Group B: Chords
James Barratt walks through Group B of the Grade 2 technical exercises: power chords, major chords and minor seventh chords.
What's in the course
41 lessons (2h 51m) · 1 free
01. Intro to Approaches to improvisation
1:00
02. Getting started with improvisation
9:22
03. Assignment: Finding chord tones
4:05
04. Improvising using chord tones
10:18
05. Adding rhythmic interest to your solos
4:11
06. Assignment: Improvising over a chord change
2:52
07. Challenge: Submit your improv
0:24
08. Rhythmic improv & comping
9:55
Lesson transcript
Music Lesson: Group B
Introduction
Okay guys, let's check out Group B.
Part 1: Power Chords
Now we're going to begin with the power chords. This is now a three-note power chord or three-string power chord, I should say.
- Root here
- Fifth in the middle
- Another root note on the top, an octave higher
So, we're playing three strings but two different notes.
Rhythm
Here we go! We're going to play this with the same rhythm as shown in the book:
1, 2, 3, 4.
Important:
Careful not to hit any of the top strings unless you're keeping them quiet by muting them with your left hand.
Part 2: Major Chords
For part two of Group B, we've got a selection of major chords.
- C Major
- F Major - very similar shape
- G Major
Part 3: Minor Seventh Chords
Now, onto part three. We now have what's called minor seventh chords.
- The "seven" refers to a degree in the scale we've added to the chord.
- These are now more complex chords than what we've just played in part two, having four notes in each chord rather than three.
Chords
Here are the minor seventh chords:
- A Minor 7
- D Minor 7
- E Minor 7
Part 4: Major Seventh Chords
Again for Group 4, we've got a type of seventh chord known as major seventh chords.
- There are four notes in these chords as well, so they tend to sound quite jazzy. See if you can pick up on that.
Chords
Here are the major seventh chords:
- A Major 7
- C Major 7
- D Major 7
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