Think in Chord Groups, Not Chord Shapes!

The genesis of this lesson comes from Jazz-Rock Guitar Improvisation by Alex Skolnick and Dave Rubin. In the book, Alex makes a simple but powerful observation: “I often find it helps to think of chords in terms of groups rather than isolated shapes…” Wow. Alex is talking about jazz chord shapes and fingerings, but that same concept can be applied to rock guitar with tremendous success—and that’s what this episode is all about. Instead of seeing every chord as a separate event, we’re going to start recognizing groups of chords that naturally live together. In this lesson, I isolate a few of those wonderfully cliché rock chord groups—the combinations you’ve heard in literally thousands of songs. The goal is recognition. You hear a familiar chord movement and immediately think: “I know what that is.” You recognize the sound. You recognize the relationship. You know where it sits on the guitar. And you can put it into your playing right away. That’s a huge part of becoming a better rock guitarist: not simply memorizing more chords, but learning to recognize the musical vocabulary hiding inside the songs you already know and love. WANT TO DO THIS IN PERSON? If you live within driving distance of Red Lion, Pennsylvania, we’re starting something very cool at The Guitar Spot. The class that connects especially well with this lesson is Guitar Lab—group guitar instruction for players of different ages, styles, backgrounds, and ability levels. We learn together. We play together. We listen, experiment, ask questions, recognize patterns, and put musical ideas into action. All styles. All levels. All ages. Come be part of the Guitar Lab community! Sign up: groupguitarlessons.com Or click the link in the comments.