Note: If you're unfamiliar with the diatonic chords, read the very first entry on this blog (all the way at the bottom) before this one!
We all know that Ke$ha writes great songs, but not everyone realizes that the music she, and countless other pop musicians, write is still heavily influenced by European composers who have been dead for over 300 years! 19th Century composers like Liszt and Chopin knew how to make simple chord progression interesting by leading the ear places it didn't expect.
Listen to this simple I – IV - V progression.
C F G
and now that same progressions with some 19th century spice
C Bdim C/E F#dim G
It's more interesting right? Yes, and now we learn all about it!
Diminished Chords
You'll recall from your studies of the diatonic chords that the seven chord is always diminished, (that means that the third and fifth members of the chord are flattened). The root of the seven chord is the easiest one to find. It's one half step below the one chord. So, the seven chord of G would be F#dim.
What's the seven chord of D?
That's right! C#dim
Here's how you play them -
B Diminished
E Diminished
The root of the B dim is your middle finger on the fifth string and the root of the E dim is your first finger on the fourth string. They're both movable chords so if you move the B up one fret you get C and then C# etc... You can play them all with these two shapes!
Dominant Chords
You may have different ideas about what makes a dominant chord. You know it's the five chord and maybe that it has the tendency to direct the ear back home to the one chord. Today, let's think of them as chords that set up other chords. If you play G C D you should feel a strong pull back to G. Try it.
Now try G C F#dim. Again, you should feel like playing G again. So the dominant chords of G, are D and F#dim (the five chord and the seven chord).
What would the dominant chords be for C?
Correct again! It's G and Bdim (G is the five and B is one half step below one so it's the seven) Try a couple more and play them -
Now you always know how to find your way home.
The fun part -
You can use dominant chords to tonicize chords other than the one!
This is where it gets crazy. Play that I – IV – V progression again -
C F G
and now try -
C F F#dim G (F#dim is the E dim shape with your first finger in the fourth fret)
We know that the seven chord of G (one half step below G) is F#dim and we used that chord to make G feel like home, even though it's not! That's called a -
Secondary Dominant Chords
A secondary dominant chord is a non-diatonic chord that can be used to tonicize another chord, (the computer thinks I'm spelling tonicize wrong but I'm sticking to my guns). That means that you can set up any diatonic chord by preceding it with either it's seven chord or it's five chord. You just pretend like you're in the key of the chord you're trying to lead into. Guitar players call it a “five of chord” or a “seven of chord”. Here are the chords that are most often tonicized in the key of C -
d min
e min
G
a min
V / ii = A7
V / iii = B7
V / V = D7
V / vi = E7
vii/ii = C#dim
vii/ii = D#dim
vii/V = F#dim
vii/vi = G#dim
What this chart shows you, is how to tonicize different chords in the key of C. Take D minor for example. The chords underneath it, in the chart are A7 (the five of two) and C#dim (the seven of two). That means that if you would like to lead the ear into D minor you can preface it with either of these chords. Try this progression -
C F A7 Dm
A7 isn't normally played in the key of C but when you get to the A7 you should feel a strong pull toward the D minor.
If you want to pull the listener in to G you can try D7 (the five of five) or F#dim (the seven of five). It's a great way make a simple chord progression more unique or, if your feeling particulary ambitious, to change to another key entirely!
In another life, I must have been a scientist. Ever since I was about 12 years old, I would lock myself in the library and read every book I could find on theoretical physics. Black holes, time travel, The Big Bang…it all fascinated me. I couldn't understand most of the mathematics or pronounce the scientists' names, but the search for the fundamental nature of the universe kept me up at night. I just wanted to know...what is everything made of? If you break it down to the smallest particle, what would you find? Contemplating these huge ideas was (and still is) my favorite activity, second only to making music.
During one of my trips to the library, I saw the spine of a book with the title "The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory" by Brian Greene. Ooooooh, I thought, Superstrings! I imagined huge strings stretching across vast distances of space-time connecting the galaxies. I thought it might be another cool name for wormholes, so I picked up the book. What I found was the most beautiful answer to the 'what are things are made of' question I've ever encountered.
