Moving chord tones (part 2)

Hi!

Chord tones are back with a vengeance.

Whereas part 1 was dedicated to the introduction to chord tones and some ascending phrases, part 2 goes deeper into diatonic movements and emphasizes on descending movement all along the neck.

The raw material is still F# mixolydian harmonized in chord tones (1 root, 3rd third, 7th seventh) with the same chord structure (3rd is actually the 10th).

With two, three or four notes per string, we guitar players love structures when it comes to scales.  
( fig. 1 ) is a plain way of playing F# mixolydian with a 4-notes-per-string approach. This phrase starts with a F# on the melody and finishes with a F# on the bass.

( fig. 2 ) is built on a F# mixolydian pattern played in fourth. This example is interesting because of the mix between vertical and horizontal chord tones positions, as the objective is to strictly follow the pattern from F# to F#.

( fig. 3 ) is built on a simple 4-note pattern that is developed in a diatonic way. Because of the long range of this pattern (one octave between F# and F#), the phrase is restricted by the architecture of the guitar neck. Hence the limitation in two bars in this exercice.

( fig. 4 ) is one of my favorite approach of chord tones. An ascending phrase that mixes chord positions on 2 different sets of strings.
Set 1 with E, A and D strings.
Set 2 with D, B and E strings.
Of course, these sets can be customized with any adjacent strings (ex: Set 2 with A, G and B strings) and that freedom is the cool aspect of the exercice.
The 4-chord pattern is developped all along the neck, allowing to play nicely from fret 2 to fret 18 in just two bars.

( fig. 5 ) is the classic diatonic cycle in fourths. Each chord is a diatonic chord resolution for the next one, and so on. This cycle encompasses the famous II V I turnaround that is the core of jazz harmony.
Note in the last bar a new chord tones position with a different set of strings (A, D and G). The introduction of this new position brings numerous chord changes that we'll discuss later.


Play on!

Jean-François

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