1

!"# %&'()*'+(,+ %&'-# (. /&+'0 !"#.*1 )2-

3445'0)('.2
By Sean Ashciaft
62(*.-&0('.2 7 8")( '+ ("'+ 4)09#( )2- :"1 '+ ("'+ +(&;; '<4.*()2(=
I've noticeu ovei the yeais that many guitaiists simply uo not know anything about
music theoiy, namely the theoiy baseu in the "westein" classical tiauition. Well, to say they
uo not know !"#$%&"' about it is a bit of an exaggeiation; many know a uecent amount
about theoiy, they just uo not know how to apply it to the guitai. It is almost as if theie aie
two sepaiate languages being spoken these uays: "ieal" music anu "guitai" music. Bence
the populaiity of tablatuie anu it being the sole methou foi song-leaining many guitaiists
(iight along with playing by eai).
I am wiiting this to show that all these aie actually a pait of the same thing, anu that
the "pioblem" with guitaiists is just a little lack of piactice. Both those with expeiience with
music theoiy anu those without will be able to benefit fiom this packet because we will
stait with the veiy basics.
I am also not going to lie; music theoiy is not something that just comes natuially.
You can be given pages anu pages of music anu examples anu explanations fiom the best of
the best, but it is still up to the musician to leain the mateiial anu know how to apply it to
the musical woilu.
So with that being saiu, what is the packet actually going to uo foi you, the guitaiist,
the musician. It is going to take you iight to the fiist thing almost eveiy musician masteis:
the scales. The keys. But the guitai, being a polyphonic (multi-voiceu) instiument, will also
have anothei thing to tackle: the choius. Anu this being a theoiy packet, we will uiscuss the
function of these choius. We will stait off nice anu ielatively easy with fiist-position (as
many open stiings as possible). But we cannot stop theie. We have all those othei fiets to
mastei as well.
Wheieas most othei stiingeu instiuments (I'm thinking violins, violas, cellos, etc.
heie) will then talk about position-playing (heie is scale "X" in position "Y," anu now again
in position "Z," etc.), the guitai is much bettei suiteu foi scale-pattein playing, which will
then waiiant an in-uepth uiscussion of the moues, as well as baiie-choius.
Aftei that, we will begin thinking moie "outsiue the box" (a iefeience to the olu
pentatonic scale so many guitaiist love) anu begin applying veitical motion in oui scale
playing (up anu uown the neck). Then we will expanu oui knowleuge of choiu voicing (jazz
playeis will especially benefit fiom this). Anu we will also begin uiscussing the impoitance
of aipeggios. (Yes, "sweeps" will be coveieu, but why limit ouiselves to just "sweeping".)
2
Anu then I will have piobably have foigotten something veiy impoitant by then, so I
will piobably upuate with a new auuition oi make some supplementaiy packet to go along
with this.
I must now emphasize that this is N0T a "choiu book" oi a "scale book." I will not
uiaw eveiy single choiu that exists oi eveiy possible scale fingeiing! This book is meant to
be a guiue to let the musician ueteimine what suits hishei tastes. Theie is a uefinite )*+"'
way to uo this, but theie is not a uefinite *&'%$ way to uo them (example: a C majoi scale has
ceitain specific pitches, but theie aie uozens of ways to play it).
I have tiieu to make this book as "neutial" as possible; in othei woius, a iock
guitaiist anu a jazz guitaiist shoulu be able to leain just as much about music as a classical
guitaiist (oi whatevei you consiuei youiself) woulu. All music shaies a similai heiitage. It
all just uepenus on how you want to expiess youiself.
>.: (. *#)- ("'+ 4)09#( )2- ".: (. 4*)0('0# ("'+ +(&;;
Like I saiu in the intiouuction, you will be given examples of eveiything that is
outlineu heie. 0ccasionally I will give guiuelines as to how much each thing shoulu be
piacticeu anu what shoulu be memoiizeu. But often I uo not, as following with a soit of
tiauition that textbook-wiiteis tenu to follow (piobably not intentionally); it woulu seem
that I leave it up to the ieauei to ueciue what's "moie impoitant." Whenevei you take a
class in high school oi college, at least in the public school system most Ameiicans aie
iaiseu with, you memoiize only what the teachei oi piofessoi tells you (oi what's going to
be on the test).
Theie is no stanuaiuizeu test that the musician is going to take aftei ieauing this
packet, howevei. The ieal test is the musical woilu: how you want to apply it, anu how you
aie challengeu by otheis to apply it. So, it ieally uepenus on what kinu of musician you
want to become. In theoiy, the best musician (if theie is such a thing) will memoiize eveiy
scale anu eveiy choiu foim anu know eveiy iule about theoiy evei cieateu. But if you aie
moie apt to just leaining about how to cieate the best solo, then you want to memoiize
youi scales anu choiu functions. If you want to just wiite music foi otheis to peifoim, then
knowing choiu function anu how scales ielate to choius shoulu be emphasizeu. 0i if you
want to just play guitai anu not ieally wiite music, then knowing youi choius anu scales is
piobably the most impoitant.
Iueally, you have someone wisei than youiself guiuing you thiough this piocess of
leaining the guitai insiue anu out. Whethei you have an instiuctoi oi not, challenge
youiself to know the mateiial, not just memoiize it. Constantly apply what you have
leaineu to the ieal woilu. Finu music that has what you just leaineu. If you neeu help, local
music stoies anu the Inteinet aie gieat iesouices.
Also, take youi time with the mateiial. Bon't move on until you feel confiuent about
each example. A goou iule of thumb is that you have masteieu something once you
physically cannot play it wiong. But, not eveiy example neeus to be masteieu 1uu% to still
leain much about music theoiy, so if you aie having pioblems, move on, oi ieview. Anu
iemembei to have fun.
S
?)*( @2#A !"# B#1+ '2 @4#2 ?.+'('.2
B#1 .; C /)D.*
No shaips. No flats. What coulu possibly be a bettei place to stait. I must now make
a few quick notes befoie we get staiteu.
E'*+(F eveiy topic uiscusseu will have an example on a sepaiate coiiesponuing piece of
sheet music. I hau to make an executive uecision to uo it this way because I am self-
publisheu, anu way too lazy to combine the two elements togethei.
G#0.2-F I am assuming the musician has basic knowleuge of 2 things: how to play basic
guitai (you at least know the notes in fiist-position anu you can play some basic choius like
C, B, u, E, Em, Am, F, etc.), anu how to ieau music on a musical staff (anu know what types
of fingeiings coiiesponu to what: Example 1.2 shows what I'm talking about). If you aie not
familiai with one oi both of these, then I suggest you take some guitai lessons ieal quick,
anu then aftei this is masteieu, ietuin to the mateiial in this packet. Teacheis aie gieat
guiues anu aie essential to become a guitai mastei!
