Rhythm Guitar Essentials: Song Studies!

If you have conquered major and minor barre chords and triads, time to put that knowledge to use and apply to songs! This class is the culmination of Rhythm Guitar Essentials: Major/Minor Triads & Barre Chords. In it, we will explore a song that uses both major and minor chords, and use the shapes covered in the related classes to voice lead the chord progression. This voice leading exercise is tremendous for gaining confident control over harmony on the guitar. Further practical applications of these chords will be discussed.

Rhythm guitar is an art form, and weaving in and out of harmonies and creating textures for the band is a big job! Command of your fretboard is essential, and understanding the nuances of voice-leading, chord structures, and rhythmic concepts is key to being a good bandmate.

Topics covered include: Barre chords, strumming, triads, major chords, left hand muting, band dynamics, harmony, voice leading. Chord charts for example song(s) will also be provided for practice.

This class is perfect for: Students who have completed the other two Essential Rhythm Guitar classes, or beginner/intermediate students with the prerequisite knowledge of these triad shapes. Any guitarist looking to further their understanding of how chords work on the guitar will find a wealth of information from the series. Fans of just about all kinds of rock, pop, blues, and folk music will benefit from this course.

After this class, you will be able to: Identify triads throughout the neck, and voice-lead common progressions using professional techniques. you will be able to play a song using all fingering derivations from major and minor barre chord shapes, and play that song ascending, then descending on the neck.

Skills required: (scale from 1-low to 5-high)

• Barre chords = 3
• Fretboard notes = 2
• Open chords = 3
• Left hand muting = 2
• Hand strength = 3