Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Know Your Chords - 9th Chords (A Shapes)

7th Chords will be the first installment in the "Know your Chords" series. I'm going to approach this the same way you were taught bar chords, E shapes and A Shapes. The E shapes will be referenced at the 5th fret making it an A chord, the A shapes will be referenced at the 7th fret making it an E chord.











This way you can start with memorizing the shape and chord name based on a chord shape you already know. These shapes are also moveable, like a bar chord, so shifting them around will help you play them in other keys. I'm going to show them in E bar shapes and A bar shapes so you can have a few different places on the fretboard to play them.

9th Chords:
Here are the notes that are included to build these chords and their names:


Chord Name Chord Structure
E9 9th 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
Em9 minor 9th 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
Emaj9 major 9th 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
Eadd9 add 9 1, 3, 5, 9

Rather than focusing on the theory of the chord, which is included above in the chord structure, I want to focus on learning the shape. This will help you remember it and add it to your chord vocabulary.








I recommend playing through these over and over and memorizing their names when you play them.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Know Your Chords - 6th Chords (E Shapes)

6th Chords will be the next installment in the "Know your Chords" series. I'm going to approach this the same way you were taught bar chords, E shapes and A Shapes. The E shapes will be referenced at the 5th fret making it an A chord, the A shapes will be referenced at the 7th fret making it an E chord.











This way you can start with memorizing the shape and chord name based on a chord shape you already know. These shapes are also moveable, like a bar chord, so shifting them around will help you play them in other keys. I'm going to show them in E bar shapes and A bar shapes so you can have a few different places on the fretboard to play them.

6th Chords:
Here are the notes that are included to build these chords and their names:

Chord Name Chord Structure
A6 6th 1, 3, 5, 6
Am6 Minor 6th 1, 3, 5, 6
A6add9 6/9 1, 3, 5, 6, 9
Am6/9 Minor 6th add 9 1, 3, 5, 6, 9

Rather than focusing on the theory of the chord, which is included above in the chord structure, I want to focus on learning the shape. This will help you remember it and add it to your chord vocabulary.



I recommend playing through these over and over and memorizing their names when you play them.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

New Pedalboard build plans

I have a board now I'm pretty happy with. It has all the tones I'm needing, sounds great with my amp, and is small. I've been through a few different creations using a PT Pro and a Trailer Trash which for me is just too big to haul around. For the most part I only use overdrive, delay, and reverb, so having a big board isn't necessary for what I play. I plan to build a 2nd board so I can leave my other board at home or at the church I regularly play.

Here are the build plans:

Diamond Comp > JHS Morning Glory > Klon Klone Jr > Ernie Ball VP JR > MXR Carbon Copy > Strymon Timeline > Strymon Blue Sky


Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Know Your Chords - 6th Chords (A Shapes)

6th Chords will be the next installment in the "Know your Chords" series. I'm going to approach this the same way you were taught bar chords, E shapes and A Shapes. The E shapes will be referenced at the 5th fret making it an A chord, the A shapes will be referenced at the 7th fret making it an E chord.











This way you can start with memorizing the shape and chord name based on a chord shape you already know. These shapes are also moveable, like a bar chord, so shifting them around will help you play them in other keys. I'm going to show them in E bar shapes and A bar shapes so you can have a few different places on the fretboard to play them.

6th Chords:
Here are the notes that are included to build these chords and their names:

Chord Name Chord Structure
E6 6th 1, 3, 5, 6
Em6 Minor 6th 1, 3, 5, 6
E6add9 6/9 1, 3, 5, 6, 9
Em6/9 Minor 6th add 9 1, 3, 5, 6, 9

Rather than focusing on the theory of the chord, which is included above in the chord structure, I want to focus on learning the shape. This will help you remember it and add it to your chord vocabulary.


I recommend playing through these over and over and memorizing their names when you play them.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Know Your Chords - 7th Chords (E Shapes)

7th Chords will be the first installment in the "Know your Chords" series. I'm going to approach this the same way you were taught bar chords, E shapes and A Shapes. The E shapes will be referenced at the 5th fret making it an A chord, the A shapes will be referenced at the 7th fret making it an E chord.











This way you can start with memorizing the shape and chord name based on a chord shape you already know. These shapes are also moveable, like a bar chord, so shifting them around will help you play them in other keys. I'm going to show them in E bar shapes and A bar shapes so you can have a few different places on the fretboard to play them.

7th Chords:
Here are the notes that are included to build these chords and their names:

Chord Name Chord Structure
A7 Dominant 7th 1, 3, 5, 7
Amaj7 Major 7th 1, 3, 5, 7
A7sus Suspended 7th 1, 4, 5, 7
Am7 Minor 7th 1, 3, 5, 7
Aaug7 Augmented 7th 1, 3, 5, 7
Am7b5 Half diminished 1, 3, 5, 7
Adim7 Diminished 7th 1, 3, 5, ♭♭7


Rather than focusing on the theory of the chord, which is included above in the chord structure, I want to focus on learning the shape. This will help you remember it and add it to your chord vocabulary.



I recommend playing through these over and over and memorizing their names when you play them.