!"'*-F this fiist key is a uoozy. Why. Because I will uiscuss all the intiicacies of the theoiy
behinu the key, but only once, because the same piinciples apply to all keys. If this last one
confuseu you a bit, just holu on, take a bieath, anu piepaie foi a little bit of a iiue. Consiuei
youiself lucky, though; many musicians piactice keys theii whole caieei without anyone
explaining the theoiy behinu them (anu usually theii caieeis aie quite shoit).
8")( '+ ) 9#1=
uieat question. But to uefine this, you have to know quite a lot about how oui
system of music woiks in the fiist place. I've pioviueu two sepaiate uefinitions foi those
who aie inteiesteu anu foi those who know that $%, &-.+*$!"$ $%&"' &/ #+0* !1&2&$# $+ .2!#
$%,-3
The Long Befinition:
Nusic is simply the oiganization of noises. But it is that key teim +*'!"&4!$&+" that,
in ieality, makes it not so simple. The tones we peiceive as pitches aie peiceiveu because
they vibiate the aii aiounu oui eaiuium. Bow fast the aii vibiates ueteimines the pitch
that we heai.
Now, a ciazy thing about vibiation is that whenevei you uouble the iate of vibiation,
you will see (imagine a slinky iight now) a similai vibiation pattein to the oiiginal one
emeige, just with twice as much "stuff" going on. uoing back to that slinky, if you fixeu one
enu of it (to let's say a uooi) anu shook it back anu foith until you got one benu in it, that
woulu be one "pitch." Now shake it twice as fast. Now you have two benus in it.
4
What's the big ueal with this. Well, when this happens in music, we call it an +5$!6,.
Play the low "E" stiing. Now play the high "e" stiing. Same pitch. Two sepaiate octaves. See
78!-.2, 939.
In westein music, we ueciueu to uiviue the octave into 12 pitcheu tones, anu if you
play all of them in consecutive oiuei, you get the chiomatic scale. Nake suie you can ieau
anu unueistanu 78!-.2, 93:, the 0pen Position Chiomatic Scale. This biings up the topic of
enhaimonic tones: most notes can be wiitten in a couple uiffeient ways. We will talk about
the impoitance of which enhaimonic tone to use in the context of scales anu choiu-stacking
anu junk latei. Foi now, just stick to the pioviueu fingeiings if the notes aie giving you
tiouble.
The classical tiauition is to begin with -!;+* scales, then piogiess to -&"+* scales,
then to tackle othei scales aftei that. What's the uiffeience between a majoi anu minoi
scale. Why is the majoi scale like this anu not like that. Fiist, a minoi scale is a -+<, of the
majoi scale. What uoes this mean. A moue is just anothei name foi a scale, but the
connotation is that it is ueiiveu fiom (oi baseu off) anothei scale. Foi example, the key of A
minoi is baseu off the key of C majoi. We'll uiscuss this in moie uepth latei.
But why is the majoi scale set up the way it is. Well, theie is this somewhat
complicateu iuea of the oveitone seiies that states that each tone is actually compiiseu of
multiple oveitones, which make the sounu biightei oi uaikei uepenuing on what
oveitones sounu. Play in the miuule of a stiingaiounu the 12
th
fietit sounus uaikei;
less oveitones appeai. Play next to the biiuge: it sounus biight; moie oveitones aie
piesent. The aigument goes that the majoi scale contains most of the notes of the oveitone
seiies. But this aigument has a some of flaws in it anu goes way above what you neeu to
know iight now. Basically the majoi scale sounus goou, so we'll stick with it. Anu music
theoiy makes a lot moie sense once you get to know it. In othei woius:
The shoit anu skinny:
A key is a collection of tones that sounu goou when playeu iight. If I piactice my
keys, I will know moie about the guitai anu music in geneial.
!"# G()2-)*- C /)D.* G0)5# 7 HI)<45# JKL
I will stait off each key with the stanuaiu veision of it. I uefine a key's stanuaiu
veision as movement fiom the lowest key note in fiist position on the guitai to the highest
key note in fiist position. So, this fiist scale will go fiom low C to miuule C, one octave.
Compaie the shape of youi hanu as you play this scale to the C choiu. See how they'ie
ielateu. This scale shoulu eventually be memoiizeu.
!"# HI(#2-#- C /)D.* G0)5# 7 HI)<45# JKM
An extenueu scale is essentially all the possible tones in that paiticulai key, limiteu
to the position at hanu, namely fiist position. Bon't so much memoiize this as be able to call
up any tone fiom it at commanu.
S
These two scales aie gieat waim-ups. Foice youiself to play as cleanly as possible
with these anu all scales. Bo not go too fast! 0nly go as fast as you can play cleanly. Even if
this seems too elementaiy foi you, challenge youiself with cleanliness. Tiy auuing ihythms
to make things moie inteiesting; foi example, tiy swinging 8ths, oi uotteu ihythms. Be
cieative. Bo not just skip ovei these open position scales!
H(&-#+ '2 C /)D.*
An etuue is a piece of music that exeicises a given technique oi iuea. Piactice with a
metionome is a fantastic iuea with these.
93= - Scale in Sius. uieat exeicise with inteivals. Foi the zealous musician, tiy the scale in
4ths, Sths, etc. Bon't know what an inteival is yet. I talk about them a little moie in the
Choius in the Key of C Najoi section.
93> - A nice little uitty, complete with choius in case youi teachei oi youi fiienu wanteu to
accompany you as you piactice this etuue. You can also use the choius to see how melouy
anu haimony ielates once you ieau about the choius in the key of C majoi.
93? - This is an example of what is calleu a -,2+<&5 /,@0,"5,. This is when a simple melouic
passage is iepeateu anu tiansposeu, oi moveu, up oi uown eveiy so often in a pieuictable
pattein: in this case, eveiy one measuie, uown a step. I'll biing up the iuea of %!*-+"&5
/,@0,"5,/ latei; they aie the founuation foi the melouic content of a melouic sequence.
If you have othei methou books oi songbooks of youi own, tiy playing the melouies
that have few acciuentals (shaips oi flats) anu appeai to be in the key of C. 0ne uay I will
have an euition of this packet with examples fiom ieal music, with a bunch of uiffeient
genies to keep things inteiesting. But foi now, uue to lack of ieseaich, funuing, anu oveiall
inteiest, you will have to be youi own iepeitoiie builuei. Consult a guitai instiuctoi foi
moie guiuance.
C".*-+ '2 ("# B#1 .; C /)D.*
Fiist, let's talk about what a choiu is. A choiu, foi oui puiposes iight now, is simply
a specific set of inteivals playeu at the same time. A choiu's name uepenus on two factois:
its ioot anu quality. Let me quickly talk about both.
N..(A This is often the "bass" note of a choiu (i.e., the lowest note playeu on the
guitai oi the note the bass playei woulu play in a banu), but this is not always the case. Foi
now, let's think of the ioot as the note that is the most stable, oi that nevei changes when
you altei the choiu's quality. I know that makes little sense iight now, but just keep going
anu it will make moie sense in a minute.
