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ThE A CHEMICA GUITARIST s p
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FRETBOARD SECRETS UNLOCKED! p
By Richard
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ThE A CHEMICA GUITARIST FRETBOARD SECRETS UNLOCKED! 2
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CHAPTER 1
EXPANDING YOUR PALETTE: Playing walking bass on the guitar
CHAPTER 2
RIDING SATAN’S TRITONE: How the devil’s interval makes all things possible
CHAPTER 3
STACKED THIRDS: Chord qualities and vertical strength
CHAPTER 4
AN ALCHEMY OF SWEET PATTERNS: Working with diatonic thirds, sixths and 10ths
CHAPTER 5
TRIAD ARCHIPELAGOES: Modular routing up the fretboard
CHAPTER 6 OPEN ACCESS:
Double pull-offs and hammer-ons in open position
CHAPTER 7
THE SINGLE-STRING MAGESTERIUM: Learning scale patterns one string at a time
CHAPTER 8
GETTING INTO SHAPES: The secret behind the circle of fourths/fifths progressions
CHAPTER 9
ADVANTAGE POSITION: Intervals, pedaling and chord arpeggios in positional play
CHAPTER 10
THE WAR ON ERROR: Using pentatonic bends to make your playing mistake free
CHAPTER 11 ANCHOR STEAM:
Gaining chord power with “finger anchors”
CHAPTER 12 TRIPLE PLAY:
A study in triad inversions
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EXPANDING YOUR PALETTE PLAYING WALKING BASS ON THE GUITAR CHAPTER 1
Guitarists are not usually very good bass players. Mostly they play guitar lines on the bass. But the greatest classic rock guitar players certainly knew how to play bass lines on the guitar. For example, Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression” is almost completely composed of bass lines played on the guitar, and the end of his solo in “Hey Joe” consists of bass lines. For that matter, Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” is written from a bass line developed by John Paul Jones. I could go on naming examples like these. Those of us who play guitar and perform with bassists need to respect their knowledge of the instrument, because it’s something that most of us don’t have. I want to remedy that. In this chapter of the DVD, I’m going to demonstrate a few simple tricks that bass players use when they craft bass lines, and in doing so, help you dramatically expand your guitar playing and intuition when it comes to choosing which notes to play over a given chord. In this chapter, I’m going to show you a very simple pattern developed out of chromatic “walking” bass lines, walking meaning the notes are constantly changing in a steady rhythm, usually quarter or eighth notes. If followed diligently, it can really broaden your palette and show you how to sound like a bass player when you play that instrument, rather than like a guitar player on the wrong instrument. Although some bass players, especially inexperienced young players or guitarists who pick up the bass, tend to just pedal the root notes, great bassists use all sorts of tricks and walking lines to develop interesting support for the other musicians, and if you remove all the other instruments except the drums and the bass, you can still hear the song. We’re going to take that approach with the guitar, so here we go: First, of course, we have the triads that contain the root, or tonic (1), the mediant (3) and the dominant (5) (FIGURE 1). We can play those three notes forever, along with the octave. But we can do more than that. Between the mediant and the dominant are the subdominant (4), which lives
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in the major scale, and the diminished fifth (f5), the note we add to a minor pentatonic to yield a hexatonic, or socalled “blues scale,” which reintroduces the tritone against the tonic. So from scale degree 3 we can walk straight up with our four fingers and play a chromatic run that contains the 3, 4, f5 and 5 of a given key. The octave is on the next string, and we can play it by flattening our pinkie against that string. Let’s assume that we’re playing not jazz but rock and roll, which is for the most part played in the Mixolydian mode. This mode contains a flatted seventh degree, or f7, so we can add that, giving us the standard walking bass line (FIGURE 2). To that pattern we can add the submediant (6) and leading tone (natural 7) as passing tones. This gives us another four-note chromatic thread, which ends with the octave root note of the chord. This gives us eight notes to work with, and
FIGURE 1 key of A 3fr
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THESE SIMPLE TRICKS WILL HELP YOU GREATLY EXPAND YOUR GUITAR PLAYING AND INTUITION.
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they’re extraordinarily simple to play because they use all four fingers in positional play. Plus, you can play them either up or down. Using chromatic passing tones between scale degrees 3 and 5 on one string and between 6 and 1 on the next higher string yields the pattern illustrated in FIGURE 3. To do the same thing with the IV and V chords in a I-IV-V progression, you could either shift the FIGURE 3 pattern up or down the neck or alternatively stay in the same position and make a fingering change, using the pattern shown for the IV chord in FIGURE 4. For the V chord, use the same fingering two frets, or one whole step, higher. FIGURE 5 shows a “big-picture” aerial overview of the two chromatic walking patterns from FIGURES 3 and 4 transposed to the key of A. Notice how they take up almost the entire fretboard.
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RIDING SATAN’S TRITONE
HOW THE DEVIL’S INTERVAL MAKES ALL THINGS POSSIBLE CHAPTER 2
I want to start this chapter by telling you an ancient story from the esoteric musical tradition that I follow. It’s called the story of the “Cosmic Sacrificing Satan.” It goes like this: In the beginning, God wanted to create a universe for his enjoyment. But being God, he could create only a perfect universe, which disappeared instantly; anything that is perfect has no reason to move or change and therefore is dead and— poof!—gone. God tried over and over with no luck. Finally he asked his firstborn son, Lucifer, to do him a favor: to diminish himself and become a kind of universal resistance that would prevent any created thing from ever reaching perfection. Out of his love for the Creator, Lucifer agreed and became the diminished, or “flatted,” fifth, which stands opposite the I in the cycle of fifths/fourths. Because the diminished fifth stands between the perfect fourth and perfect fifth in the major scale, it prevents any created thing from reaching perfection and is thus called
“the opposer”—or, more familiarly to us, “the devil’s interval.” We can get a good sense of how Lucifer does his job by looking at the ratios created by the intervals in the major scale:
Now I am going to say something startling: Without the devil and his interval, nothing would exist, either in music or in the universe. Without the devil, nothing would move whatsoever, and the whole universe would disappear. And then God wouldn’t be very happy! To demonstrate how this works in music, I’m going to show you tritone resolution in fourths and fifths so that you can see how this once-forbidden interval is really the force behind all musical movement. First we will go through the cycle of fourths using two notes at a time on a pair of adjacent strings tuned a perfect fourth apart. As you’ll see, tritone resolution comes through contrary motion: as we resolve the paired notes of the tritone, one note will move up while the other moves down. FIGURE 1 depicts a complete cycle of fourths starting from E on the D and G strings at the 14th and 13th frets, respectively. FIGURE 2 shows the tritone resolution sequence through the cycle of fifths, which is essentially the opposite of what we did in FIGURE 1. Notice
1:1—the tonic: perfect 2:1—the octave: perfect 3:2—the dominant, or fifth: perfect 4:3—the subdominant, or fourth: perfect 5:4—the mediant, or major third: not perfect 6:5—the minor third: not perfect, somewhat dissonant 9:8—the major second, or whole step: quite dissonant 16:15—the minor second, or half step: very dissonant 32:45—the tritone, or devil’s interval: extremely dissonant
FIGURE 1 cycle of fourths E
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FIGURE 2 cycle of fifths E
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HOW THE DEVIL’S INTERVAL MAKES ALL POSSIBLE * * THINGS * * * T CHAPTER 2 A 12 32 41 43 34 54 63 65 56 76 B in both examples how the tritone intervals alternately expand to a minor sixth and contract to a major third. To see how this applies to a specific progression, let’s take the popular I-IV-V blues form. In functional harmony, the V chords have a f7 in them. A tritone exists between the f7 and the 3 of the V chord. You can always find the tritones because they form a diagonal line across the fretboard, except between the G and B strings, where the line jumps two frets. FIGURE 3 illustrates three neck diagrams for A7, D7 and E7—the I, IV and V chords of a blues progression in the key of A, all three chords being dominant sevenths. The shaded notes show how the tritone thread extends through the chords. Notice that the threads for D7 and E7 are, respectively, one fret below and above that for A7. Notice also that none of the tritones contains the root notes of the chord, which are implied and are assumed by the listener’s brain. In the video portion that goes with this chapter, you’ll see how this knowledge can be applied. Once you get it under your own fingers, you will be, in essence, riding the devil, but without having sold your soul to anyone. Occasionally my students ask me where I got this knowledge. Sometimes I tell them that I befriended the devil and tricked him into giving me his understanding.
