Ask Brendan is a seldom updated column where Guitar Educator, Brendan Burns, answers questions about music and the pursuit of Understanding and Mastering the guitar.

Chord Inversions (Tiny Triads)

August 2008

Q: I have been playing the guitar for 4 or 5 years.  I’m self taught and can’t read music (except tabs).  Typically, I get the tabs or chords on line and learn to play that way.  However, I have started playing with a friend who is quite a bit better. (a little intimidating, but a blast) We’ve played a couple different gigs but I usually just strum and he does all the fancy and fun things.  He understands the “music” concept which I am sorely missing.

Do you have any pointers on how to play along with someone, soloing, and so forth.  Obviously it’s not as appealing if we’re both playing the same G chord.  I know that I can play it as a barre chord as opposed to him playing it open. If he is playing a G chord how many different ways can I play it…etc?

I can keep up rhythm wise and can learn easy enough but I just DON’T KNOW how. I’m not sure how much lead I could do.  We play simple stuff mostly A,E,D — G,D,C.

B:  One of the things that can push you out of the out the open chord and barre chord approach is to work on inversions.  The idea behind this is simple.  Essentially a major or minor chord is made up of only three notes.  If we stack these notes in different orders, we get the same function, but a slightly different sound.  If your friend is playing a G-open chord, then one thing you might want to do is play a G-chord somewhere else on the neck.  It will give some space between the two of you and open up your harmonic output.

Below is a PDF of the inversions for a G-major chord.  The first thing to start with is the big barre chord on the far left.  As you look across the sheet, notice that each 3-note grip is based on the big chord to the left.  With 3 main chord forms, you can get 12 little forms (I sometimes call these “tiny triads”).  The same principle applies for all keys and the minor chords, but start with these first.  Once you get the G-chord down, then move onto to other major chords that you use often.  After that, you’ll be ready for the minor shapes - they are a little bit different, but they use major chords as the foundation.

Best of luck,

Brendan

Assets: Chord Inversions for G Major

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year of guitar lessons.

Members of the 2007-2008 Brendan Burns GUITARMY:

Austin Cohen
Myra Johnson
Helen Huang
Coco Wallace
Parker Wallace
Charlie Guerra
Neil Jones
Kavoi Mutisya
Christopher Zarins
Shaan Shivdasani
Sam Roffman
Masaki Norton
Isabel Wallace
Hadassah Stanhill
Olivia Siegal
Max Josef
Gabriel Mininberg
Daniel Getz
Nick Page
Alvin Taylor
Sarah Simon
Shani Breiman
Nico Jochnick
Claire Chin
Keir Shields
Elana Shlosman
Sophia Spirounis
Sam Mills
Aaron Corn
Micaela Corn
Greg Smith
Abby Fink
Maria Meletlidis
Vincent Webster
Eleni Papadopoulos
Yanni Papadopoulos
David Cohen
Tommy Larkin
Nick Gill
David Kahn
Jason Boyle
Livia Merrill
Cyril Vallet

Isabel Leader
Noa Leiter
Sam Altsher
Sarah King
Alex Horn
Alex Verbitsky
Kevin Wu

Students of Brookline Music School & Newton Music Academy

TuneFoolery received a nice article in the Cambridge Tab last week:

Cambridge - Tunefoolery Concert Ensembles from Cambridge, a group of 50 musicians living with mental illness, has a simple yet powerful message: Emphasize people’s strengths and focus on abilities, not disabilities.

In May, Tunefoolery members will share their music with the release of a new CD, Tunefoolery II, and a CD release concert. The two-disc CD is a compilation of 32 songs covering early and classical music, jazz, gospel, folk and rock. The concert, featuring more than 30 musicians, will be held Sunday, May 18, at 3 p.m. at the YMCA Theatre in Central Square.

While most psychiatric treatment programs are focused on minimizing the effects of depression, hearing voices, etc., Tunefoolery helps its musicians move away from the mental health patient role and embrace new identities as professional musicians and performers. This transformation is essential for women and men with long-term illnesses who often get the message that they are not “well” enough to be creative contributors to our communities. As one member puts it, “Tunefoolery is a great example of how non-traditional mental health treatment truly can change people’s lives. Music is powerful medicine. I have a tremendous feeling of belonging with Tunefoolery. I have found great friends here. It’s a job and a creative outlet at the same time.”

The Tunefoolery musicians, who perform as solo acts or in small ensembles, play 75 to 90 gigs every year at mental health treatment programs, hospitals, nursing homes, and anywhere else where music can bring joy and inspiration. To increase the level of professionalism, Tunefoolery also offers its musicians music lessons, workshops, and a yearly three-day retreat in the Berkshires. Another inspiring project is the education outreach program, where musicians visit schools and other institutions educating children and adults about psychiatric disabilities, focusing on people’s strengths and abilities rather than on the negative effects of mental illness.

Tickets, at the door are $8 for adults, $5 for children under 13 and consumers of mental health services, and $22 for families. The CD will be sold at the concert and is also available at the Tunefoolery Web site at www.tunefoolery.org.

