Minor 7th Chords Part 2 More Minor 7th chords! In part one we looked at the 4 minor 7th chords in a string group, then flipped a note from low E to high E and made 4 more chords. Now, we’ll look at the same chords presented in a different string group. Like the first…
Major 7th Arpeggios Part 2 In part 1, we looked at C Major 7th Arpeggios from the 5th position. Now for part 2, we’re looking at the 8th position. All the examples presented will be in 8th position, and each example will begin with the chord shape closest in relation to the arpeggio. Try to…
Major 7th Arpeggios Part 1 In this article we’re going to look at some examples of one Major 7th arpeggio shape, and some short phrases with increasing complexity as the examples go on. All the examples will contain the same arpeggio, and all examples will also have the corresponding chord preceding it. It’s a good…
Major 7th Chords In this article we’re going to look at some Major 7th chord voicings. For these examples, we’re using C major 7th. The spelling for the chord is C-E-G-B. Keep in mind, some of these voicings will not be ones that you’re used to seeing before, and they may prove difficult at…
Minor 7th Arpeggios Part 1 – In A Minor I’ve attached some arpeggio exercises to this post for practice. They will all be in A minor, and each exercise uses the same minor 7th voicing, the same 3 string arpeggio, and the examples become more complex. The first example is the introduction to the arpeggio…
Scales Major Minor Harmonic Minor Harmonic Major Melodic Minor Major Pentatonic Minor Pentatonic Whole Tone Diminished Dorian Aeolian Phrygian Lydian Mixolydian Locrian Dorian b9 Mixolydian b6 Altered scale Lydian Dominant Phrygian Dominant etc etc etc There are scales for scales. Modes for modes. Each with their own ‘voice’ and character that you can lend to…
Memorization Madness Part 3 Part three on a discussion about memorization, and thinking about how you best spend your practice time. So far, we’ve looked at level one mastery, which is the ability to play the concept “in your hands” or “in your ears”, without the book. Level two mastery is more complex, and takes…
Memorization Madness Part 2 In part one we looked the 1st level to mastery, and talked about how much practice it should take to reach this stage. I also posted some numbers and ideas about how it relates to time spent “woodshedding”. In a nutshell, most people think to reach the 1st level (lick is…
Memorization Madness – Part 1 Your time in the practice room is extremely valuable. You should not waste it on unnecessary issues, or only “half practice”. I started my study on memorization of a particular skill by using my students as subjects. I took my own experience as well, but I asked each one the…
The Guitar Practice Routine: Some thoughts on practice routines. All players and students of all ages have their inherent strengths and weaknesses. Guitar players, in particular come in very different shapes and sizes. Some guitarists have fantastic ears, and learned everything they know without ever learning any theory, some players are the total opposite,…