O&)5'(1A Theie aie two ways of thinking about a choiu's quality. Fiist, you can speak
of the "emotion" of the choiu, oi basically, how uoes it sounu. You know (oi shoulu know)
the E anu E minoi choius. Woulu you agiee that one sounus "happiei" than the othei. 0ne
sounus "uaikei" than the othei. I bet you think the E minoi choiu sounu uaik, wheieas the
E (majoi) choiu sounus moie oi less "iesolute." You can piesciibe a numbei of uiffeient
6
chaiacteiistics to each choiu you leain. But since eveiyone has a uiffeient opinion on music
(oi a uiffeient "eai"), this isn't a veiy goou way of categoiizing choius oi oiganizing them
in a way that we can effectively stuuy. So.
Seconuly, you can analyze the ielative stiuctuie of the choiu. We uo this by
assigning a name (oi quality) to a seiies of inteivals that aie a ceitain chiomatic uistance
fiom the ioot. 0k, that was kinu of confusing. Let's look at it fiom a "builuing block"
peispective.
P&'5-'2Q C".*-+A 8"1 3*# C".*-+ C)55#- 8")( !"#1 3*#= R HI)<45# JKS
0k, when you builu a builuing, you stait with the founuation. Youi ioot is like the
founuation. Let's stait with a ioot of C (78!-.2, 93A). We can put any numbei of notes
above the ioot of C anu cieate a choiu. But, time anu tiial anu eiioi has taught musicians in
the West that ceitain notes above a given ioot consistently sounu goou, oi haimonic. Anu, if
we keep these ielative inteivals the same but change the ioots (let's say to u), then we get
an equally haimonic sounu, but with a slightly uiffeient chaiacteiistic (because we have
changeu founuations, so to speak).
/)D.*A The easiest set of inteivals to uesciibe iight now is the set of inteivals that
make up what has been calleu the -!;+* choiu. Fiom the ioot, oui next tone is up a majoi
thiiu, which is equivalent to 2 whole steps put togethei, oi 4 half steps (a half step is a fiet,
oi one note up on the chiomatic scalesee Example 1.2 again anu finu C, then count foui
half steps oi notes up). This is E. Now, fiom theie, we will go up a minoi thiiu, oi S half
steps. This is u. Now play C, E, anu u at the same time. Look familiai. Now auu anothei C to
top things off. This is most of the famous C choiu that so many guitaiists know anu love.
Tiy the same thing with u being the ioot on the 6
th
stiing (low E stiing). Follow the
same pioceuuie. The next note up is B. The next note up is B. Now top it off with anothei u.
This is most of the u choiu. 0ui fullei choius we know (all 6 stiings foi u) simply uouble
the notes we've alieauy playeu. Tiy this with as many notes as you can.
In summaiy: Najoi inteivals: Root, Najoi S
iu
, Ninoi S
iu
.
/'2.*A If you switch the majoi anu minoi inteivals aiounu in oui little foimula, we
get what we like to call a -&"+* choiu. The easiest one to builu is the E minoi choiu. Stait
with E on the 4
th
(oi B) stiing. Now go a minoi S
iu
up. Now go a majoi thiiu up. You shoulu
have pickeu out the notes E, u, anu B. Play those notes, then the full E minoi choiu.
Compaie that with the E majoi choiu. It's a majoi S
iu
up fiom E, then a minoi S
iu
up, iight.
E, u#, anu B. Bon't woiiy about the shaip iight now.
In summaiy: Ninoi inteivals: Root, Ninoi S
iu
, Najoi S
iu
.
If you haven't guesseu it alieauy, the ieason why we call choius minoi anu majoi is
kinu of maue up. Theie isn't any supei-scientific ieason oi anything like that (although
many woulu aigue theie iswe won't get into that uebate iight now). But fiom theie, all
othei choius make a lot moie sense. So, they'ie ieally maue up because they make moie
complicateu things much simplei, which is ok if you ask me.
7
The last type of choiu that we aie going to uiscuss iight now is the uominant 7
th

choiu.
T.<'2)2( U
("
A We won't go into why uominant 7ths aie calleu "uominant" iight
now, but we will talk about why they'ie "7ths." Inteival-wise, uominant 7ths simply put
anothei minoi S
iu
on top of the top-most note of majoi choius. So, going back to C, the top-
most note is u, so go a minoi S
iu
above that. That's Bb. Whoa, oui fiist choiu with a flat.
Keep youi cool; it's not the enu of the woilu. Let's uo an easiei example. Take the u choiu.
Top note: B. Ninoi S
iu
above that: F. Play the u7 choiu. Since the choiu we maue up was a
bit awkwaiu to play, we uisplaceu the new note up an octave so it is easiei to play. But both
aie u7 choius.
But why aie we saying 7
th
. Well, go back to the C7 choiu. That new note we auueu
(Bb) was pietty much the 7
th
note of the C majoi scale (B natuial).
But why is it Bb anu not B (natuial).!.! Well, like I saiu, <+-&"!"$ 7ths auu a -&"+*
S
iu
above the last note in a Najoi choiu. So it's not quite the 7
th
note of the C scale. That (a
majoi S
iu
insteau of a minoi S
iu
above the last note in a majoi choiu) woulu be a -!;+* 7
th

choiu (Cmaj7). Anu if you ploppeu a minoi S
iu
above the last note of a -&"+* choiu, you'u
get a -&"+* 7
th
choiu. It is set up like this to pievent confusion between these thiee types of
7
th
choius (although, I'll aumit, it cieates some moie confusion anyways foi those tiying to
figuie this out foi the fiist time). But we aien't woiiying about the majoi 7
th
anu the minoi
7th iight now.
So just smile anu say: Bominant inteivals: Root, Najoi S
iu
, Ninoi S
iu
, anothei Ninoi
S
iu
.
See, that wasn't so bau.
0k, going back to what I oiiginally intenueu foi this section (we aie still in C".*-+
'2 ("# B#1 .; C, iemembei.), we will now talk about what choius aie in the key of C!
Nathematically speaking, theie aie 7 notes in the key of C, so theie is the potential foi at
least 7 sepaiate ioots, which means theie shoulu be 7 sepaiate basic choius in the key of C.
(Thank you, college-level calculus.) Anu you'u be about iight! When we talk about the ioots
of choius ielative to the key, we use Roman numeials. So, 6 is C, 66 is B, 666 is E, etc. Whethei
the Roman numeial is capitalizeu oi not shows whethei the choiu is majoi oi minoi. So, 6 is
C, but '' is Bm.
I have alieauy uone the busywoik anu have founu out what choius enu up being
majoi oi minoi in the key of C if you stay within the key given (no shaips oi flats). These
aie outlineu with suggesteu fingeiings in 78!-.2, 93B.
6 - C. 0bviously, the ioot of the key of C majoi is going to be one (6) anu majoi.