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STACKED THIRDS
CHORD QUALITIES AND VERTICAL STRENGTH CHAPTER 3
In this chapter, I’m going to teach you the structures of various types, or qualities, of chords and show you some exercises that have you playing them as single-note arpeggios up and down one string. The exercises will not only give you a deeper understanding of how chords are structured because of the inherent visual-aural connection, they will also help you build strength and dexterity in your fret hand by having you use multiple hammer-ons and pull-offs in combination. A triad is a three-note chord structure consisting of a root, or tonic, which we will refer to as “1,” a third and a fifth, the third and fifth being the third and fifth degrees of a seven-note diatonic scale, such as the major scale or one of the minor scales. A triad is formed by taking the first five notes of the scale and omitting the second and fourth—1(2)3(4)5. The three notes (1, 3 and 5) can be thought of as “stacked” third intervals, or simply stacked thirds. As you already know, there are two types of thirds, major and minor. Stacking them in various combinations yields four different possible triad qualities: major, consisting of a major third and a minor third stacked on top of it, minor, which is the opposite—a minor third on top of a major third— diminished, which is two consecutive minor thirds, and augmented, which is two major thirds (see FIGURE 1). In our first exercise (FIGURE 2), we will begin by ascending and descending a major arpeggio repeatedly, using the open low E string as the root note and fingering the third and fifth with the index and ring fingers (or index and pinkie) at the fourth and seventh frets, respectively, employing hammer-ons and pull-offs wherever possible. From the open string to the fourth fret is a major third, the span of four frets, and on top of that you’re adding a minor third, three frets’ distance, from the fourth fret to the seventh. Repeat this sequence several times then switch to minor. Now you have lowered your index finger to the third fret, with a four-fret span between the index finger and pinkie. From minor, we morph to diminished and a 0363 ascending/descending fret pattern. Finally we have augmented, the fret pattern being 0484.
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FIGURE 1 triads major: 1 3 5
minor: 1 3 5
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FIGURE 2 single-string triad arpeggio exercise repeat each bar several times, using hammer-ons and pull-offs wherever possible
T A B
major: M3 m3
minor: m3 M3
diminished: m3 m3
E
Em
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0 3 6 3 0 3 0 3
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FIGURE 3 single-string seventh chord arpeggio exercise
T A B
major seven: M3 m3 M3
dominant seven: M3 m3 m3
minor seven: m3 M3 m3
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E7
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0 4 7 4 0 7 10 7
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0 3 6 3 0 6 10 6
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If you play that entire exercise on each of the bottom four strings (the low E, A, D and G), you will be moving up in fourths, and your fret hand will get quite a workout. A seventh chord is formed by stacking an additional third upon a three-note triad structure, using the formula 1-3-5-7, expressed in terms of scale degrees. Similar in form to the previous exercise, FIGURE 3 is a drill that has you surveying five different types of seventh chords. Here we begin with major seventh, which is intervallically spelled 1, 3, 5, 7. As you can see, this chord quality is constructed from the interval stack major-third, minor-third, major-third, or M3-m3-M3. Next is dominant seventh, spelled 1, 3, 5, f7, its interval stack being M3-m3-m3. From there we lower the third to yield minor seventh, spelled 1, f3, 5, f7, or m3-M3-m3. Next is minor seven flatfive, also known as “half diminished seven,” spelled 1, f3, f5, f7, or m3m3-M3. The exercise concludes with (fully) diminished seven, spelled 1, f3, f5, ff7, or m3-m3-m3. This gets a little weird, because the double-flat seven is the same pitch as the sixth. A variation on this exercise would be to play each arpeggio straight up and down, tapping the top note (the seventh) with your
VERTICAL KNOWLEDGE IS A MUST FOR PLAYING CHORD INVERSIONS AND UNDERSTANDING CHORD FORMATION.
minor seven flat five: m3 m3 M3 diminished seven: m3 m3 m3
pick-hand index or middle finger. We could add the augmented chord to the end of FIGURE 3, even though it cannot be a four-note chord because the fourth note is the octave root. However, the augmented triad (see FIGURE 2) helps by harmonically pulling us toward the next key in the cycle of fourths, in this case, A We can also begin FIGURES 2 and 3 on the low E and then progress up in fourths by moving over string by string until we get to the G. We can’t go any further, however, because the next string (B) is tuned a major third higher rather than a fourth, but if we wanted to, we could begin on the B string and then move to the E, A, D and G strings. If you incorporate these exercises into your practice regimen your fret-hand strength and dexterity will increase enormously and your ear training and theory skills will receive a continual review and sharpening. This requires some thinking while in movement but it’s well worth it. In addition, you can play all of the thirds by starting on a fret other than the open string. (I demonstrate this in the video for this chapter.) This vertical knowledge is a must for playing chord inversions and understanding chord formation.
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AN ALCHEMY OF SWEET PATTERNS WORKING WITH DIATONIC THIRDS, SIXTHS AND 10THS CHAPTER 4
In the last chapter, we looked at the way in which diatonic (scale-based) thirds can be stacked to form triads and seventh chords, which we then played as arpeggios, moving up and down one string only. In this chapter, I’m going to show you the pattern structures of the intervals thirds, sixths and 10ths as they fall on pairs of strings, and in doing so, introduce you to some absolutely magical ways to think about and use them. Once you learn these structures, your musical knowledge will advance toward what is called deep functional harmony; in other words, we’re going to pack a giant punch into a group of rather simple pattern structures. This will open a huge shortcut to a vast body of musical knowledge on the guitar that otherwise might take you years to figure out… and lots of guitarists never figure this stuff out! So fasten your safety belts. Here we go.
