How does learning guitar triads improve my playing?

[KB_Blues]

No, Drop 2 refers to a voicing you get by dropping the second highest note an octave, starting with a close voicing. For example, here is how to generate the drop 2 voicing for CMaj7:

G B C E -> C G B E (ex: x3545x)
B C E G -> E B C G (xx2415)
C E G B -> G C E B (xx5557)
E G B C -> B E G C (xx9988)

Chords you get by dropping the root and/or fifth are called "shell" voicings, I think.

Thanks for that. I use most of those, but didn't know they were drop 2s! I've just had a go at applying the rule to other chord types - very interesting.

I hadn't played the second example before (I'm guessing there's a typo - (xx2415) should be (xx2413)?). It doesn't sound very major seventhy (though I like it).

The fourth one is interesting. I would not usually play that high C as I don't like the dissonance of that octave+semitone interval. But that's just me!

Thanks again

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Thanks for that. I use most of those, but didn't know they were drop 2s! I've just had a go at applying the rule to other chord types - very interesting.

I didn't know the name before I came here. I used to just group vocings according to their bass note -- their inversion.

I hadn't played the second example before (I'm guessing there's a typo - (xx2415) should be (xx2413)?). It doesn't sound very major seventhy (though I like it).

Woops! Doing this at work! You are right, it should have been xx2413.

The fourth one is interesting. I would not usually play that high C as I don't like the dissonance of that octave+semitone interval. But that's just me!

By itself, yes, but perhaps in a sequence of chords with a moving bass line, or a sequence of chords with a pedal tone? Sometimes, I like to let an unstable chord just hang out there. With the major 7th in the bass, I prefer:

7x555x

With the C buried in the middle, the minor 9th interval is tamed, somewhat.

[KB_Blues]

Minor 9th is a much better name for it!

7x555x - I see what you mean - much more palatable!

[musicjohnny]

I'm doing triadic based studies right now, and I stumbled upon this video. All of their guitar lessons are equally as great, check it out.

[HD280]

nice video

[shoome]

dunno if this has been stated or shown in one of the videos, since i'm at work and can't watch those atm. But here are some ideas my teacher taught me a while ago.

So what he told me was i.e. this... take your h/w scale und look at all the major triads included in the scale and emphasize those notes while using all the other notes from the scale as some sort of guiding tones.

e.g. for G7b9:

[chord]

||---|---|-3-|-4-|---|-6-|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|-3-|---|-5-|-6-|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|-3-|-4-|---|-6-|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|-3-|---|-5-|-6-|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|-4-|-5-|---|-7-|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|-3-|-4-|---|-6-|-7-|---|---|---|---|

[/chord]

This would be using an e maj triad over G7b9 giving you b9, 3, 13. (You can look out many other triads here as well to get the emphasis on other tensions...). This will help you get away from sounding symmetrical or scalar with h/w way good!





Another way of using this for including to your soloing would be taking 2 triads out of a scale (Ab MM for this example) and using them to get some melodically interesting stuff on e.g. G7alt:




------------------------3---4-9---
----------------------4---6-------
------------3-----6-3-------------
------3---5---3-6-----------------
----4---6-------------------------
--4-------------------------------



(don't have a guitar with me atm, so this example can sound really bad. but I think you'll all get the point... I used Dbmaj and Ebmaj triads here.)





The last thing I really like to do is for comping, when in duo or trio settings. It's about slash-chords for e.g. alt7s. You again take those major triads out of your MM scale and just put them on top of your root to create some nice sounding slash-chord-voicings. i.e. for G7alt:


[chord]

||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|---|-6-|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|---|-6-|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|---|-6-|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|-3-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|

[/chord]
(Db/G)

Only one example, there are numerous possibilities in creating some nice sounding voicings with this approach without really having to learn a shape for chords like the G7b9#11 above etc...

There are sooo many possibilities with triads I think and I'm still only at the very start of getting into this stuff... So you definitely should check it out!

[SteveCarter]

My article on using triads in comping is now available (free) at:
JGL Columnist: Steve Carter : Jazz Guitar Life

(The links to the MP3 files for the examples are broken right now, but I've asked the webmaster to fix them so check back in a few days.)


Steve

The links to the MP3 examples in my article are now fixed. Anyone interested in applying triads to comping might want to check this out. Here's a direct link to the lesson:
http://www.jazzguitarlife.com/jazz-g...ads-to-comping

You might want to start by listening to Example 4, which demonstrates comping with triads.

Let me know if you find this lesson helpful.

Steve

[muNICU]

I'm really glad I found this thread because I was thinking this same thought this morning as I practiced from the Jazz Theory Book.

I am confused on when someone said "In regard to chord soloing...it is amazing what you can do dropping triads under the melody notes. You can do a lot with very little."

What does dropping triads under the melody notes mean? Can anyone explain? Sounds like a good way for me to start using these triads in context.

EDIT: Or worded differently: Is there a non trial and error approach to figuring out what triads would work for a simple melody like yankee doodle or the star wars theme?

[FatJeff]

What does dropping triads under the melody notes mean? Can anyone explain? Sounds like a good way for me to start using these triads in context.

EDIT: Or worded differently: Is there a non trial and error approach to figuring out what triads would work for a simple melody like yankee doodle or the star wars theme?

One of the easiest ways to do something that approximates chord-melody is to just 'drop' appropriate chords beneath a single-note melody that you are playing. You only drop in the chords underneath areas of the melody that you want to accent, or during melody notes that are held for a long duration. Contrast this approach to chord-melody arrangements where every single note is harmonized (much more difficult, and to my ear, many times needlessly rich).

Kind of like the first 45 seconds or so of this video:

[muNICU]

Last night I wrote out all the notes to all the chords in All the Things You Are and then looped the melody. I started playing around with the first three notes of every chord over the melody, stopping at the last note I played and then finding the next closest note of the next chord as my next note choice. It took forever to come up with something for just the first 8 measures but I couldn't believe how good it sounded. I'm beginning to appreciate triads a lot more.

[lindydanny]

I think I read somewhere that using a similar method but dropping out the five and substituting whatever note is the current melody was basic chord melody skills. Though, it comes out bland-ish. I've tried working on those doing some of my hymnal stuff and it works alright. It helps that the SATB parts are often written very similarly to this!

~DB

[Jaffey]

The beauty of triads is that you don't necessarily have to think of "what scale should I play over this chord". It somewhat eliminates that type of thinking. If I see Dm7, G7, Cmaj7, triadically, I might play Fmaj, Dbmaj, Gmaj - to cover all three. Of course I would go after a motif type of approach.