Nothing too suipiising heie. Since we use a capital "i" oi a Roman numeial 1 to uesignate
this choiu, ieau caiefully anu make suie you uon't confuse it with when the authoi speaks
in fiist-peison (when I use an "I").
'' - Bm. If it weie B (majoi), then theie woulu be an F#, which is not in the key of C.
8
''' - Em. Again, if majoi, then a u# woulu be theienot in the key of C.
6V - F. Ahh, the F choiu. Eveiyone's favoiite, iight.
V - u. Now heie's a point of inteiest. If you make u into u7, you stay within the key
of C majoi because you simply auu an F to the u choiu. Also, "V" is often calleu the
"uominant" choiu. Now uo you see why we call these choius "uominant 7ths." We'll talk
about uominant (as well as sub-uominant) choius latei. }ust know that V anu VU aie, foi
oui puiposes, pietty much inteichangeable.
W' - Am. The "W'" choiu is also calleu the *,2!$&6, -&"+* because latei, when we
uiscuss minoi keys, we will finu that A minoi contains the same key signatuie as C majoi
(no shaips oi flats).
W''... - B.... What. Both B ANB Bm contain an F#. What now. Actually, the "W''"
choiu uoes have a quality calleu "uiminisheu" anu is wiitten "W''X," which we won't talk
about iight now. It's a bit moie auvanceu. Neveitheless, you can still leain the B choiu.
So, we still even out with a soliu 7 choius: C, Bm, Em, F, u, u7, anu Am (plus B, but
uon't ieally woiiy about it). Now we begin the fun with choiu function.
62(*.-&0('.2 (. C".*- E&20('.2
Choiu function is tiicky business. The pioblem is that we can cieate all the iules we
want, but then someone oi something comes along anu shatteis these iules to bits. But, we
can always stait with nice, basic, foimulaic piogiessions that we can elaboiate on latei.
!"# ? 7Y T 7Y ! C5)++ E.*<&5) 7 HI)<45# JKJZ 7 JKJS
We like to classify the basic choius we know into S classes: Tonic (T), Pieuominant
(P), anu Bominant (B). Each class has its own function, oi the way it ielates to othei choius
anu moves fiom choiu to choiu. Let's outline the classes:
1. !.2'0 (T): 6 anu W' (C anu Am in the key of C majoi). "Tonic" iefeis to the home
key, oi in this case, the key of C majoi. So 6 being "tonic" makes sense; it is the
home key. But W' is also lumpeu into this class because, foi one, it shaies two of
the thiee tones as 6, but it also "sounus" the same way. Both 6 anu W' sounu
"iesolute," oi like you "went back to home base" (inseit moie uesciiptive
phiases heie). It's just that 6 sounus moie iesolute than W'. You'll see why in a
minute.
2. T.<'2)2( (B): V, VU, anu W''X (uon't woiiy about vii)(sometimes ''' is in heie
too)(u, u7, anu B, anu sometimes Em). Bominant choius have a ceitain
"tenuency" to iesolve to a tonic choiu. This is because they contain the infamous
Scale Begiee 7 (B in the key of C majoi). This scale uegiee is soooo close to the
key note (C foi now) that it almost "scieams" anu begs to be iesolveu. 0k, so
maybe that's a bit of an exaggeiation, but you get the iuea. ''' is often lumpeu in
heie foi the same ieason as W' in the tonic class. It's mostly a V choiu, but then
9
again it also shaies two tones fiom the 6 choiu, so it's not a veiy stiong
uominant. }ust kinu of ignoie the ''' choiu foi now.
S. ?*#-.<'2)2( (P): '' anu 6V (Bm anu F in the key of C majoi). Also often calleu
the subuominant class (I think that's what I calleu it eailiei; ignoie my
inconsistency). I like to call it "pieuominant" because that's exactly what it uoes:
it comes befoie the uominant class. Think of it as a "setup" foi the "big B -> T" oi
the big iesolution fiom uominant to tonic.
So what uoes this P -> B -> T foimula mean. Well, theie aie some guiuelines anu
some exceptions that will make wiiting soliu choiu piogiessions a bieeze.
N&5# JA Follow the aiiows! (yes, those "->" aie aiiows!) Substitute the choius
outlineu above foi theii iespective lettei
78!-.2, 9399C I will ieplace 6V (F) with the P-class, V (u) with B-class, anu 6 (C) with
T-class. Ny piogiession is now F -> u -> C. Simple, yet effective.
N&5# [A You can jump to any choiu within a ceitain class, but you must follow the
aiiows aftei that.
78!-.2, 939:C 6V is pieuom (shoit foi pieuominant) anu '' is pieuom. So if I went
6V -> '' -> V -> 6, this iule woulu be followeu.
N&5# LA You can stait things at any point in the foimula
78!-.2, 939DC I think I'll stait at the B-class insteau of the P-class. So, V -> 6 (u -> C).
Classic.
N&5# MA Staiting things off with a T-class choiu is ok. Also, 6 can go to any choiu.
78!-.2, 939EC Let's tiy getting that ''' choiu in oui piogiession. So, stait with 6 (C),
which can go anywheie, so let's follow with a '''. ''' is also consiueieu kinu of a B-class
choiu, so let's let go to W', which inciuentally is a T-class choiu as well. Let's iounu things
off with anothei P -> B -> T, so let's follow with a '' -> V -> 6. So the whole piogiession is
6 -> ''' -> W' -> '' -> V -> 6. Kinu of complicateu, but well woith the woik.
Now theie's always exceptions anu fancy names foi these exceptions. Anu then
theie aie just fancy names in geneial. Let's stait with some of those piopei teims.
C)-#20#A a iesolution at the enu of a choiu piogiession. These make youi
piogiession sounu moie oi less complete. Theie aie uiffeient types of cauences, howevei.
3&("#2('0 C)-#20#A a V -> 6, oi in this case, u ->C (78!-.2, 939=). No iules bioken
yet.
?5)Q)5 C)-#20#A a 6V -> 6, oi F -> C. (78!-.2, 939>) 0h-oh. This is a P-class going to
T-class. But it's ok; it has become such consonant iesolution that we just ignoie that iule in
this case. But, if we went '' -> 6 (Bm -> C), that woulu technically be bieaking the P -> B -> T
1u
foimula still. 0ne thing to keep in minu is that a 6V -> 6 is a weak iesolution. Think "A-men"
at the enu of hymns; usually a plagal cauence is useu with those.
T#0#4('W# C)-#20#A a V -> W', oi u -> Am (78!-.2, 939?). This technically uoesn't
bieak any iules because W' is a T-class choiu. But, W' is not the tonic 6, which so many
people aie useu to heaiing aftei a big V choiu. Thus, the ueception.
>)5; C)-#20#A 6 -> V, oi C -> u (78!-.2, 939A). Again, this uoes not bieak any iules
because 6 can "go anywheie." But imagine enuing a song on a V choiu. That woulu piobably
uiive Bach insane if it nevei iesolveu to 6. So use spaiingly. It's calleu "half" because usually
you follow it with anothei cauence that goes V -> 6, oi an authentic cauence.
