Another post rock themed set of chords! In this progression I experimented more around the classic vi-I-IV-V sound that's used by bands like Explosions in the Sky (with some small liberties taken!). For this version, I tried to use lots of voicings containing clusters and other internal dissonance. The end result was something which I think sounds pretty nice!
2023-02-09 23:17:07 +0000 UTC View PostHey it's been a little while. Here's a new tapping riff that I came up with today. While some of this is pretty straight ahead, it's tricky to play due to the unusual left hand tapped double stop that I used to push the rhythm near the end of each two bar sequence. I think it makes this pretty fun though. Give it a try!
Written in DAEAC#E tuning (capo 4).
2023-02-08 05:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAnother two guitar harmony idea based around twinkling arpeggios. I tried to make this one a bit less lengthy / easier to play. The concept of two guitars twinkling with motion / rhythms going in a similar direction is a very Toe / American Football esq technique imo. Hope you enjoy learning this one!
2023-01-25 23:47:53 +0000 UTC View PostHere's a nice example of some arpeggio playing for Math Rock in standard tuning. I've essentially written a little chord progression moving through the key of B major with some nice 7th and 9th chord sounds. I've also added a cool harmony over top that focus a lot on sus2 and sus4 sounds. Hope you enjoy listening and learning this one!
2023-01-24 19:09:45 +0000 UTC View PostSome beautiful twinkly chords in standard tuning that sound great with clean tone. However, some of this are quite complex to play. Makes for a nice challenge, can you play these cleanly?
2023-01-20 21:34:31 +0000 UTC View PostA fine selection of delicious and useful chords for you to learn in 2023. Make learning and mastering these a simple goal for the year! Also...if you haven't looked at or worked on the "Chords To Learn Before 2022" video, you should definitely check that one out first!
2023-01-18 05:35:32 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone, here's a really fun riff that I wrote in DADF#AE. It's a really big and groovy line.
2023-01-12 23:25:53 +0000 UTC View PostCame up with a fun chord progresison today that has the feel of a 2010's emo revival song. Kinda reminded me a bit of Braid. I think these chords would also work really well for shoegaze.
Try them out!
2023-01-05 05:50:22 +0000 UTC View PostSome really beautiful standard tuning chords that really sound great in a strummed driving progression. These also sound pretty amazing for other styles too. Give them a try!
2022-12-16 04:49:31 +0000 UTC View PostMore chord ideas in FACGCE capo 2. I was trying to figure out some new shapes and ideas based around slightly modifying the open chord sound.
2022-12-11 21:25:09 +0000 UTC View PostAnother exploration of the IV-V-iv-iii sound, this time written for FACGCE tuning in D major. I'm really enjoying the sound of this progression as it's extremely simple and brings about a pretty melodramatic vibe.
2022-12-09 20:17:29 +0000 UTC View PostWrote a section that I think would sound great as an intro. It's built around the idea of rhythmic shots using lots of pretty "two finger" chords. Using chords that require mostly open notes is a great way to focus on melodic movement in your harmony playing (especially in alternate tunings). Hope you have fun learning this one!
2022-12-07 04:59:36 +0000 UTC View PostA twinkly guitar take on one of the most classic Japanese chord progressions (IV-V-vi-iii). I've written this one in DAEAC#E (Capo 7). Hope you enjoy!
2022-12-06 20:34:16 +0000 UTC View PostIt's been a while since I've done a chord progression / voicing showcase lesson. The theme I wanted to tackle in this one was the sound of 'motivation'. I was going for something that internally motivates me - I like a lot of chord changes, individually pretty voicings, and something with a lot of of shifts in emotion. I think this worked out well!
Would highly recommend learning this for anyone who plays in DAEAC#E a lot.
2022-11-25 19:58:30 +0000 UTC View PostHey! Here are a set of useful 7th chord sounds for DAEAC#E. These are shell voicings, or simple 7th chord voicings that are built using 1-b3-b7. They provide the rudimentary structure for a 7th chord and work well as a sound that you can build more complex structures off of. They also just work as a nice foundational chord to help you see the fretboard.
This might seem like a sound that you would use in standard tuning, but I think it's useful to know how to play something like th...
2022-11-24 18:15:38 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone, something a little different for today - I've been hearing the song Mr. Brightside by the Killers a ton on the radio while driving. It's gotten me pretty curious about some of the guitar parts and how they work. There are definitely some very pretty guitar shapes in this song. Attached / below is my analysis of the main riff and the verse riff. Expect a video on this to come out tomorrow too.
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2022-11-20 21:10:17 +0000 UTC View Post*Hey everyone, here's something that I've been planning to write up and post for a long time. My short hand(ish, lol) guide on how to practice / use a scale. This is definitely foundational material for me so I'd highly recommend reading this / downloading this if you get a chance!
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Your knowledge of scales and the ability to apply them is probably one of the most important thing...
