Guitar Lessons and Theory

The Seventh and the Second

The seventh spans seven diatonic scale degrees, the minor seventh contains 10 semitones, the major seventh contains 11 semitones. The pitch ratio of the minor seventh is 9/5 or 7/4 and of the major seventh is 15/8.

The seventh are the first extensions of the diatonic chords:

The sevenths are considered dissonant intervals and they rarely occur at the beginning of the songs. In order to memorize the major seventh, you'll have to keep in mind that only the minor second sounds more dissonant. A classical example is Steve Howe's acoustic solo in The Ancients:

The minor seventh may be heard as a part of the dominant chord but it shouldn't be confused with the diminished fifth of the same chord when practicing. Maybe it's easier to hear a minor seventh as a major second lower than the octave of the first note.

The second spans two diatonic scale degrees, the minor second contains 1 semitone, the major second contains 2 semitones. The pitch ratio of the minor second is 16/15 or 25/24 and of the major second is 9/8 or 10/9. The minor second is also called a semitone and the major second is also called a tone.

They are dissonant intervals. The minor second sounds as the most dissonant interval of all.

There are countless tunes that begin with a second. It's easy to memorize the ascending major second at the beginning of the major scale and the ascending minor second at the end of the major scale:

Improvising On Dominant Chords

Improvisation on dominant chords is maybe the first to be learn by improvising musicians. Dominant chords are frequently embellished by all kinds of extensions so any musician must be familiar to the modes he/she would play on them.

• The blues scale may be played on chords that include the 9th and the 11th and on the 7#9 chord.
• The most popular mode on 7,9,(11, 13) is the mixolydian mode. For instance, on a C9 chord you may play C mixolydian (the 5th mode of the F major scale).
• The half - whole tone scale may be played on 7b9 and 7#9 chords with a major 6th. On C7b9 and C7#9, try C 1/2, 1.
• Whole tones scales may be played on 7#11 chords like C whole tone on a C7#11 chord.
• Phrygian major can be played on 7b9 chords with a minor sixth. On a C7b9b13 chord, you can try C phrygian major (the 5th mode of F harmonic-minor).
• Mixolydian b6 also works on 9b13 chords. Try on C9b13 C mixolydian b6 (the 5th mode of F melodic-minor).
• Superlocrian works on 7#9 and 7#9b13 (altered chords). On C7#9(b13), you can try C superlocrian (the 7th mode of C# melodic-minor).
• Lydian b7 may be played on 7,9#11 (or b5) chords. On C7,9#11, you can play C lydian b7 (the 4th mode of G melodic-minor).

In conclusion, we've got the blues scale, a diatonic mode, the two symmetrical scales, a harmonic-minor mode and three melodic-minor modes. Musicians play so much on dominant chords so they get used fast to all their extensions.

The Fourth and the Fifth

The perfect fourth spans 5 semitones and has a pitch ratio of 4/3. The perfect fifth spans 7 semitones and has a pitch ratio of 3/2. They are called "perfect" because they occur in both major and minor scales and were always considered as consonances.

We hear the fourth in the opening of a lot of tunes before the root on the strong beat. The anthems are the best example. La Marseillaise starts with a fourth.

On the other hand, a lot of guitar solos start with a fifth. The solo of Stairway to Heaven is a famous example.

The ascending fourth sounds like an answer, while the ascending fifth sounds like a question. The situation is opposite with the descending fourth and fifth. The descending fourth sounds like a question, while the descending fifth sounds like an answer.

It's also easy to hear the fourths and the fifths together as double-stops. The fourth occurs between the fifth and the root of major and minor chords (G - C in C major, for example). The fifth occurs between the root and the fifth of major and minor chords (C - G in C major, for example). They also form the "power chords", so often met in rock.

Between the perfect fourth and the perfect fifth we find the dissonant augmented fourt or diminished fifth, known also as the tritone. It spans 6 semitones and has a pitch ratio of 7/5.

