Miles Davis | Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons

4th Chords and Quartal Harmony

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

As I have discussed in previous posts, traditional harmony/theory constructs chords in intervals of a third. There is another type of chord construction that is quite common in jazz, called “quartal harmony” or sometimes better known as “4th chords.” Quartal harmony is most commonly associated with the modal jazz of the late 1950′s and 60′s. [...]

What Does It Mean To Make Your Music “More Raw?”

Friday, June 25, 2010

4 Comments

I was reading a news item somewhere this week where Joe Elliot – lead singer of the rock band Def Leppard – stated that he wants the new DL record to be “more raw.” I’ve heard this a million times in the past but never really paid much attention to it until now. I’m not [...]

The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

2 Comments

Whenever you get into a new hobby, line of work, or general area of interest, there is always one book or resource of information that people in those circles dub “The Bible.” “Oh, you must get this book!” “This is the only book you’re going to need!” “Everyone usually recommends you start here first.” It’s [...]

Daily Exercises in the Melodic Minor and Harmonic Minor Modes by Barry Galbraith

Thursday, May 13, 2010

0 Comments

Barry Galbraith was a well-respected jazz guitarist who played with everyone from Miles Davis to Sarah Vaughan. Though he was generally not known outside of the jazz guitar community such as the likes of Wes or Metheny, he made an indelible mark on the instrument and has appreciated a wide range of great players who [...]

Today is “Break Out Of Your Rut” Day

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

0 Comments

On the way into work this morning (yes, I have a day job *sigh*) I started thinking about how we quite often let the daily routine take over and somewhat mindlessly go through the motions without properly exercising our brains. Every day on the train I see the same faces reading the same newspapers, having [...]