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202 | A Relative Modes - Guitar Chords
Permutations to expand your songwriting palette
April 05, 2023
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Earlier posts (#173, #179, and #191) look at how to form -- and play -- different permutations (or "modes") of a key.

And these principles apply to any key -- including the key of A, as we'll explore here. For example, when you take the 7 notes of the A major scale -- A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A -- you create 7 modes starting on each respective note.

Because each mode begins and ends on a different note (or "tonic"), each pattern is a distinct sound. In this example, the tonic of A Ionian is A ... while the tonic of B Dorian is B ... and so on.

Each sequence of notes sounds nice. But they sound especially good (and full) when played as chords. For example, if you play the A major scale (a.k.a., the first mode, A Ionian) as a sequence of chords, you get:

The A Ionian mode sounds good fleshed out as harmonies because it's essentially the major scale on steriods. And just like the notes, these same 7 chords can also be arranged into 7 permutations -- like these three patterns, for example:

And the same idea applies to all of the other chords in this key, as you can see here....

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269 | Lesson 19 - Quick Update

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278 - Easy Trick to Play Piano Chords

How do musicians move around the piano keyboard so quickly? And how do they know which notes to play in a progression?

Let's look at the underlying patterns that guide your eyes, mind, and hands to play chords on the piano with ease -- in any shape (or "inversion" ).

Join the live stream -- Monday, March 25 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern:
https://youtube.com/live/UQvloeRZGKU

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Lesson 19 update & Supporters stream peek

Hey there, everyone! Lesson #19 is coming along, and I want to give you a quick update-- The text is written. I've spent the weekend creating illustrations. 100 of 126-ish are done. We just wrapped one of our weekly supporters streams here. (Weekly? Yes, with things wrapping on the course soon-ish, we are kicking those up to weekly. That starts now. THANK YOU for being here, supporters.) If you'd like a peek at what the supporters streams like, the link to today's stream is here: https://youtube.com/live/4HnquM6Qriw

Hope your week gets off to a good start. Talk soon!

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March 13, 2024

Question for the group: Do you know if it's possible to download a complete Cubase Score file?

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Open Hour Q&A - Sunday, March 24

Join me for this week's Open Hour Q&A live stream Sunday, March 24 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

No planned presentation -- just answering questions and talking music theory. (For Supporters only.)

If you can’t join this week’s Q&A, post your questions here in advance.

Here's the link to join:

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277 | Circle of Thirds (what you need to know)

In music, the Circle of Thirds is a powerful pattern. But few people know about it -- and of those who do, they picture it the wrong way. Here, we look at the best way to really see this cool tool for songwriting, so you can get the most out of it.

Join the live stream -- Monday, March 18 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern:
https://youtube.com/live/pdzzgFR-lCI

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Open Hour Q&A - Sunday, March 17

Hey -- I'm answering your questions via live stream Sunday, March 17 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern. This Open Hour is for supporters only. THANK YOU!

No planned presentation -- just answering any questions you have and chatting music theory / songwriting.

If you can’t join this week’s Q&A, post your questions here in advance. See you then.

Here's the link to join:

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