Chord-scale theory and linear harmony for guitar pdf chords

Music theory provides you the means to communicate better with your fellow musicians. Using the chordscale approach gives improvisers especially less proficient ones greater melodic and rhythmic mobility i. It covers basic harmony as well as the complex harmonies used in jazz in a friendly easytofollow format. Pdf ebook version of chord scale theory and linear harmony. Using the chord scale approach gives improvisers especially less proficient ones greater melodic and rhythmic mobility i. We will play them in any position, any voicing and any inversion. Visit to buy chord scale theory and linear harmony for. The below video looks at a few ways you can use suspended chords in your playing. Devised from practice and designed for practical use, it provides the theoretical knowledge. Here are the options for adding the chromatic note. Assuming you know basic music theory keys, scales, modes, intervals, chord construction etc. An approach to jazz harmony scholarly repository university of.

Here the c major scale is the appropriate choice for the minor chords use the e phrygian mode for the em7 chord, the a aeolian mode for am7 and the d dorian mode for dm7. Download pdf the chord scale theory jazz harmony free. Jazz harmony, as taught at the berklee college of music is based on the so called chord scale theory. In above progression the fmaj7 chord functions as a iv chord. It covers basic harmony as well as the complex harmonies used in jazz. Like the keyboard, the guitar fretboard can produce harmony and realize. Lets take a look at some chords and the patterns that they go with. Scales are groups of notes ordered by pitch or frequency, either going up in pitch or down. In chapter i, materials from the renaissance, baroque and classical guitar traditions. Clicking on the graphics will start playback of the integrated sound. Pdf ebook version of chord scale theory and linear harmony for. It contains examples in standard notation, guitar tab, fretboard diagrams. The chord scale approach is based on the idea that if a chord is diatonic to a scale, then that scale can be used as a source to derive melody on that chord.

A lot of modern music theory focuses on the static relationship between scales and chords and how they can overlap into chordscales, but many graceful melodic. This means suspended chords are neither major nor minor. Some will argue that a chord can consist of two or more notes. A theory of harmony suny series in cultural perspectives reading lists, levis. Lets say you played the first chords listed in chart 1, in the order that they were listed.

There are combinations of fretboard diagrams, charts, guitar tab, and notation on almost every page. The chord scale theory and jazz harmony analysis by barrie. A collection of interactive tools designed to help you learn how to play the guitar and improve your understanding of music theory. A chord can be built by first selecting the 1 note.

Pdf ebook version of chord scale theory and linear. By integrating scale theory into the material, cantin has covered all the bases, providing a onestop volume of chords, scales and harmonic material. Many of the documents on this page are in pdf format. This allows the harmony to depart from the key slightly, as in the case of the a. But if the bass were to play a bb or an f, then the chord should be interpreted as bb db f a c eb gb which would be the bb. The course topics are those of harmony 3, but with a greater emphasis on application through composition. Overall, chordscale theory and linear harmony for guitar is a wellwritten, indepth study of diatonic harmony and common chord progressions substitutions. This revised method is now available as a comprehensive textbook. This method further developed is now available as a comprehensive textbook for the first time. Read connecting chords with linear harmony by bert ligon for free with a 30 day. The chord scale system is a method of matching, from a list of possible chords, a list of possible scales. Educational materials from bert ligon national jazz workshop a. The chordscale approach is based on the idea that if a chord is diatonic to a scale, then that scale can be used as a source to derive melody on that chord. Dec 01, 2010 chord scale theory and linear harmony for guitar.

The notes that make up a chord can be related to the major scale of that chords root note eg. It is the interaction between different notes played together that gives music its richness and color. Usually, this means simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches tones, notes, or chords the study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. In the cases there we only have a letter, such as c, it is a common major chord. This method takes the chord tones, and adds any applicable tensions so long as they are within the key. Cst and linear harmony for guitar gets to the gist of many formulas and approachs used in jazz today. In jazz, the harmony is mostly seventh chords, which are 4note chords. It covers topics such as intervals, scales and modes, chords and voicings, progressions, and melodic devices and how they are commonly used in contemporary western music.

Aug 22, 20 practice the analysis and recognition of chords, modulations and keys in classic music, jazz, pop songs recognize the chords and then the key they belong to. It covers basic harmony as well as the complex harmonies used in. Spending a little time on guitar music theory and harmony will save you a lot of time learning how to play guitar chords and will deepen your understanding of the guitar. The reel score, llc services original music composition.