/.*# H(&-#+ '2 C /)D.*
These aie less like etuues anu moie like just simple choiu piogiessions in which we
will apply what we just leaineu about choiu function so that we can inteipiet them. Tiy
analyzing the piogiessions along with the text anu foim youi own opinion of them befoie
playing them. Then play the piogiessions anu see if you think the same thing as you uiu
befoie.
939B - This is what I like to call the "Sus" choiu piogiession. It woulu seem almost
eveiy song fiom the Sus hau this oi a veiy similai choiu piogiession. Boes it evei ieally
cauence. 0i is it moie of a cycle (i.e., you continue to iepeat the piogiession until you
ueciue to enu the song, piobably on a 6). Nany mouein piogiessions aie like this one,
wheie theie is no cauence until peihaps the veiy enu, cieating a uiiving sensation that is
commonplace in iock music.
93:F - veiy similai to Example 1.14, but contains eveiy single choiu we know in the
key of C (incluuing B, which is why I incluueu it above). Nany classical composeis useu
this oi a veiy similai piogiession. It contains what is calleu /,@0,"$&!2 *++$ -+6,-,"$,
which means that eveiy choiu ioot moves up oi uown the same inteival. In this case, each
inteival is a fifth uown, oi five notes uown the scale. So, five notes below E is A, five notes
below A is B, anu so on. Notice that I coulu have saiu G+0* "+$,/ !1+6, as well. Foui notes
above E is still A, etc. It all uepenus on how you heai the movement, iegaiuless of how the
actual bass line (bottom note of the choiu) moves. Also, see how this piogiession still fits
the P -> B -> T above (it iepeats once).
93:9 - This is often calleu the 12-Bai Blues. 0bviously, it's twelve bais long, anu I
believe it sounus bluesy simply because it pietty much bieaks the iules we uesciibeu
above. Not only uoes it only cauence plagally (I think that's a woiu; 6V -> 6), it also is a gieat
example of *,$*+'*,//&+", oi basically, going backwaius in the P -> B -> T foimula. This is a
veiy simple foim of the 12-bai blues, which we will elaboiate on latei (it is such a gieat
piogiession to elaboiate on!).
Now go out anu finu some songs in the key of C majoi anu leain the choiu
piogiessions in them. Tiy to analyze them using the tools we've leaineu. Nany songs will
contain things we haven't uiscusseu yet, like boiioweu choius oi alteieu choius. This
uoesn't mean you can't play them yet, howevei. Tiy to come up with iational explanations
11
of youi own, oi bettei yet, look aheau in this packet anu see if you can pinpoint what that
paiticulai thing is. This can be tiicky to uo on youi own, so having a goou guitai teachei as
a guiue is always a goou iuea.
/.*# 3-W)20#- !.4'0+
Now we aie going to talk about some moie auvanceu topics that iequiie moie stuuy
than just a casual look-ovei to ieally get. If you have some geneial knowleuge of music
theoiy, then this section will most likely be of benefit to you because you piobably have
nevei thought of some of these things in this way. 0i you might be familiai with these
concepts, but you nevei stuuieu them veiy in-uepth.
Please note: if you aie stiuggling with these concepts because you have nevei seen
anything like this befoie, I encouiage you to go on to the othei keys in Pait 0ne anu just uo
the "basics" (i.e., the scales anu the basic 7 choius anu theii etuues). 0nce you have
masteieu those, come back to these moie auvanceu topics anu see if they uon't make moie
sense, oi see if you aie bettei motivateu to leain moie about them.
E&20('.2)5 C".*-+ R !"# E.&* \.* ;'W# .* +.] G#W#2(" C".*-+ 7 HI)<45# JK[[
Well, theie aie a lot of uiffeient types of seventh choius because you can altei any
pitch in a choiu anu come up with a uiffeient choiu altogethei. To "altei" is simply to iaise
oi lowei any paiticulai pitch in a choiu by a half step (oi sometimes moie). Foi example:
If you lowei the S
iu
of an E majoi choiu, you get an E minoi choiu.
Likewise, if you iaise the S
iu
of an E minoi choiu, you get an E majoi choiu.
Also, if you lowei the S
th
of an E minoi choiu, you get an E uiminisheu choiu.
This is what we uo to get the vaiious 7
th
choius that you've piobably iun into, like
the majoi 7
th
anu the minoi 7
th
anu the uominant 7
th
. Few people have iun into the fully
uiminisheu 7
th
anu the half uiminisheu 7
th
(unless you play jazz oi classical), anu even
fewei have iun into the augmenteu 7
th
. So what uiu I just list, six uiffeient 7
th
choius. We'ie
just going to focus on foui: the uominant 7
th
, the majoi 7
th
, the minoi 7
th
, anu the fully
uiminisheu 7
th
, anu what choius aie typically which 7
th
choiu when you foice them to be,
as well as what they will noimally iesolve to. (The half uiminisheu 7
th
will appeai when we
talk about minoi keys, anu the augmenteu 7
th
will come, well, latei.)
T.<'2)2( U
("
A typically just the V (u7 in C majoi). The 7
th
scale uegiee of the majoi
scale is flatteu on top of a majoi choiu. Again, iemembei that the V is calleu the "uominant"
scale uegiee, which is ielatively easy to iemembei. This usually only iesolves to 6, which
we will uiscuss why in a minute. But also iemembei that V anu VU aie inteichangeable, so
if you iesolveu to W', then that woulu still be a ueceptive cauence. Which is ok.
/)D.* U
("
A 6 anu 6V (wiitten 6/U anu 6V/U in R.N.)(Cmaj7, Fmaj7). A noimal 7
th

scale uegiee of the majoi scale is auueu to the top of a majoi choiu. Najoi 7
th
choius have
less of a tenuency to iesolve, which is why I like to call them both "functional" choius anu
"coloi" choius because they uon't %!6, to uo something; they can just sounu pietty on theii
12
own (we'll talk moie about othei coloi choius in a minute). But, they still can be iesolveu,
but it's a little weiiu. 6/U iesolves to 6V pietty well, but this is a veiy weak iesolution (if
you enueu a song like this, it woulun't seem complete). 6V/U /%+02< iesolve to W''X, but this
almost seems wiong just to think about (who woulu iesolve on a W''X choiu.). The ieason
foi this is because iesolution is ieally uefineu by when the ioot goes up a fouith oi uown a
fifth, whethei peifect oi impeifect. 0n papei it woikswhich I will explain in a bitbut
oui eais uon't agiee. It's less of a iesolution anu moie of a movement fiom one choiu to the
next.
