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Chord Inversions (Tiny Triads)

brendanburns — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:55:07 +0000

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

Ask Brendan Updates

brendanburns — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 22:32:39 +0000

I’ve added all of my old “Ask Brendan” Columns to this blog for posterity and better organization. Over the next few days I’m going to re-read them and see how they hold up. Some of them are close to 4 years old. I’m curious to see how I thought of things back then.

Click on the “Ask Brendan Columns” Category to the left. All of the posts have been entered in by date, so they are buried in the back of this blog.

And if you really have a burning question, drop me a line. I enjoyed writing this column. It was just the monthly up-keep and deadlines that got to me. So, if you have a question, feel free to resurrect the column. My E-mail: brendanburns@att.net

Where’s My Pick?

brendanburns — Thu, 22 Apr 2004 22:45:56 +0000

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

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Where’s My Pick?

April 04

Q: Sometimes when I’m playing my guitar, my pick falls into the guitar. Is there a particular or proper way to retrieve the pick?

B: Surprisingly enough, I haven’t found much literature on such a technique. The most common way is to flip the guitar upside down and shake vigorously. The problem with this technique is that it is not very consistent, or accurate. Sometimes shaking doesn’t get it out, and other times, when it does come out, it may fly out at such surprising angle and speed that it’s lost; maybe never to be found again.

The technique I am going to describe is a method I developed in the mid-90′s. I believe it is far more effective than the “traditional” technique. Someday I’ll have illustrations to demostate the process, but until then here’s what to do:

Step 1: Once the pick has fallen in guitar. Hold the guitar, flat on your lap, and look into the sound hole. Give the guitar a couple shakes until you can actually see the pick directly under the sound hole. Most guitars have support braces running on the inside of the back. These can help to “barge” the pick in a particular area. Once the pick is in the center barge, slide it so it is directly under the sound hole.

Step 2: Take your finger, or your hand and reach into the sound hole between the low E string and the body of the guitar. Depending on the size of your hand you may have to move the strings to the side or pull them away with your other hand.

Step 3: With your hand in the guitar, place 1 (one) finger on the pick. Use pressure to hold it against the back of the guitar.

Step 4: Continue pressing the pick on the back of the guitar while lifting and turning the guitar upside down.

Step 5: Now let gravity do the work. Loosen your pressure on the pick and let it fall into your hand or through the sound hole and onto the floor.

Assignment: This exercise takes practice. Try dropping the pick and retrieving it with this technique several times before you are in a professional situation.

Hopefully, you will find this to be a superior way of exhuming a pick from the instrument. Show your friends; spread the word.

Associating Information

brendanburns — Sun, 22 Feb 2004 22:45:24 +0000

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

Associating Information

February 04

Q: I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with the information I’m learning. I’m learning a lot of good tools for the guitar and theory in general, but I don’t see any change in my playing. I sound like I always have. I have the intellect, and know that I could be playing better, but I’m having trouble incorporating the new topics into my playing.

B: One of the things that I can suggest is to use an association strategy where new information is linked to knowledge that is already understood. It is a simple and common exercise that helps build information together. The benefit is that it helps with grounding new information; when related, new concepts have a reference system. Associating knowledge can bridge concepts together and provide cohesion to your understanding and your playing of the instrument, and can prevent a disjointed, or fragmented understanding of the guitar.

Description: Let’s use an example from improvising. When we are playing through chord changes, we don’t want to look at scales, modes, chord shapes, arpeggios, and available tensions as separate, unrelated pieces of information. Instead, we want to combine them. We want to see how modes and chord shapes are related to each other. We want to link them so that when thinking about a chord shape, the mode related to it, associated tensions, arpeggios, and other inversions are all available to us. It is the difference between having all the information and playing them separately, to integrating all of your knowledge and producing a seamless interaction.

I’ve illustrated this idea of associating knowledge in a Flash Interactive Feature: click here. The components listed in each category are the ideas I use when I organize my own practice time. Feel free to add or subtract from this list. This can help bring focus to your studies on Total Understanding.

Application: When you are presented with a new piece of information, try examining it from several different perspectives.

For example, if you are working on a new scale, try looking at it as shape. Does this shape resemble any other scale shapes? Is this scale related to another scale? Maybe this scale is just an alteration of another scale, or maybe it has the same notes as another scale, but a different root.

