Home › Forums › Blues Guitar Discussions › Harmonized lead question
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March 10, 2019 at 12:00 am #127851
Brian sometimes references harmonized lead shapes in different lessons. I am learning ep 281 and he talks about the 2 shapes of these going up the neck. Based on either the E shape or A shape barre chord. Can anyone point to a lesson that describes this, or even explain it to me yourself? Hope this makes sense, and thank you all….Scott.
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March 10, 2019 at 3:31 am #127856
Hi scott maybe ep242 is what you need. Check it out
Ale -
March 10, 2019 at 7:12 am #127865
Smilefred, exactly what I was looking for. Thank you much my friend!
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March 10, 2019 at 7:26 am #127870
Scotty,
I try to see these things within chord shapes. Take an E-shaped bar chord at the 5th fret giving an A major chord. The root is on the 5th fret, 1st string. If you had an even higher 7th A string on your guitar the major third interval would be on the new 4th fret and is a C#. If you now drop that note one octave, the C# is on the 6th fret, 3rd string. What you have done is created an inverted 3rd. Inverting a major 3rd interval creates a minor 6th interval. See how this shape fits withing the E shaped A major chord. Many people think of the harmonic 6ths as inverted 3rds and you are voicing the two notes based on the higher pitched note. The interval you create is based on the”rule of nines”. An inverted major 3rd is a minor 6th (if you were to count the intervals from the lower note), an inverted minor 3rd is a major 6th. These are the two shapes Brian refers to.
Harmonizing the major scale, you have an A major chord, B minor chord, C #minor chord, D chord etc. Now your second shape fits within the B minor chord arising off the B root and is a major 6th interval, third shape fits within the C# minor chord etc. Thinking of the 6ths in terms of the higher note would help you find the next shape on the next string set by just continuing in the scale (and on the 2nd and 4th strings the shapes are fitting within a C shaped chord). The two shapes change when you are no longer crossing the B string; the gap widens.
The harmonic 3rd intervals are voiced on the lower pitch of the two. The A shaped chord is easy to see, eg. A major, 3rd fret 3rd string is the root A and C#, the major 3rd, is just below on the B string. The shape changes as you move to the B minor chord, C# minor chord and then back to the original shaped for the D chord. When Brian says you will hear what sounds right, he is referring to the order of major or minor thirds within the chords when you harmonize a key, ie major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, minor(diminished), major. Keep in mind, the order of these shapes changes when Brian does compositions in the myxolydian mode because of the flat 7.
Let me know if I confused you, it’s always difficult to put these concepts into words.
In summary, think of all these shapes as 3rd intervals, the two shapes refer to major third or minor third, follow the scale you are using based on the root of the 3rd interval, the shapes will fit within chords, the shape used depends on the harmonization of the scale, ie sequence of major or minor chords.
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March 10, 2019 at 7:37 am #127871
John, thank you sir. I can always count on you to help with concepts I am trying to learn. Yes, it confuses me a bit, but this is exactly what I am trying to learn and underatand. These harmonized runs connecting different chords and shapes is such a neat tool to add to my ever growing box of concepts. I am going to keep working on this, and thank you for taking the time to explain in depth. Next I want to learn how to use these ideas in a practical way while playing. Much appreciated!…..scott.
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March 10, 2019 at 10:50 am #127882
Melodies are usually harmonized using fixed intervals for the whole phrase (usually for the whole solo). Take the melody you want to harmonize and pick an interval from the diatonic scale, where no note exists (where no exact match exists), use your ears to find one or let one or two notes go without harmony. The original melody is usually the top note, but you can do anything so long as you like it.
As John mentions, 3rds and 6ths are the most common intervals to use, but Joe Diorio (coming from Eddie Harris) uses a lot of 4ths, which also implies 5ths; every interval has an inversion (adding up to 9 when combined); I don’t know how mixing intervals in a line would sound, I’m sure it could be done if you’re confident with it.
Don D.
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March 10, 2019 at 12:56 pm #127886
Crazy quiet on my topics,, I explained this to sunjamr this early am sunday here frezzing rain ,,nothing to do but practice.. if you want the best info just watch Brian’s latest EP299 HE REFERS to ep130 ask after reviewing at least video 1 intro.. albeit, I’m aware of my filtered here pretty sad thought but sure it is in the best interest for keymaster and my account here! enjoy!
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March 20, 2019 at 9:52 am #128603
Oh you and I both, I’ve run into harmonised 6ths and 3rds while practising for this month’s challenge, it’s confusing as “*’* to say the least.
Stopped me dead in my tracks trying to get my head around the explination and the concept..thought this guitaring lark was supposed to be fun!?!...Billy..
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