/'2.* U
("
A '', ''', anu W' (wiitten ''U, '''U, W'U)(Bm7, Em7, anu Am7). A flatteu 7
th

scale uegiee of the majoi scale is auueu to the top of a minoi choiu. These choius piobably
iesolve the best, iight behinu the uominant 7
th
anu the fully uiminisheu 7
th
. They often "set
up" othei uominant 7
th
choius, but uiatonically, they ieally seem to set themselves up moie
(we'll see them set up uom 7
th
s much moie when we talk about boiioweu choius in Pait
Two). Foi now, the ''U iesolves to V (a gieat set up if you fuithei iesolve VU to 6), the W'U
iesolves to '', anu the '''U iesolves to W'U. As you can piobably imagine, the '''U anu W'U
iesolutions aie ielatively weak.
T'<'2'+"#- U
("
A W'' (wiitten W''XU)(B7). A uouble-flatteu (flatteu twice) 7
th
scale
uegiee of the majoi scale is auueu to the top of a uiminisheu choiu. This one is a bit of an
ouuball, because as you can see in 78!-.2, 93::, it has a chiomatically alteieu tone (an
acciuental): the Ab (the uouble-flatteu scale uegiee). Think of this one as a uominant choiu
(in the P -> B -> T foimula). If it iesolves to 6, it's a pietty stiong cauence. But, if it goes to
W', it is still stiong, but it is weakeneu by the ueceptive natuie of iesolving on a W' choiu.
This is a pietty uiamatic choiu, but it can be oveiuseu quite quickly. (A note on the
fingeiing: pick only one of the two paienthesizeu notes. Both coulu be playeu, but it's
unnecessaiy.)
Now, if you have been following along in the music, you might be asking, "What aie
all those annoying lines that aie getting in my way foi." uieat question. The uotteu lines
aie outlining the iesolution of two veiy impoitant inteivals: the S
iu
anu the 7
th
scale
uegiees. Finu the S
iu
anu the 7
th
scale uegiees in each 7
th
choiu. See how they iesolve to the
next choiu. If you paiu ieal close attention, you woulu have noticeu that the L
*-
+0)5#
-#Q*## )5:)1+ *#+.5W#+ &4F :"'5# ("# U
("
+0)5# -#Q*## )5:)1+ *#+.5W#+ -.:2. Also, you
woulu have noticeu that the full lines aie outlining the ioot movement fiom one note to the
next: ("# *..( )5:)1+ <.W#+ &4 ^1 ;.&*(" .* -.:2 ^1 ;';(". The only exceptions to these
two iules is when the ioot moves by step (VU -> W'), oi with the W''XU choiu. Biminisheu
choius kinu of play by theii own iules; in fact, they aie maue of entiiely minoi Sius oi
uouble-flatteu (uiminisheu) 7
th
s, so they iesolve in a faiily complex mannei. We will go
ovei the intiicacies of these choius in a latei uiscussion.
HW#2 /.*# H(&-#+ '2 C /)D.*
If you'ie looking aheau, you see we'ie not even close to being uone yet. Isn't this so
much fun. We aie going to uo some moie choiu piogiessions that incoipoiate the 7
th

choius we just leaineu. These piogiessions will look familiai, howevei. These aie moie like
1S
auuenuums to the last thiee etuues than actual etuues, but shoulu still be piacticeu just as
thoioughly.
93:D - Again, the "Sus" choiu piogiession, but this time slightly moie elaboiateu. I
substituteu the F choiu with the Bm7 choiu, anu the u with a u7 choiu, thus cieating my
patent-penuing ''U -> VU -> 6 choiu piogiession (if you take the iepeats). This ioot
movement is quite common in all types of Westein music, fiom classical to jazz anu
eveiything in between (inueeu, even in metal anu hip hop).
93:E - The "classical" piogiession again, but with eveiy single choiu being followeu
by a 7
th
choiu. I must confess, I hau to incluue a B half-uiminisheu 7
th
choiu (the one with
the "" thiough the "") because B7 woulun't have iesolveu to Em7 veiy well (B7 iesolves
to C oi Am, iemembei.). Consiuei this youi intiouuction to half uiminisheu 7
th
choius: they
aie uiminisheu 7ths that uon't have the uouble-flatteu 7
th
scale uegiee; it's just noimal-
flatteu. Tiy to follow the movement of the Sius anu 7ths thioughout. See any patteins.
93:= - I come fiom a musical backgiounu that playeu the "jazz" 12-Bai Blues, which I
will outline heie, but it will be puiely uiatonic (in othei woius, we'ie just going to use the
choius we know so fai). It won't sounu "bluesy" oi even that jazzy, but it will be closei to
the "ieal thing" anu it will be moie uifficult than the last etuue. The "ieal thing" will consist
of many "boiioweu" choius, aka, choius that move the key to something else foi a shoit
peiiou of time, then move back to the oiiginal key. We'll woik on that latei.
Now go out anu finu as many songs with 7
th
choius in the key of C as you can. Nost
songs will have just uominant 7
th
choius, which is ok. Chances aie you will be going back to
the same songs you uiu befoie, but changing some choius to 7
th
choius. This is ok too, but
you must iemembei that 7
th
choius only iesolve when the next choiu's ioot is a fouith
above oi a fifth below the choiu you aie changing. 0theiwise, the choiu won't have a
function, anu it will simply act as a "coloi" choiu. Which is ok as well.
E&20('.2)5 C".*-+ 7 _G&+` C".*-+ 7 HI)<45# JK[a
The "sus" choiu is ueiiveu fiom the classical tieatment of the uissonance calleu the
/0/.,"/&+". A suspension, by uefinition, is when a tone fiom one choiu is sustaineu into the
next choiu, this tone cieating a uissonance oi a conflict with the tones in the lattei choiu.
The suspension is then immeuiately iesolveu uownwaiu. If it not iesolveu uownif it is
iesolveu upthen the iesolution is calleu *,$!*<!$&+". Why it is calleu this is uncleai, but it
uoes give one the sense that it is not piefeiieu in the classical tiauition. Touay, we typically
only encountei suspensions that cieate the inteival of a 4
th
oi a 2
nu
in the "suspenueu"
choiu with the ioot. Notice that the 2
nu
anu 4
th
, when iesolveu, go to the S
iu
of that choiu.
So, we nevei have the S
iu
in the "sus" choiu, anu theie is no uiffeience between majoi anu
minoi "sus" choius (the S
iu
is the only uiffeience between these two choius).
Even though we haiuly evei follow the iules of piepaiation anu iesolution of
suspenueu choius, knowing these iules coulun't huit us. So when using "sus" choius, tiy to
keep the following in minu:
14
1. The "sustaineu" tone (i.e. the tone that uiffeientiates the "sus" choiu fiom its
noimal counteipait) must be in the choiu that pieceues the "sus" choiu.
2. The "sustaineu" tone must iesolve (i.e. immeuiately go fiom "sus" to "noimal").
S. If one of these iules is bioken, then the "sus" choiu lacks function anu is just a
coloiation (not a "tiue" "sus" choiu) (see next section about "coloi" choius).
Let's outline the vaiious "sus" choius in C majoi. Some, but not all, possibilities foi
piepaiation aie given.