FIGURE 1 diatonic thirds on the low
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F
THIRDS
As you recall from chapter three, there are only two types of thirds: a major third, which is two notes two whole steps apart, or the distance of four frets on a single string, and a minor third, which is two notes three frets away from one another, or the distance of a whole step and a half step (or a half step and a whole step). So if we were to take a major scale and add a third to each degree or note in the scale, we would end up with a formula like the following, with the numbers indicating the scale degrees and each dash representing a half step: 1 — — — — 3 major third 2———4 minor third 3———5 minor third 4 — — — — 6 major third 5 — — — — 7 major third 6———1 minor third 7———2 minor third Now we are going to look at the pattern structure as if we were in a helicopter, looking down at crop circle patterns in a cornfield. Unless a guitar has 24 frets, it is not long enough to enable you to see two complete one-octave patterns side by side up and down the neck. So we’re going to look at the pattern as though we’re viewing it from a great distance. Major thirds will be represented by the capital letter “M,” and minor thirds with a lowercase “m.” Looking at the patterns from this perspective gives us the following formula, which repeats in successive octaves: M m m M M m m, M m m M M m m, M m m M M m m, etc The great thing about a third is that it clearly and economically implies a chord with only two notes. Taken in context, the above formula of diatonic thirds suggests the set of diatonic triads I ii iii IV V vi viiº without the inclusion of the fifths. Take care to note and remember that the minor thirds (m) always come in pairs while the major thirds (M) can show up as either singles or pairs, and that counting from the first degree, or tonic, will produce a formula that goes major, pair of minor thirds; pair of major thirds; pair of minor thirds and then the single major third again. Instead of thinking from the one (I), we should think from the pattern, which is mostly pairs, and the consecutive pairs are all whole steps apart from one another—the half steps show up only
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzTHWA CONTINUED
AN ALCHEMY OF SWEET PATTERNS WORKING WITH DIATONIC THIRDS, SIXTHS AND 10THS CHAPTER 4 between the minor iii and major IV, and between the minor viiº and major I. Now we can arbitrarily pick a key and look at an example. (Note that as we move from thirds to sixths to 10ths, some of the shapes of the major and minor thirds will change. This can lead to some confusion because major thirds relate to minor sixths and vice versa, but we won’t worry about that for now.) I’m going to put our first example in the key of G (FIGURE 1). This fretboard pattern structure for diatonic thirds applies to all pairs of adjacent strings that are tuned in fourths; that is, E-A, A-D, D-G, and B-E. We will need a different pattern structure for the G-B pair, however, because these two strings are tuned to a major third, one half step lower than a perfect fourth. This tuning discrepancy is important because it affects the physical/visual shapes on the fretboard. When playing through FIGURE 1, don’t think about the notes so much as think about the pattern structure, or sequence—M m m M M m m. We want to learn as much as we can without introducing unnecessary cognitive dissonance. As Einstein put it, “As simple as possible, but no simpler.” FIGURE 2 illustrates the pattern structure for diatonic thirds as they lay on the string set G-B, beginning in third position in the key of Bf for comparison with the previous set of shapes depicted in FIGURE 1, which also begins in third position. You should learn each of these two fretboard patterns thoroughly and learn it as a circle, in other words, learn to start on all the different degrees of the scale: start with two pairs of minors, then with one minor followed by one major followed by the pairs, etc. In other words, learn it thoroughly in all modes.
SIXTHS
Sixths are built from the same two notes as thirds, only inverted—meaning the higher note is either transposed down an octave or the lower note is transposed up an octave—so that the third degree is now on the bottom. Intervals are named from the lowest note, so 345671 is called a sixth, but it still only contains the same two notes— the third and the one, or root. The formula for sixths going through the major scale will look like this, again with numbers indicating
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the scale degrees and the dashes representing the number of half steps: 3———————1 4—————2 5—————3 6———————4 7———————5 1—————6 2—————7 3———————1 Again, we find the same formula in terms of “major” and “minor” shapes so that the whole thing still follows the diatonic pattern M m m M M m m. However, at this point I need to disclose a little theoretical caveat that I hope won’t confuse or bewilder you, and that is that major intervals, when inverted, technically become minor intervals, and vice versa. So a major third contains the same two notes as a minor sixth, albeit in different registers, and a minor third becomes a major sixth when inverted. Now that we have that pesky theoretical disclaimer out of the way, let’s look at diatonic sixths. FIGURE 3 illustrates the fretboard pattern for diatonic sixths in the key of G on the low E and D strings. Remember that all of these pattern structures are keyindependent on the guitar, that is, they can start anywhere, and they can start anywhere within the pattern, meaning in any mode of the parent major scale. In this example I’m showing sixths in the key of G for the sake of comparison to FIGURE 1. Notice that we’re starting with the third on the lower string and the root, or I, on the higher string. Regarding right-hand technique, as each pair of notes is played on nonadjacent strings, you can either dampen the middle string with your fret hand and strum all three strings, as you would do when playing strummed octaves, or use hybrid picking, what I refer to as the “claw” technique, which entails picking the lower note with your pick while simultaneously plucking the higher note with your middle or ring finger. This pattern structure works on two string pairs, E-D, which we looked at in FIGURE 3, and A-G, shown in FIGURE 4 in the key of A. When we cross the “tuning anomaly” line of the G and B strings, the shapes change, and the following pattern structure works for the string pairs D-B and G-E, both shown beginning in third position in FIGURES 5 and 6.
TENTHS
A GRASP OF DEEP FUNCTIONAL HARMONY WILL OPEN A SHORTCUT TO A VAST BODY OF MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE.
Tenths are just like thirds but with the higher note, the third, transposed up an octave: 1234567123. As this represents a distance of 10 scale degrees, it’s called a 10th. The first pattern structure I’m going to show you for 10ths only works on one string pair, the low E and G, because the notes can only be played three strings apart, and after this we encounter the G-B string tuning anomaly. I will demonstrate this pattern once again in the key of G (see FIGURE 7), beginning in third position, but remember that it works from anywhere on this string pair. As there are now two unused strings between each pair of notes, you’ll need to use the “claw” technique to play 10ths. Note that the formula for 10ths follows the same formula as thirds: M m m M M m m. The other pattern structure for 10ths works on the string pairs A-B and D-high E. FIGURE 8 depicts the pattern on the A and B strings in the key of C, beginning in third position for comparison with the previous set of shapes. The physical pattern is identical on the D and high E strings, and played in this same position gives you 10ths in the key of F (see FIGURE 9). When it comes to functional harmony, thirds, sixths and 10ths serve essentially the same purpose. They’re just different ways of playing the degree tones 1 and 3 (or f3) and implying diatonic triads. Now we can really start to have some fun. First of all, consider the textural and emotional qualities of the three different interval types. Thirds, as they are played on adjacent strings, sound “tight” and “solid.” A well-known example of thirds is the intro lick to Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.” Sixths, with an unused string and a fairly wide gap between the two constituent notes, have the third on the bottom and impart a somewhat “romantic” feeling. You can hear sixths a lot in blues and country, and in practically every Dylan song from his early electric period. Steve Cropper’s signature intro guitar lick in the Sam and Dave classic “Soul Man” is a prime example of sixths. Finally, we have 10ths, in which the tonic and its third are separated by an octave with two empty strings between them. This builds on the romance of sixths for something achingly “wistful.” That’s why 10ths are used to such great effect in the Beatles’ “Blackbird.”
