In this episode I address a real important subject, Non-Harmonic Tones. I did briefly talk about it before on past episodes but not in a detailed manner. In this episode I'm addressing a specific one - The Neighbor Tone. I'm showing how I use it in different scenarios - comping, creating countermelodies, composing. Enjoy!

In this episode I talk about a very important trait of the guitar - the ability to play the same pitch with different tone color - Timbre. That is a major asset to explore, and I show how to explore that by playing a little excerpt from the tune "Autumn Leaves" in 3 different regions of the instrument, pointing out how different they sound on a scale of bright --> dark and how playing the same idea in different regions can give you other paths and new doors to explore with both melody and harmony. Enjoy!

In this episode I address a very requested subject - my use of what I call the "Adjacent 5th Chord". I show several ways I apply this sound - as part of a diatonic/tonal harmony scenario, also as part of a pedaled parallel progression where the use of the chord color is the driving force and at last I address the way I also use the chord through the lens of its intervals - considering the "Quintal/Fifth" aspect of the structure and expand its sound into different sonic areas. Enjoy!

In this episode I talk about how important a melody actually is. A great melody can be dressed in so many ways through all kinds of harmony but a great melody carries a strong sense of harmony in itself already. I show how arpeggios can be a great ally as well as the melodic axis I covered in previous episodes. And to finish up I show exercises and drills you can use to enhance the horizontal aspect of one's lines, using one string at a time only. Enjoy!

In this episode I'm taking a look at the third part of the "bass voice mini series" - the actual absence of the bass! Playing rootless, bassless chords. I show two approaches - first one, where one just takes the bass out of the chord and proceed as usual plus having the option to add another layer/voice on top of the chord (either to complement the chord or to create a melody counter-melody) and the second one where one can explore the colorful quality of these rootless voicings and use them at will, mostly as a juxtaposition of that particular color over a melody without any tonal or harmonic implications. Enjoy!

In this episode I continue to explore the use of the bass voice. This time talking about using bass as a pedal, showing how it can be a great tool to build tension and a nice contrast element when re-exposing material. Enjoy!

In this episode I address another question: How to use the bass voice more effectively. One can approach it from so many angles but on this episode I'm focused only on explaining and showing how I utilize chord inversions and non-harmonic tones to create bass lines. Enjoy!

In this episode I address a question regarding a couple episodes ago: when dealing with progressions containing same type of chords (all Major 7th for instance), how would my approach be as far as soloing over these kind of progressions? Although the answer would be substantial and lengthy as there are so many ideas to approach that I did stay withing one possibility - really nailing the fingering of the scale/modes within one specific region of the instrument, repeating the process through all regions and then be free to explore the full register and be able to work on the solo shape and form. Enjoy!

In this episode - the alternate tuning extravaganza!!! I show a few very unusual alternate tunings used by the greats Dory Caymmi and Toninho Horta and talk about the famous DADGAD tuning, one of the most famous and widely used ones besides standard tuning. Enjoy!

On this episode I show two examples of music from the Minas Geraes region in Brazil, by the great Lô Borges (often recorded by Milton Nascimento, the case here on both examples - both songs from the same Milton record), whose music has had a huge impact on myself. Having talked about Milton's amazing music before, I circle back to it showing another aspect of that group of composers; the use of the same color type chord, sometimes throughout the entire composition. I show an example of Lô Borge's "Trem Azul", where it's all major 7th chords and "Tudo Que Você Podia Ser", a masterpiece with all minor 9th chords. Enjoy!