In this lesson we introduce the concept of Key Schemes. A “Key Scheme” is a pattern in which diatonic progressions are placed within a song. The progressions you've drilled in the previous lessons are “diatonic progressions.” Consider them to be building blocks that are put together in various ways, i.e. “schemes,” to create songs.
The 4 common Key Schemes are:
Whole Tone (descending)
Chromatic (descending)
Minor Thirds (ascending)
Key Circle (cycle of fourths)
So the concept is that if you drill the diatonic progressions you've previously learned in these various schemes, playing any given song will be a piece of cake because the building blocks of that song are already programmed into your hands. If you want an example of how this can play out in real life, see, How I Play Songs I Don't Know. For the sake of brevity, we will drill just one progression through all 4 schemes as an example: II-V-I. But it wouldn't hurt to drill them all!
This lesson will cover the Whole Tone and the Chromatic Key Schemes.
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Blogs Published Since Last Newsletter
Guitar Intelligence Podcast: I recently did a podcast called, "Guitar Intelligence" produced by my friend and former student, Brett Ecklund.
Jay EuDaly’s God-Given Guitar: One of my guitars was recently featured on the KC Guitar Show’s new blog, “Every Guitar has a Story.”
Cowboy Chords: Again!: The top query from my Google Search Console for the last 30 days - Cowboy Chords. I can only infer there is an acute demand for information on Cowboy Chords, or more technically, “First Position Chords.” So let’s go over some of this again:
Concepts for Comping: Lesson 6: Free lesson: Concepts for Comping (6), blog links, Tune of the Month and MORE!
Tune of the Month
For about 15 years (1990-2006) I had an awesome home studio. It was the home of my record label, Music Room Records. I released two albums on cassette back when that was the dominant media. Industrial Moon in 1991 and Waiting in 1993. I released 3 CDs; Sound Tracks in 1999, Channelling Harold in 2001 and My Ship in 2006.
After My Ship was released, I pivoted because CD sales went away due to downloading and streaming. I never broke even on the latter two CDs. So I converted the studio into teaching and a small space for shooting my teaching videos. My recording studio is now packed up in boxes, sitting in my basement. Nowdays, most of it is obsolete technology and not worth much.
Anyway, I used the recording studio for much more than recording my own CDs. I worked with TAXI, which is a company in LA that pitches songs by unsigned, independent songwriters to people in the industry. Instrumentals of mine were placed in movie soundtracks, commercials, bumper music for radio shows and so on.
Weeks of Spritz is one of many tracks from my library of original tunes. It has not been released anywhere other than on my Soundcloud page. Hope you dig it:
How about 5 FREE lessons?
The 5-Lesson Foundational Series teaches the Circle of Keys as an organizational mechanism by which you ensure that whatever you learn is drilled in every key in all possible positions. It also gives you a method to find any note, anywhere, without memorizing note names on every string. That is a beautiful thing! Most of what I teach presupposes it.
You can download the 5-Lesson Foundational Series right here for free with no further obligation or commitment. Click on the link above or picture below to get your free PDF:
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