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x
TRIAD ARCHIPELAGOES MODULAR ROUTING UP THE FRETBOARD CHAPTER 5
»
surprisingly far simpler and clearer than one would imagine. In this chapter’s lesson, we’re going to work with triads, which come in four qualities: major, minor, diminished and augmented. Numerically, or intervallically, they are spelled as follows, with the dots representing the number of half steps between adjacent tones:
IF YOU DON’T KNOW what an
arpeggio is, don’t feel too bad. When I was younger I called it an “archipelago,” which is a small string of islands! No matter how I tried, I just could not get the word “arpeggio” to come out of my mouth. There was a certain amount of poetry in my error, however, as an arpeggio is simply the intervallic degrees, or “islands,” of a chord, played as single notes, one after the other. In this chapter, I’m going to show you some ways of playing arpeggios up and down the fretboard that will not only make shredders shudder in delight but also introduce beginners and intermediate players to a methodology of thinking and visualization that is
major minor diminished augmented
FIGURE 1 illustrates how these four triads lay on the fretboard as arpeggios. You will see that each arpeggio shape incorporates two adjacent strings;
FIGURE 1 root-position arpeggios a) F major (numbers in circles indicate chord tones) 1fr
5fr
1•••• 3•••5 1•••f3••••5 1•••f3•••f5 1•••• 3••••s5
7fr
THIS WILL INTRODUCE YOU TO A WAY OF PLAYING ARPEGGIOS THAT IS SIMPLE AND CLEAR.
b) F minor 9fr
1fr
3fr
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9fr *
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&
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c) F diminished 1fr
since the guitar has six strings, you could play each shape three times starting at each octave, or root note. This will require positional jumping of the index finger on the way up. On the way down, whatever finger is used to fret the top note, be it the middle or ring, leads through three octaves. Remember that these shapes are movable—they’re the same shapes no matter what keys they’re in. This approach is intervallic, so forget the musical alphabet for the time being. On guitar, one should learn by pattern, number and degree, and the alphabet can come later. Now we’re going to learn these same arpeggios in second inversion, starting each one from the “5.” This will place the root note on the second, or higher,
d) F augmented 3fr
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9 GUITAR DVD &
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c) F diminished 1fr
CONTINUED
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TRIAD ARCHIPELAGOES (
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& ( MODULAR ROUTING UP THE FRETBOARD
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FIGURE 2 second-inversion arpeggios a) Bmajor 3fr
b) Bminor
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FIGURE 3 Django Reinhardt fingering a) G major > = index B =middle 3fr
5fr
7fr
9fr
b) G minor 12fr
> B
15fr
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7fr
B
B
>
c) G diminished 7fr
9fr
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B
12fr
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>
> B
>
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>
string of each pair (see FIGURE 2). Except for the diminished, which has a shape that takes some getting used to, this is fairly simple. The augmented is easy if you just use two fingers, as demonstrated in the video that accompanies this chapter, but you probably won’t use the augmented arpeggio much in ordinary play. In fact, in playing up the diatonic chord scales by arpeggio, you will only need the major, minor and diminished, because
>
>
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B
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15fr
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10 GUITAR DVD
> B
d) G augmented
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9fr
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B
the major chord scale follows the formula: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished. As you can see, this whole approach to arpeggio playing requires quick jumps of the hand and wrist position. But there’s a lot you can do with it, some of which I demonstrate in the video portion. There are several other ways you can play the arpeggios, but this is the simplest and easiest to understand, as you have the full arpeggios on two
strings, making them easy to stack up. Finally, in FIGURE 3 I show you a method of playing all four arpeggios using only the first two fingers, à la the great Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, who, due to a hand injury, could use only two fingers. I have included arrows in FIGURE 3 to designate movement of the middle finger. These shapes and fingerings are incredibly fun and useful once you get the knack of them.
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y »
OPEN ACCESS
DOUBLE PULL-OFFS AND HAMMER-ONS IN OPEN POSITION CHAPTER 6
IN THIS CHAPTER, we’re going
to look at pull-offs and hammer-ons, in particular double pull-offs and hammer-ons played in open position, and using the nut. I’ve employed these techniques a great deal in my own work, as have Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Danny Gatton, many old blues guitarists and, to a lesser extent, shredders and metal players. These exercises will strengthen your fret hand and improve finger coordination. They will also give your fingers a thorough workout, as you have to really dig into the strings to execute them. Hammer-ons require that you give the strings a hard tap, while for pull-offs you must pull, or “snap,” the string in toward your palm as you let go of it. Back when I was perfecting these techniques, I would perform pull-offs and hammer-ons until I got blisters on my fingers. These eventually grew into calluses, which then developed large dents. I suggest that you make pull-offs and hammerons a regular part of your practice regimen, using the exercises in this chapter as a foundation. But be careful to not overdo it—the goal is not to hurt yourself, but rather to gain the benefits of strength, coordination, speed, dexterity and endurance. Let’s begin with pull-offs performed on the high E string. Simultaneously place your ring finger at the third fret and pre-position your index finger at the first fret. Pick the string to sound the third-fret note, then “snap” your ring finger off the fretboard by pulling the string slightly sideways, in toward the palm, as you remove your finger. Done properly, this pull-off will keep the string vibrating and sound the note at the first fret. Then pull your index finger off the first fret with another aggressive downward/inward snap to allow the open string to sound. This snapping motion, in which the fretting finger essentially re-plucks the string, is critical to the pull-off technique, as it keeps the string vibrating enough to give the next note sufficient volume. If you were to just lift the finger directly off the string, the next note would be barely audible. I usually call this exercise “Figaro,” because if you do it properly you should be able to chant “Fi-ga-ro, Figa-ro, Fi-ga-ro,” as you play the three notes of the double pull-off repeatedly. The phrase should be played as a rolling triplet.
11 GUITAR DVD
The tablature for this exercise is extraordinarily simple (see FIGURE 1). Once you have this exercise under your fingers, practice it on the other strings using the same 3-1-0 fingering, as shown in FIGURE 2. You’ll notice that what you’re playing is not a proper scale, but that’s okay, because you’re just practicing the mechanics of the double-pull-off here. Now let’s look at double hammerons. In our next exercise (FIGURE 3), double hammer-ons are performed by picking the open string and then quickly tapping, or slapping, your frethand index finger down onto the string at the first fret, followed immediately by your fret-hand ring finger tapping at the third fret. Hammer down as firmly as you can so that the two hammered notes are heard at the same volume as the picked open-string note. So far we haven’t concerned ourselves with playing proper scales with hammer-ons and pull-offs. Let’s do that now. Looking at the cycle of fourths/fifths, we see that there are only three major keys that use all six open strings in them: C, D and G. All
FIGURE 1 double pull-offs exercise
T A B
3 1 0 3 1 0 3 1 0 3 1 0
5fr 3
C
etc.
3
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FIGURE 2
FIGURE 3
double pull-offs across the neck
double hammer-ons across the neck
310
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G 5fr 5fr
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double pull-offs in G major 0 2 3
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310
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FIGURE 9
7fr pull-offs 9fr in D major double
double hammer-ons in D major
T A7fr B7fr
3
320 9fr4 2 0 420 9fr 4 2 0 3
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FIGURE 7
FIGURE 8 320
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7fr hammer-ons 9fr double in G major
3
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double hammer-ons in C major
FIGURE 6 7fr
3
0 1 3
FIGURE 5
9fr
310
0 1 3 T 0 1 3 A 0 1 3 B013013
3
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double pull-offs in C major
T A B
1fr
THESE ARE TECHNIQUES THAT JIMMY PAGE, JEFF BECK, MANY OLD BLUES GUITARISTS AND EVEN SHREDDERS AND METAL PLAYERS USE.
