Hey guys, today I am going to show you how to add more color to a simple melody on guitar. You can use this simple trick on slow melodies played over one or two strings.
So how do you add more color to a simple melody? To add more color to a simple melody double each note of the melody with thirds or sixth interval. By adding an interval note, you make the melody more vibrant and harmonically interesting. Melodies with three or four notes work perfectly with this simple trick.
The example is in A minor key and is mainly played with root note and thirds. I am also going to show you how to play a single notes melody as well as a few beautiful chords.
This lesson is perfect for any guitar player who wants to add more color and dynamics to a simple melody.
In today’s lesson, we are going to learn how to spice up a chord progression in D major by borrowing a chord from the D minor key. This substitution is prevalent in pop music so if you are a singer, songwriter, or a guitar player looking for a magic chord you are in the right place.
So, what’s the minor IV chord in the major key? The minor IV is a borrowed chord that can be interchanged with the major IV. In D major key, for example, the G major chord (IV degree) can be interchanged with the G minor chord, borrowed from the IV degree of the D minor key. You can listen to the minor IV chord in songs such as No Surprise and Creep by Radiohead and Blackbird by the Beatles.
The minor IV is one of the most beautiful chords to play in a major chord progression because it adds so many emotions, sadness, and mystery to the music. In this example, we are exploring the D major key, but you can apply the minor IV to any major key.
You can learn how to use this chord in the video below. The tab is available on my Patreon page.
In this example, I am combining two chords, the D major and the G minor chord. If you know a little bit about music theory, you know that in the D major key the G chord is major and not minor. We can borrow the G minor chord from the D minor key and substitute the G major with the G minor chord.
The I – iv progression works perfectly with any chord shape. You could play an open D major and a G minor bar chord and still write an awesome chord progression. Extended chords such as Dsus2 and Gm6 work beautifully as well. Make sure you try different chord shapes and inversions and use them in your songwriting and songs.
Is the Minor IV Good with All the Chords?
The I-iv is one of the most common modern chord progression. It works perfectly with chords such as the D major going to G minor or the B minor going to G minor. However, the minor IV substitution doesn’t work all the time. Progressions such as the vi – iv, E minor to G minor, doesn’t sound great. The best way is to experiment with different chord progressions to find the ones that work the best.
These are all the chords you can play in D major key: D major, E minor, F# minor, G minor, A major, B minor, and C# diminished. The G chord should be major, but for this exercise, you will play a minor chord.
These are some of the chord progressions that work with the minor IV chord:
D – Gm
Bm – Gm
D – A – G – Gm
Should I Practice the Chords with Fingerpicking or Strumming?
One of the things that I love about the minor IV chord is that it works with both fingerpicking and strumming technique. In the video, I am going to show you how to play the chord progression with both fingerstyle and strumming so that you can get inspired to try both. However, the fingerpicking technique gives you more harmonic and melodic choices compared to the strumming technique.
In the video, we are going to start by learning the chords with the fingerpicking technique. The dynamics and tone we can achieve with the fingerpicking technique are unique. We can also arpeggiate the chords and single out some of the notes. For the D major chord, I am even playing a Dsus2, and for the Gm chord, I will play a Gm6/D.
With the strumming technique, you can add more rhythm and groove to the chord. In this example, I am playing basic chords such as B minor and G minor as well as inversions and extended chords. You will learn how to play a D/F# and a Gm6 chord. Each chord can be strummed with a downstroke but feel free to come up with a pattern of your choice.
Both strumming and fingerpicking are unique guitar techniques that allow you to express different moods and feeling. The fingerpicking technique is a killer when it comes to melody, arpeggios, and tone. The strumming is great for rhythm and groove. Practice the minor IV chord with both techniques to get the most out of your playing.
Why is the Minor IV Chord so Beautiful?
Now that you have been experimenting with the chords let’s talk about why is the minor IV so beautiful.
One of the reasons why the minor IV chord sounds so amazing is because of its harmonic function. The minor IV resolves nicely back to the tonic chord (G minor to D major) because of the two suspensions between the Root and 3rd. Let me give you an example between the D major and G minor chord.
