New Music Theory/Guitar Instruction Blog

[blitzstar]

Hello Everyone,


I’m new to Guitar Attack and just wanted to let everyone know that I recently published a blog of music theory as it relates to guitar playing (appropriately called “music theory and the guitar”) and thought some of you might find it useful.


The goal of the blog is to provide a frame of reference that will allow students to see the big picture of music so that they can more easily understand where the individual pieces fit.


If anyone is interested, it can be accessed at blitzstarguitar.com/blog/.


Please let me know if you find it helpful. If you have any questions or anything you want to discuss, I’m here.


Frank

[antares]

Thanks for this link. I've already gleaned that what I thought was a diminished chord has been wrong these five decades! (or at least constructed superficially similar but different nonetheless.

I noticed that you didn't cover augmented chords (unless it was included with another part of your blog.) Augmented chords are a weak area for me in the physical fingering department.

Your blog is well presented and from my perspective it is easier to digest than Rick Beato's weighty tome (although I view that on a monochrome grey scale e-reader and colour is king!) Thanks Frank.

[dnic]

I will check this out, thanks.

[blitzstar]

Hi Antares,

Thank you for checking out my blog and for your comments.

Augmented chords (triads) are covered in the post entitled Triads and Chord Formulas.  They are also referenced in the posts on harmonizing the harmonic minor scale (with triads) and harmonizing the melodic minor scale (with triads).

And there are a number of posts detailing the scales most commonly used to solo over augmented chords. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks.

Frank

[antares]

Thanks Frank. I am guilty of confusing diminished seventh chords with diminished chords. In my ignorance I assumed they were the same thing. My comment about difference refered to your use of the low E string in your diminished seventh chord chart, whereas I use the high E string resulting in a parallelogram shape. As you noted it repeats itself every three frets (like in Heitor Villa Lobos' Prelude No. 1 from "Cinq Preludes".) I always think of it as a chord that has four root notes or rather the same chord can be referred to in four different but equally valid ways. I'm probably wide of the mark there too. Truth to tell, I'm too old and my cranial fixed disk cannot be defragmented due to lack of free space, so the sheer scope of your blog is really out of reach for me. It is however a great reference resource. I've already learned a couple of things from it and I've barely scratched the surface. I still struggle with what I have up until now thought of as augmented chords- I have to build them finger by finger whereas most basic chords I can hammer on. Practice I guess. Thanks again.

[dnic]

Steve said " I still struggle with what I have up until now thought of as augmented chords- I have to build them finger by finger whereas most basic chords I can hammer on. Practice I guess. Thanks again."

That hit home with me too. I don't what it is about that shape it's just never stuck enemy head.

[antares]

Well I checked out the augmented chords on your Blog Frank. I asked a name "Pro" at a weekend school I attended a couple of years ago how he played augmented chords and he just played an A minor shape moved across one string. I thought it was a lazy way, a pro's fudge to wing it through sessions. What I've been doing is fretting the D string with my little finger as well. (That could be "pinky" to you.) Although it's blatantly obvious, the D string third fret is simply an octave lower than E string first fret so I completely get it now. I don't know how I missed that for so long, although I reckon it's because I thought that augmented chords had four root notes like what I thought were diminished chords, so I needed to struggle to get the pinky on too. This is directly attributable to me confusing diminished chords with diminished seventh chords which do require four root notes. Well they say you live and learn (whomever "they" are) and I've certainly joined up a few dots here. Cheers Frank.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Frank - Great blog. Great explanations of the basics. Thank you.

How many students do you have?

John

[blitzstar]

Thanks again guys for checking out my blog and for your kind comments.  I really appreciate it.

I'll be doing lessons here on the forum in the near future so if you're interested, please check my posts periodically.

I look forward to some great discussions.

Frank