3
5fr
the other major keys have accidentals that prevent you from pulling off to, and hammering on from, an open string. For example, the key of F major contains Bf, and the key of A major contains Gs. FIGURES 4-9 illustrate openposition double pull-offs and hammerons played across the strings in the keys of C, G and D major. Note that in each case the note B is played twice in a row, first on the open second string and then on the G string’s fourth fret, or vice versa. Keep in mind that the patterns I’ve shown you for these three major scales/keys also work for their relative natural minor keys, namely A minor, B minor and E minor, as well as their relative modes, for example G Mixolydian, E Dorian and C Lydian. On the video portion of this chapter, I demonstrate how to play pull-offs and hammer-ons in these keys, as well as in others that use accidentals. You’ll find that, once you know how these techniques look and sound, you’ll start to recognize them in much of the music you listen to.
3 2 0 3
0 2 3 T 0 2 4 A 0 2 4 0 2 4 B023 3
3
3
3
3
0 2 3
3
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n »
THE SINGLE-STRING MAGISTERIUM LEARNING SCALE PATTERNS, ONE STRING AT A TIME CHAPTER 7
IN THIS CHAPTER, we’re going
FIGURE 1 the major scale and its modes
to return to the idea of using a Ionian & single string not only as a way (major) to learn major and pentatonic scale formations, but also to Dorian FIGURE 1 ' lay the foundation of chordal Ionian structure. Due to the manner in which & (major) Phrygian the guitar is tuned—in perfect fourths, ( except for the second and third strings, Dorian ' B and G, which are tuned a major third Lydian ) apart—whenever you play a scale using more than one string, some of the Phrygian ( Mixolydian intervals in the scale formula become * invisible as you cross strings. Lydian ) The only way to see the complete, Aeolian + unbroken formula for a scale pattern (natural minor) is to play it on a single string. The Mixolydian * ancients had a particular instrument , Locrian for doing this: the monochord, a Aeolian + single-string device with movable (natural minor) FIGURE 2 frets, as on a sitar, on which one could measure ratios and distances. Since the ,& first mode Locrian major scale contains seven arithmetic (major pent) modes, and there are 12 keys, learning FIGURE 2 second mode ' the major scale thoroughly yields an understanding of 84 regular scales, in first mode & all the modes, both major and minor. (major pent) third mode ( The pentatonic scale, whether major or second mode ' minor, is a five-note scale. Of necessity, fourth mode * it must contain five modes, starting from each of the five notes; since there third mode ( are 12 keys, learning the pentatonic fifth mode + scale thoroughly yields knowledge of (minor pent) fourth mode 60 pentatonic scales. Thus, learning * the 84 major scales and the 60 FIGURE 3 pentatonic scales yields knowledge of a fifth mode + staggering 144 regular scales. (minormajor pent) & In actuality, however, you need to learn just two scales: the major scale FIGURE 3 and the major pentatonic scale. minor & All the other scales can be derived major & from these. diminished & To review, the formula for the major scale is whole step, whole step, minor & half step, whole step, whole step, augmented & whole step, half step—or W W H W diminished & W W H—and this pattern continues FIGURE 4 infinitely in successive octaves. This is spelled, intervallically, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. augmented && major seven The natural minor scale is the Aeolian mode, which starts from the sixth FIGURE 4 degree of the major scale and gives dominant seven & you 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 (W H W W H W W). major seven & FIGURE 1 presents a useful way to minor seven & learn and review all seven modes of the major scale up and down a single seven & minordominant seven flat-five string, with each mode starting at the (half-diminished seven)
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12 GUITAR DVD
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THE SINGLE-STRING MAGISTERIUM
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LEARNING SCALE PATTERNS, ONE STRING AT A TIME * +
third mode ( fourth mode CHAPTER 7*
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dominant seven minor seven minor seven minor seven flat-five (half-diminished seven) minor seven flat-five (half-diminished seven) diminished seven diminished seven
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first fret. You will notice here that I have indicated the scale degrees as they relate to each mode’s relative major scale. The formula for a major pentatonic scale is W W m3 W m3 and is spelled, intervallically, 1 2 3 5 6 1. The relative minor pentatonic scale starts from the sixth degree of major pentatonic: 6 1 2 3 5 6 (m3 W W m3 W). FIGURE 2 illustrates the pentatonic scale and each of its modes played up and down a single string. Both scales are diatonic—that is, each is comprised of just two types of intervals. The major scale contains only whole steps and half steps, and the pentatonic scale has only whole steps and minor thirds.
13 GUITAR DVD
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major seven dominant seven
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FIGURE 4 seventh chord qualities &
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Chords also feature just two types of intervals, major and minor thirds, which are stacked atop one another. Triads are made up of three notes: the tonic (a.k.a. the root), the third, which can be major or minor, and the fifth, which can be perfect, diminished or augmented. Each combination of these interval types yields a different triad quality, of which there are four possible ones, all of which are illustrated on a single string in FIGURE 3. They are, in order shown, major, minor (f3), diminished (f3 and f5) and augmented (s5). Now let’s look at seventh chords, which are the four-note chords made up of the odd scale degrees within one octave. FIGURE 4 shows
& & &
YOU NEED TO LEARN JUST TWO SCALES: THE MAJOR SCALE AND THE MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE. ALL OTHER SCALES CAN BE DERIVED FROM THESE.
& &
the five most common seventh chord qualities. To practice this study, I advocate using only one finger and sliding it up and down any given string following each formula. To learn all the regular scales and most commonly used chord qualities, you need to know only four intervals: half steps, whole steps, minor thirds and major thirds. Playing them on a single string is the only way to avoid the invisibility of intervals and gain a complete grasp of this concept. Remember that many famous players spent some time learning on a single string: Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Magic Sam… The list goes on. Let it include you.
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u »
GETTING INTO SHAPES
THE SECRET BEHIND THE CIRCLE OF FOURTHS/FIFTHS PROGRESSIONS CHAPTER 8
IN CHAPTER FOUR of my first
DVD, The Alchemical Guitarist: Fretboard Secrets Unlocked, we looked at the five-chord cycle, which consists of the chords E, A, D, G and C, played in that order, forward and backward—that is, through the cycle of fourths (forward) and fifths (backward). I also demonstrated how you can barre the open shapes of these chords and move them up and down the fretboard to play every other major chord in a five-chord cycle of fourths and fifths. In this chapter I’m going to show you how to create minor chord shapes in the same way. Then we’ll look at how to use the cycle of fourths and fifths to create perfect progressions, in particular the ii-V-I, which is perhaps the most important and famous progression in jazz, and also in almost every style of Western music. This is because the ii-V-I progression follows the deepest law of music and allows the greatest changes in chord tonality within the shortest distance in the cycle of fourths and fifths. Let’s begin by reviewing the five major chord shapes in open position (FIGURE 1) and their movable barred forms (FIGURE 2). Now let’s take these movable shapes from FIGURE 2 and flat all the thirds to create minor voicings, shown in third position in FIGURE 3. You will notice that the first three shapes are barred, but the last two—the “Gm” and “Cm” shapes—are not. That’s because these two voicings have more than one flatted third in them and do not lend themselves to barre chord form. As a result, we have to abandon some of the strings to play them. The “Gm” shape is in first inversion, meaning the third is the lowest note in the voicing. The “Cm” shape is the most difficult to finger, due to a rather wide pinkie stretch. For now, you may find it easier to play it in the higher positions where the frets are closer together. Once you have these minor triad shapes in hand, practice playing them through the cycle of fourths and fifths, forward and back, up and down the fretboard. Now let’s have a quick refresher in the cycle of fourths/fifths (FIGURE 4). It’s here that we will see the reason for all of our work. We can take any three chords for this example, but I’ll take E,
FIGURE 1 fingerings for chords in open position E A D G
23 1 or 3 4 2
234
132 or 2 4 3
21 or 3 2
FIGURE 2 fingerings for barred shapes E shape A shape D shape (F) (B) (E)
134 211
112341
11 243
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3fr.
