of Gmaj7 and one bar of Emin7 to break up the monotony.

What if the song calls for 4 bars of Gmaj7? Now you have even more options. You could play: Gmaj7, Emin7, Gmaj7, Emin7.
You could also incorporate a 2-5-1 movement. 2-5-1 refers once again to the scale degrees. In the key of G, the 2 represents Amin, the 5 represents D7, and 1 is the root G. So four bars of your basic Gmaj7 could become Gmaj7, Amin7, D7, Gmaj7. This movement creates interest!!
There are so many other possibilities with substitution; this is just the tip of the iceberg.

What about chromatic substitution? The chromatic scale includes all 12 semitones of Western music. Chromatic substitution can mean raising or lowering a chord tone by a half step.
This progression can be heard in many "romantic" jazz standards. Play one measure of each chord:
Cmin - CminMaj7 - Cmin - Cmin6

Or this famous progression from my man George Harrison's "Something."
C - Cmaj7 - C7 - F

There's a familiarity to that sound of movement that is timeless. How about My Morning Jacket's "Sec Walkin'?"
G - Gmaj7 - G7 - G6

I must stress that this is just a starting point. I don't want to bombard you with examples but in our earlier 2-5-1 progession in the key of G, you could substitute the 5 chord chromatically from a D7 to a D7b9 for a progression of Gmaj7, Amin7, D7b9, Gmaj7. The D7b9 adds so much tension that the resolution to Gmaj7 is extra-pleasing to the ear. Have I lost you or does this make sense?

Over the next month I will be expanding the Jazzmaster Journal to include video lessons so the lessons will be more clear and helpful. Please email me or refer to an online chord finder if you have any questions! Rock out your jazz and jazz up your rock!!

Reversing the Effects of G.A.S.

If you play guitar, it is only a matter of time before you come down with a case of G.A.S. That's right. It's not if, but when. Truly, Gear Acquisition Syndrome affects us all.

A humble practice rig, post-G.A.S.

A bad case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome comes at the worst possible time. Rent is due. Your girlfriend's birthday is coming up. Your electricity was shut off because last month because you prioritized buying a half-stack over paying the utility bill. It's okay, I understand. I am here to say there is hope; I saw this light at the end of the tunnel this morning.

Who's Jonezin' for some new toys??

The only cure I have found for G.A.S. is a difficult and arduous road known as S.G.F.M. It sounds terrible I know but Selling Gear For Money is a plausible solution to your woes. I speak from firsthand experience because this morning I sold my beloved Fender '65 Reissue Deluxe Reverb amp to pay some stupid bills. But what's done is done and now I will rely heavily (and only) upon my AC30 over the next several months. As my friend Brad was on his way over to purchase my Deluxe I started to have seller's remorse. I ran to the living room, plugged in my Strat and coaxed out some of the sweetest, reverby clean-Fendery sounds imaginable. In fact as his car pulled into the driveway I wondered if I would be better off selling my Vox instead, or if I could go through with the deed at all. I came to the conclusion that it would be easier down the road to find a similar replacement for my Fender sound than my Vox. So, after a handshake and exchange of tender I overcame my G.A.S. by actually going through with S.G.F.M.

As Brad drove off I was left with two questions:
1) Did I make the right decision?
2) Which should I get next, a Z-Vex Box of Rock, A Zendrive, or a Danelectro 12-String?

There is another upside to selling pieces of your gear besides the extra cash in your wallet. Simplifying your rig can help you get "back to the basics" and focus on how much your technique affects your tone. When I was younger my dad told me I didn't need new "guitar stuff" every month. The conversation usually continued like this:

"But Dad, you don't understand I can't sound like Jimmy Page without a new _____"
- fill in the blank with one of the following: Marshall Half Stack, Les Paul, Super-Awesomo Skull-Crusher Overdrive 5000

"Son, I'm no guitarist but I know that Jimmy Page on an acoustic guitar still sounds like Jimmy Page."

"You don't get it Dad...I would be 10 times better if you would just forward my allowance!"

Well you get the point. And my dad had a great point. Even if your pedal board is sophisticated enough to launch a successful Moon landing, it will never compensate for sound technique. Part of the reason my Strat sounded good this morning was that it WASN'T plugged through my pedal board. I wasn't distracted by distortions, compressors, and whatever other knobs there were to twiddle. I didn't have two distortion pedals pushing amps in stereo so loud that I was scared to strum a chord. The focus was on playing actual music.

Maybe Charlie Christian would have sounded way better if he was melting faces off through a wall of Marshalls, maybe not. For now I am trying to find comfort in the thought that less is more. One thing is certain, less G.A.S. is less time spent on Harmony Central and watching Youtube gear reviews and more time for playing music you love and living a real life!

Made to Order...Extra Spicy!

