December 2018 – Pedal On

December 29, 2018December 29, 2018 jmfreeland chords, guitar, triads

All Triads 3 – Strings 2/3/4

I didn’t realize just how useful learning all of these triad positions would be until they started clicking, particularly up and down between the three core shapes in a given key (root on string 2, 3, or 4). Beginning with the shape below as the I chord gives you a ton of options nearby. The ii, IV, and vi have multiple options that are easy to grab or switch between.

With a bassline or second harmony covering the low end, you can easily cycle through the upper extensions of the underlying chord (upper structure triads once you’re beyond R,3,5 if I recall correctly). Throw sus2 and sus4 in and your palette extends even further. I should probably record an audio example to demonstrate.

The best thing to me is that you can always map a diatonic mode back to a home Ionean key, so just knowing which I chord you refer back to means you can grab extensions up and down the neck. For instance, A Aeolian is just the sixth mode of C Major, so all of the triads will be the same as those in C. Even grabbing the C Maj triad just gives you an Am7 over an A bass note.

December 26, 2018December 26, 2018 jmfreeland chords, guitar, triads

Dominant 7 Triads – Strings 2/3/4

On to strings 2/3/4. No shortage of options here either. For the rootless versions, it’s easiest helpful to think about placing the minor 7th position relative to the target root.

December 26, 2018December 26, 2018 jmfreeland chords, guitar, triads, Uncategorized

Dominant 7 Triads – Strings 1/2/3

Dominant triads can be put together by dropping the root or the fifth, assuming you have a root from a bassline or keyboard. I don’t use a ton of dominant chords, but I think its another tool I personally need to beef up. Here’s the top three strings:

December 25, 2018December 26, 2018 jmfreeland guitar, scales

Melodic Minor – I

After listening to a good amount of Holdsworth (and watching this insane video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wts2Mw6Nb5s&t=54s), I’ve realized I need to expand beyond just straight major/minor modes. Here’s an exploration of Melodic Minor in its first position. There are two natural ways to view it in this position, and I don’t have a strong view as to which feels more natural, if either.

December 14, 2018 jmfreeland drums, programming

Quick Drum Tip #1 – Start Small

Programming rhythms is one of my weakest skills, so I need all the help I can get. Without any training on real drums, I often find the hardest part is simply getting started with something that isn’t just kick on the 1 and 3 or four on the floor. What I’ve begun doing is to start by simply picking two accented kick notes before anything else. The beat below was something I quickly put into my TR-09. I wouldn’t call it exciting, but was fifteen minutes of work and it’s a lot more interesting than what I’d normally come up with in a short period. The placement of the main kick notes on the 1 and the and of the 3 dictate much of what other sounds will fit once these main hits are in place. Instead of putting together one mediocre rhythm in an hour of work, I managed to put four into the box that had more potential to drive interesting progressions or melodies.

December 13, 2018December 13, 2018 jmfreeland chords, Uncategorized

Great Chords – m7

This particular shape of the minor 7 is one of my favorites. It’s easily movable and removes the extra 5th from the typical barre chord, which leaves more space for the rest of a track without sacrificing complexity.

December 12, 2018December 13, 2018 jmfreeland chords, guitar, triads

All Triads 2 – Strings 2/3/4

Here’s the second set of Major Key triads (in B this time) starting off the second inversion of the I chord (second string root). These have a nice flow and the I and IV shapes here should probably be old hat even if just as part of familiar bar chords.

December 12, 2018December 13, 2018 jmfreeland chords, guitar, triads

All Triads 1 – Strings 2/3/4

This is the first of an exploration into mapping out all triads in a key in close proximity. There’s no shortage of locations to work from, but this is the starting point I grab most frequently. Also included are characteristic notes for the associated modes to help add color highlighting where you are in the key. All labels are relative to the key center.

December 10, 2018December 13, 2018 jmfreeland chords, guitar, triads

Major Triad 1 – Strings 1/2/3

On to the top three strings. I’ve personally never spent enough time on the shapes on these strings, so this is a useful learning exercise, and hopefully sharing these proves helpful more broadly. I’ve certainly never noticed that barring the top three strings gives you a major sixth or that you have a useful, easy sus2 in most pentatonic boxes.