134 211
3fr.
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E >
321114
143121
Gm shape (Bm)
3fr.
11 342
21444
B K
G/F ^^
D K>>
G >>>
k^ D/C
^^^ A/G
C K>
>> F
K B/A
k^^ E/D
1 2
C shape (D)
FIGURE 4 the cycle of fourths and fifths A >K
32 or 4 3
3 4
G shape (A)
a FIGURE 3 moveable minor shapes Em shape Am shape Dm shape (Gm) (Cm) (Fm)
C
Cm shape (Em) 3fr.
3fr.
4213
FIGURE 2 fingerings for barred shapes
a b cE dshape e f g hAi jklD mshape n o p q Grshape s t u v Cw shape xyzTHWA shape FIGURE 1 fingerings for chords in open position (B)D E (F) A G (E)
(A)
C
CONTINUED
(D)
GETTING INTO SHAPES
THE2 SECRET BEHIND PROGRESSIONS 2 3THE 4 CIRCLE OF 1 3FOURTHS/FIFTHS 2 21 3 1 3 32 1 3 2 4 or 4 3 2 or 2 4 3 or or 3 4 2 CHAPTER 8
FIGURE 2 fingerings for barred shapes 134 211 112341 11 243 E shape A shape D shape G shape C shape A and D. If E is the I, then A is the IV beauty of it will become obvious. Thus, (B)everything (E) (A) progression— (D) and D(F) is the fVII. If I move we have a five-chord
FIGURE 3 moveable minor shapes Em shape Am shape Dm shape (Gm) (Cm) (Fm)
321114
one space “counterclockwise” through three minors followed by two majors— the cycle, then A is the I, D is the IV that resolves itself at the tonic, which and E is the V. If I move it all one is the second major chord of the more space counterclockwise, then D progression. is the I, A is the V and E becomes the So why can’t we start with the viiº ii—a Em. a3six-chord 1 3minor 4 2 1chord, 1 1 1Thus, 2 3 4we 1 have 1 1 and 2 4 create 3 2 1 1 1 4progression? 143121 achieved a change in chord quality. This is because the viiº is a diminished Looking at the cycle, we see that, triad (1 f3 f5), and there is too great FIGURE 3 moveable in minor shapes moving counterclockwise, fourths, a change in chordal quality between weEm haveshape three minors in ashape row—iii, Dm shape it and the iii.Gm In fact, the reason why Am shape Cm shape vi and ii—followed by two majors, V our five-chord progression works so (Gm) (Cm) (Fm) (Bm) (Em) and I. In the key of C this progression well is because there is no change would be Em Am Dm G C. Once you in chord quality from the iii to the 3fr. the natural3fr. 3fr.ii; the change comes 3fr. from 3fr. play this progression, vi to the
3fr.
134 211 134 211
3fr.
3fr.
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11 342
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FIGURE theof fourths cycleand of fifths fourths FIGURE 4 the 4 cycle A >K D K>>
E >
A >K
B K
E >
G/F ^^
^^^ A/G >> F
K B/A
k^ D/C
k^^ E/D
^^^ A/G
C K> >> F
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and fifths
k^ D/C
C K>
G >>>
APPRECIATE THE DEPTH 3fr. OF THE CYCLE OF FOURTHS AND FIFTHS. 21444
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GmTHESE shape SHAPES WILL (Bm) HELP YOU
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143121 the ii to the V, which is major. So it is within the ii–V–I progression that the greatest chordal changes occur. This is the reason why this progression is so important in music. As soon as you hear the changes over this progression, you will recognize them—or something close to them—in just about every tune you come across. If you follow these two cycles, not only will your chord playing facility increase but you will also begin to see and appreciate the depth of the cycle of fourths and fifths, as well as understand why I use it as the backbone to everything I teach.
Cm shape (Em)
3fr.
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w »
ADVANTAGE POSITION
INTERVAL STUDIES, PEDALING AND CHORD ARPEGGIOS IN POSITIONAL PLAY CHAPTER 9
IN THIS CHAPTER, I’m going
which will help to strengthen your fretting fingers. In addition, we will concentrate on vertical movement within positional play. Note that when playing in position, there should be no movement of the wrist whatsoever, and each of your fingers should be assigned to one fret within the position. You can practice this methodology in any position, key or mode. For these examples, I’ve chosen fifth position and the key of A major, using the A major scale (A B Cs D E Fs Gs). FIGURE 1 shows the intervals written out in tablature. Be sure to play each pattern forward then backward, as indicated. Remember that the key of A major is arbitrary—this works anywhere on the fretboard with any scale or mode. While you may feel discomfort from learning to barre with all four of your fingers, the benefits of strength will come with time and practice. Our second positional play exercise
to show you three methods for practicing interval studies, using what is known as “positional play,” or what we commonly call “the boxes.” Though I’ve spent a lot of time discussing ways in which to get your playing out of the boxes, positional play is useful and necessary as it enables you to access a wealth of notes without ever having to move your fretting hand out of one position. In the first portion of this lesson, we’ll study intervals by playing through thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths and octaves in a single position. (We’ll skip major second intervals because they often appear on the same string, and thus playing them adequately requires you to shift position, which is not allowed in this lesson.) An advantage to this method is that you must barre across two or three strings,
IF YOU WORK AT THESE EXERCISES, YOU WILL START TO DISCOVER MANY MAGICAL TRICKS UNDER YOUR FINGERS.
(play each sequence forward, then backward)
FIGURE 1 A major scale, fifth position
a) thirds
5
4
7
* 4
5
7
6
5 4 7 5
4
7
5
4
4
5 6
7
7
6
4 7 6
c) fifths
5
5
4
4
6 4 7 6
7
5
7
4 7
4
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5
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4
6
6
7
6 5
7 7
4 4
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5 7
4
7
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5
4
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7
b) fourths
5
5
5 4
4
7 6
5 4
7
7
* 4
7 4
5
4
6
7
7 4
4
6 7
4
4
7
6
5
7
4
7
f) octaves
4
7 5
6 4
7
6
6
7
7
*tritone interval
d) sixths
5
e) sevenths
7 5
* 4
4
5
7 5
7
6
7 7
4
7 4
5 6
5 7
FIGURE 2 pedaling
a)
ascending
16 GUITAR DVD 5 7 5
4
5
5
5
7
4 5
6 5
5
7
b)
7
4
7
5
7
7
4 7
6 7
4
7 7
7
c)
4 5 4 7 4
4
4
6
4
7
4 4
6 4
(play each sequence forward, then backward)
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzTHWA FIGURE 1 A major scale, fifth position
CONTINUED
a) thirds
4
5
7
* 5
7
4
6
7
6 4 7 6
7
6
7
7
5
5
4 7 6
c) fifths
5
5
ADVANTAGE POSITION 4
4
5 4 7 5
4
*
4 7
4
6
5
4
7
6
4
7
5
7
6
4
7 5
7
4
involves pedaling, or “oblique motion,” in which the notes of a scale or melody move against, or alternate with, a stationary or reiterated note. The result sounds very baroque—not surprising, as this was a technique favored by composers like J.S. Bach. FIGURE 2 involves pedaling up from every degree across on octaves and then down the same way. You may find going down more difficult because it requires that you barre your finger and then remove the barre for the subsequent note. For our third and last exercise of this chapter, we’ll play through ascending and descending three-note triad chord–scale arpeggios in position, as shown in FIGURE 3. Because we cannot complete two octaves in this single position, the final three-note arpeggios will require position shifting. If you work at these exercises, you will start to discover all sorts of magical tricks under your fingers. In addition to being useful in rock and roll, the movements shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 sound quite beautiful and “classical.” I hope you enjoy playing them as much as I do.
