Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Minor chord magic! Build incredible sounds by playing minor chords on top of Major chords – Guitar Lesson EP587

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play minor chords, 6 chords, 9 chords, and Major 7 chords all by using 3 minor shapes. This can absolutely change the way you sound when you play!

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Slow Walkthrough

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Video Tablature Breakdown

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Comments

  4. Mike R says

    Great sounding chords and its a good thing that chords have more than one name. Just less to learn, but more ways to use them. Thanks for a good thinking lesson. Should be fun to play with the jam tracks and experiment with the sounds.

  5. Keith M says

    Yes… to all of the above! And is that a 335 that you’re playing?
    We never get tired of you telling us which guitar you’re playing because for us it’s a vicarious adventure with your great guitars!!!
    Keith

  7. Alan V says

    Awesome Brian. Thanks for laying out this 6th-9th relationship stuff all in one lesson. Over the years I have spent a lot of time understanding theory, and way too little on playing, but the way you teach is so practical and useful, I find I’m playing far more which is what it is all about, isn’t it. You are helping a lot of people, so please don’t change the way you teach!

  8. Jeff H says

    Beautiful song Brian. I love exploring how these songs are constructed. You don’t talk too much. How do you do a lesson without talking? Some people don’t get it. Keep up the good work. Thanks Brian.

  10. Max d says

    Pure magic! At last, with your guidance, I am figuring out the connections up and down the neck of my guitar and getting to know it better and to understand the wonder it is capable to create, and towards which I am slowly working towards… no not working, but enjoying!… Thank you, Brian

  11. David P says

    One thing that has always puzzled me, when you slide from the 6th to the 9th using the D minor shape, in the 9th position the chord doesn’t the root note. By my reckoning you have the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes.

    I’m really interested in the theory and would love more of it.

    Great lesson

  12. Dale G says

    It’s really weird and good timing for this lesson for me. I’ve experimented with this sound a lot and liked how as you referred as sofisticated or I call jazzy sound but could never understand why . This lesson really opened my eyes as to why. Never thought of it as mixing major and minor to make the sound. Thanks for opening the door as I might never really fully understand the theory but sure helps explain a lot of it. Great lesson!

  13. Paul S says

    I ignored theory for a long time but once I started paying attention, all these frets up and down the neck began to make sense! Instead of just putting my fingers where someone tells me, I could see a much more clear path to play the music. Please talk about theory anytime. It certainly made my ability to play a lot easier. Great lesson!

  14. Georg P says

    Hi Brian.
    This is another great guitar lesson which I am enjoing very much. Your way of teaching, the practical approach in particular and theoretical explanations helps me a lot. Also the language you are using is clear and understandable. Thank you from Bavaria!

  15. Daniel H says

    I am so glad you did a lesson on chord shapes… especially repurposed chord shapes. My chord “library” has been feeling limited and this lesson has helped to expand it. I do believe understanding how chords get their “official” name is important since it helps me reconstruct a chord if I haven’t used it in while. I would certainly be happy to see more lessons involving chord construct and where/how they can be fit into a song, especially since I have begun getting serious about writing songs and using conventional major and minor chords gets dull after a while. Thank you for such a helpful lesson!

  18. James H says

    In my opinion, you certainly don’t talk too much, Brian. Love it. Your lessons are the best I’ve found out in internet land. Keep doing what you’re doing (maybe another rockabilly or jazz lesson soon …?).

  21. Mark H says

    Brian, great lesson, many thanks. BTW, your enthusiasm for the topic is infectious. And please don’t ever skip the essential theory behind what you’re teaching.

    It baffles me that I didn’t stumble across these simple and effective chord relationships/overlays years ago. I like the fact that they are easy to remember, and very useable in existing repertoire songs since, like most of us, I’m always looking to freshen things up. And also, as you point out, there are no new finger busting moves & positions to memorize.

    I’ve recently been experimenting with relative major & minor chords and their harmonic possibilities while improvising. This lesson is a perfect next step for me. Thanks again.

  25. sciencefiction says

    Great lesson, Brian. I wondered why at 11:44 you didn’t point out that the F# minor chord (or same as A6 chord) is the relative minor chord (and the 6th chord) of the A major scale? Likewise, I think you’ve said in previous lessons that the A major chord is the relative major chord in the F# minor scale. Maybe this helps explain why these two chord combos sound good together?
    Thanks,
    Larry

  28. Steve says

    Ramble on, and now’s the time, the time is now.

    Fascinating lesson, lots of ideas to try out when I’m improvising. I often find following the play along I have to slow it down quite a lot to match the notes, then when it’s more ingrained in my playing I can more freely pull from that bag of ideas.

  29. R S says

    Another excellent lesson linking together the 6h, 9th and maj 7 chords within the key of the songs AND to also see them also as chords with 2 or three other names. And the tip of avoiding the 5 chord maj7 is very helpful to now know. As always, your lessons are packed with so many useful nuggets to revisit regularly. Thank you for all you do for us. Your lessons are one of the highlights of every week.

  30. Patrick J. G says

    Well Brian, it sounds like most of us want you to continue teaching the way you do. Personally I enjoy it . You connect with me and that is why I continue to renew my membership. I don’t understand everything that you teach all the time , but working at it , things start to come together. There are a lot of sites on utube that no one talks, but I want to learn so somebody has to talk. After how many years have you been doing this? Must be doing something right.

  34. Doug H says

    So is this the basic recipe? Find the triads for the relative minor chord of the major one you want to play over. They are the 6 chord of that major. Shift two frets toward the nut and ya have the add 9.

