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OVERVIEW: "Diatonic Theory and Harmony"
What is Diatonic theory and why is it important to me as a gutiarist? As a teacher, it has been one of my main goals to instill the same sort of knowledge into my students that people who have read music for years have. If you played the triads for the key of C Major on the piano, you would move up and down hitting every other white key in groups of 3 notes, if you were just voicing the chords 1,3,5. On the staff that would alternate between notes stacked on 3 adjacent lines and three adjacent spaces. In the act of reading that, pianists learn how triads are built because they have to read and play each note. If a guitarist sees a C Major chord, they know what shape to play and where to play it, and that is about it. My job is to give guitarists a reference point to get them up to speed by learning how to construct / disect the modes, and in turn reference key scale degree numbers like the 1,3,5 from each mode to build triad/chords. Because most guitarists read charts only (if they read any music at all), using the shapes of scales compared to the major scale is a key trick to visually breaking down the differnces between each of the 7 modes based on the major scale. In turn, once you know the differences AND simimlarities, it becomes easy to construct and deconstruct chords and figure out how they fit diatonically. I have created a number of exercises that show you systematically how break down scales into their scale degree numbers, and in turn build chords off of these numbers, and simultaneously have exercises showing you how to place triads, power chords, 7 chords, (9) chords diatonically. Additionally, the accompanying audio CD features chord progressions for each of the above types of chords and in the final segment of the DVD I outline how the chord progressions are functioning diatonically, as well as what you can play over the top. If you can't apply it, I shouldn't be teaching it! Exercises covered on Diatonic Theory and Harmony: THE BASICS: CORE EXERCISES: CONSTRUCTION: CHORD PROGRESSIONS: (on both DVD and
Audio CD)
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First of all, thanks for joining me. This DVD functions in two really unique ways. At the bottom of the page is a comprehensive list of the exercises that we will use to map the neck. In turn I will show you how use these exersices to understand how and why scales and chords function together as they do. The combination of these two approaches means that you will not only have the physical abiltiy to play in any key - up and down the neck, but you will also understand how and why things the chords and scales for the key you are in function "diatonically". Even if you are only interested in learning how to play chords and scales in all keys, this DVD will be a real winner for you. And for those of you who want to really understand how all of these pieces function together, if you choose to believe the review from 