Today, a quick look at the unique 13th chordVoicing of guitar maestro John mcLaughlin.
PART 1:
This unique voicing possesses a 7th a 9th with the 13th ringing out on top. It has a lovely sonoroustone :
Diagram of a 13th chord voicing showing the 3rd, 7th, 9th, and 13th notes, highlighting the unique structure.
This chord works really well because it’s a 1st inversion, and, without a root it gives us that slightly ethereal painted sound:
Diagram illustrating the D13 chord voicing with 7th, 9th, and 13th notes labeled.
PART 2:
The sonorous nature of this chord makes it shine when moving to a diminished 7th chord for a resolution:
Chord diagram showcasing the D13, F#dim7, and Em7 voicings, essential for understanding the unique textures in John McLaughlin’s 13th chord progression.
This in turn rewards us with fantastic melodic sequences:
Chord progression illustrating John McLaughlin’s unique 13th chord voicing with associated diminished and major chords.Chord diagram illustrating the C13, Edim7, and Dm7 voicings, highlighting their unique structures and relations.
PART 3:
Now, let’s make a sequence by employing strong Major 9th chords that move to John’s brilliant voicing.
If we play the example below we can hear the resonant nature of the two chords.
Chord diagram illustrating E Major 9 and E13 chord voicings in a musical lesson.
Now, let’s create a little chord sequence with them:
John McLaughlin Chord sequence illustration featuring E13, D13, and C13 voicings.
To complete the sequence, we will cadence with a13b9 chord back to the tonic D
Chord diagram for A13b9 and D/A used in the sequence demonstrating John McLaughlin’s 13th chord voicing.
Here, is the full sequence:
Chord sequence illustrating John McLaughlin’s unique 13th chord voicing alongside related Major 9th chords.
PART 4:
John, also makes good dramatic use of this chord by exploiting a pedal note in the bass for rhythmic drive.
Today, a quick look at John McLaughlin’s “Pentatonic” guitar concepts for playing over the Coltrane Changes.
Although I am employing alternate picking guitar technique at quite a fast rate, these pentatonic’s simplify things enormously.
THE RHYTHMIC SIDE OF THINGS:
To keep the solo line tight, we will count in a basic manner,
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and
This way, you will know where you are in the bar and what chord you are playing over.
To begin with I use the B major pentatonic scale. Next, I employ a simple 2 finger pentatonic scale over D7 and GMaj7.
I then play the second part [same fingering] up a semitone and land on the note D for the EbMaj7 chord, counting 1 2 3 4 in preparation for the next chord.
John McLaughlin Giant Steps BMaj7, D7, GMaj7, Bb7, and EbMaj7 for guitar players.
For the first three chords I play what could be called “A Dorian Pentatonic”. But, I am not really thinking in that way. [I am just adding the F# note for the 3rd of D7]. This in turn creates a very simple and “Fluid” guitar fingering that is very common to most guitar players and hence easy to play.
John McLaughlin giant steps guitar chords Am7, D7, Gmaj7, Bb7, EbMaj7, F#7, and BMaj7.
On the F#7 chord I play an F#7 arpeggio that then resolves into an Eb minor arpeggio for the BMaj7 chord.
McLaughlin Musical notation showcasing the BMaj7 and EbMaj7 chords alongside the F#7 arpeggio.
For then next part, I again employ a simple Pentatonic to get through the first three chords.
This Bb minor leaning works well because over the Bb7 chord it gives us the “Blue note”. Finally we use our A Dorian Pentatonic again to resolve to GMaj7 for our last three chords.
Here, I just use C#m pentatonic and F# Pentatonic to land on the D# to nail the change to the BMaj7 chord. Very simple and very common guitar fingering.
Musical notation highlighting C#m7, F#7, and BMaj7 chords for McLaughlin’s giant steps.
For the last part, I employ an Fm9 arpeggio and a C minor pentatonic scale that then goes up a semitone and repeats our C#m7 F#7 to Bmaj7 phrase.
Music notation for Fm7, Bb7, and EbMaj7 chords, illustrating McLaughlin guitar techniques.
But, this time we land on an F# for the 5th of BMaj7.
The 12 Major Triads/Slash chords music lesson in theory and practice:
Please watch video above for detailed info:
Hi Guys,
Today, a look at altering harmony and cadences with triads, slash and altered chords.
PART 1:
To begin with let’s take a pedestrian V to I cadence,
Now, let’s add some colour to it.
Illustration of a V to I cadence with altered substitutions, showcasing the Db/C and C/F slash chords.
Here, we can see the slash chord of Db/C resolving to C/F:
The Db/C harmony creates a powerful dominant chord of Csus/b9/b13
Musical notation illustrating the Csus/b9/b13 chord, showcasing its structure and components.
With this in mind let’s now apply this and cadence to the minor key [FmMaj7]
V to I cadence illustrating altered slash chord substitutions in a minor key.
Straight away, we can see and hear how easy it is to manipulate and alter the harmony with slash chords.
They also possess a unique flavour and colour that really shines out on the guitar due to the Major triads being very bright. This way they naturally cut through and resonate.
PART 2: Extending 1 simple Triad:
In this example, we will take a simple triad of F Major 1st inversion [F/A]
From this, we will add melodic notes/movement in the top and bottom to extend the harmony, and, finish with a 7sus4 cadence of F/G to Cmaj7#11
Visual representation of F Major triad variations, including F/A, F6/A, F#m7b5, and F/G, showcasing chord extensions.
Let’s now add this to a complete chord sequence:
Chord sequence demonstrating triads and harmonization techniques.
PART 3: Harmonising a melody:
We will now take the simple melody below,
To exploit this, we will employ altered and slash chords starting with G7#9 moving to Eb/E
Melody harmonization using the G7#9 and Eb/E slash chords.
We will now repeat this, but, add a chord of E/F in between to harmonise the Ab note:
Finally, resolving back to the Eb/E slash chord
Chord diagram for E/Eb, illustrating finger placements for guitarists.
FULL HARMONISATION EXAMPLE:
John McLaughlin Guitar Harmonization with slash chords and altered chords
PART 4: 12 TRIADS over I bass note
In this exercise we will play all 12 Major Triads over a single C [as root] Bass note.
Chord progression visual for 12 Major Triads over a C bass note, illustrating various slash chords.An illustration displaying the progression of 12 Major Triads over a C bass note, highlighting various chord combinations.