String theory is weird. It defies everything we learned in school about matter. It is also quite simple. It proposes that all of the matter in the universe is made of tiny vibrating strings. [Insert the sound of my 12-year-old brain exploding] Scientists discovered that when they smashed atoms together (using huge atom smashing machines the size of small countries) you get gluons, neutrinos, and other fun-sounding subatomic particles. What was shocking and a bit problematic was how many different kinds of subatomic particles they found. How could matter at the most fundamental level be so complicated? Then….String theory came into the picture to help explain this. What if these quarks and neutrinos are not particles at all but vibrations of little strings? One string can vibrate at different frequencies, and depending on how it is plucked it produces a different particle. If we think of it in terms of music, an electron is perhaps an G#, a neutrino an E…and so on. You could say that all the matter we see in the universe is a symphony of cosmic music!
I've always wondered why music seems to be a universal language that everyone speaks intuitively. For me personally, it's the one thing in the world that just makes so much sense. The universe may not be made of strings, and it will take us many years to develop the technology to even test these theories, but for me it’s more about the idea of the thing. When I'm playing my guitar, I imagine that I'm adding to the cosmic symphony that's playing all around us. As players of a stringed instrument, we may be speaking the language of the universe in its original tongue. Pretty cool!
In my two years of teaching guitar, I have repeatedly encountered a phenomenon in adult students: "Older Sister Syndrome".
Several of my adult students, usually just beginning the journey of learning guitar, from as diverse backgrounds as could be imagined, had an older sibling or family member that played an instrument or sang in adolescence, and is considered "really musical". The student almost always says this in acknowledgement of the fact that they are beginning guitar later in life, and thus have no chance to be "really musical" like the older sister, or brother, or cousin, or father, to all of whom I have heard this quasi-divine trait applied.
Often these students are remarkably quick to learn, and possess innate musical skill from years of listening to and loving music, but they cannot shake the perception that they will never be as good as the "older sister". This deferential underrating of one's own skills can be somewhat harmful in the fragile beginning stages of learning a brand new skill; often we can be so self-critical as to kill the spark that drove us to learn in the first place.
I find myself advising these students with various reassurances.
1. When it comes to artistic skill, it's self-destructive to compare yourself to anyone else, especially someone with the advantage of several years of experience. You are beginning your own journey, and can only gauge success and against yourself; where are you in comparison to your own week 1, 10, 100? Accepting the strict correlation between practice and improvement, we can take "musical" destiny into our own hands; how good you can be is a simple matter of how many hours you sit down and play the guitar. There is no magical trait that some people (older sisters) possess that make them musical and others (you) un-musical.
2. Everyone will have a different relationship with guitar. Some folks cannot live without it; they eat, sleep, breathe and are defined by guitar. Others want merely to attain a certain level of competence, so that they can play for themselves, or on camping trips, or in preparation for a family event. There is even a portion of people that simply desire a fun hobby, something to occupy a spare hour while unwinding after a day in a cubicle. Maybe your "older X" is from the first group; obsessed and driven, having named the guitar and often sleeping beside it on chilly winter nights. And maybe your relationship will be necessarily different, as you are a working adult in NYC, juggling life's responsibilities with little time for an all-consuming hobby. This is okay! It's perfectly acceptable to have a less-than-religious devotion to guitar; chances are the interaction will still be meaningful to you.
3. Acknowledge and take pride in the bravery and diligence exhibited by attempting to learn a brand new instrument. It's not easy, especially as the years go on and our brains become slightly less spongy to absorb new skills (at least at first!); to know that the work ahead is arduous, and yet plunge headlong anyway, is remarkable and should be applauded. It's terribly important to recognize your own positive attributes, at least as often as those negative shortcomings. There will always be mistakes and learning curves, and as the level of difficulty increases, the amount of tenacity required is proportionally greater--accept this as the fundamental principle of learning something new, and learn to smile through those mistakes and jump back into the playing!
I imagine I'll encounter this phenomenon for as long as I teach, for those adolescent impressions and traumas (of whatever degree) are so crucial in the shaping of our adult attitudes; there will always be new students haunted by the really musical older sisters of their youth. But hopefully I can become more efficient in helping them to diffuse these emotional landmines that destroy self-esteem and erode confidence. With a mindful attitude and a decent work ethic, anybody can be musical, even if you're the younger sibling instead of the elder (see: Mozart, Bach, Allman, Beach Boys, etc).