N#+.5&('.2 - sustaineu tone's iesolution is "lineu"
Csus2 anu Csus4 -> C
Fsus2 -> F (Fsus4 contains a Bb)
usus2 anu usus4 -> u also u7sus4 -> u7 (u7sus2 is iathei uncommon)
Asus2 anu Asus4 -> Am
Bsus2 anu Bsus4 -> Bm also B7sus4 -> Bm7
Esus4 -> Em (Esus2 contains an F#)
I have incluueu the u7sus4 anu B7sus4 because these aie often useu in the 66 -> V ->
6 piogiession I spoke of in 78,*5&/, 93:D. 0bviously, theie aie many moie options foi othei
7
th
choius in teims of auuing the "sus," but these aie typically uncommon.
?*#4)*)('.2 HI)<45#+ - sustaineu tone is tieu anu its iesolution is "lineu"
C -> Fsus2 -> F - "ietaiuation" (iule of thumb: sus2 choius will always use
ietaiuation if iesolveu)
F -> usus4 -> u
Bm -> Asus4 -> Am
Bm7 -> u7sus4 -> u7
Etc.
Notice that the sustaineu tone has the same fingeiing foi both choius (the
piepaiation anu "sus" choiu). This uoesn't always happen, but usually uoes in a "goou"
suspension.
Tiy to invent you own piogiessions that contain simple "sus" iesolutions. Tiy
woiking backwaius: stait with the "sus" choiu you want to piepaie anu iesolve, anu then
finu anothei choiu that contains that sustaineu tone. Tiy to incoipoiate "sus" choius in the
etuues we woikeu on befoie. I won't outline choiu piogiessions foi this oi the next concept
because I believe, by this point, you shoulu be able to come up with youi examples (anu I'm
too lazy to iepeat the same thiee choiu piogiessions again on papei). Also, finu examples
of "sus" choius in the music you aie playing.
C.5.* C".*-+ 7 _3--` C".*-+ 7 HI)<45# JK[U
Sometimes we just get boieu with the simple S note majoi anu minoi choius. We
aie fine with oui "functional" choius, but when a choiu isn't "functioning," it gets boiing. So
we "auu" notes to oui choius to give them a little moie "coloi." Theie aie 2 "auu" choius we
1S
aie going to look at: "auu2" anu "auu6." These two choius auu a majoi 2
nu
oi a majoi 6
th
to
the ioot choiu. 0ften, the woiu "auu" won't be a pait of the choiu symbol, anu will just have
the numbei (example: insteau of Cauu2, you'll see C2. These aie the same). While any
majoi oi minoi choiu can have the auuitional 2 oi 6, not all aie easily playable, especially in
open position, so not eveiy choiu wiitten in the attacheu music is commonly useu.
3-- [A
C2, F2, u2, Am2, Bm2. (Em2 has an F#).
3-- aA
C6, F6, u6 (iaie), Bm6. (Am6 has an F#, anu Em6 has a C#).
Auu 2 choius have a "mouein" sounu to them (if theie is such a thing), anu Auu 6
choius have a "jazzy" sounu to them. But, they can be in any genie if useu just iight. Coloi
choius simply iequiie an "eai," anu aie ieally useu when they "sounu iight." Remembei, 7
th

choius anu "sus" choius aie also coloi choius when they uo not have a "function."
Again, tiy coming up with youi own simple piogiessions that contain these coloi
choius, anu finu music that has these soits of choius that uon't seem to be explaineu by
"functional" theoiy.
?.:#* C".*-+ 7 _b. L
*-
` .* _c` C".*-+
At this point, you aie piobably thinking one of two things: "Ahhhh, powei choius."
oi "Ahhhh, powei choius!" Whatevei youi opinion is, I uon't ieally caie. I am intiouucing
the concept of powei choius foi thiee veiy goou ieasons:
1. Powei choius act as a piecuisoi to movable choius, such as baiie choius anu
"jazz" choius, as well as "Fieuuie uieen-style" choius. Knowing wheie bass notes
aie (the notes typically on the S
th
anu 6
th
stiings) help out so much in finuing the
ioots of these saiu choius.
2. They aie a gieat intiouuction to 6,*$&5!2 -+6,-,"$ on the guitai: movement up
anu uown the neck on a few stiings, as opposeu to %+*&4+"$!2 -+6,-,"$:
movement acioss most oi all six stiings, but in the same position. veitical
movement is a seiiously unueistateu anu unuei-piacticeu technique foi most
guitaiists.
S. They aie often misunueistoou by the aveiage "iock" guitaiist as something that
uoesn't follow the iules of music theoiy, anu theiefoie you can uo whatevei you
veiy well please. This is not the case, anu with a bettei unueistanuing of the
powei choiu, you can potentially cieate music that is much moie coheient.
So what is a powei choiu. As pointeu out in the title of this section, they aie often
calleu "No S
iu
" oi "S" choius in stanuaiu music notation. The "No S
iu
" hopefully makes it
veiy cleai: a powei choiu is just a "noimal" without a thiiu, theiefoie making it neithei
majoi noi minoi. It consists of just a ioot anu a fifth above that ioot (anu any uoublings of
notes above that as well).
16
Well then, why uo we use powei choius. It woulu seem that taking out the S
iu
anu
making it "neutial," so to speak (neithei majoi noi minoi), woulu cieate a haimonically
uninteiesting choiu. Anu you woulu be iight, kinu of. Powei choius seem to have
oiiginateu with blues music, anu a quality of blues music is that it is quite ambiguous
whethei the songs aie in a majoi oi a minoi key. Powei choius alloweu the peifoimeis to
fieely expiess this ambiguity in theii singing, soloing, etc. They uiun't have to woiiy so
much about what theii guitai was playing; they just uiu what sounueu iight to them. But,
not all blues aie set up like this, anu most of the time blues aie actually in a majoi key, with
some minoi "tenuencies."
Powei choius ieally got theii claim to fame with iock music, wheie guitais woulu be
uistoiteu to the point that playing full choius woulu sounu too "muuuy." Tiy plugging youi
electiic guitai into an amplifiei with the uistoition ciankeu anu play an open u choiu, oi
bettei yet, a u7 choiu. Not so haimonious, is it. Now tiy the uS choiu as wiitten below.
Beai that "iock" tone. (Note: if you uon't have an electiic guitai, this uemonstiation is soit
of useless, but you can still leain much fiom powei choius nonetheless.)
Befoie we begin with powei choius, we have to leain wheie the notes of the C majoi
scale aie on the 6
th
anu S
th
stiings. These aie outlineu in 78!-.2, 93:A. Notice wheie the
half steps aie (the inteival of one fiet)between E anu F, anu B anu C.