The notes of the G minor chord are G Bb D. When this chord moves back to the D major the note G (the root note of G minor) moves back to the F#(the major 3rd of D major), and the Bb (the minor 3rd of G minor) resolves to the A (the 5th of D major). The connection between these two notes makes the G minor a beautiful chord to play before and after the D major.
You can see the harmonic function of the chord even better if we keep the same bass note for both the D major and the G minor chord. In the example below, the only two notes that move are the F# and A.
Related Questions
Can I use the minor IV chord in different keys? Absolutely! You can use the minor IV chord in any major key. Always start by identifying all the chords within the key, then change the 4th from major to a minor chord. In C major, for example, the chords are C Dm Em F G Am Bdim C. Change the F major to F minor and try different chord progressions.
I am Writing a Song. Can I sing a melody over the minor IV chord? Of course, you can. However, remember that the minor IV is borrowed from a different key so you will have to adjust the notes of the melody based on the minor chord you are playing. In D major key, the minor IV is the G minor chord which has the notes G, Bb, and D. If you sing a melody over this chord, you will probably have to use the note Bb instead of the B natural.
Let’s Wrap This Up
I hope you enjoyed this lesson. Once you become familiar with the chords in this lesson, you should go ahead and write your chord progressions. One of the most important aspects of learning new chords is to put them into practice and learn how to use them in different progressions.
Stick with the D major key for a while before you try a different one. Also, listen to a lot of songs that use the minor IV chord to train your ears to the sound, color, and function of the chord.
Practice the chords with both fingerpicking and strumming technique. When you play the chords with the fingerstyle, focus more on the melody and tone. Combine open strings and try the chords in different positions of the neck. With the strumming, stick with one or two rhythmic patterns and make sure to play each chord as evenly as possible.
Write all the chords down and keep adding until you have a bunch of great chord progressions. Learn many songs and have fun using this beautiful and creative chord.
Have fun with this lesson guys. The tabs are available on my Patreon page. Make sure you check it out here.
I am super excited to announce that the Fingerpicking Guitar in 7 Days Volume.2 is now ready. After the massive success of the first course, also posted on YouTube, I decided to create the second volume only available for my Patrons.
This course follows the same blueprint of the first volume.
The Fingerpicking Guitar in 7 Days is a mini-program packed with fingerpicking lessons. Each day we will talk about a different technique, which is explained in details throughout each lesson.
These are the topics that we will cover in Volume 2.
Day 1. Alternate fingering technique.
Day 2. Fingerpicking pattern.
Day 3. Simple melody.
Day 4. How to simplify chords.
Day 5. Melody with Pentatonic scale.
Day 6. Thumb exercise.
Day 7. All the techniques combined.
How to Approach this Mini-Program
You don’t have to finish the course in 7 days. Spend as much time as you need on each lesson and make sure you can play the exercise before moving on to the next one. You could also practice more exercises at the same time depending on how much time you have available.
I play the exercises at the beginning of each video. You should try to replicate the same sound and dynamics. It would be amazing if you could not only play the right notes (this should be a must) but also give an interpretation to the music. Speed isn’t essential. Focus on tone, timbre, and dynamics.
There is a reference speed for each exercise, but I recommend that you start at your own pace.
I hope you enjoy this mini-course.
Check the video below to preview the exercises and click on the links below to access the lessons. All the videos and tabs are available on Patreon.
Hey guys, today I am going to show you five beautiful chords on the guitar and how to actually use them in a chord progression.
We will learn:
The Eadd9 chord
The Aadd11 chord
The C#m9 chord
The C9(sus4)
The Am9
I am going to demonstrate each chord with a chord progression so that you have an idea of how the chords sound with other chords.
This type of exercises is very useful for guitar players who want to learn how to play new chord shapes without necessarily having to go through an advanced music theory course. However, once you learn the chords in this lesson, you should write a bunch of chord progressions using the same chords.
Everything you learn should be put into your musical ideas. No pressure.
Hey people, welcome to another fingerpicking lesson. Today I am going to show you how to play basic chords on the guitar and how to use them in a simple chord progression.
The chords we are about to learn are simple triads played in open position.