I still remember the first time I played guitar on stage. I was performing with my band at the Red Lion in New York City. The people in my band were complete pro's hired by the indie record label I was working with. I was getting to play music on stage in the city of lights....the city of great rock 'n' roll. Plus, I had just gotten a brand new sunburst Guild acoustic guitar. He was gorgeous. I named him Elvis because he reminded me of the cool sunburst guitars that conveniently appeared in "Blue Hawaii" whenever Elvis decided to randomly break out in song. Clearly, I was ready to take the stage by storm!
Well, almost.
I had been singing a long time but I had actually only been playing guitar for around 6 months and I was completely terrified of playing guitar on stage. Emphasis on the word "terrified". As the pro's in the band busied themselves setting up, I realized that I needed to tune my beautiful little Elvis. I hadn't planned on that! I panicked. I couldn't get the tuner to register anything from guitar because of the loud music playing in the bar. Then, I realized that it didn't matter anyway because I couldn't remember what the notes on the open strings were. I didn't even know what I was trying to tune to!!
In desperation, I turn to my lead guitarist setting up next to me on stage.
Me: "David, what note am I supposed to tune the 5th string to?"
Him: A look of complete confusion. "What do you mean?" He can't comprehend a question that basic.
Me: "I'm having trouble tuning the guitar. What note is the 5th supposed to be tuned to?"
Finally, after several tries, he figures out that my question is really, really that basic. He gives me a look that somehow combines astonishment, disdain, and impatience all in one. He also figures (correctly) that it will be faster for him to tune the guitar himself. He grabs the guitar, plugs it into the tuner with a cable (...ah ha!! so that is you avoid picking up the music in the bar!!) and rescues me.
Needless to say, I remember very little from the rest of that performance except that my hands were incredibly sweaty and left dark wet marks on the fretboard of my guitar. I'm sure I was shaking. Oh yes, I also had to keep turning my head to see what my fingers were doing so it was impossible to sing into the mic and play guitar at the same time.
The night felt like a spectacular failure.
Somehow the audience didn't seem to notice as much as I did. They said "Congratulations" and "Great job"...but I was sure that everyone was secretly appalled.
We do student concerts here at NYC Guitar School and I have the pleasure of hosting many of them. We go to a nightclub and our students get the opportunity to perform on stage in New York City...the city of lights and of great rock 'n' roll. Often, I bring that very same guitar, Elvis, for students to use on-stage. For many students, it is the first time they are playing in front of people. EVER. Sometimes, people are noticeably nervous, or make some mistakes during their song. When they are done, I tell them "Congratulations" and "Great job" and I help them get on and off the stage...but do you know what I am secretly thinking?
Here is what I'm secretly thinking: I am completely impressed. I know how much guts it takes to get up there and do your best with what you have right now. I am also completely inspired. Each performer is really putting themselves out there and the excitement and joy is wonderfully contagious.
Join us on November 19th 6:00 - 8:00pm at Arlene's Grocery for another very special Adult Student Concert. There are still a couple of spots left for students of the school to perform. Even if you aren't a student, come on by! It's free and we are super friendly!
Performing isn't about perfection, and it isn't about waiting until you aren't afraid anymore. It's about conviction and having fun. Take it from Elvis.
The best thing about being a guitar player is that we have so many options for how to express ourselves on the instrument. I remember when I just started learning as a kid, how blown away I was when I discovered that little white button on my 10 watt practice amp that made my guitar distorted, bringing me one step closer to sounding like the hard rock gods I was trying to emulate. I didn't leave my room for months!
The next time an influence would be that big of a game changer for me was on the opposite side of the sound spectrum. Growing up, I had always loved the sound of an acoustic guitar, but really just for it's essential role in the almighty power ballads that I was such a fan of. When I was about 14 or 15 my Dad had bought a CD from the bargain bin at the local Wal Mart to have something to play in the background during family dinners and holidays. It was called Guitar Fingerstyle. A compilation put out by the Narada record label of exclusively artists that played finger style on steel string guitars.
As a teenage metalhead, I was NOT proud of the fact that this CD affected me so much. But these musicians were finger tapping, playing percussion on the body of the guitar, and working in beautiful melodies all at the same time and on one guitar! So I looked into the individual artists on the compilation and discovered Billy McLaughlin, Don Ross, Laurence Jubar, and many others that I'm still into today. Check out these videos of two of my favorite guitar players in this style. And if you like it, I recommend doing a YouTube search for Candy Rat Records. They have a lot of artists in this genre and they release high quality videos of their playing. Enjoy!
