Today’s post introduces creating practice routines and exercises using only four-notes a framework. Using only four notes enables a refined approach to survey fretboard opportunities and helps develop a creative understanding of harmony.
Youtube Playlist Focussing On Practice Exercises Using Four notes
I have released a new YouTube playlist about practice routines and exercises using only four notes. The introductory video is below, followed by the contents detailing the initial videos in the playlist.
The list below links to the initial videos in the playlist.
- An Introduction To Close Voicing
- An Introduction To Drop2 Voicing
- Exploring Inversions In Drop2 Voicing
- An Introduction To Drop3 Voicing
- Important Considerations Of Drop Voicing
- An Introduction To Drop23 Voicing
- An Introduction To Drop24 Voicing
- Why Drop Voicing A Brief Discussion
Why focus on four-note chords
Four-note chords, or tetrads as they are also known, are the next step up from triad chords and are very common in a wide range of music, from classical to contemporary pop and jazz. Typically, four-note chords are extensions of three-note triad chords and tertian-based harmony. The naming conventions can be challenging to understand, but they are based on how the notes relate to a major scale.
The Challenges And Difficulties Of Chord Voicing
Learning and playing chords as a collection of inversions on the guitar can be frustrating. They’re technically challenging to implement physically. Additionally, people may find the concept creatively limiting; simply moving up and down a predefined pathway doesn’t lead to quick innovation or invention.
Developing practice routines with four note chords and types of drop-voicing
Understanding the constraints and limitations of moving through chord inversions helps to guide practice. Consequently, when creating exercises, try to provide meaningful variation to help keep things interesting and develop other areas of ability, such as rhythm, picking techniques, or even developing relative pitch. Furthermore, as a concept is committed to memory, it becomes easier to use it in more creative and ambitious ideas.