As I look back on my own musical training, one thing I view with absurdity is the way chord knowledge is taught. Often a beginner will buy a chord chart with 100-200 different chords on it and try to memorize as many as possible. Eventually…
One of my favorite extensions or colors to add to major chords is the 6th. This is a chord that isn’t really dissonant, so it even works in folk or bluegrass tunes. Earl Scruggs uses it in “Blueridge Cabin Home” as a thumb chord in…
I recently did a live stream covering “Old Time Music Rhythm.” You can view this 45 minute broadcast below. Some of the things discussed in this workshop were: Many of these things you won’t find as much in bluegrass or at all.
My hope is these set of articles will help alleviate tension in your hands and body as you play. Tension can lead to injures, speed barriers, and it can lead to unexpressive music. Today I’m going to discuss using dynamics to combat tension. Signs Of…
One of the things I enjoy doing when arranging a song is to change the underlying chords instead of the melody. This allows everyone to still hear the melody they are familiar with while adding something a little different. The ii-V sub To use this…
I think it’s good for beginners to have a good idea of what the most common chord progressions are in the genres they want to learn. Bluegrass has certain ones that occur more than others. If you were learning jazz, these might be different. For…
Have you ever seen a chord in a chord chart that looks like the following? G/B What does this mean? How do you play it? Understanding Slash Chords The good news is you don’t have to do any math! These aren’t chord fractions. These are…
I often think about my own musical training and how it went from the beginning. As a teacher, I think about the things that could have been improved, that would have allowed me to get “there” faster. By far, one of the things I wish…
I’ll sum up this post quickly-The examples below provide reasons that make me not want to share too much of my creative output and ideas online. As an artist who makes their living through their creative endeavors, I shouldn’t feel this way. Yet, I do….
Most modern music is played using chords built on THIRDS. For example, a basic G chord: GABCDEF# G-B-D However, you can get some interesting sounds by changing the intervals used to build the chords. In fact, some more complex music will use a combination of…
The most common chord change in all of music is: V-I In the key of C, this is G7 to C major. This chord progression goes from a very tense chord to one of complete resolution. You’ll find this sequence all the way back to…
What’s up! Today you’re gonna learn about harmonics, one of the coolest sounds you can produce on the guitar and banjo. To the untrained ear, harmonics may leave your listener scratching their head, wondering, “How on earth is that possible?” Time for you to learn…
Free Jazz banjo video lesson: Jazz Lick expansion In this video, I demonstrate another Jazz Lick. This time I cover how to expand on licks and the importance of playing material in all 12 keys. When you can play the material in multiple keys,…
A concept I got from my jazz studies I use a lot are called enclosures. Enclosures are & were used by jazz artists such as Clifford Brown, Pat Metheny, and Dizzy Gillespie. They were particularly popular in the late bebop period. A huge part of…