A triad is the most simple chord in music. It is played with the Root note, 3rd, and 5th (also 1 3 5 or I III V). If you know how to play open chords such as C major, G major, E minor, A minor, etc., then you know how to play a triad.
In music, there are two types of triads: Open position and close position.
A triad played in open position leave more space between the notes. On the other hand, the close position has the notes as close together as possible.
Hey guys, welcome back to another guitar lesson. Today I want to show you how to play a bunch of classical arpeggios on acoustic guitar using this awesome delay trick.
So, what’s an arpeggio?
An arpeggio is a chord broken down into single notes. You can turn any type of chord into an arpeggio by single out each note of the chord. A C major arpeggio is played with the notes C E G which are the same notes of the C major chord.
In this guitar lesson, I am going to show you how to transform a classical chord progression into beautiful arpeggios played with a double-tap delay effect. With this simple delay trick, you can double every note you play and make each arpeggio rhythmically interesting.
We will start by learning the arpeggios one by one. Then I am going to teach you how to set the delay effect.
The arpeggios can be played on acoustic or electric guitar (even classical if you want). I am using the right-hand finger to pick the strings but it could be done with a guitar pick too. It’s totally up to you how you want to approach the arpeggios with the right-hand.
One of the things that took a while to figure out was how to set up the delay.
If you want to get this amazing delay effect there are three elements that must work perfectly together: The exercise speed (also called Bpm), the note value set for the delay, and the delay speed.
In the exercise, the arpeggios are played in triplets, meaning that I am playing three notes per beat. The metronome is set to 90bpm but if I set the delay at 90 beats per minutes with a dotted eighth note value things don’t really sound good.
The dotted eighth note only works if I play four notes per beat. So if I change the arpeggio from triplets to sixteenth notes, the delay works perfectly.
But the question is “How can I set up the delay if I play triplets?”
I didn’t really know how to do it so I had to experiment with it a little bit. The first thing that worked better was changing the dotted eighth note into a quarter note value.
A kept the speed at 90bpm but it didn’t work with the delay so I doubled the speed on the delay at 180bpm and I finally got it! When I play the arpeggio at 90bpm the delay will now double each note on time.
Once you know how to set up the metronome and delay speed correctly you can play the exercise at a lower speed along with the delay.
Quick tip! The same delay effect can be achieved by setting the delay speed at 350ms. This parameter gives the same delay time as a quarter note value.
Hey guys, welcome back to another beautiful lesson. Today I am going to show you how to play a super simple classical melody by Sagreras called Studio n.70.
We have been learning many classical pieces but this one is kind of special to me because it was one of the very first pieces I performed when I was a little kid.
One of the things that I like a lot about this piece is the simple melody played within the chords. You should try to keep the bass strings quiet and give more emphasis to the melody.
The studio is played in E minor key, which makes it perfect for beginners and fingerpicking students.
Hey guys, welcome to another fingerpicking lesson. Today I am going to show you how to make any chord super simple to play no matter which chord you have to play or learn.
Any chord on the guitar can be simplified in two different ways.
1. By breaking down each chord note by note and playing the root, 3rd, and 5th separately in the most melodic way.
2. By playing a reduced number of strings.
In this lesson, we are going to explore both approaches by analyzing and playing two chord progressions.
The first chord progression, inspired by the famous “Canon in D”, is played step-by-step from root note to more articulated chords. The second chord progression is entirely played with extended chords and made simple by taking advantage of the fingerpicking technique.
Hey guys, welcome back to another guitar lesson. Today I want to answer one of the questions I get asked the most “How can you go from basic to advanced chords and how can I create beautiful chords on the guitar?”
The answer is very simple.
To create advanced chords start by adding extended notes such as the 7th and 9th to the basic triad. Also, add 4th and 2nd to create beautiful suspended chords.
To make it clear guys, advanced chords don’t have to be technically difficult. For me, the next level chord isn’t the incredibly stretchy or the super altered. I consider advanced chords all the chords that are harmonically richer than a basic chord.
However, by adding extensions, it becomes more difficult to implement these chords in a chord progression so it is vital that you understand the structure and most importantly the sound of the chord.