TuneFoolery is group of concert ensembles made up of over 50 inspiring musicians with psychiatric disabilities.  They’ve been around since 1994 and I’ve been teaching guitar there for a few years now.  They are having a celebration for the release of their 2nd CD this weekend.  I’ve listened to the CD, it’s an amazing collection (2 discs worth) of talented, creative & brilliant musicians playing.  It’s a great showcase of the work they do.  Here’s a note Jens Rybo, the director:

“I’m excited to tell you about some exciting news about Tunefoolery. First, we just released a two-disc CD where almost 40 of our musicians areplaying. To celebrate the CD, we’re having a CD Release Concert on Sunday May 18th at 3 PM. It will take place at the Cambridge YMCA Theatre in Central Square, Cambridge. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children 6-12; Families are $22. Parking is free (Sunday). Please join us to celebrate our creative community.”

I’m going to be debuting some new music & new sounds soon. I’m working on a new approach to my Solo Guitar playing and I’m going to be lining up some performances around town to showcase them.

The first is at:

La Luna Caffe, Wednesday May 21st @ 7pm

Solo Guitar

http://www.myspace.com/lalunacaffe

Here’s a sneak peak of my new setup:

More to come later….

To follow-up last year’s Sgt. Pepper concert, the Brookline Music School will be performing the Beatles’ White Album this coming Mother’s Day weekend. Close to 100 students will be recreating this legendary album with a string orchestra, horns, vocals and rhythm section. I have contributed an arrangement of Blackbird for guitar ensemble & voice, plus I’ll be rocking out on guitar for “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

I’ve been rehearsing with the Blackbird ensemble on Sundays the past couple of weeks and the whole school is brimming with Beatles music. I can’t wait for this. Check it out:

In partnership with Northeastern University,
Brookline Music School performs

THE BEATLES’ WHITE ALBUM

May 10th & 11th, 2008

Where:
Northeastern University
Blackman Theatre at Ell Hall
360 Huntington Avenue, Boston

Performances:
Saturday, May 10, 7:30pm
Sunday, May 11, 2:00pm

Tickets on sale now!
$15 General Admission (Kids under 3 are free!)
$25 Preferred Seating
Stop by Brookline Music School or Brookline Booksmith or call 617.277.4593 to pay by phone. Email ticket questions to Frank Pesci at tickets@bmsmusic.org

Visit our website for more info about this exciting event!

Sponsored by Northeastern University, Brookline Bank, Chobee Hoy and the BMS Board of Directors.

There is new category debuting in the blog today: “Guitar Ensemble.”

This is where students from my Guitar Ensemble at Brookline Music School can visit for updates and discussions. Instead of handwritten parts, all charts will be excerpted from a Sibelius score. The full score of each tune will be available here, in this blog category. Comments, questions and suggestions are encouraged.

Each score will be presented in the Scorch format and may require a plug-in download to view correctly. The Scorch file will allow you to play, rewind, fast-forward, save & print the score

This semester we will be starting with a revised version of Eleanor Rigby from the Fall (click on the link for the Scorch score).

The only other definite tune we will performing is “Earth Intruders” by Bjork. The score will be available soon. We will also be working on a Led Zeppelin tune and probably a blues. If you are part of this ensemble, your feedback is welcome. If you have an idea that is right for the ensemble, let me know.

I’m a little behind on my updates, but better late than never:

I had a wonderful time at my Faculty Recital last month. Vessela Stoyanva, Valerie Thompson & Will Dick all provided themselves as great musicians and amazing associates for the evening. Thank you to all my students who attended. I’m so happy I could share my work with you. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to teach, perform and share with the amazing community at Brookline Music School.

Here are two mp3s from the show:
Au Clair De La Lune - This is a duet by Will Dick & myself. I had so much fun playing with Will at the show and rehearsing with him the weeks before. We intentionally did not set an arrangement of this tune and just relied on listening to each other to give each other the support that was needed. Will is a phenomenal player and it was great to interact with him on this tune.

Ellen’s Tune - This is a song that I wrote for my mother a few years back. I think of it as a sweet country/jazz waltz. Vessela & Valerie were kind enough to lend their beautiful musicianship to the tune. It was really nice to play with them.

I’m often asked by my Solo Guitar clients for a repertoire list, and for years I’ve declined to provide one. My reasoning behind this seemed to make sense at one time, but now I can’t remember why I’ve been withholding information for so long.

This morning I sat down with my laptop and gig book, and flipped pages, noting titles & artists. I’ve uploaded the list as a PDF. The download link is available below, or you can just click on the photo.

This is my gig book (in order) as of this morning and is subject to change. As the wedding season approaches, more classical selections will enter the book, and towards the end of the year Holiday Tunes will find their own little corner. Things change, and tunes ebb & flow. Definitely let me know ahead of time if you would like a specific tune so that I can sure it hasn’t been pruned since this list was published.

Brendan Burns - Solo Guitar Tune List

It’s that time of year again. Time for recitals! Excitement and nerves meet, and then we play. To honor my students dedication and hard work I will be having a recital of my own.

Last year I showcased music for the WAlbum, this year I will be featuring music that I’ve been studying, writing and transcribing. It will be made up of the most significant work that has come across my practice stand in the past 18 months. Selections include pieces by Pat Metheny, Ralph Towner, Sylvain Luc, Tim Miller, Wolfgang Muthspiel and an original composition. I’m very excited to share this music that is very important to me, and I’m thrilled to have a great list of guest musicians.

Valerie Thompson will be joining me on Cello, Vessela Stoyanva will be playing vibes and the chair of the guitar department at Brookline Music School (Will Dick) will be assisting on guitar.

If you want to see what I’ve been up to, stop on by:

Brookline Music School (Bakalar Hall)

25 Kennard Road

Brookline MA

Wednesday, January 23rd 7pm