See how this scale functions with different chords. Are there any chord shapes that fit inside this scale shape? By thinking of a chord shape, can you visualize the scale shape around it?

See what it looks like intervalacly (whole steps and half steps). How does relate to any other scales you know?

Building a network of musical information can help with feeling overwhelmed. As you build this network, those new concepts you’re learning will have an appropriate and accessible place in what you already understand. Your playing will no longer sound the same. New information will be integrated with your previous understanding.

Brendan

Understanding The Guitar Checklist

brendanburns — Thu, 22 Jan 2004 22:44:55 +0000

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

Understanding the Guitar Checklist

January 04

Q: I’ve been playing guitar for 8 years now, and I’m a little stuck with my playing. I’m not really sure what I need or want to work on. When I have a project, then I’m clear and I know what to do, but when I’m on my own I’m not that effective as a practicer. You talk a lot about “Understanding the Guitar” and “Mastering the Instrument” a lot. How do I know what I need to do to get there? Or even better, do you have any suggestions on bringing focus to my practice time?

B: Your second question reminds me that I want to talk about practicing in an “Ask Brendan” column. I’ll try to get to that soon.

As far as Understanding the Guitar goes, it’s closely related to what you experience when you have a project. Most likely, when you have a project in front of you, you have a set of tasks that are due at a specific time. Whether you write out a plan to execute each task, or just start working on the most important thing first, you are devising a way to accomplish the end goal.

The same techniques used in project management allow us the ability to put together our own set of goals and tasks for “Understanding of the Guitar.” When you know what you want to do musically, the necessary tasks to reach that goal make themselves evident just like with any other deadline.

The only hole in this plan is that maybe you don’t know what you want to become, or maybe you don’t have any idea how to get there. With the latter, this is where teachers and books come in. They often have the ability to enlighten and awe.

Assignment: Take some time and think about some goals you have as a musician. On a blank piece of paper, write down these goals. With each goal, think about what you would need to do to reach this goal, and then write it down and attach it with an arrow to the specific goal. These are your “to do’s.” Take a look at your “to do’s” and see if there are any prerequisites necessary to accomplishing them. If there are any, write them down and attach them with arrows to the appropriate “to do.”

Now you’ve built something like a family tree of information. If done successfully, working on small components (prerequisites of “to do’s”) lead to accomplishing big goals.

When working on these small components be sure to reference the big goal that you are trying to accomplish. This can help give your practice context and value. This especially helps out when the particular exercise is challenging, or if you’re not in a good mood. Some things can be taken care of in a weeks, some things take years.

When using a system like this, practice time can become an incredibly focused and driven experience.

I’ve included a page from the practice plan I’m using. Large (click here)
Medium (click here)

I hope this helps,

Brendan

Jazz Chords

brendanburns — Mon, 22 Dec 2003 22:23:18 +0000

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

Jazz Chords

December 03

Q: I’m an intermediate rock guitar player. I’ve been playing for 3 years. Is there anything you can suggest to get started with playing jazz? I don’t know much about it, but I like the sound and would like to incorporate into my playing.

B: Here are some basic all-purpose Jazz Chords (click here). Their forms relate to our basic barre chords. There are two forms for each chord: one for a 6th string root and one for a 5th string root.

One way to familiarize yourself with these new chords is to play the diatonic chords through major scale in every key. For example, in the key of C: Cmaj7, Dmin7, Emin7, Fmaj7, G7, Amin7, Bmin7b5. Take some time and improvise or write down a chord progression. Having fun and being creative with this can help.

Another way to acclimate yourself to these new chords is to put them into context. Pick up a Real Book or Fake Book and play through some jazz charts. If you know some of the tunes, then start there. If you don’t know any, try starting with songs that have 1 chord per bar almost all of the way through the piece.

What is A Guitar?

brendanburns — Sat, 22 Nov 2003 22:22:42 +0000

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

What is a Guitar?

November 03

Q: I’ve been playing piano for 5 years and a friend just recently gave me a guitar. I was wondering if you could help me understand how the piano and the guitar relate to each other. I was hoping that I could use my knowledge of the piano and music theory and apply it to guitar. Is this possible?

B: From a theoretical standpoint, yes. You can use information from one to help the other. From a technical standpoint, not really. Although playing the piano for five years probably means that you’ve have good muscle development and dexterity, only some of that applies on guitar.

