The power of chord tones 1 - Page 4

Kirk Lorange · September 20th, 2006

Please note that the movie is a 4 Mb download ... it may take a while.

I thought I'd do a quick demo of the power of knowing the chords to a piece of music ... knowing then inside and out, all over the fretboard. This is the progression I used in the last fingerstyle lesson I did, in fact it's the very same mp3 of the arpeggiated chord progression.

As you must know by now, when I improvise melody over a piece of music, I don't think scales. I would have very little success creating a solo over anything thinking scales. That's not to say that others wouldn't ... but I wouldn't know where to begin thinking along those lines, especially in a piece like this that introduces a bunch of 'outside chords' into the picture -- chords not int he key of G. Once that happens, you would need to start thinking of different scales for different parts and somehow merging them into melody. Way too hard for my poor old brain. The fact is, though, the chords of the piece have already, by their very nature, selected the strongest melody notes: their chord tones ... the notes that make them up. It doesn't matter how many outside chords come into play if your tracking the music chord by chord, and you can see its tones scattered the length of the fretboard, instead of scale patterns. One way or the other, you need to think of something, and since you need to know the chords anyway, why clutter your brain with a whole other set of patterns? The other fact is that you would wind up weeding out of the 7 scale notes (of whatever scale is in play), the strong notes with which you would want to start and finish your phrases ... chord tones!

This demo is not meant to be an award winning melodic extravaganza! I purposely played only chord tones so you can hear that they work, they're right, they don't clash with anything, they fit ... I did this so you can see that it is possible to, first of all, see them there for each chord, and that once you can see them there, they can strung into melody that isn't just plucking notes from a chord. In other words, playing just chord tones needn't be boring. Most of the chords used in this have 4 or more chord tones to work with.

I used my index finger to make it a little clearer for you, and also to show that muscle memorized runs and riffs aren't coming into this particular run through. I'm hunting the chord tones down ... seeing them and stringing them together as I go, thinking a little ahead so I know which chord is coming up, hearing the evolving melody in my head, steering it to a pleasant resolve ... listening, steering, listening.

You can take my word for it that all notes played are chord tones ... or you can pick it all apart and see for yourself. If the chord is a plain old major, I use the 1-3-5 of that chord; if it's 7th, the 1-3-5-b7; 9th? 1-3-5-b7-9; minor? 1-b3-5; minor 6? 1-b3-5-6 ... etc. The melodies are simply the result of stringing those chord tones together ... timing, dynamics, taste also come into it, of course, but the choice of notes is dictated by the 'chord of the moment' ... not the 'blues scale'.

Seeing them there is the trick, and I won't tell you how I do that. My book/DVD PlaneTalk explains and demonstrates that trick ... it's very simple, but takes a lot of work putting it into practice. Once you digest it, though, you can see the entire fretboard as a chord, and no chord is trickier than any other .... they're all the same, all friendly, all familiar.

If I were playing a proper solo to this, I wouldn't restrict myself to just chord tones; you'd hear a few - and I do mean a few - non chord tones in amongst it all, adding detail to the picture. They are a piece of cake to see and use once you can see the chord tones ... they are, of course, other scale notes and chromatic scale notes (thinking 'modes' become redundant ... I'm playing all kinds of modes in this without once thinking about them) ... in other words ALL 12 notes become easy to use once you can see the CTs. They can link two CTs together, or add tension if lingered upon, generally embellish and add color to the CT melody that lies at the core of it all.

The progression is:

| G - - - | - - - - |G7 - - - | - - - - | C - - - | - - - - | Cm - - - | Cm6 - - - |
| G - - - | E7 - - - | A7 - - - | D7 - - - | G - - - | Edim - Am7-5 - | G - - - |

I hope this helps you understand the power of knowing your chords! If you know your chords well enough, you know all scales and modes also.

douglas englund · #46 July 24th, 2007

I may be asking to much. but i think is this really a great lesson. is it asking to much to see what notes you are playing in order. it is the only way i would be able to follow this song. it is beautiful. thankyou

Tutchi · #47 July 29th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by douglas englund

I may be asking to much. but i think is this really a great lesson. is it asking to much to see what notes you are playing in order. it is the only way i would be able to follow this song. it is beautiful. thankyou

Hi Doug
you must be a bit like me

I always think I am thick when I don't follow the lesson as is

but I suppose it is all down to experience.

I would have to see the notes as well. Hope you get a minute Kirk

Rgds
Tutchi

monk · #48 October 12th, 2007

Douglas and Tutchi,

The most important skill any guitarist can develop is the ability to hear. I will respectfully submit that one can't truly be a musician without this ability. It's possible to learn to play guitar mechanically but without the ability to hear music one can never truly be a musician.