I have been a guitar player and singer in my and for about a year now. Our lead guitarist is sort of our.....leader. She's got it all. She can write, she can sing, and she can organize like no one I have ever seen. It is my strong belief that every member of a band is an asset and a liability. My liability is that I am more of a beginner/intermediate than an intermediate/advanced player. My asset is my voice. I am no Aretha, but I work really hard and my voice has gotten so much better within the last year of working with my vocal coach. My lead guitarists asset is her songwriting. Like most music fans who have never written a song, I looked at her in amazement thinking.....How does she do that?
How DOES one do that? Write music and lyrics and collapse them all into a meaningful, yet catchy song. I began my research. I read articles in RollingStone. I looked up howto books. I searched for advice videos on youtube and blogs. Do you know what I found to be the answer? You simply have to write and write and write and write and write and write and wait for your song to ARRIVE. What a thought. To think that a song kind of has a mind of it's own and will reveal itself to you when it's ready.
Coldplay has released a new album this month that I think is worth listening to. As a fan, I believe that they have some pretty well-written songs. I saw an interview with the lead singer, Chris Martin. The journalist asked him the million dollar question. How do you write your songs? What is your process? Chris answered saying that you basically have to write as much as you can and wait for your song to arrive. If you write a song that's bad, then at least you are one song closer to finding the good one. Chris went on to explain that when he wrote the mega-hit YELLOW, it took him by surprise. He wasn't trying to write a hit song, he was just goofing around. The song just kind of came out. Even other songs that were an inch away from being tossed in the garbage were saved because the song somehow seemed 10 times better sounding than the day it was actually written. He described himself as determined and obsessed. He wasn't going to stop working as hard as he could until he had found the song he was looking for.
As silly as this little piece of inspiration may sound, I took Chris Martin's advice. I a writing, wishing, and waiting for my song to arrive. Rock stars are awesome, but they are also human like you and me. With a little hard-work, stubbornness, and patience, there's no reason why you, or I , or anyone else can't write our own YELLOW for the world to listen to.
I am in love with New York City. I always thought that it was just meant to be...that NYC was perfect for me and that I was perfect for NYC. But I just heard an alternate explanation in the form of a scientific study concluding that danger increases attraction. In other words, if potential lovers meet in a hazardous situation, such as in the middle of a narrow footbridge twisting in the wind, they are more likely to fall in love than if they meet in a safer setting, such as in the middle of the toothpaste aisle at the pharmacy.
Early one morning I left Moscow, Idaho. Late that evening I arrived at LaGuardia Airport, New York City. I brought an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, and a banjo. I had some clothing. I had a tuning fork. I even had fifty dollars to live on for the first few weeks until I got signed to a major music label. I felt more than prepared.
I heaved my canvas rucksack into the back of the yellow cab and settled into the back, attempting to exude an air of bored sophistication, as though I took cabs every year. “120th Street and Amsterdam Avenue” I said with conviction. “Or possibly 120th Avenue and Amsterdam Street. It’s in Manhattan. An island.”
I was immediately flung back into the seat by extreme acceleration, then pitched from side to side as the cab swerved violently. “Welcome to New York City” my driver yelled back at me in hither-to-unheard-by-me accent. Then he ran over a curb, exiting the airport and entering a busy freeway with several inches to spare between our vehicle and those to the front, rear, right and left.
“Aighhhh” I replied, distracted by the fear of imminent death by car crash.
He looked back at me and continued shouting in a friendly manner, “New York is the best city in the world. If you are here for thirty minutes you are a New Yorker.”
I would have appreciated his insight except that, as I mentioned, he was looking back at me, and yet was continuing to press down the accelerator to the fullest. “Gahhhh” I responded weakly, feebly gesturing towards the windshield and the panorama of onrushing traffic.
Luckily he glanced in the indicated direction, and immediately wrestled the wheel to the side with a loud screeching sound. “Go to hell!” he screamed, rolling down his window and shaking his fist helpfully at a nearby truck. Continuing on his theme he said “I’m a New Yorker too! I’ve been here for two weeks.”
At this time I successfully articulated in my mind a question that had been sort of tugging at my brain for the last three and one-half minutes, namely I asked myself: “Did my driver really just take a swig from a bottle of vodka? No, that is not possible, is it?”