I am going to use this lesson to go over some theoretical and technical aspects of the instrument. I suggest you sit down with a teacher to go over the physical techniques necessary to play (give me a ring if you are in the area).

The Guitar’s Range: The Guitar’s range is from the 2nd E below middle C up to 3rd E above middle C.

The Guitar on the Staff: In order to write for the instrument on one staff, the guitar is written an octave higher than it sounds on the G clef. This puts the lowest note 3 ledger lines below the staff, rather than on the Bass Clef. The highest octave is usually written with ledger lines above the staff plus an “8va —” to avoid too many ledger lines.

I have a flash interactive page that shows the first four frets of the guitar and their corresponding note locations on the staff (click here).

Harmonics: There are a variety of ways to get harmonics. For this topic, I’m just going to go over the natural harmonics. Natural Harmonics are achieved by plucking an open string normally with the right hand and lightly touching the string above the fret with the left hand. Playing the Natural Harmonic on the 12th fret produces the note an octave above the open string. Playing the Harmonic on the 7th fret produces the note an octave and a 5th above the open string. Playing the Harmonic on the 5th fret produces the note two octaves above the open string. Playing the Harmonic on the 9th fret produces the note two octaves and a third above the open string. Another way to think of this is:

12th & 5th fret harmonic = Octaves of Open String
7th fret harmonic = 5th of Open String
9th fret Harmonic = 3rd of Open String

Notes of the Guitar: The notes of the guitar ascend up the string (towards the soundhole and bridge). Each fret away from the nut (open string) raises the note a half step, or one key on the keyboard.

Note of the Guitar Assets:
A Flash version of the Notes of the Guitar and their pitches (click here).

A GIF & PDF version of the Notes of the Guitar to print out and add to your papers (click here)

The Guitar’s Tuning: The guitar is tuned in fourths except for the third between the G/B strings. From the low E, up a fourth to A, up a fourth to D, up a fourth to G, up a third to B, and up a fourth to E. Why is so? Who knows?! The bummer about this tuning is that movements from one string to another are not always equal. The plus side is that we can get some pretty cool voicings.

The Guitar’s Complexity: The Guitar can be a little confusing at first; so can the piano. Imagine playing a piano without the keyboard. What would it be like to reach inside the piano and pluck strings to play music? The piano uses the keyboard to provide order over the hundreds of strings in a piano. With the guitar, the player must provide the order and impose it on the instrument. One way to do this is with visualization techniques and some fretboard navigation tools. I’ll save those for a later lesson or column.

Over The Rainbow – Solo Guitar

brendanburns — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 22:22:00 +0000

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

Over The Rainbow- Solo Guitar

October 03

Q: Last month you showcased an easy Solo Guitar arrangement for “Amazing Grace.” Do you have any other Solo Guitar arrangements that would be appropriate for an intermediate to advanced player?

B: I use an arrangement of “Over The Rainbow” with private students and group classes to work through some Solo Guitar techniques. It’s a simple arrangement used to get your fingers on the guitar and play something familiar and nice.

Assets: The arrangement is two pages long and can be downloaded as a PDF here:
Page 1
Page 2

I have an MP3 on the Solo Guitar page that uses most of these elements in the recording.

Arranging Notes:

The first “A” section is mostly just Root and Melody, followed by a second “A” section with full harmony. This is a great way to play the same melody twice without boring the listener.

The “B” section uses two bars of harmonic and rhythmic intensity followed by two bars of half notes with little harmony. The first two bars of the second half of the “B” section build the intensity again with denser chords and then uses ascending half notes with moving harmony to build the piece to one of it’s highest peaks and tension.

The third “A” resolves the previous section with harmonics. Harmonics help keep the melody in the same range as the last phrase and give the piece a chance to slow down; signaling it’s end.

This arrangement concludes with a simple lick over a C chord and ends on a C harmonic.

Harmonics:
The harmonics in the last “A” section are Open String Harmonics and are achieved by plucking the string while lightly touching (without fretting) the string at the given fret.
The harmonic at the end of the piece is achieved by fretting the 5th fret with your left hand and lightly touching the string on the 17th fret (one octave higher). An additional finger or pick is needed to pluck the string behind the harmonic to produce a tone.

