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Took a break from work today to explore the Pyrenees a little bit. Had an awesome day in Luchon. Took a cable car to the top of the ski slopes and enjoyed the views. I love mountains.
From the five notes of the major pentatonic we add an additional two to give us a seven note diatonic scale (with each letter of the musical alphabet being present within one octave). The two notes we add are the perfect 4th and major 7th to give us the sound of the major scale (also known as the ionian mode). The other major modes (lydian, mixolydian) can be created in the same way. For lydian we would add an augmented 4th and major 7th, mixolydian has the perfect 4th and minor 7th.
I love the sound of the sus2 grip across strings 6(E)-4(D). I think upon this as coming from the extended R-5-R power chord grip. What can create some lush sounding chords is the addition of the remaining open strings. In this instance we get a great Cmaj9 chord. Open up string 6(E) for a simple, yet effective Cmaj9 - Em7 vamp.
Continuing with the A-shape…let’s take it back to the major arpeggio pattern. We have three notes, the tonic (1) major 3rd (3) and perfect 5th (5). Playing those three notes together gives us the sound of the major chord (major triad). BUT if we add an additional two notes we will have a total of five notes…’penta’-tonic. Adding the major 2nd and major 6th will give the five notes of the major pentatonic. At each stage we’re building upon the octave shape and chord. Therein lies the power of CAGED approach and why you should learn this stuff 👊🏻👍🏻🙏🏻
Have you got your copy? If you like my IG feed you’re going to LOVE my latest eBook ‘Fretboard Mastery’. This will show you how to learn every note on the fretboard in just a few days. For a limited time only I’m making it available for free to prepare you for my upcoming guitar theory courses. Get your copy while you still can. Link in bio 🙏🏻
Another Chord of the Day for y’all. Thoughts? 👍🏻👎🏻👇🏻 Head over to my IGTV for a breakdown 🙏🏻
From the previous post we can move the 5 from string 1(E) down an octave onto string 4(D) (another very useful octave shape to learn) and we have a second inversion major triad. Remember that a second inversion triad is with the 5 as the lowest note (in pitch). This shape can be moved anywhere up and down the string set. Just remember to reference the note on string 3(G) for your root note. Get my tips on learning all the notes on the fretboard with my ‘Fretboard Mastery’ eBook. Link in bio.
Taking the arpeggio notes as a guide there are two common closed voicing major triads within the A-shape (I would consider the grips on the bass strings in the next shape...coming soon) We find a root position triad across strings 3(G)-1(E). Remember that a root position triad is when we have the Root note as the lowest sounding note (lowest in pitch not physically on the fretboard) 👍🏻
A new Chord of the Day for you. I kept coming across this one with my transcribing work so thought I’d share. Check out my IGTV for a full breakdown 🙏🏻👍🏻
The next stage is playing the major arpeggio around the A-shape chord. The intervals (tonic-major 3rd-perfect 5th = 1-3-5) almost appear in order with the exception of the major 3rd between string 5(A) and 4(D). A major 3rd is found in the 4th fret of string 4(D) (a useful diagonal shape to memorise!). So to play the arpeggio in order you want to start with finger 2 on the tonic, using finger 1 on the 3rd and then I like to finger roll across the 7th fret with finger 3, and then play the 5 on string 1(E) with finger 1 👍🏻
Around the octave shape that was introduced in the previous post, we can superimpose the shape of an open position A chord. Hence the ‘A-shape’ name. It is as if we are playing an A chord with a capo at the 5th fret. The root note is now a D at the 5th fret of string 5(A) so this is a D major chord (but in the A-shape). For the full ‘expression’ of the chord you would use a barre finger to fret the 5th fret of strings 5(A) and 1(E). I often play with finger 3 across strings 4(D) to 2(B) which will mute string 1(E) (unless you have crazy back-bending fingers). Another common alternative is to use fingers 2,3 and 4 to fret the notes in the 7th fret. That’s OK when the chord is in the lower, wider frets, but a barre finger 3 becomes more useful as we climb the neck. IGTV for more. Questions and comments 👇🏻🙏🏻
The octave of any note on string 5(A) can be found two frets higher (towards the body) on string 3(G). As with the C-Shape, this will be our starting point for the visualisation of chords, arpeggios, major pentatonic sand diatonic scales. We will stay with the note D from the 5th fret of string 5(A), but remember that this octave shape can be found from any fret. Get more insight into fretboard patterns with my FREE ebook ‘Fretboard Mastery’, available from my website. Link in bio 🙏🏻
We’re continuing our exploration of the CAGED system. In the word CAGED, after C will come A. Hence, the A-shape is the next pattern to explore. Just a little fretboard tip here to see how the two patterns relate. The perfect octave from the C-shape can be found four frets higher on string 3(G). There is a four fret difference to find the same note between strings 2(B) and 3(G). Between all the other strings we have a five fret difference. Get more insight into the fretboard patterns with my FREE ebook ‘Fretboard Mastery’, available from my website. Link in bio 🙏🏻