Theory Archives - Jody Hughes Music

Why The Way People Teach Chords Makes NO Sense!

Jody — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 16:13:52 +0000

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...

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Adding Color To Major Chords With The 6th

Jody — Wed, 28 May 2025 13:46:11 +0000

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...

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Old-Time Music Rhythm Workshop

Jody — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 15:16:52 +0000

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.

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Reducing Tension Part One: Dynamics

Jody — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 14:54:21 +0000

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...

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Harmonic Trick: ii-V

Jody — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 12:31:44 +0000

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...

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Most Common Bluegrass Chord Progressions

Jody — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 22:35:00 +0000

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...

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What Are Slash Chords?

Jody — Sat, 13 Apr 2024 14:11:59 +0000

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...

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The #1 Skill I Wished I’d Acquired Sooner

Jody — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 19:55:28 +0000

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...

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Intellectual Property Rights Are In Grave Danger

Jody — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 20:49:27 +0000

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....

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Chords in Stacked Fifths

Jody — Sun, 25 Dec 2022 18:33:48 +0000

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...

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