Amazing Grace – Solo Guitar

brendanburns — Mon, 22 Sep 2003 22:21:07 +0000

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

Amazing Grace – Solo Guitar

September 03

Q: I am a beginning guitarist and I like your Solo Guitar music. Is there any Solo Guitar music you can suggest for someone starting on the instrument?

B: I have an arrangement of “Amazing Grace” that I use to work through some melodic and harmonic concepts for the beginning to intermediate guitarist.

Click here to download “Amazing Grace” as a PDF

To practice this arrangement we divide the piece into melodic and harmonic components to strengthen our playing from a technical standpoint and then bring them together to focus from a creative position.

Melodic: Start playing the melody slowly and steadily. Don’t worry about the piece as a whole. Consider it a drill as you first start out. Use this opportunity to get a clear understanding of the melody and the fingers and frets you need to play it. As it becomes familiar to you play the melody rubato (without time). Use your own sense of time. Feel free to speed up or slow down, or play louder or softer as you see fit. Take this time to really get in to the spirit of the music and where the melody wants to take you (or where you want to take the melody).

Harmonic: The second part of this exercise is working on the Harmony or Chords of the piece. Play through the chords sequentially and without time. This is where we get familiar with the progression. If there are any difficult transitions, than this is the time to focus on them. Once the chord changes are comfortable to you, play through the tune in time. This piece is in 3/4, therefore 3 beats per measure. Start slow, and then bring it to a tempo you feel appropriate. If you can, sing the melody. If not, than listen for when the melody would come in.

Combination: When playing pieces as Solo Guitar arrangements we need to express the Harmony and Melody at the same time. One way to do this is to position the melody note as the highest note in the chord. Each time you play a melody note strum the appropriate chord along with it at the same time.

For the first chord we have a G chord with a”G” note. Play the G chord from Bass to Treble and stop at the G string. With the G string ringing as the top note in the chord it is perceived as the melodic or lead note. The bottom part of the chord is perceived as the harmony.

We do the same for the next note:”B.” Playing the bottom 4 strings (by pitch), leaves the open B string as the high note, or melodic note.

Continue this technique through the entire piece.

Blues & Scale Tones

brendanburns — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 22:19:30 +0000

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

Blues & Scale Tones

August 03

Q: Brendan, I’m a little stuck in my Blues playing. I’ve been playing mostly chord tones and tensions the past few years and I feel I’ve forgotten how and when to use the pentatonic in the Blues. I used to be able to play like Clapton or SRV but now I’ve got a Jazzy and sometimes Country sound to my playing and I can’t get out of it. Do you have any suggestions on how I can get a Bluesier sound back into my playing?

B: First off, it seems it would make sense to put some work in on the pentatonic scale and how it relates to the Blues. Here’s a PDF reminder of what the Pentatonic looks like.

Another idea is to get back to playing some Clapton and SRV licks. There’s a possibility that there is much more there than just pentatonics.

As far as thinking more blues in you chord tone playing, try looking at the following example (click here). This is a Flash visualization of the fret board. When clicking on A7, D7 or E7 the corresponding chord tones appear (1,3,5 & b7). For this example we are using A Blues, so we are also going to look at the A minor pentatonic. The A minor Pentatonic scale lights up over the fretboard and chord tones with a mouse rollover action. What is this good for? This is an example of a fret visualization that you can use in you own head.

Assuming your knowledge of scale tones and pentatonics is up to par, the next step is to have the ability to use the two simultaneously and tastefully. One of the biggest tricks to this is having the discretion to pull this off. It’s not just a free-for-all of notes, but rather a chance to use two currents of style in one improvisation.

Think of your scale tone playing. You mentioned it sounded Jazzy and Country. Now think of Minor Pentatonic playing. This has a Bluesier sound. When you improvise why not try thinking of what sound you want before you play? What would happen if you used 1 bar of a Jazzy sound followed by one bar of a Blues Sound (this would yield a bar of Chord Tone soloing and then a bar a Minor Pentatonic Soloing). You can expand this to a chorus of one and a chorus of the other, or contract it to a note of one and then a note of the other.

Using this idea of moving from a Jazz sound to a Blues sound can give your improvisation a sense of direction. It can bring a sense of purpose and structure to your solo when used properly. It touches upon the idea that it is you who is exerting force over the instrument. Without you, there would be no sound. With you, the instrument can make what seems like an infinite range of sounds; make sure it’s the sound you want. The choices you make determine your sound/style.