u/Late_night_guitar

I like to think about chords in pairs, where I have the chord and it’s relative minor. In the key of C, these pairing would be: C <> Am; F <> Dm ; G <> Em. Songs frequently introduce the relative minor instead of the major chord, or movement between the major and relative minor. Given this, it is good to have an easy way to play them.

When I am in the “E shape”, for example playing G with a barre on the 3rd fret, I often use the “Dm shape” inverted to play Em. If I only barre the first two strings of the G, then playing Em in this form is an easy transition.

Do many people use this approach? I know the inversion is introducing a slightly different feel, but to my ears it tends to fit songs very well.

This approach focuses on how to play the different (diatonic) chords in the various CAGED positions. The way to read the chart is to choose a region of the fretboard and then see how the I, IV, V, Vi, ii and iii chords relate. (Start by learning the major chords and later bring in the minors).

An important part of this approach is understanding how the chords sit on the pentatonic scale. The I and vi chords sit on the pentatonic scale. Play the IV and ii chord by introducing one more (green) note. Play the V and ii chord by introducing one more (red) note. As you learn the CAGED positions, focus how each chord sits on the scale.
You do not need to know the entire fretboard to start playing songs. If you learn one region, you will find all the chords you need.

I hope this helps!

Consider the G chord - it is labelled a V chord in the key of C major and the VII chord in the key of A minor.  These different labels are a clue to the different role the G chord plays which we can see by looking at how the G chord sits in the Key.

In the key of C major, G functions as a dominant chord.  There is a strong pull back to the C chord which would resolve the sequence of chord.  This is due to the presence of the 7th (a B note) one semitone from the root of C.

In the key of A minor, the B note is now a 2nd that is a semitone away from a C, which is now a flat 3rd (ie. not the root).  Whilst this relationship tends to give a feeling of movement, there is no strong expectation to resolve.  The other chord tones (4th and flat 7th) are some way from the root (A note) and 5th (E note) of the scale and therefore not exerting a strong pull.

How is this useful?  Learn to think of chord function (or chord degree) and not just the shape.

Playing in D Dorian to a loop of Dm to G is a great way to relax.

I have only recently started to discover modal harmony, where chords are not progressing to a resolution, but instead create a feeling. In Dorian, playing the scale mode to a loop of Dm and G creates a wonderfully reflective/floaty atmosphere. It was also surprisingly easy to adapt from major/minor, bringing out the 6th and correctly find the modal root.

Interested in other modal vamps that might be recommended?

If you already know your Pentatonic scales, then these can be easily extended to cover the common different modes.

The example I provide looks at different modes with a D root (ignoring D Locrian). The first 3 scales are major (extending the major pentatonic), the next 3 scales are minor (extending the minor pentatonic). Because we are looking at modes built around D as root, the root and all of the intervals remain the same. It is the 7th / flat 7th and 6th / flat 6th that change to provide the modal colour.

The scale is only part of the modal story. The set of diatonic chords stay the same, but the tonal centre changes (you can see this from the chords highlighted at the bottom of the picture). Selecting chords that reinforce the mode and avoid the ear reverting to hearing major is also important - the topic of a future post…

I find myself using this shape in place of the traditional CAGED shape. To my ears, it often fits better when playing up the neck (like this example for G). Do others do this?

Given a set of chords and intervals, you can produce different modal sounds by playing them in a different way. The first consideration is to decide the tonal centre and make this the focal point of your song.

It is easier to take an example. Consider the chords C, F, G, Am, Dm, Em. We would normally use this to play something in the key of C, choosing the chord C to be the tonal centre. Maybe starting with C and certainly resolving our chord sequence in C. This would be C major (otherwise known as C Ionian). With the same chords, instead of C, if we chose to make Am the tonal centre, we would have A minor (otherwise known as A Aeolian). To keep the minor sound, we need to be careful in how we use the C chord - use it to frequently and we end up with a C major sound.

Playing other modes is very similar to playing A minor. With the same set of chords, it I instead make F the tonal centre, then I would be playing F Lydian. The diagram shows all of the different combinations, except for B diminished as the tonal centre which would give you B Locrian.

True modal playing centres on the chords and notes you are emphasising, the duration that you give them and making sure you are resolving to the correct note/chord. The notes you play need to follow the chord. So for F Lydian, if you have F as your tonal centre, your solos need to resolve to an F root. The intervals need to be thought of in relation to this root. Where as intervals in major are falling on the whole (W) and half (H) step pattern - WWH WWWH, you will find that the same notes where F is the root follow - WWWH WWH. Ie the whole step moves from between 3 and 4 to between 4 and 5. In other words, we have a “raised 4th” and that gives a brighter more floaty sound.

Having said all that - does it help our playing much? In my experience, playing other peoples songs, your ear naturally follows the tonal centre and doesn’t really need to know modal theory. The only time I have really found it mildly useful (and interesting), is when looking to understand the chord sequences of songs. Occasionally, you might notice something that is not major/minor - knowing it is modal helps with remembering the chords.

I hope this explanation is helpful to some. I would be interesting to hear from anyone who is making use of it.

Sharing a picture of mine. I did not intend to create one - it started with an attempt to upgrade a cheap Korean Strat style guitar that I bought 30 years ago (a Marlin).

I had taken the guitar to France to use it when I was there, but the pickups were terrible. So I thought I would upgrade them with a set from Fender. I ended up spending too much, and I could not really justify putting them on an old, plywood bodied guitar. I started looking at other parts…

I saw a flame roasted maple neck that happened to have a “soft-V” profile. The profile is my favourite and matched my main guitar. I then saw a body from a 1985 Fender strat that was in my perfect shade of blue. It was meant to be!

That started quite an expensive journey that led to the guitar pictured above. I used all of the modern Fender components and ended up with the guitar I wanted to have 30 years ago.

Now the guitar is too nice to leave in France to play only a couple of weeks a year, so I still find myself playing the Korean…