How do you make triads sound melodic?

[merseybeat]

im thinking about this more.... and i think the main problem is that when i start playing one triad shape i have to rearrange my fingers for the next one and this shifting makes it sound rigid. i guess if i slide my finger... hammer-ons it would sound smoother... blahhhhh

This is the best thing that can happen to you as a player! Stick with this. Its surprising how our brain can handle chord changes when comping but as soon as its time to solo the chord changes go blank? Think about it! whats the logic! About six months ago When soloing I started lifting my entire fretting hand off the neck just to anticipate the next chord (using triads as a skeleton and scales as a pool of potential notes), even if the position was relatively the same! Within days I could follow chords with ease! I personally believe the triads where the key for me!

BigDaddyLoveHandles has a great insight for soloing, heed his advice!

Eddie

[JohnW400]

in my last post i said bergonzi when i ment garzone. yes, that is it in a nutshell. when i was doing my undergrad, this technique was very popular with me and others in my class. the thing that i noticed is that it is very difficult to pull this off without memorizing licks or patterns as you are not confined to a key. it was suggested to me that this technique be used amidst chord based melodic ideas so as to add color without completely abondoning the song you are playing. when done confidently, the sound is badass.

Is he the guy with the hexatonic scale concept? Combine two triads to make a scale?

[markf]

Triads are strongly harmonic in nature. 3rds in general actually. they must be mixed in with 2nds to create strong melodies. check this out....

1. Play a major triad (any inversion)
2. Move up or down a halfstep
3. play a different major triad in a different inversion
4.Move up or down a halfstep
5.Continue until you fell the need to resolve

this is a bergonzi thing, actually, I heard it came from transcribing later Coltrane improvisations.

Or just remember... Triads are awesome, and work anywhere at any time. Just resolve correctly and try to use 2nds to link them together, or else you are really just playing chords.. right?

yes this works really well, but you have to be fairly quick about it and have a decent ear.

And accept that you will get some not so nice sounds sometimes.

another thing to try,

take a four or five note chord formation could be a triad, play first two notes, move 1/2 down or up, play the the next 2 notes, move up or down, play two more.

[mangotango]

Dumb terminology question. C-E-G is a triad. What's C-E-G-B? Please don't say a major seventh chord, because then the corresponding name for C-E-G would be major chord.

Tetrad, I believe.

However, John Cage apparently referred to "quatrads (four-note aggregates) and quintads (five-note aggregates)" in his "Etudes Australes". But then he produced silence and called it music, even when it wasn't a rest. I'm inclined to distrust such a man.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Tetrad, I believe.

Well-spotted! So it is: Tetrad (music) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Some Combinational Resources of Equal-Tempered Systems" -- there's some late night reading

[timscarey]

Is he the guy with the hexatonic scale concept? Combine two triads to make a scale?

Yes I believe so. like the major triad from the 2 and 5 of a major chord, or from the 3rd and 4th of a minor chord, or anywhere on a dominant chord. sweetness.

[SwingSwangSwung]

You listed 4 types of triads:

Major = C E G
Minor = C Eb G
Diminished = C Eb Gb
Augmented = C E G#

There's a 5th type of triad you can use:

Major (b5) = C E Gb

I think that exhausts the possibilities.

[timscarey]

There's a 5th type of triad you can use:

Major (b5) = C E Gb

I think that exhausts the possibilities.

That's cool, I really wouldn't consider that a triad though, as it is not built in 3rds. you could call the Gb a Gb and spell it in thirds, but where is the F? and in what context would you spell it like that? I'm not saying your wrong, I just need some convincing.

[sungjy1231]

anyone willing to post a video on youtube playing these triads over a backing track????

[JohnW400]

Yes I believe so. like the major triad from the 2 and 5 of a major chord, or from the 3rd and 4th of a minor chord, or anywhere on a dominant chord. sweetness.

Well, I kind of like these

A-Bb A Bb C# D E F join it with a G or G# for the next octave
A-B A B C# D# E F# (same deal - G)
A-Eb A Bb C# Eb E G
A-G A B C# D E G
A-G# A B# C# D# E G#

These are also good as poly chords, linear wise (ex. A C# E G B D g a to fill it out)

Harmonically there is an excercise where you try to move these through their inversions

E over F using strings 6432 would be:
F E G# B/ G# F A C / A G# B E/ B A C F/C B E G#/ E C F A

Of course you could split it and do two notes from each triad and do
F C B E/ G# E C F etc

But I think thats a bit much, though some of them are useful like E over F# (F# C# B E G#)

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

anyone willing to post a video on youtube playing these triads over a backing track????

Nothing beats sitting down and noodling over chords. To do this you need to:

*play piano, or
*have a friend comping, or
*use some recording software, or
*use a looper pedal like the Boss RC-2 ($189)

This is a shout out for a looper pedal (the Boss is just the cheapest one). They're easy to use, more patient that a friend, and smaller than a piano! If you don't have one, Christmas is coming!

[JohnW400]

That's cool, I really wouldn't consider that a triad though, as it is not built in 3rds. you could call the Gb a Gb and spell it in thirds, but where is the F? and in what context would you spell it like that? I'm not saying your wrong, I just need some convincing.

You also have mi#5 but its really an inversion or the major.


The real usefulness doesn't come into play until you add a 7th of some sort. (Ami7#5, ex)

The C b5 exists in the Whole tone scale. It sounds good when you stack 2 or three together

C E Gb Bb D Fb Ab C D (E double flat) or C E Gb Bb D F# Ab C ( C7b5 TO D7b5)

Just really things to build the ear up.

[bako]

I use 6 structures in this triadic context.

Major------------1 3 5
Minor----------- 1 b3 5
Augmented------1 3 #5
Diminished------1 b3 b5

Those are the formal triads.
The other two I call prefixes. (just a name I made up)

Major b5----------1 3 b5
Suspended--------1 4 5


The 3 note prefix structure of m7#5 is an inverted major triad and redundant.
C Eb G# = Ab C Eb
Cm7#5 = Abadd9

Another one I haven't decided whether to include in the prefix club yet is for lack of a better name
sus#4--------------1 #4 5

[SwingSwangSwung]

That's cool, I really wouldn't consider that a triad though, as it is not built in 3rds. you could call the Gb a Gb and spell it in thirds, but where is the F? and in what context would you spell it like that? I'm not saying your wrong, I just need some convincing.

I think of it as the 1st, 3rd, and 5th of a C7(b5) chord (C E Gb Bb).

[bako]

Or Cma7b5 (CEGbB)

[merseybeat]

Some great ideas here! Thanks so much!

Eddie

PS calling for someone to lay down a solo for Autumn Leaves on my jam site, www.jazzsession.org Any takers? Would be nice to get a group of cyber mates together!