If you were to enter college to pursue a music degree, you would spend a minimum of one hour daily for four years on ear training.

Tabs are nice to have but too many people become dependent on them. Many of us here on this website who learned to play back in the 60s learned to play lead by listening to records, slowing them down and picking the notes out one at a time. We didn't have tabs or DVDs. What we did have was an opportunity to develop our ears.

You have a wonderful opportunity here. Rather than wait for someone to drop a tab in your lap, take charge of your learning by humming, whistling or singing the first couple of notes in Kirk's solo. Then watch the video and try to find the notes. Keep repeating the process until you have it. Then move to the next few notes and add those. Continue until you can play the entire solo.

Kirk wrote out the chord progression. He's playing chord tones. He's playing slowly. You have all the information you need plus a video to watch. It may take you a while but the benefits will be huge. If you start developing your ears, your skill level will also increase.

To depend on an outside source for tabs is to be a slave. What will you do if no one ever writes out a tab for the song you're dying to learn?

Regards,
Monk

wcostley · #49 October 13th, 2007

WOW!!!
Since I don't know anything about anything it's hard to believe that I really enjoyed reading all of the above, maybe one of these days some of it will start sinking in.
Thanks, Skip

douglas englund · #50 October 14th, 2007

Kirk that was really nice, is that you doing the finger picking in the back off of another track or is that another guitarist playing with you?

eskoven · #51 March 22nd, 2008

Hi Kirk,

Really like the chord tones lessons. It would really be nice to know the picking pattern you use for the chord progressions in both of the videos. Do you cover this kind of material in your Plane Talk book/dvd?

Kirk Lorange · #52 March 23rd, 2008

Yes, eskoven, that's the main lesson the book/DVD teaches.

I'm not sure what you mean by the 'pattern'. What I'm doing is creating a melody line, so the only pattern is being set up by the evolving melody itself.

funkypadre · #53 June 21st, 2008

This example reminds me a little of how Willie Nelson plays. I've always thought of Willie as a bit of deranged Django impersonator when he plays, but I have to tell you it's the simplicity that I love. Great example, and it's consistent with your fingerstyle lessons.

Cheers,

Clif

Kirk Lorange · #54 June 21st, 2008

Yes, Willie is definitely a chord tone player, very Django. What he's really good at is inserting a series of passing chords between two main chords and playing through them as single-notes lines. I love his playing.

Years ago my band opened for 'The Highwaymen' around Australia and I got to watch and listen to him every night for a couple of weeks. Whenever he'd play a solo, the other three Highwaymen (Waylon, Kris and Johnny) would stroll over to him onstage and watch. He played his beat up old acoustic through an equally beat up and saggy Yamaha amp.

The legendary Reggie Young was in the 9 piece band that backed them up. I enjoyed those two weeks!

funkypadre · #55 June 22nd, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirk Lorange

Yes, Willie is definitely a chord tone player, very Django. What he's really good at is inserting a series of passing chords between two main chords and playing through them as single-notes lines. I love his playing.

Years ago my band opened for 'The Highwaymen' around Australia and I got to watch and listen to him every night for a couple of weeks. Whenever he'd play a solo, the other three Highwaymen (Waylon, Kris and Johnny) would stroll over to him onstage and watch. He played his beat up old acoustic through an equally beat up and saggy Yamaha amp.

The legendary Reggie Young was in the 9 piece band that backed them up. I enjoyed those two weeks!

Kirk:
Now that is a great story. Thanks for the reply. I've had a chance to meet Willie a few times, but sadly, I've always had another thing conflict with it. One of his old bandmates was married to a former graduate student in our department. He is certainly beloved here in Texas. I am working through some blues lessons, but I think I am going to try this exercise out when I have a chance.

Cheers,

Clif

eddiez152 · #56 July 1st, 2008

Kirk,
I cant help but think that your one finger chord tone melodies captures the essence of the whole guitar. I really love this.
What an excellent lesson.

Kirk Lorange · #57 July 2nd, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by eddiez152

Kirk,
I cant help but think that your one finger chord tone melodies captures the essence of the whole guitar. I really love this.
What an excellent lesson.

Thanks, Eddie. Yes, it is a good way to demonstrate it, isn't it? I think often seeing the whole hand at work makes navigating the fretboard look much harder than it is. Once you know what to 'look at', creating melody from any old chord progression, not just a two or three chord groove -- is a piece of cake. Of course you wouldn't want the 'one-finger-technique' to be your whole technique -- you'd be doing yourself out of a lot of playing! -- but, as a way of showing the power of those chord tones and how they're everywhere at once, it works well.

If you can see 'em, you can use 'em.