In music, triads are the foundational building blocks used to create chords. We use them to outline harmony, which is the “secret sauce” for creating melodic solos and fluid improvisation. In our previous lesson, we covered How to Practice Major Triads. Now that you have those shapes under your fingers, the transition to minor is … Read more
Learning jazz and blues licks can help you hear how scales, chord tones, chromatic notes, and rhythm come together in real musical phrases. In this lesson, you’ll learn seven licks over G7. Rather than only memorizing them, we’ll look at what each phrase is doing so you can adapt the ideas and create lines of … Read more
Triads form the backbone of most chords and are a great tool for outlining harmony, building melodies, and improvising. While the concept is simple in theory, learning how to apply triads all over the guitar neck takes practice but it’s well worth the effort. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to play Major triads, explore … Read more
Getting better at improvising is less about finding more notes and more about learning how to shape the notes you already know into musical ideas. In this lesson, we’ll look at nine ways to develop your improvisation, including rhythm, melody, repetition, chord awareness, song form, and shaping a solo over time. Skill Builders Roadmap Focus … Read more
One of the most fundamental scales to learn on guitar is the minor scale. Regardless of what genre you’re playing, you need to know the minor scale when playing melodies or improvising in minor keys. Although the minor scale can be played in one position of the guitar, the same set of notes can be … Read more
The minor pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on guitar. Its five-note structure works well for riffs, melodies, and improvisation across rock, blues, pop, and many other styles. In this lesson, you’ll learn the five minor pentatonic shapes, see how they move to different keys, connect neighboring positions, and use the … Read more
The blues scale builds on the pentatonic scale by adding one chromatic note that gives it a more distinctive sound. You’ll hear it across blues, rock, jazz, pop, and many other styles. In this lesson, we’ll compare the Major and minor blues scales, see how the added “blue note” changes the pentatonic sound, learn the … Read more
Improvising on guitar means creating musical ideas in the moment. The more clearly you understand the scales, chords, and sounds you’re working with, the easier it becomes to turn what you hear into something you can play. In this lesson, we’ll look at six areas that support improvisation: scales, diatonic chords, modes, playing over chord … Read more
The pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales in music, showing up in rock, blues, jazz, pop, and many other styles. The word “pentatonic” comes from “penta,” meaning five, because each pentatonic scale contains five notes. Because the scale uses fewer notes than a full Major or minor scale, it gives you … Read more
The blues is one of the music styles that many guitarists love because it’s a simple yet fun chord progression that allows for improvisation and an exchange of musical ideas amongst musicians. A standard blues is also commonly referred to as a 12 bar blues, meaning it has 12 measures to make up the entire … Read more