2022-11-07 18:57:14 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone, this is a supplement to a new upcoming video on "pentatonic advice for math rock and prog". The main idea of the video is to promote creative exploration of a scale by trying to access new interval patterns in your melodic lines and harmony. In this case, this is demonstrated in the video through finding chord shapes that exist within the scale. My goal is to hopefully demonstrate that pentatonic scales can sound cool outside of just blues and jazz.
Hope you enjoy!
2022-11-06 19:30:38 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone, here's the PDF supplement to my upcoming video on sus2(#11) chords. To my ear at least, this is one of the best sounding chords out there. I like to view it as a Lydian sound but it also works great as a dominant 11 chord (depending on what you perceive the root to be).
In the PDF below, i've listed these chords as Sus2(#11) sounds and their inversions. Meaning, I'm treating C as the root. However, you can also treat the note D as the root. If you do that, these chords end...
2022-10-29 21:24:47 +0000 UTC View PostA new set of shapes that work really well as an easy, fat, moveable chord. These chords are 2nd inversion 7th chords that are built on the lowest 4 strings. They also sound / work really well for Shoegaze so I'd try them in that context too.
These are to be played in standard tuning. Happy practicing
2022-10-19 22:36:14 +0000 UTC View PostA short composition that goes through some of my favourite "jazzy" shapes in standard tuning. The idea was to create something that helps you to expand your vocabulary, practice new keys and key changes, and help you to work on your overall chord playing. Hope you enjoy learning some of these!
2022-10-13 19:32:43 +0000 UTC View PostA cool series of runs written in FACGCE that would sound great as an ending to a song. This is a good one to learn (and practice!) as it contains a lot of nice "noodly" midwest emo / math rock gestures and it focuses on lines that ascend and descend in pitch. Moreover, I focus heavily on climbing up and down the guitar neck. If you find that you are usually stuck playing on one part of the neck then this would be a great line to learn to help you break out of that habit. Hope you enjoy!
2022-09-27 20:44:29 +0000 UTC View PostHey! Just got a fun noodly riff for you all to try. This one a down-tuned version of DAEAC#E, CGDGBD. The riff plays around with a lot of hammer-ons and pull offs into open notes and would be great as a practice piece for someone looking to build their skills at this kind of playing. Hope you enjoy!
2022-09-15 04:36:21 +0000 UTC View PostInspired by a recent lesson with one of my students - In this video I demonstrate a simple riff that you can learn to help you begin to play in the odd meter of 7. This one focuses on a simple stream of 7 eighth notes and the challenge will be avoiding the reflex of wanting to play in 4/4 time. Something that can commonly happen with this rhythm is that the student will turn the last note into a quarter note, or add in an eighth note rest in an attempt to compensate for the uneven feel. Avoid...
2022-09-13 22:26:15 +0000 UTC View PostAnother look at a tasty 'Explosions In The Sky' style post rock chord progression. This one comes from the song 'Your Hand In Mine' and it bares some similarity to the progression explored in my last video on post rock. However, there are some subtle differences in this one which gives it a bit of a different emotional colour. Hope you enjoy learning it!
2022-08-28 07:32:42 +0000 UTC View PostAn arrangement of some very fun, epic, chords arranged for Math Rock tapping. This idea is in the key of F major and focuses on the simple concept of holding chords in the left hand, while using various tapping techniques in the right hand. This is hopefully a useful example of what you could do within that framework of two-hand tapping technique. A little easter egg - there's a famous Neil Young chord voicing used in this riff, can you spot it???
2022-08-12 21:26:55 +0000 UTC View PostA look at a really epic sounding vi-I-IV-V progression that sounds excellent for post rock / emotional music. I got this idea from an Explosions In The Sky song. 100% recommend trying this one!
2022-08-03 19:53:14 +0000 UTC View PostFour sets of 7th chord voicings that will help you to start playing in harmonic minor keys. I've included Drop 3 + 2 forms and shell voicings. Not only will this likely introduce you to some new and more dissonant vocabulary, but it will also help give your fingers new structures to play around with. A bonus thing to practice here: Can you see the difference between these 7th chords and normal 7th chord shapes from a major key?
2022-07-27 06:45:40 +0000 UTC View PostA quick lesson on the concept of "seeing things within your scale". In this case, contextualized around Maj9 arpeggios and chords. If you follow my advice in this lesson, I think this will really help you to see and understand your guitar a lot better!
To summarize my strategy:
When you play something, try to see how it fits within your major scale patterns. Do you see how it relates to the pattern / what major scale patterns it could come from?
2022-07-14 21:18:25 +0000 UTC View PostA deep dive into some of the most iconic chord shapes, progressions, and sounds from the Japanese Math Rock band TOE. There are a lot of shapes here and examples from chord progressions used in their songs!
2022-07-07 17:01:28 +0000 UTC View Post