music theory

In this guitar lesson, we will explore the differences between five different Phrygian modes taken from the major, harmonic minor, melodic minor, harmonic major and double harmonic major scales.

Harmonizing the minor pentatonic scale involves creating chords that complement the scale and enhance its melodic possibilities. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to harmonize the minor pentatonic scale on guitar:

In this theory lesson with diagrams and charts you will learn what's the difference between relative and parallel modes and how to play them on guitar.

This guitar lesson is about a harmonic concept mapped out and developped by jazz musician Barry harris that can be found in the book "The Barry Harris Harmonic Method For Guitar" by Alan Kingstone.

This blog article details a little bit more in depth about what is the major 6 diminished scale and how to harmonize it with major 6 and diminished 7 chords.

FREE PDF AVAILABLE HERE ON THE GUMROAD STORE

This blog article dedicated to guitarists answers the question that many beginner musicians ask themeselves :

What is the difference between half-diminished and fully diminished (Diminished 7) ?

This guitar lesson lists 25 exotic and rare scales from different cultures and countries to add new colors to your playing.

You'll find two-octave guitar shapes, formula charts, audio files in the key of C for each scale and classified into five main categories :

Seven Note Dominant Scales.

Seven Note Minor Scales.

Seven Note Major Scales.

Six Note Scales.

Five Note Scales.

In this theory lesson we will see how to add natural and altered extensions to 7th chords. The aim being to bring new colors and so to embellish your chord progressions. This concept is a very important device for composing, chordal accompaniment and chord-melody arrangements.

Drop 2 chords are built by dropping the second highest note of a close chord down an octave, thus giving four supplementary ways of playing a seventh chord (min7, maj7, dom7, m7b5, dim7, aug7, augMaj7).

This free music theory cheat sheet will help you understand how these drop 2 voicings are built. You can easily get it for free (or name a fair price) in PDF format on GUMROAD.

The circle of fifths is the way the 12 musical notes of the chromatic scale are arranged following a sequence of perfect fifths (7 semitones).

It helps visualizing relationships between notes and better understanding diatonic harmony.

This music theory lesson provides some easy examples for a better understanding of what are inverted chords.

Intervals are the building blocks of melody and harmony—the distances between two pitches.

Understanding intervals helps you recognize and create musical relationships, build chords, and develop more expressive solos.

In this lesson, we’ll explore the full spectrum of intervals, from the smallest step (a minor 2nd) to the expansive leap (an octave and beyond).

By mastering intervals, you’ll improve your ear and your understanding of how music works underneath the surface.

To enrich and modernize the harmonization of a piece it is common to use fourth chords.

They can replace some original chords to bring more melodic freedom into improvisation and more tension in harmony.

Since the late 1950s, harmony in fourths has played a very important role in the development of modern jazz.

Musicians and composers have used a lot quartal harmony.

Among them, the great American pianist McCoy Tyner, who, is a master in the art of playing quartal chords. Mike Stern, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Bill Evans and Kurt Rosewinkel have also used this technique. 

In this lesson with tabs and shapes, we will see how to build chords in fourths, how to harmonize the major scale with and how to use them in comping.