Harmony, or the chords that support a melody, is an important element of music, and sad guitar chords and chord progressions are required if you want to write sad and emotional music. A chord is a collection of notes performed together, whereas a chord progression is a series of two or more chords played in …
5 Sad Guitar Chords and 5 Emotional Chord Progressions Read More »
In this lesson I gave you a step by step process you can use to start writing songs with the guitar. In today’s lesson we’ll delve deeper on an important topic for songwriters: Diatonic chord progressions. A chord progression is a series of two or more chords played in an order. Diatonic chords are chords …
Diatonic chord progressions for the guitarist-songwriter Read More »
Though the terms broken chord and arpeggio are often used interchangeably by guitar players, there are some minor differences between the two. They both refer to the notes of the chord being played individually (rather than strummed together) but while in broken chords the notes are allowed to ring together in arpeggios the notes are …
One of the benefits the guitar has over many other instruments is that you can easily play chords on it. On a guitar, you can play up to six notes at the same time. On the piano, you can play up to ten (as many fingers as you have) but on the violin, it’s hard …
In the power of power chords lesson, I explain how the power chord can come very handy since it doesn’t have the “third” note of the key it’s being played in. That third note is what changes a power chord into a major or a minor triad. In this lesson, you’ll see that while power …
Beyond power chord riffs: Major and minor triads Read More »
Inspiration for writing songs comes in abundance on some days but seems to dry up completely on others. Do you have days when you’re spending more time dwelling on whether you’re going to start writing the words or with the music, the melody or the harmony, or on which topic to write about rather than …
Music theory explains the things we hear. It’s the language of music, something that should be fun to learn, as well as apply, for every person who plays the guitar. If you have a negative view of music theory, most probably you’ve had some bad experience with the way you were being taught, or else …
7 Myths About Music Theory (Guitar Players Tend To Believe) Read More »