My driver took another swig from his bottle of vodka. “Want some vodka?” he yelled.
“Urgggghhh” I whimpered. “Please oh please oh please, God, let me live.”
We were now hurtling over a bridge...and that is when I saw her: New York City. It was night and the lights of the city were myriad and beautiful beyond my power of comprehension. Suddenly I felt the energy of millions of people, millions of dreams and millions of stories. I became one of those people, in a cab with a crazy man and a mere 22 minutes away from being a New Yorker. I was moving very quickly into the unknown. I was terrified. And...I was in love.
By the way, if you yourself are looking for love, you may be interested in my latest brilliant business idea: Speed Dating While Being Shot At.
In a city of intense work and play, endless options are presented daily in the search of the perfect after work hang out, extra activities, a life of your own outside the office.
For those with a little guitar knowledge, or even proficient at the instrument, a fantastic blend of practice and entertainment has arrived; Happy Hour Guitar has been created and the buzz is building up around the city's guitar community. Professional adults leave the office eager to hang out with other guitarists and improve their playing while having an amazing time. Here is the scenario.
It is 5:31pm...the doors of the elevator shut close and you descend into real life, it is Friday. Instinctively reaching for the tie, loosening up face muscles into a relaxed grin, it is time for a beer. Holding the pick in your pocket you think to yourself:"I'll play Hotel California even better today", and the grin widens. "Last week's practice was so much fun, I wonder if Jessica (is that her name?) will come and jam today...?"
You pay for your beers at the corner deli and head over to guitar world, what a perfect way to break between work and dinner, it is time for Happy Hour Guitar.
You get in your seat, your personalized coaster shows you have six sessions left, a room full of talk, guitar tuning, random rhythms, bottles opening, it is time to get settled. You pick up a guitar and all play a beautiful collective G, it is in tune. The room quietens as the playlist is announced. Lights dim and the first song is cued up. A brief explanation of the chords and strum in the song is welcomed as you reassure confidence brushing up on the Fmaj7 chord. The video is fired up and the synchronized strum frenzy begins, it is time for Guitaraoke. As the first song ends, a cheerful burst of spontaneous applause and laughter emerges, yes, give yourself a hand, it is time to shine.
GUITARISTS WANTED!!!!! On June 21st at 5pm New York City will be hosting the annual Guitar Mass Appeal. People of all ages and skill levels are welcomed to join us and jam to great rock hits! For more information click here.
Hey everybody! Hope you are all having a fantastic start to the summer. If not, we here are some awesome summer concerts to help you out.
All concerts are shown at the Prospect Park Bandshell as part of Celebrate Brooklyn 2011. All performances, except benefit concerts are free, with a $3 suggested contribution.
Tuesday, June 14, 7:00 P.M. - Benefit Concert
THE DECEMBERISTS / BEST COAST Tickets available via Ticketmaster, the Mercury Lounge box office and the Music Hall of Williamsburg box office.
Thursday, June 18, 7:30 P.M.
LEDISI / ANTHONY DAVID
Friday, June 23, 7:30 P.M.
ROY HARDGROVE QUINTET / THE BADWAGON FEATURING JASON MORAN'S BANDWAGON & THE BAD PLUS
Saturday, June 25, 7:00 P.M.
THE HEAVY / THE LONDON SOULS / SUPERHUMAN HAPPINESS
Saturday, July 12, 7:30 P.M.
LYRICIST LOUNGE FEATURING RAEKWON / SMIF-N-WESSUN / JOELL ORTIZ & MORE
Friday, July 22, 7:00 P.M.
SEUN KUTI & EGYPT 80 / FAAJI AGBA
Saturday, July 23, 7:00 P.M.
THE FEELIES / REAL ESTATE / TIMES NEW VIKING
Saturday, July 30, 7:30 P.M.
DR. JOHN & THE LOWER 911 / CHUCK BROWN / RED BARAAT
Tuesday, August 2, 7:00 P.M.
SUFJAN STEVENS
Thursday, August 4, 7:00 P.M.
METROPOLIS WITH ALLOY ORCHESTRA / MARIKA HUGHES.
Metropolis is not a band, but instead a great movie.
Friday August 5, 7:00 P.M.
RA RA RIOT / DELICATE STEVE / BUKE AND GASS