Rather than get involved with arguing over terminology, well just jump straight into some explanations and highlight the important points. Tones that are used in the backing chords need to correspond with the tones in the scales youre playing, otherwise itll clash. I like to think about note relationships, and eventually chords, spatially. To learn guitar scales is a great way of exploring the fretboard of the guitar and finding the patterns that will help you with improvising solos and also it will increase the flexibility and strength of your fingers the more exercises you do.

In both the major and minor scales there are seven tones, so each chord built. Read connecting chords with linear harmony online by bert ligon. Creative tools for improvisation and composition in contemporary music is a guide to music theory as it relates to the guitar fretboard. Guitar chord scale relationships as you learn more and more scales, youll notice certain chord scale relationships emerge from the fretboard. The theory behind the added chromatic note is that it allows one to sound chord tones on the downbeats and passing notes on the upbeats while playing eighthnote based lines. Find any chord on the guitar based on key, type, and position. In a previous lesson we talked about the harmonic minor scale, which is created for the purpose of creating new harmonies within the natural minor scale. The scale tone chords of the major scale were discussed in lesson 12. Chord scale theory and jazz harmony sheet music plus. I first released what i now call the beta version of chord scale theory and linear harmony for guitar in late 2010. In this lesson we will learn how chords and scales are related through the chord scale system and discover that chords and scales are actually the same thing. However, the majority of older players used the chord tone chord arpeggio method.

Start with the chart below listing the notes of a oneoctave chromatic scale from c to c. One theory question that often seems to come up around this point is what the difference is between chords, scales and arpeggios, so i figured that we should nip this in the bud now. The system has been widely used since the 1970s and is generally accepted in the jazz world today. In guitar chord theory, whenever the 3rd is not part of the chord, you effectively have a majorminor neutral sound. For teachers and students alike, this book will prove a valuable addition to any guitarists curriculum. Lefthand rootless chord voicings are widely used while soloing as well as playing the head of the tune. Guitar basics of chords, keys, and scales upfront worship. Basic theory the space between two notes is called an interval. We then select two or more additional intervals from the scale e. Welcome to a short introduction of the theory behind chords. In this lesson, well compare a few minorish scales, and talk about a new synthetic scale a new scale created from altering the common diatonic scale. Scales chords and theory behind them guitar lessons. Tones that are used in the backing chords need to correspond with the tones in the scale s youre playing, otherwise itll clash. Guitar lovers manual is a digital book with sound in pdf format for printing purposes.

Guitar chord scale relationships as you learn more and more scales, youll notice certain chordscale relationships emerge from the fretboard. In this online music theory tutorial youll learn the theory behind guitar chords. For anyone taking theory notes, this is called learning the diatonic chords of the. The scale of each chord depends by the key in which it is.

Jazz harmony, as taught at the berklee college of music, is based on the socalled chord scale theory. Music sounds a little empty if notes are only played one at a time. For the g major chord, you can substitute a g major 7th chord. The cmaj7 chord on the other hand is the i chord tonic chord of the progression. Emerged from practice and designed for practical use, it provides theoretical knowledge necessary for improvisation. He is the author of several jazz theory books published by hal leonard such as connecting chords with linear harmony, comprehensive technique for jazz musicians. The scale patterns shown in this lesson are all major scale patterns, therefore all major chords will relate to the major scale. Harmony is commonly thought of as the vertical aspect of music, but it should also be thought of as timesensitive since it is always heard and interpreted in linear motion. Click to get all examples in this jazz guitar chords in scales pdf. This is called the root note as it is the 1st note in the scale. Knowing how to harmonize a scale is the jumping off point for practically all chord theory. Chordscale theory and linear harmony for guitar is a complete guide for the intermediate to advanced guitarist, including extensive fretboard diagrams of scales and arpeggios as well as thorough explanations of tertiary and quartal harmony. While chord scale theory is the prevailing pedagogy in jazz, it is not the most direct path to meaningful improvisation, which would be to address the.

