Scales and Chords

Learn how to use modes to create chords using Lydian, Aeolian and Phrygian modes.

Would you like to know what the Beatles, Journey, and Johann Pachelbel can teach you about diatonic harmony? Have you ever wondered about the meaning of all those “theory terms” that advanced musicians use, terms like “scale degree,” “diatonic chords,” or even “Roman numeral analysis”? If so, this lesson is for you because it will completely clarify your understanding and help you “talk the talk.” You will learn these concepts step-by-step and get practical examples while learning what a scale degree is, how to create diatonic triads and 7th chords, and why Roman numeral analysis is so critical in developing your ability to memorize and transpose songs.

Have you ever wondered how advanced players are seemingly able to memorize so many tunes and transpose them so easily? Would you like to learn a trick that ALL advanced jazz players know that allows them to do this? This lesson completes the explanation of the concepts introduced in Part 1, starting with an explanation of how to build diatonic 7th chords. You will learn why harmonic analysis (also referred to as Roman numeral analysis) will change the way you think about songs and teach you how to use this information to approach memorization and transposition just like the pros!

Learn how to use the dominant bebop scale to improvise over dom7 chords.

A quick story, years ago when I was first learning improvisation, I was always confused and frustrated with those chord/scale charts. You know the ones that tell you which scale you should play with which chord. It seemed impossible to learn all those scales and so limiting. In this lesson, I'm going to show you a technique that I use in my improvisation everyday to quickly improvise over chords without "over thinking" the scale that I am playing. Using this technique, it is easy to improvise over chords even if you don't know which scale to use!

In this lesson I'm going to show you a technique to break up scales into tetrachords. This technique makes it easier to find scales "on the spot" that will work over a set of chords. This is another way of looking at scales to get a deeper understanding of how they are made...and how to use them!