The octave inversion of the perfect fourth is the perfect fifth, while the octave inversion of the perfect fifth is the perfect fourth. The tritone is its own octave inversion because it divides the octave in two equal parts.

It's very easy to hear a tritone. A song that starts with an augmented fourth is Maria from West Side Story. It may be heard in a lot of rock riffs like Metallica's "Enter Sandman", in Hendrix' "Purple Haze", in Dream Theater's "As I Am", etc.

To hear the tritone as double-stop, just think that it occurs between the third and the seventh of the dominant seventh (B - F in the G7 chord, for example).

Dedicated Technique

Last night I heard an interview with Al di Meola. He recognized that he had a period when he was studying guitar 8 hours/day in his youth. I thought of Steve Vai. They say Vai was practicing 11 hours/day. It seems a lot but it's enough to practice for 3 hours/day when you are still a beginner and didn't make your mind yet about a musical career. Then, when you're determined to make a living playing an instrument, you should consider practicing as your job. The more advanced you are, the more enjoyable practicing is. The problem is to make up your mind fast. You can spend your time on an activity that doesn't bring any income only while you are not committed to another working place or to your own family. So, the best years are when you are 12 - 20 years of age.

Why do you need a good technique? The point is to be able to express yourself. There are musicians that have a lot of feeling and their music would make a strong impression on anyone listening but their technique is too poor and they can't bring their ideas into life.

Maybe you think the competition is tough and practicing's goal is to enable you to show off. It's true that there are a lot of great guitar players but, in music, you compete only with yourself. Only a bad audience would fall for cheap technical tricks. A good one will appreciate your music. All you have to do is to acquire the ability to make that music.

Modal Improvisation

Instead of concentrating on the chord sequence of the song, modal jazz is all about scales and modes. This gives more freedom, the accompanying instruments don't have to follow the chords, the soloist can create melodies of his own instead of arpeggiating on and on the same chord sequence.

Inside the scale, the soloist may use intervals, triads, arpeggios, penta and blues scales and patterns derived from the scale.

But the real freedom in modal jazz is to be able to add "out notes", notes that are not within the scale or the mode of the song. It's very important for the soloist to know exactly what notes will make happen his/her intentions and for the accompanying musicians to hear where the soloist leads to or, even to suggest trips outside the basic scale or mode.

Let's take, for example, the A-dorian mode: A, B, C, D, E, F#, G. First, you have to get familiar to the sound of the dorian, then to hear when the improvisation goes outside the dorian and where. Important outside notes that can be used in the dorian mode:

• the minor second - Bb
• the flat fifth - Eb
• the minor sixth - F
• the major seventh - G#

For C-lydian: C, D, E, F#, G, A, B, the same notes of the mode will occur outside the mode but at other steps:   

• the flat seventh - Bb
• the minor third - Eb
• the perfect fourth - F
• the minor sixth - G#

It takes some practice to hear all the outside notes. Play as much as you can in the "modal spirit" as a soloist and as an accompanying musician, see if you feel the need to go outside the mode from time to time. 

The Third

The third spans three diatonic scale degrees, the minor third contains 3 semitones, the major third contains 4 semitones. The pitch ratio of the third sixth is 6/5 or 7/6 and of the major third is 5/4.

Chords are formed as succession of thirds. When the interval between the tonic (first degree) and the mediant (third degree) of a chord is a major third the chord is a major chord.

When the interval between the tonic (first degree) and the mediant (third degree) of a chord is a minor third the chord is a minor chord.

The point is to memorize how it sounds. Some examples:

Major thirds from Bernstein's West Side Story:

The riff of Smoke On the Water begins with a minor third:

A descending minor third from Deep Purple's Mistreated:

The diminished arpeggio is a succession of minor thirds:

Beethoven's Fifth opens with a descending major third followed by a descending minor third:

The thirds are often played as double-stops like in Paganini's 24th capriccio:

Learn to hear the difference between major and minor thirds and between major and minor chords. It's one of the most important things in relative hearing.