Connecting chords with linear harmony jazz guitar lessons. In music, harmony is the process by which the composition of individual sounds, or superpositions of sounds, is analysed by hearing. Knowing how chords and scales relate to each other helps you to find them more easily than if you were not to know their relation. It contains the sections chord, scale and arpeggio. Here the seven scale tone 7th chords of the c major scale. All ebooks come as pdf files and can be easily read on any computer, tablet or. Basic guitar chords, keys, and scales december 30th, 2004 3 some substitute chords for the key of g chart 5 in the above chart is listed what are called substitute chords. Playing more than one note at the same time is called harmony. Chords that sound good with g major pentatonic scales jguitars harmonizer allows you to easily identify chords and scales that will sound good when played together. Creative tools for improvisation and composition in contemporary music is a guide to modern music theory as it relates directly to the guitar fretboard. The book also has great illustration that is easy to follow and big enough to read without my glasses. Connecting chords with linear harmony ligon, bert on.

We discussed the modes of the major scale in lesson 14. Jazz tunes, these playalongs are chord progressions very similar to commonly. It is interesting to see how jazz chord scale theory stands up next to conventional classical theory. Your plan should cover several days and allow for varied work on each. To show this, i will use the c, a, g, e, and d chord forms. High graphic resolution enables printing of best quality large format printouts. Explore variations of root notes and chord types across the musical specturm. Use the form below to select one or more scales, hit go, and the harmonizer will tell you what chords will sound good when played with the selected scales. This book of written lessons is an excellent tool and reference manual to develop and enhance your guitar skills. Since american jazz music resembles, in analysis, other practices of western harmony i. Use these instructional materials to help open up guitar avenues and to examine different chords and rhythms, lead guitar techniques, learning the fretboard, music theory,scales, and the world of playing over chord changes. Guitar lovers manual chord, arpeggio and scale pdf with. This is how you get the first chord of the c major scale. Using chord inversions facilitates smooth connection of chords in a progression for symmetry, voice leading and linear harmony.

A key describes the notes used in the melody and, importantly, the chords that you can expect to play for the harmony. Jazz tunes, these play alongs are chord progressions very similar to commonly. Many students are frustrated after years of that discipline, finding in the end that their playing just sounds like a bunch of scales. Practice the analysis and recognition of chords, modulations and keys in classic music, jazz, pop songs recognize the chords and then the key they belong to. A pdf document for the harmony chart in this lesson can be found here there is quite a lot of information given by the phrase in the key of. You can see that the chords are all major chords, but they can be other chords also. You could see this as the foundations of the chord structure. Chord scale theory and linear harmony for guitar is a complete guide for the intermediate to advanced guitarist, including extensive fretboard diagrams of scales and arpeggios as well as thorough explanations of tertiary and quartal harmony.

The definitive jazz guitar chord chart for beginners. You will learn how a chord is built and what separates different groups of chords. The smallest space you can have between two notes is a halfstep, one fret on the guitar. It was based on over a decade of private study and selfeducation. Chords that sound good with g major pentatonic scales. And yes, ill explain to you what those terms mean and how to use them in your own guitar playing. This will be a larger lesson that will include the major scale, how to construct it, how to build chords from it, and how to stay in a particular key. In order to cycle through as many areas of scale practice as possible and not get bored it is important to have a plan.

It covers topics such as intervals, scales and modes, chords and voicings, progressions, and melodic devices and how they are commonly used in contemporary. When you can derive each of the chords belonging to a given key, take a minute and congratulate yourself. A chord, by definition, is when three or more unique notes unique note names are played simultaneously. The chordscale system how chords and scales are related. Chords im hoping that while you are studying your guitar theory that you are actually playing a guitar. Use therefore the f lydian mode, rather than the f major scale. Connecting chords with linear harmony book by bert ligon to learn genuine improvisation. Jazz harmony is defined as the theory behind jazz chords, and the practice of how jazz chords are put to use in the context of jazz music. Scale tone chords are formed using the scale tones of one scale only. For example, if a guitar were to play the db a c gb, and the bass a db or an a, one would tend to think of it as the augmentedmajor 11th over db. Nov 06, 2015 steve stine guitar lesson fretboard chord trick play all guitar chords in every key. Complete chord mastery will finally help you learn, understand, master and use chords all over the guitar. Incidentally, that means both major and minor scales will work over them. This advanced harmony and theory dvd will teach you some different guitar modes within the melodic minor scale the dimished scale, how to.