6
6
7
5
7
4 4
6
7
5
5
7
4
7
6
5
6
7
5
5
4
7
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7 4
7
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6 7
4
4
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4
7 5
6 4
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5
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7 5
7
4
7 4
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7
6
f) octaves
6
*tritone interval
d) sixths
5
INTERVAL STUDIES, PEDALING AND CHORD ARPEGGIOS IN POSITIONAL PLAY e) sevenths CHAPTER 9 4 5 4 5
4
7
4
7
b) fourths
5
7
6
5 7
FIGURE 2 pedaling
a)
ascending
4
5 7 5
5
5
4
7
5
5
6 5
5
d) 4
5 7 5
5
6
4
7
5
5
6 5
5
4
j) 4
4
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4 7
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4 4
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f)
4 6 4 7 4
4
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4
descending i) 5 4 5 5 5 7 5
7
4
5
5 4
5
7
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5 4
5
7
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p) 7
7 4
l) 5
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7
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n)
4
6
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4 5 4 7 4
7
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5
7
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4
7
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k) 7 5 7
o) 4
7
7
h)
4
6
4
7
m) 7
4
7
c)
4
e)
7
g)
6 7 6
7
b)
7
7
7
5
7
4
7 7
7
5
FIGURE 3 chord-scale triads in position
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A
5
Bm
4 7 3
7
C#m
5 3
4
4 7 3
D 6
5
E 4 7 3
7
F#m 6 3
4
4 7 3
G#º 6
6
4 7
3
A 7
Bm 6
3
5
4 7
3
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6
5
3
4
D 7
7
3
5
E 5
4 7
3
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G#º
7
9
5 9
3
7 10
3
A 10
9 12
3
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k »
THE WAR ON ERROR
USING PENTATONIC BENDS TO MAKE YOUR PLAYING MISTAKE FREE CHAPTER 10
The technique discussed in this chapter is exceedingly simple. The story behind it goes back to my earliest days of playing the guitar, in New York City in the 1960’s. My best friend, Velvert Turner, was studying under Jimi Hendrix, and he and I would get together to practice the things that Jimi had shown him. In the process, I figured out a way to play a pentatonic scale in three octaves using only the index and ring fingers in a diagonal pattern that slides up the fretboard one whole step every other string, beginning with three notes on the low E string and two on the A. I’ve shown you this “3+2” pattern before, so you should recognize it in FIGURE 1. The long, curved arrows connecting the notes indicate finger slides, with the ring finger sliding on the way up and the index sliding on the descent. At the time, it was more important for me to avoid playing wrong notes than it was for me to learn how to play right notes. In the process of discovering this pattern, I found places within it where it was possible to perform a bend—whole step, half step or microtonal—that would never sound out of key. This magic bend spot occurs at the major second—the second note within the pentatonic pattern shown in FIGURE 1, as indicated by the short, upward-pointing arrow. (When bending with the ring finger, support it with the middle finger or the middle and index. Doing so will give you more strength with which to pull or push the string and thus better pitch control.) FIGURE 2 illustrates a similar and equally useful pattern. Here you start with only two notes on the low E string, play three on the A, via a finger slide, then repeat the same “2+3” five-note shape through three octaves. In this case, the fourth note of the repeating form, which again is the major second of the scale, will be the note you can bend. Guitarists sometimes struggle for years and never see this entire diagonal pattern, especially if they have been taught “the boxes.” I was fortunate that I didn’t learn this way, and never used a book to learn theory. Hell, my best friend was Jimi Hendrix’s protégé! What did I need a book for? Instead, Velvert and I practiced these diagonal patterns. Best of all, since only the index and ring fingers are used, the
18 GUITAR DVD
pinkie is free to play the next string so that you get riffs like the one shown in FIGURE 3. Next, we discovered diagonal patterns employing minor thirds, and again using only the index and ring fingers. The ascending pattern depicted in FIGURE 4, which I’ve shown you before, is based on a “3+2” form consisting entirely of minor thirds and whole steps and is spelled m3-W-W-m3-W. FIGURE 5 shows the descending pattern, which is a little different, with the index finger sliding down on the higher string of the pattern in each octave. FIGURES 6 and 7 illustrate ascending and descending “2+3” patterns for a fifthstring root pentatonic scale. Notice that all the minor thirds are surrounded by whole steps and therefore can be bent up a whole
FIGURE 1 G major pentatonic ( 3fr
SOON YOU’LL BE FLYING UP AND DOWN THE FRETBOARD, ASSURED OF MAKING NO MISTAKES.
FIGURE 2 C major pentatonic
= root)
5fr
7fr
step. Furthermore, if you slide up a whole step from the minor third, that note can also be bent a whole step. I demonstrate this in the video. The beauty of these patterns is that once you’ve learned them, they can be used over any music you hear, even if you’ve unfamiliar with the tune or don’t know what key it’s in. Simply place your fingers on the guitar and start hunting around for notes. Once you find which notes you can bend or slide, you can use them to bring an “off” note up to pitch, and within a few seconds of playing this way you’ll find a couple of correct notes from which you can determine the key center. Soon you’ll be flying up and down the fretboard, assured of making absolutely no mistakes. That’s the magic of this system—all the slides or bends are whole steps.
9fr
3fr
12fr
5fr
7fr
9fr
12fr
FIGURE 3 hold bend
G
T A B
3
5
7
3
3
5
7
3
5
7
9
3
3
7
9
3
10
8
10
3(+2)
FIGURE 4 G minor pentatonic, ascending 3fr
5fr
7fr
9fr
FIGURE 6 C minor pentatonic, ascending 3fr
5fr
7fr
12fr
4
10 (10)
8
3(+2)
FIGURE 5 G minor pentatonic, descending 3fr
5fr
7fr
9fr
FIGURE 7 C minor pentatonic, descending 9fr
3fr
5fr
7fr
12fr
9fr
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q »
ANCHOR STEAM
GAINING CHORD POWER WITH “FINGER ANCHORS” CHAPTER 11
IN THIS CHAPTER, I’m going
to take one particular set of chords and show you how to quickly and easily learn all the possible inversions, so that you can move up and down the neck without having to do a lot of thinking about the chord structure or where to put your fingers. We’re going to use dominant seventh chords for this study, which are fournote chords, intervallically spelled 1 3 5 f7. Dominant seventh chords are referred to by a letter name followed by the number 7, for example, A7. FIGURE 1 is a fretboard diagram illustrating four different fingering positions and shapes for an A7 chord (theoretically spelled A Cs E G) on the top four strings. Each shape is a different voicing, or stacking, of the chord tones: Root-position means the root is the lowest note, and first-, second- and third-inversion signify that the third, fifth or seventh are the lowest note, respectively. Among these four shapes, or “grips,” there are two of what I call “anchor fingerings” that enable you to conveniently alternate between two adjacent shapes. The first anchor, shown in FIGURE 2, involves barring the index finger across the top four strings to play both the second and third inversions. All that is required after that is to shift the barre up or down three frets and add the middle finger (or ring, if you prefer) one fret above it on either the high E string or the G. When the added finger is on the high E string, the chord is in second inversion, and when you shift the barre up three frets and move the added finger over to the G string you get the third-inversion shape. To get these grips under your fingers, practice toggling back and forth between them several times. FIGURE 3 depicts the second anchor fingering, which provides a finger-friendly way to alternate between the root-position and first-inversion voicings. Here we’re
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FIGURE 1 A7
3rd inv. 5fr
2nd inv. 3fr
FIGURE 3 A7
root pos. 7fr
1
3
5 1 ¢7 3
2
4 3
1
2
4 3
1
2
3rd inv.