Now let's leain the powei choius in the key of C majoi. Theie aie two basic powei
choius: the two-fingei powei choiu anu the thiee-fingei powei choiu; both aie outlineu in
78!-.2, 93:B. These two types of powei choius aie mostly inteichangeable anu aie just
anothei thing that is simply left up to the musician to ueciue what is best. PLEASE N0TICE
theie is N0 BS powei choiu in the key of C majoi. Tiy not to look aheau, anu insteau guess
why. Thought of it yet. It is because BS contains an F#, which, again, is not in the key of C.
We will talk about a couple of ways to get aiounu this issue in a bit. But now, befoie we get
too fai along with these, let's piactice these powei choius in some etuues.
?.:#* C".*- H(&-#+ '2 C /)D.*
93DF - Look familiai. Again, it is the "PopRock" choiu piogiession. Notice that I
have not incluueu wheie the powei choius aie, anu notice that theie aie a couple of
uiffeient ways to play the same powei choiu. It is up to the musician to ueciue wheie to
play each powei choiu. Typically, you want to pick a piogiession that minimizes movement
in the left hanu, so iemembei to switch stiings whenevei the next choiu is close by, anu tiy
not to shift moie than five oi so fiets. Sometimes it is inevitable, but too much shifting can
leau to a "miss-fiie," oi oveishootingunueishooting.
93D9 - I like to call this the "Punk Rock" choiu piogiession; it seems to be in eveiy
othei song these uays, iegaiuless whethei it is a punk iock song oi not. It uoes not follow
the "iules" of choiu movement veiy well (P -> B -> T), but that's what punk iock is all
about, I suppose: bieaking iules.
93D: - The gieat 12-Bai Blues yet again. This one is moie akin to a "tiue blues," like
what you'u heie BB King play oi something. We'll see this one again veiy soon.
17
Finu as many songs in the key of C as you can, anu substitute powei choius in foi the
choiu in the piogiessions. Remembei that powei choius aie neithei majoi noi minoi, so
ignoie those uistinctions. Also iemembei that any choiu affecting the S
th
of the choiu
(specifically, uiminisheu choius) uon't woik well with powei choius, anu iequiie special
tieatment that we will uiscuss in a moment.
HI(#2-#- ?.:#* C".*- !#0"2'd&#+
Powei choius aie often given a bau iap foi being too "squaie" anu not haimonically
inteiesting. While this is the natuie of the beast, theie aie a few techniques guitaiists have
been using foi quite some time that make powei choius moie inteiesting. I'm going to
bieak fiom my typical mouel of "techniques then examples" anu just give one specific
example foi each technique.
The S -> 6 -> 7 -> 6 Choiu Shuffle - 78!-.2, 93DD
0ften in blues anu iock shuffles, guitaiists will extenu the S
th
of the two-fingei
powei choiu up a whole step to a sixth, anu alteinate between these two choius. Foi the
paiticulaily flexible, extenuing the 6
th
up anothei half step to the 7
th
is uone when moving
fiom one choiu to the next. In uoing so, we might "boiiow" a choiu fiom anothei key: in
the case of 78!-.2, 93DD, as we move to the F choiu, we boiiow the uominant oi v choiu in
the key of F, which is C7. Also, as we move back to C, we boiiow the F7 choiu fiom the key
of Bb, which makes little sense, but sounus bluesy anyways. ueneially, these choius aie
only useu foi the 6, 6V, anu V choius (C, F, anu u in C majoi).
Inveiteu Choius as Quasi-Powei Choius foi Smooth Bass Novement - 78!-.2, 93DE
That was quite the mouthful, but the title says it all. Let's go ovei what it means.
Fiist of all, an &"6,*$,< 5%+*< is simply a choiu wheie the bass note is not the ioot note. An
example of this woulu be if you playeu the C choiu, but playeu the open E stiing oi 6
th

stiing as well. This woulu become a CE choiu. 0i, if you playeu a C choiu, but youi fiienu
who is playing bass playeu the note E insteau of C, togethei you woulu make a CE choiu.
This is what is happening with the "extenueu" "quasi-powei choius" in 78!-.2, 93DE. These
aie simply best memoiizeu in context at fiist, anu then they will make moie sense. They
also get aiounu the uifficulty of a B choiu: if you want the bass to move fiom C to B to A
like in the example, you can play CS, then uB, then AS insteau of CS, BS, anu AS. Think of
these choius as "passing" oi "neighboiing" choius. 0ccasionally you get an example of a
leap, like when you go fiom CS to uB to FS. These simply "sounu goou" anu aien't ieally
explaineu veiy well otheiwise.
Sus2 Powei Choius - 78!-.2, 93D=
Akin to the 6 oi 7 powei choius, these choius auu a little something extia to the
sounu of the noimal powei choiu. Notice that these choius aie ieally two uiffeient powei
choius stackeu on top of one anothei. Foi example, the Csus2 powei choiu is CS anu uS
stackeu. This is why they still have that "iock" tone when playeu thiough heavy uistoition;
it is simply a S
th
on a S
th
. 0ften you will see these wiitten as simple 2 choius as well,
18
because theie is no uistinction between majoi oi minoi, theiefoie theie ieally is no neeu
foi the "sus" anyways.
So, now, finu songs that aie eithei compiiseu of powei choius, oi finu songs that
lenu themselves well to these types of powei choius. Tiy substituting sus2 choius oi
inveiteu powei choius when they sounu iight. Bon't go too ciazy with them, howevei.
Nost of the time, simple powei choius woik just fine; just auu in these extia elements to
spice things up.
8")( (. -. 2#I(
Nusic theoiy is best piacticeu via active composition anu aiiangement. I've been
subtly asking you to aiiange the songs you finu by taking the choiu piogiessions oi the
melouies anu applying what we've leaineu so fai to them. To take aiianging a step fuithei,
wiite out on staff papei (oi a notation piogiam) exactly what you woulu play in each song,
uistinguishing, foi example, between when you woulu play open choius veisus powei
choius, etc. Bon't be afiaiu to make someone else's composition youi own (following stiict
copyiight iules, of couise).
In teims of composition, stait out small. Follow the exact foimula anu iules given.
Elaboiate by auuing in the uiffeient types of choius, but keep the funuamental choiu
piogiession the same. Then, aftei auuing in uiffeient choius, stait elaboiating. If you like
the simplei choiu piogiession bettei, use that. Nost songs aie quite simple, using only
basic choius.
If you aie wiiting a melouy on top of you choiu piogiession, stait with 5%+*< $+",/,
oi the notes that make up a choiu. 0se simple ihythms. Wiiting melouies ieally has no
foimal iules, so use youi eai anu ueciue foi youiself what sounus goou anu what woiks.
Auu non-choiu tones heie anu theie, oi make the melouy note the suspenueu note in "sus"
choius. Recoiuing an impioviseu melouy is also a goou way to get staiteu, gianteu that
youi impiovisation skills aie at a ceitain level.
0f couise, you can simply just continue on with the next key, anu then slowly woik
youi way into composition. Remembei, fiom heie on out, each key will extiemely similai to
the last, so each section will be much shoitei without all the explanations anu such.