Music Theory

Here, we simplify the building blocks of music—scales, chords, rhythms, and more—into easy-to-understand articles.

Basic blues progression for guitar lesson

Chromatic Descending Chord Sequence Over A Basic Blues Progression

On 2024-06-25

This guitar lesson for beginners explains what's a basic blues progression and how to add a chromatic descending chord sequence at the end.

 

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Slash Chords On Guitar - Lesson With Charts And Diagrams

On 2024-03-07

Slash chords, distinguished by a chord followed by a forward slash and a bass note (e.g., C/G), are a powerful tool for enriching your guitar sound.

This guitar lesson for beginners unravels the mystery behind slash chords, revealing how they redefine familiar shapes and add a touch of sophistication to your chord progressions.

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How To Use Diminished 7 Chords On Guitar - 4 Examples

On 2024-01-17

Diminished 7 chords bring a distinctive, mysterious sound to music.

Widely used in jazz and classical genres, they infuse tension and creativity into your playing.

This guitar lesson explains how they are built and how to use them thanks to four easy examples.

Dorian mode for guitar lesson

9 Essential Guitar Scales For Beginners

On 2024-01-01

Jazz improvisation starts with the right scales. Instead of learning everything at once, focusing on a few essential scales will help you understand harmony, navigate the fretboard, and start soloing with confidence.

In this lesson, you’ll discover the key scales every beginner guitarist should know to build a strong jazz foundation.

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Chord Substitution - Enharmonic Equivalents - Altered & Extended Dominant Seventh Chords

On 2023-12-19

This guitar theory lesson about harmonic equivalents provides six examples, that demonstrate how dominant seventh chords (rootless, altered or extended) can also be considered as other types of chords (min6, dim7, 7).

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How To Identify Chords By Ear - Advices And Practice Tips For Guitar Players

On 2023-09-09

Identifying chords by ear is a valuable skill for any musician, especially in jazz. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you develop your ability to identify chords by ear:

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Major Scale And Secondary Dominant Seventh Chords - Free PDF Transcription And YouTube Short Videos

On 2023-08-17

This guitar lesson implies playing secondary dominant seventh chords of the harmonized major scale. 

Free PDF available on GUMROAD and four YouTube short videos at the bottom of this page.

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Harmonization of Minor Scales On Guitar - Natural, Melodic and Harmonic Minor

On 2023-08-03

Harmonization of minor scales involves creating chords by stacking thirds on each note of the scale.

There are three common types of minor scales: natural minor, melodic minor, and harmonic minor.

This guitar lesson explore each one and explain how to harmonize them on guitar.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FREE PDF

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Dominant, Subdominant, Secondary Subdominant and Secondary Dominant Chords - Guitar Theory Lesson

On 2023-07-30

In music theory, the terms "dominant," "subdominant," and "secondary dominant" are used to describe different types of chords and their functions within a key or harmonic progression.

Here's an explanation of each term with examples for guitar players.

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Relative And Parallel Modes - Music Theory Lesson For Guitar

On 2023-05-19

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.

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The Major Sixth Diminished Scale - Jazz Guitar Lesson Around The Barry Harris Concept

On 2023-03-20

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

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How To Turn A 7th Chord Into A Rootless 9th Chord - Theory Lesson For Guitarists

On 2023-02-15

This chord theory lesson focuses on how to transform a dominant 7 chord (drop 2, drop 3 and related inversions) into a rootless ninth chord by replacing the tonic (1) with the ninth (9). 

This technique will help guitarists expand their harmonic knowledge and also explore their neck in more depth. This can be a useful trick when composing or for chord melody arrangements.

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Diminished 7 Chords - Connections With Dominant 7 And Minor 6

On 2022-12-11

In this guitar lesson you will learn how to transform a diminished 7 chord into a dominant 7 and also a minor 6 chord either by lowering or raising only one note in order to get a smooth transition.

Check the GUMROAD shop to get the free PDF.

Difference between maj9 add9 and 9 chords on guitar

Differences Between Maj9, add9 and 9 Chords - Music Theory For Guitar With Charts And Neck Diagrams

On 2022-11-16

This guitar lesson with charts and shapes will help you understanding the differences between major 9, add9 and dominant 9 Chords. How they are built and how to play them on guitar.

Dominant seventh chord extensions

Chord Extensions - Music Theory Lesson

On 2022-06-07

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.

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Natural Minor Scale Harmonization - Guitar Theory Lesson

On 2022-04-13

This guitar theory lesson covers a very important topic that any musician must know : How To Harmonize The Natural Minor Scale? 

You will learn how to build triads and seventh chords starting on each note of the natural minor scale.