Guitar Lessons

You have probably figured out the pattern by now. In the last 2 guitar lessons I showed you a chord scale in the key of Eb Major where the chord roots were on the D and A string. Now we take the next logical step and create yet another chord scale in Eb Major, this time using chords whose roots are on the low E string.

Consider the below tab:

Whereas last time all our chords had their root on the A string, this time all the chords have their root on the E string. The chords of course are the same.

In the last guitar lesson we had the chord sequence

Bb Dom7 | C Min7 | D Min7b5 | Eb Maj7 | F Min7 | G Min7 | Ab Maj7

This time the chords have their root on the E string and we start off at the F Min7 chord.

We will continue yet again to look at this useful chord scale idea in future guitar lesson posts.

Later,

Brian

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At the end of the last post, I hinted at how easily it is to build chord vocab by applying the chord scale idea using chords with a different root string, such as the A string.

Consider the below tab:

Whereas last time all our chords had their root on the D string, this time all the chords have their root on the A string. The chords are the same though.

Last time we had the chord sequence

Eb Maj7 | F Min7 | G Min7 | Ab Maj7 | Bb Dom7 | C Min7 | D Min7b5

This time, we are using the same chords (albeit with the chord root on the A string), but we are starting off with the Bb Dom7.

We will continue to look at this chord scale idea in future guitar lesson posts.

Later,

Brian

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One can never have enough chord knowledge. Chords can be a daunting subject because of the mind-boggling number of chords that can be played on the guitar. I am definitely not one to recommend learning hundreds of chords. Instead, I recommend learning a smaller set of useful voicings.

For instance, consider the 7th chords.  Let’s look at some common 7th chord voicings that don’t require any finger gymnastics on the fretboard.

I won’t get into chord theory. You can find plenty of guitar lessons on the net that cover that subject.

Consider the below tab:

Here we have a series of 7th chords with the root on the D string. These are the 7th chords found in the key of Eb Major. Writing out a key in terms of its 7th chords is known as Diatonic Harmonization.

By playing the above chords, you will reinforce these useful chord voicings the chord vocab part of your brain.

And of course, the pattern is the same for all keys. So consider C Maj. It has the notes C, D, E , F , G, A and B. The corresponding 7th chords (i.e. harmonization) are C Maj7, D Min7, E Min7, F Maj7, G Dom7, A Min7, B Min7b5. You could construct a similar chord scale using the above voicings. For instance, starting at the 2nd fret on the D string, you would have

E Min7 | F Maj7 | G Dom7 | A Min7 | B Min7b5 | C Maj7 | D Min 7

There are endless ways to apply this method for learning chords. You could, for instance, apply the same method but with chords whose root notes are on the A string.

Til next time,

Brian

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A couple weeks ago my brother and I went to Guitar Center in Natick, MA to see Satriani. We made the mistake of getting there late and for an hour we heard him just fine - but we didn’t see him. Anyway, you don’t have to see Satriani in person to appreciate his music. And so to that end I have created a Joe Satriani playlist containing some of my favorite Satch tunes. Unfortunately, Rhapsody was having technical difficulties with his Engines of Creation CD, but the list stands on its own nonetheless.

Having listened to Satch’s latest CD, I am just not into yet. Maybe it will grow on me, but for now no new songs made their way into the playlist.

To listen to this and my other playlists, you need the Rhapsody service.

Click here to get a free 14-day trial of Rhapsody

Later,

Brian

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You probably haven’t heard of Andy Timmons. He is one of thse superb guitar players who seems to always play under the radar. But for those that know of Andy’s playing, he is as big a guitar giant as Satriani, Vai, etc. He certainly doesn’t sound like other players. He has a distinct sound like all great guitarists. Great tone, great sense of melody, great depth (this is a guy that can play blues, jazz, shred, etc).

I have selected my favorite songs by Andy Timmons and created a playlist that I hope you enjoy.

To listen to this and my other playlists, you need the Rhapsody service.

Click here to get a free 14-day trial of Rhapsody

Later,

Brian

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Lately I have been showing you several possible arpeggio shapes for the so called 7th arpeggios with the root on the D string. To learn more about this class of arpeggios I recommend you take a look at my guitar lesson devoted to 7th arpeggios.

So far we have looked at the Dom7, Min7 and Maj7 arpeggios. Now we look at the last of the 4 7th arpeggios (well, the last of the diatonic 7th arpeggios anyway) - the Min7b5, also known as the Half Diminished arpeggio. Below is the tab showing the Min7b5 arpeggio shapes:

In an upcoming post, I will show you how to use familiar concepts from music theory to form melodic lines with these arpeggios.

Til next time,

Brian

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In some past guitar lesson blog posts, I showed you several possible arpeggio shapes for Dominant 7th (Dom7) and Minor 7th (min7) arpeggios, with the root on the D string. In this post we will take the next logical step and look at 3 shapes for Major 7th (Maj7) arpeggios. Once again we will consider the root on the D string.

Below is the tab showing the Maj7 arpeggio shapes:

In the next post, we will look at the last of the diatonic 7th arpeggio types - the Minor 7b5, also known as Half Diminished 7.  We will then look at ways we can combine these arpeggios into meaningful, melodic lines.

Til next time,

Brian

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In this post I will do a quick string skipping guitar lesson.

I recorded a guitar instrumental over the weekend. Man it had been a while since I spent some quality time with my electric guitar.  All the pick style classical stuff I have been playing on acoustic definitely had me in a different mindset.

While most of the tune had improv style lead lines, there were a couple parts where I wrote out some riffs.  I revisited a great and overlooked technique  - String Skipping. 

Consider the below tab:

What we have are 3 identical arpeggio shapes that simply shift around on the neck. I am not sure what the name of the arpeggio is. It is not quite a Maj Triad since it is missing the 5th - for instance the first instance of the arpeggio is D Maj-like but is missing the A. And the presence of the G in that first shape hints at an 11th arpeggio perhaps…

In any case, string skipping is a great way to play very cool, fluid sounding riffs.

Later,

Brian

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As you may have noticed from my recent guitar lessons I have been pretty obsessed with George Lynch’s guitar playing lately. It has been a while since I listened to his playing in Dokken and Lynch Mob and I am more blown away by his playing now than ever. I had never heard many of his Lynch Mob songs, but I have certainly discovered some gems. So I hope you enjoy my George Lynch playlist - it contains some of the finest guitar playing the world has ever known. I even added a not so well known solo he played as a guest on a Tony MacAlpine CD. Only die hard Lynch fans will be familiar with that one!

In some cases you will see the same song twice - that is because I added studio and live versions of some songs.

Click here to get a free 14-day trial of Rhapsody

Later,

Brian

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In the last guitar lesson post, I showed you a simple idea for building arpeggio vocab.  The basis of the idea was learning various shapes for the same arpeggio type. 

We will use the same exact idea and this time apply it to the Minor 7 arpeggio.

Just like we saw three different shapes for a Dom7 arpeggio last time, this time around we have three shapes for the Min7 arpeggio.

Hopefully you see the power and simplicity of this arpeggio vocab building approach.  Apply it on your own to other arpeggio types.

Later,

Brian

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