  35. JohnStrat says

    Hi Brian
    A great lesson here. I have been wondering around here partially getting the drift for a while but this knocks the door fully open.
    Thanks for the clarity. Re speaking too much ..I am a bit deaf and so a slightly slower presentation would be helpful in my view. I once sat in whilstEdward Fox was being Filmed for an interview and he spoke what seemed at the time very slowly yet when it was played back it became wonderfully crisp.
    JohnStrat

  36. Georg B says

    Hello Brian,

    In your latest video you said that some people might think that you explain and talk too much. That doesn’t apply to me in any way. Your explanations are worth their weight in gold. I find the proportion of explanation and the proportion where it’s just about learning to play a tune wonderfully balanced. Your explanations are a great help for me, not only to understand a tune, but also to learn to play it more easily and remember it.

    Best regards,

    Georg

  41. Leeor F says

    Please don’t ever abridge the theory talk or explanations — that is exactly what I’m here for! If I wanted to just learn a given song there are thousands of other places I could go for that.

  44. Timothy H says

    What sets you apart from most online teachers is your explanation of your choices in these pieces of music you put together i.e. “the theory”. I have found that part invaluable both in my playing and my comprehension of the fretboard. You do you!

  45. Rob M says

    Head has exploded, but I feel like you’ve let us into the place we all want to be, hoping we make the leap. Thanks for trying! And please never stop talking. It’s the highest value part to me.

  47. Mark L says

    Really like this one, don’t know if it would be possible to have the chords and associated minor chords charted under them somehow to easily see what chords fit with what. Thanks for the insight !

  48. Laurence R says

    This will go down as one of your greatest lessons Brian. It somehow simplifies, exemplifies and explains a lot of stuff that you have been telling us for years, but which I never could quite get- until now.
    Thanks a lot.

  50. Marcel v says

    Great lesson, thank you Brian. The last years I’m studying Gypsy Jazz (Jazz Manouche). And even in that genre your lessons contribute to my understanding and freedom to improvise. And no, I don’t think you talk to much.

  51. David E says

    Hey Brian… any chance you could give us a tour of your guitar collection? You have some amazing instruments.

    Love your lessons and particularly your explanations behind them. I feel like you are my next door neighbour or a good friend who is showing me things on the guitar. It all feel very personal, you are by far the best, most down to earth teacher on the web.

    Many thanks.

  52. Peter D says

    Thanks Brian, it is the explanations and re-enforcement of principles that makes these weekly “lessons” rather than just “how to play” videos. I personally get a lot from your explanations.
    cheers from Pete D

  54. Jean J S says

    Always very interesting . I can propose – to my view – my simpler way to connect the chords is to remember that the relative minor of A major is the F# minor , the F# being the 6th note of the A major scale .

  57. John I says

    As a painter, I found a metaphor for this excellent “light bulb” lesson: The apparent flavor of a paint color is only relative to the colors on the palette of the rest of the painting. For instance, a “cool” blue that a painter uses can actually appear quite “warm” in the presence of even cooler colors. 

    For me this unexpected flavor of minor triads over major chords was truly an eye opener.
    Thanks for this, Brian!

    BTW, that is a beautiful Byrdland in cherry finish. Year?

  60. David says

    More ways to sound musical instead of mechanical – thanks so much. You could play a entire sweet blues chorus with this material before ever playing a line and most listeners would enjoy it.

  61. David says

    More ways to sound musical instead of mechanical – thanks so much. You could play a entire sweet blues chorus with this material before ever playing a line and most listeners would enjoy it.

  62. Colin L says

    This really helped me put the caged system and triads into real world use! Since you brought up Robben Ford, I would really enjoy it if you did another lesson on his Jazzy Blues approach, and how to get that kind of sound.

  63. Henry P says

    This is just what I needed – jazzy, but simple chord shapes we already know. Can’t wait to dive in and absorb these concepts. BTW, it helped when I realized, the 4-finger d minor shape you taught us at the beginning of the lesson was the 1st position C7 shape moved down a string to strings 1 through 4 (instead of 5 through 2). It’s weird how the brain thinks something is difficult until you relate it something you already know. (I can also make it easier by thinking an F6 shape. d minor is a part of F6 -right?) Weird.

  64. Dan S says

    I’ve realized that when my head hurts, I’m learning something special. I’ve toyed with these sounds but never realized how versatile they can be. In my opinion, if someone can master this and even understand what they are doing they are becoming an advanced player.

    While playing with other musicians , I’ve noticed these are the type of moves that often result in a “what was that ? I love that” moment. I always refer to you during these discussions.

    This will join the old Dickey Betts video as my main game changers.
    Brilliant !

  65. Michael A says

    Brian, this one is really helpful and alot of fun to play. Also, on a technical note, I really appreciate when you start the interactive tablature with a couple of seconds of lead-in. I use the looping alot, and it is great to have that time at the beginning to get re-set for the next pass through. Many thanks.

  68. Robert R says

    Some really helpful break through here relating minor, 6th, 9th, and Major 7 chords. Thank you Brian. The sliding 6th to 9th chords and how 6th chords have identical sounding minor chords is always interesting.

  69. Ronald J says

    Hi Brian. At 12 min into video you said that the different voicings “just work”. It immediately brought to mind the concept of “the blend”. I would try to explain it like making a cake that requires two eggs – you can mix in the two broken eggs, you could scramble the two eggs before putting them in the cake mix or you can use the equivalent amount of something like egg beaters. Result is the same – you get a cake. You might have slightly different variations in outcome but in the end – you have a cake that you can eat! In this case, you can substitute different chords behind the F#min and get variations.
    Ron

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