WEEKLY LESSON IDEA: CAGED SUS 2, SUS 4, DIM, AUG, 9th chords.

[Ted D]

I guess the title tells the whole idea.

A weekly lesson (or series) in the same style and to compliment the wonderful CAGED series done some weeks back. This lesson(s) would cover the various decorations we put on the chord “cake”, how they are made and how they are used.

I might add that maybe the various 5, 9, 11, 13 chords could be added and discussed, but this might be of limited use to us students and beyond the scope of the lessons planned.

If this has been done already, could somebody direct me to these weekly lessons?

[Laurel C]

Hi Ted, that is great idea for a lesson series. After the CAGED Series I wanted to go further with it for sus chords and the diminished for all five shapes. It would be the decoration on the ‘chord’ cake as you stated in how to make them and use them with a dedicated lesson series. Chord Extensions could be done also with Brian’s teaching style to break it all down into bite size manageable objectives. Thanks for suggesting it, a pinned ‘Weekly Lesson Topic Suggestions’ would be a good addition to the forum to add material for thought from the community like yourself.

In the meantime you could look at these lessons:
EP413 : How to use Diminished Chords and an Augmented Chord.
EP419 : Creating simple melodic phrases, using Sus chords.
EP507 : Super Easy Spacey Lead Using SUS Chords.
EP301 : Play 6 and 9 chords in different positions all over the neck.
EP362 : 6 and 9 chord voicings in 3 positions on the neck.
EP398 : Using the “T-Bone Walker” chord, 6 chord, 9 chord

Brian has done an overview of Chord Extensions in a video which is included in the Essential Theory Course. Attached the video below.

[Ted D]

Laurel,

I took the time today to watch lesson EP413 : How to use Diminished Chords and an Augmented Chord.

As usual, Brian does a great job, but (and I HATE buts … ) there is a LOT of information here. I filled one sheet of a legal pad with the just information on the 2 types of diminished chords and how to form the dim. triad in various places on the neck. And I know my notes do not cover but about a third of the material in the video.

Remembering to keep everything “CAGED movable”, 2 (or maybe 3) pages of .pdf “cheat sheets” done in the manner of the CAGED vids discussed above would go a long way to help the student get a handle on this information.

Thanks again

T.

[Ted D]

Hey Laurel,

Brian is a very good teacher and I wish that the CAGED System he presents had been available to me back in 1963 when I picked up the guitar. I cannot tell you the frustration and time it would have saved me over the years.

I think the movable chord shapes of the CAGED System are exactly like a cake fresh from the oven. You can decorate one with all manner of wonderful things, but underneath … its still simply cake. CAGED really is just that easy.

When I saw the 5 CAGED lesson series Brian did, I remarked “series “heck”(!), Brian has the making of a book here. Were he to use the EXACT same format in his .pdf “cheat sheets”, a series of lessons on CAGED SUS 2, SUS 4, Diminished and Augmented shapes would come in very handy if putting out a book ever entered his mind. I think retaining the format in the .pdf documents would give it all a very professional look.

A series covering the various 5, 9, 11, 13 et al chord alterations I’m sure would be welcome by advanced students and make a great couple of pages in a book. I can’t wait to see how Brian handles it.

Thank you for the kind reply and useful lessons/vids you suggested, Laurel. I can guarantee that I will make the best use of them that I can. Because I am retired and on a very limited budget, I have been a YT subscriber for a very long time now, but I can only afford to come to this site one month at a time. When I am here I like to squeeze all of the juice out of the orange I can. 😉

T.

[Michael L]

It would be great to have some lessons with Brian’s take on these ideas and to have them in the context of a composition.
In the meantime, I find it very useful to know the formulas for finding these chords from CAGED shapes. The correct intervals to adjust are easily found with a quick web search. (“what intervals make up a diminished chord?”)
For instance:

Take any CAGED shape, or a triad within the shape, raise the major 3rd by one fret to the 4th and that’s your sus4.
Lower that same major 3rd by 2 frets to the 2nd, and that’s your sus2.

To get all the different embellished sounds is a matter of adjusting one or two intervals from the major CAGED shape, or maybe adding an interval that “extends” the shape, like a 9th (2nd), 13th (6th), and so on. I’ve found it a useful exercise.

[Ted D]

Hi there Michael,

Thank you for the information you shared on SUS 2 & 4 and intervals. I’ve saved it into my notebook.

[Ted D]

Sorry … New guy here.

I learned about the “reply” function after posting something on this thread.

I also learned I couldn’t find a “delete post” button anywhere.

[Ted D]

Michael L wrote:

It would be great to have some lessons with Brian’s take on these ideas and to have them in the context of a composition.

In the meantime, I find it very useful to know the formulas for finding these chords from CAGED shapes. The correct intervals to adjust are easily found with a quick web search. (“what intervals make up a diminished chord?”)

Yes, I use the internet and have found many, many things on many, many topics doing a “quick web search”. For SOME of my interests.

And, yes, scale and chord shapes and intervals are a specific, unchanging sort of thing.

But getting past somebody’s lesson or discussion to get to what I want takes time. Also, musical folks on the internet don’t always agree on things. Do a quick search seeking to find the “correct” number of keys for instance.

I started playing guitar and other stringed instruments back in 1963. Since that time I have had some number of teachers and studies from some number of books (before the internet).

Brian’s teaching style is the best – FOR ME – that I’ve experienced. Although its not exactly 1 on 1, Brian seems to anticipate when I’m about to ask a question … and always has the answer for me.

In each lesson, his NEW information is ALWAYS based on what he has taught before, it all follows the same logic and patterns. I’ve yet to find a contradiction or an error, even his .pdf CHEAT SHEETS (that I am politely petitioning for more of). I LOVE the uniformity. The only things that seem to change are his hair styles and eyewear.

For the above reason, I prefer coming here when I can afford to rather than go digging around on the internet.

[Alan L]

I’d agree more would be nice!

Here’s a link to a little write up I did on some tips and tricks I’ve collected on diminished chords. (Including a further link to a fabulous MicroLesson featuring diminished arpeggios.)

Diminished, demystified (hopefully)

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