Major 7th, Minor 7th, and Suspended chords can be used in a lot of different styles of music but there are chords such as the Dominant 13th and the Altered chords that are mostly used in Jazz music.
In this lesson, we are going to explore four different categories:
Maj7 and Min7 chords.
Maj9 and Min9 chords.
Suspended chords.
Add11 and #11 chord.
Remember to learn one chord at a time and implement the new chords into other chord progressions you already know.
Hey guys, today I am going to show you how to write a simple melody on guitar. We are going to learn the three essential steps to writing a melody.
Step 1. Find a good chord progression.
Step 2. Learn the scale.
Step 3. Shape the melody.
To write a melody on the guitar the harmony, melody, and rhythm must work perfectly together. Use at least two chords, then select some of the notes from the scale to come up with a melody that best describes your music idea.
It isn’t as simple as it sounds so in this lesson we are going to work on each step with practical examples so that you have an idea of how it’s done.
The example is in C major key, and the chord progression is C | G | Dm | Am |. The chords are played in different positions on the neck. You can try the exercise with just two chords and add more when you feel ready.
It’s evident that beautiful chords will inspire you more than boring chords. For this reason, I recommend that you write a good chord progression that gives you goosebumps.
In this exercise, we are going to play a chord progression in C major key. The chords are C – G – Dm – Am.
Each chord is played in a slightly different way than the shapes you probably know. I am playing some extended chords.
The C major chord becomes a Cadd11 chord played with the A string fret 3, G string open, B string fret 6, and E string open. It’s a beautiful chord that already sounds like a melody.
The G major chord becomes a G6, with the low E string fret 3 (I am using the 1st finger). The G string open, B string fret 3 (with the 2nd finger), and the E string open.
The D minor chord becomes a Dm(add9) chord played with the D string open, the G string fret 7, B string fret 6, and E string open.
The last chord, the A minor becomes a beautiful Am(add11) chord with the A string open, G string fret 5, B string fret 3, and the E string open.
Assign a finger to each string. The thumb always on the bass notes, index on the G string, middle on the B string, and the ring finger on the E string.
In this example, we are playing a chord progression in C major key. Therefore we need to learn the C major scale.
Quick Note! Not all the melodies use this key principle. Sometimes it’s possible to write melodies using other scales that don’t relate to the key at all.
The notes of the C major scale C D E F G A B C.
The trick is to learn the scale around the chord we are playing so if I am playing the Cadd11 chord using this shape, then I will learn the C major scale in this box.
For example, in this case, the scale starts from the note C, fret five on the G string, and it’s played up until the note A. The scale will then be C D E F G A. I am playing the note E open.
We can also use the open strings. For the G6, I am playing the scale starting from the note C. This position is more stretchy so take it step-by-step.
On the Dm(add9) I am going to play the scale C D E F G A B C starting from the note C on the G string fret 5.
For the Am(add11) I will go back to the same box played for the Cadd11 this time starting from the note C.
Step 3. Shape the Melody
Once you familiarize yourself with the notes of the scale, you can then begin shaping the melody.
I wouldn’t start with the melody right away. Instead, play the chord twice. On the next count, play the bass note followed by the melody.
Out of all the notes of the box, I will only select four notes, the G, A, E, and D. I finish on the note D because it’s part of the G6 chord.
I would then play the G major twice followed by the melody. For this chord, I am only playing three notes and slide into the F on the B string fret 6, which is the minor 3rd of the D minor chord. I will play another four notes on this chord, the A, G, F, and E.
The last chord is the A minor which I will learn as we learned it.
Quick Tip! Make the last chord conclusive. It will make the structure clear (for you and the audience).
Try With Different Chord Progression
We can then use the same principle to write a different melody.
In this example we developing the melody on the F major chord, then C major, D minor, and A minor. Notice how the melody is always played with the notes of the C major scale and in the same position of the chord.
Let’s Wrap This Up
I hope you enjoyed this guitar lesson guys.
There are a few important points you should always remember when writing a good melody.
1. Always start with the chord progression. Make it simple and musical.
2. Learn the notes of the scale around the chord shapes. Use open strings if you can.
3. Shape the melody according to the music you play.
Good luck.
Marco
Learn more about how to practice scales on guitar in the next article.
