We're going to get into a couple of keys - one here and another one next month - that involve open-string Blues shuffles that are less common.
This first uncommon key is Blues in Open D. The IV chord in open D is an open G shuffle pattern. I'm not saying nobody teaches an open G shuffle the way I do, all I'm saying is, I've not seen it taught anywhere else.
Don't confuse what I'm talking about with an open D or open G tuning. We are in standard tuning here.
Be sure to go through the prerequisites linked to at the beginning of the lesson if you haven't gone through them already. This current lesson presupposes them.
This lesson has fretboard diagrams, the 12-bar form in D, turnarounds in open D and a 4-minute video demonstrating all the above.
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Unit 6: 7th Voicings - Coming Soon!
Just a heads up! The next unit to be released of my method, Vertical Truth: Chordal Mechanisms for the Guitar is done and will be launched shortly!
What are 7th Voicings? For the answer to that question read the blog, Back to Bach.
7th Voicings (I've also heard them referred to as, "shell voicings") are ubiquitous in jazz guitar playing. Freddie Greens' 4-to-the-bar strumming and the Gypsy Jazz genre derived from the playing of Django Reinhardt come immediatly to mind, as well as traditional jazz guys like Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel and Martin Taylor etc, but these chord voicings are found everywhere.
The way triads are used in 80's Rock - Bon Jovi, Van Halen, etc. - incorporates triad inversions that create smooth voice leading. When combined with what the bass player plays (usually the root at least) you have open and close-voiced ideas.
Country pickers like Chet Atkins and Vince Gill use them as well. Another guy I can think of who's hard to classify that uses them is Tommy Immanuel.
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Blogs Published Since Last Newsletter
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Common Tone Voice Leading: When you move power chords and bar chords around (the typical way most guitarists play), most of the time you are in parallel mode. That's one reason why guitarists in general are fuzzy, or worse, when it comes to inversions.
1979 Ibanez Artist: For $300 I had a guitar that I used for years and with which I made tens of thousands of dollars.
Back to Bach: I was a guitar player who was formed by the rock music of the mid-to-late sixties. I was trying to relate what I was learning in this music theory class to my guitar. I could find no correlation in the Bach style to my guitar playing.
Tab Reliance Sabotages Knowledge!: If you are relying on tab to learn stuff; tunes, scales, licks, etc. then you are playing by rote, like a trained monkey.
Thanks, and remember - you can contact me with any testimonials, questions, issues or criticisms. I love hearing from readers!
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