12fr
1
1
3
FIGURE 4 A7
5
1
2(or 3)
2
4 3
starting in root position, with the index finger on the D string. In this case, it is the ring finger and pinkie that collectively serve as an anchor on the G and high E strings. As you can see, to play the first-inversion voicing, you slide these two fingers up three frets while the index and middle fingers trade strings, the index jumping from the D to the B and the middle moving from the B to the D. Once you get the hang of these two anchor moves you’ll see that they’re a lot of fun to use and that they bring incredible versatility and nuance to the dominant-seven chord quality, especially if you’re playing a progression in which you’re called upon to vamp for a couple of bars or longer. This finger-anchor technique also works with another string set, the low E, D, G and B, as illustrated in FIGURE 4. Note that in this case it’s imperative to damp the A string with the fretting fingers as you strum the bottom five strings. Here we’ll start with the second inversion, meaning that the fifth of the chord is on the bottom, in this case at the 12th fret.
3fr 3 1 5
1
1
¢7 3 1 5
¢7
1
1st inv.
9fr ¢7
5
5
3
3rd inv. 5fr
3fr
12fr 1
¢7
¢7
2(or 3)
2nd inv.
9fr 3
5
1
FIGURE 2 A7
1st inv.
1
¢7 3 1 5
fingering:
root pos. 7fr
4 3
5 3 ¢7
1
root pos. 5fr
2(or 3)
1st inv. 7fr
5
2nd inv.
1
2
3 2 1
12fr 1
¢7 5
¢7
1
¢7
2(or 3)
9fr
3
¢7
1
3 3
4
1
2
The anchor fingers are the ring and pinkie again, with the index and middle fingers flipping as the entire form moves down three frets to the first-inversion shape. The other two inversions shown in FIGURE 4, the root position and third inversion, can’t be linked so easily, unless you use the thumb to fret the low E string for the rootposition shape, which some people have trouble doing, and barre the index finger across the D, G and B strings. The third inversion, however, is particularly interesting because the middle finger can be used on either E string. (Compare the first chords in FIGURES 1 and 4.) I use this to great effect in the song “Big Hole” on my most recent CD, The Radiant Monkey. So here you have a very common chord type—dominant seven—that is used in rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country blues and blues of all kinds. Taking that perky major seven and “flattening” it so that it is a dominant seven is done in almost every kind of popular music except jazz. And even jazz includes it half the time.
4 3
5 1
2
4 3
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g »
TRIPLE PLAY
A STUDY IN TRIAD INVERSIONS CHAPTER 12
IN THIS FINAL CHAPTER,
we’re going to look at triads and learn their inversions by following, as always, the cycle of fourths and fifths. But before we begin, let me stress the difference between triads and chords. A triad consists of three notes, whereas a chord can contain three or more notes. For example, barre chords typically employ all six strings of the guitar. For this lesson, we’re going to focus specifically on triads, and as you will see, each can be found within fret-hand shapes that are already familiar to you. There are four different triad qualities: major, minor, diminished and augmented. The most significant are major and minor. Ultimately, you should learn them all, but I this chapter we’ll focus on only the major and minor triads. Once you learn them, you’ll find you’re able to play an astonishing variety of triad patterns that are very different from barre chords. Triads consist of the tonic, the mediant and the dominant, or as we commonly refer to them, the 1, the 3 and the 5. These can be in three different inversions: root position (1-3-5), first inversion (3-5-1) and second inversion (5-1-3). Triads are sounded by playing notes on three strings. If you look at each trio of adjacent strings, you’ll see that, intervallicly, there are three different types of groups, or string sets: the first consists of the low E, A and D strings, which are tuned in fourths, as is the neighboring set consisting of A, D and G; the second type contains the D, G and B strings, which are tuned a fourth and a third apart, respectively; and the third type consists of the G, B and high E strings, which are tuned a third and a fourth apart, respectively. Thus, we have nine shapes: three inversions for each of the three different types of string sets. I have written them out for you in tablature, starting with the high E, B and G string set (FIGURE 1) and
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followed by the B, G and D string set (FIGURE 2). The third set (FIGURE 3) is written on the G, D and A strings and is exactly the same as the D, A and low E set. If you follow the instructions you will find it very easy to play these shapes. You can seesaw back and forth between two or three of them, or just work your way up the fretboard. The most important thing is to move alphabetically in fourths or fifths. Now, let’s look at the minor sets.
FIGURE 4 presents the shapes for the high E, B and G string set. FIGURE 5 shows them for the B, G and D string set, and FIGURE 6 illustrates the shapes for the G, D and A set, which will work as well for the D, A and low E string set. If you understand this lesson and follow it correctly, you will find yourself in possession of a serious knowledge of the fretboard, and in command of a brand-new approach to what otherwise might be tired old chords.
FIGURE 1 E
A
D
G
C
F
B¨
E¨
A¨
C#
F#
E
A
D
G
C
F
B¨
E¨
A¨
C#
F#
B
E
0 1 2
2 2 2
3 2 4
3 4 5
5 5 5
6 5 7
6 7 8
8 8 8
9 8 10
9 10 11
11 11 11
12 11 13
12 13 14
E
A
D
G
C
F
B¨
E¨
A¨
C#
F#
B
E
1 2 2
2 2 4
2 4 5
4 5 5
5 5 7
5 7 8
7 8 8
8 8 10
8 10 11
10 11 11
11 11 13
11 13 14
13 14 14
Am
Dm
Gm
Cm
Fm
Bbm
Ebm
Abm
C#m
F#m
Bm
Em
Em
Am
Dm
Gm
Cm
Fm
Bbm
Ebm
Abm
C#m
F#m
Bm
Em
0 0 2
1 2 2
3 2 3
3 3 5
4 5 5
6 5 6
6 6 8
7 8 8
9 8 9
9 9 11
10 11 11
12 11 12
12 12 14
Em
Am
Dm
Gm
Cm
Fm
Bbm
Ebm
Abm
C#m
F#m
Bm
Em
0 2 2
2 2 3
2 3 5
3 5 5
5 5 6
5 6 8
6 8 8
8 8 9
8 9 11
9 11 11
11 11 12
11 12 14
12 14 14
0 0 1
0 2 2
2 3 2
3 3 4
3 5 5
5 6 5
6 6 7
6 8 8
8 9 8
9 9 10
9 11 11
B
11 12 11
E
12 12 13
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 4 Em
0 0 0
0 1 2
1 3 2
3 3 3
3 4 5
4 6 5
6 6 6
6 7 8
7 9 8
9 9 9
9 10 11
10 12 11
12 12 12
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 6