To me chord progressions are like Chicken Tikka Masala: I like them extra spicy! There are several ways to spice up your chords, and it doesn't involve chili powder or coriander. Today I will teach you how to start adding complexity and "spice" to your sound. The first way is to add notes or alter the notes in your chords while the second is to substitute the actual chords being played (we'll get to this later).

Let's start with a basic blues progession using 7th chords in the key of G.
The progression will use the I, IV, and V chords in the key of G. If I've lost you already, the Roman numerals refer to the scale degrees for the key of G. Here is the G major scale with the I, IV, and V notes highlighted:
G A B C D E F# G

So to play a I-IV-V blues in G our chords would be: G7, C7, D7. Pretty straightforward, huh? Sounds like your standard blues jam. Maybe you want a "hipper" sound. When the bluesmen migrated from the Mississippi Delta to urban areas like Chicago, they did the same thing. Adding one note to these dominant chords and makes them 9th chords. This refers to the 9th degree of the major scale. But wait aren't there only 8 notes in the scale? The 9th is the second octave of the II note. So, in the key of G the 9th would be the A note in the second octave.

Here are some common 9th chord voicings in relation to their corresponding major chords:

Remember that all these shapes are moveable for use in all 12 keys!
So, back to our blues progression. Our new progression is G9, C9, D9. Hear the difference? There are other extensions we can use besides 9ths. We can add 11ths, 13ths, or make any of these added notes sharp or flat. If you are unfamiliar with these chord voicings there are many resources available. Any decent online chord finder should suffice, and I regularly check out this great jazz site.

Next scenario: say you are playing indie rock and don't want the sound of the blues/jazz idiom. Lets go back to our G major scale and harmonize the scale in 7th chords. The chord-scale would be as follows: Gmaj7 Amin7 Bmin7 Cmaj7 D7 Emin7 F#m7b5 G. Say we were rocking out on a root chord of G. Instead of a G5 power chord you could play a Gmaj7, a G6 or any other color that you deem appropriate. One of my favorite moves is to end a pop tune on a major 6th chord for a very Beatlesesque vibe. Try this progression: Gmaj7, Cmaj7, D7, G6 letting that last chord ring out with this voicing for the G6:

Slightly changing that last chord from a G to a G6 gives the tune's resolution a very different feel. Try to come up with your own variations.

George Benson keeps it spicy!

That will do it today for altering chords. You can find many in-depth lessons on this at this instructional jazz guitar site. In the next lesson-oriented post we'll work through some chord substitutions for a different type of spice!

In other news, if you are in the Charleston area you should try to make it to the Pour House Thursday night for my friends the Red Birds. They sound kind of like a 2-piece version of the National, and are playing a show with local favourites the Explorers Club. On October 9-12 Rocktoberfest will go down at the Awendaw Green with many of the areas' best acts performing. As always, thanks for reading and support your local music scene!

An Introduction

Hello and welcome to my first post for the Jazzmaster Journal. I don't claim to be the master of anything, especially jazz. Instead, my seafoam green Jazzmaster is the namesake for this blog. I will write about all sorts of things that fascinate me in the day-to-day pursuit of guitar music, from new things I learn to stories about the people I play with; quirky guitars and musicians I come across on Craigslist to what it's like finding gigs in Charleston's music scene. I hope to make this music journal an amusing and helpful site for anyone interested in the life of an aspiring musician or the guitar in general.

Pete Townshend wielding a Jazzy

Here's my background in brief:
I am a 25 year-old living in my birth city of Charleston, South Carolina. My formal music education is minimal, consisting of a few years of piano lessons and some guitar lessons here and there. I have learned the guitar mostly by trial and error, emphasis on error! My first band was a power-chord punk band where the journey of learning my way up the fretboard really began. Without knowing much theory other than the major and pentatonic scale shapes, the goal at this point was to remember what single notes and diads sounded ok over a D5 and then wail away as frantically and as fast as possible. Technical prowess to be witnessed indeed!!

Over the next 10 years I learned more harmony and theory from listening to the Beatles than any teacher। Actually, I was lucky that a talented saxophonist taught my friends and me a great deal in my high school jazz band class. The real lesson there was that I didn't have to play every note in every chord in a rapid-changing tune at 160 bpm! In all those developmental experiences (and every day is a "developmental experience"), through the absurdity and unpleasant sounds, there were small nuggets of knowledge to be had. I will try to share them all with you, but know that any lesson I may offer was a lesson I learned the hard way!

Nels Cline = THE MAN!!!

In recent years I have dabbled in alt-country, jazz, more straight-forward rock, and my own "weird music." The highlight of my short career was opening for the legendary Leon Russell last Valentine's Day. More about that another day.

I will also discuss my gear in a later post but here is a picture of my favourite guitar, my Thinskin '62 Jazzmaster Reissue:

Thanks for tuning in to my first post. Now tune up and go play!