Using open-position guitar chords
Hi guys (& gals),
Wanted to give you a couple new videos from the course and answer the question of “When will this be ready?”…
Here’s the deal: I was hoping to have this ready by July 25. But that’s just not going to happen. I just finished recording a killer lesson for my Guitar Theory Secrets class. And I still haven’t finished the book for Ultimate Guide To Chords yet. AND my wife is going into the hospital to have this baby next week. So, you can see that I’m a little behind schedule.
But, I promised to have it out THIS month. And, God willin’, I will! The new release date is JULY 31. The exact time is always a problem because I have so many students outside the U.S. (especially U.K., Canada and Australia). So do me a favor…
PLEASE post your comments below and let me know the best U.S. time for you. Because, as usual there will be some powerful time-sensitive bonuses for the 1st few people who order.
Also, I really need your input on this one: Do you want me to have a guitar-contest? As you know, I usually give away a new axe when I release a new course. Do you think I should do another guitar-giveaway?
Here are the videos. Post your comments/questions below. We got several more videos that will be releaed right up to the release date of the course (7/31/08). So, make sure you put my email address on your “safe-list” if you have SPAM protection software.
Enjoy!
Video 1
Video 2
Post comments below…
July 11th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Very good stuff Dan. Thanks!
P.S. Good luck with the new addition!
July 11th, 2008 at 9:26 am
this helps a lot
it tells me stuff that i’ve never even heard of about the guitar
thanks!!
July 11th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Pretty good basic skills for every better guitar player. Chords in conjunction with scales - to combine with feeling of harmony and rythymn is what I call the magic awake of sensational emotions. The condition to distinguish from others. That’s the real stuff what amazing secrets are made of. Thanks Dan, Mathias.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Great stuff as always. Iwish I could afford your course. Mabye somme day soon.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:53 am
basic stuff that I’m well beyond. I’d like to see how a soloist can mix chord use and throw in leads parts between the chords. It sounds great but I don’t understand the lead parts well enough to do it!
July 11th, 2008 at 10:02 am
I just wanted to give my best wishes for your family. Oh and thiou I am a little more advanced than these lessions, I think that the effort you put into explaining why it is a minor 3rd makes you one of the best teachers around. Anyway, good luck with the baby.
Chris
July 11th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Dan,
That was cool. Question do you recommend your students to get a copy of Finale so they can creat chord progressions and solos easier?
Andy
July 11th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Thank you Dan vary good stuff
July 11th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Dan,
I wanted to mention congrads on the new little one coming soon. If it’s a boy, David is a GREAT name. Don’t mean to be off the subject but my boy, named Dave, passed away at just 21 and I have a problem sticking to playing right now.
I could spend a long time just going thru your first lesson. I’m going to be 49 next month and just picked up the guitar again about 8 months ago. Played all thru my teens and on and off while I was married.
I think this course is excellant having been to many teachers in my lifetime. If we only had computers back than I would definitely be playing for a living now. I played in a band in mt late teens but they were all originals and they told me what to play note for note. A couple years later when they wanted to start on newer songs I didn’t know how to play along with them and got kicked out for being a rhythm track.I had no idea on how to join in with them and when I wanted to change some of my earlier parts they thought I was messing up! I always considered myself as a wanna be guitarist. I felt like I never had the gift but going thru the way you’re teaching, I see the light. Never could jam with other guitarist. Now that you’ve teached the scales and going on to rhythm’s I see how it’s all put together. Definitely great stuff. The one problem I have is songs. From the beginning to the end. I can play pieces of a zillion songs but what I want from the guitar is to be able to play the whole thing thru and sing along with it. I’ve had tha problem as a teen and the same thing now. I actually hide my guitars if company is coming over. I’m in no way shy buy the first thing people ask is to play a song and I just get frustrated when I can’t do that. They don’t want to hear scales.
I’m going to write down 20 of my favorite classics from the eighties and spend more time on that. To me, it seems that’s what everyone wants to hear.
Anyway, I’d like to work on one song and send it to you. It would still take awhile before I’m ready to do this. My fingers can fly and I can jam along to tracks now.
A great site I found is http://www.jamstudio.com/studio/index.htm
It’s free and you can set the drums, bass and rhythm and play along. Pick out a key and it shows you what chords go with that key. Than you pick out the chords for whatever measures you want. Than you can select different rhythm patterns for your chords. Great way to learn how to make your own songs.
Anyway. I’ve blabbed enough. Oh, I have to mention, I just purchased an Ibanez Prestige RG2550Z guitar and I pray this little gift will get me passed my depression and get back to being serious again.
Thanks Dan, You are the MAN!!
July 11th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Very well presented and thought out! How about a little wisdom on why some chord progressions lend themselves to the intent of the song? Such as why some chords sound dissonant and some chords resolve! Good luck Pop!
Jay
July 11th, 2008 at 11:08 am
As a beginner to the guitar i still find the lesson hard to understand, all the chords and difficulty getting the strumming right but im getting there,
July 11th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I usually tend to gloss over chords, that is up until now. Relating chords to scales really opened my eyes, and mind. I have a lot more work to do. As for as a guitar contest; I’m not much into that and don’t see much value in it. The best time for me is 7:00am PDT. Harold
July 11th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Hey Dan,very good presentation! You should show how to play a song that people will know,example house of the rising sun.I think that it will hold their attention better,and make it a little more fun.Where some people want to know how to play lead,along with the cords.then you can show the relationship between the notes and cords.You always show something great! Keep on picking!My Kind Regards,Billy Layne from Butte, Montana.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Thank you Dan very good stuff for a beginner
July 11th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Hi Dan , Great job once again. So keep up the super work okay ! James
July 11th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Awesome display of the material Dan.
Keep Rock’n
July 11th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Hi Don, As a beginner is great to find somebody that can explain clear music theory, I’m still have problems with the barre chords so i need to practice more, as for a guitar contest; I don’t care, I know that the guys who win these kind of contest are the ones that know how to write a lot of BS and not the guy who realy needs a good guitar, because he can’t afford to buy one. The best time for me is 7:00am PDT. Enrique
July 11th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Very well, self speaking. I am really looking forward to being in the first group of subscribers for the new course! Awesome!
July 11th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Dave,
Thanks for sharing your awesome story. Sorry to hear about your son. My grandpa passed when I was 16 and my dad died 1 year later. So, I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. But I haven’t lost a child. Can’t imagine what it’s like. God bless and thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Dan
P.S. It’s a girl. Her name is Marcella. But I do like David. I have another boy, I’ll have to toss that name in the ring.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
i like your video very much it was very helpful i just wish i could make it full screen so i could se your hands better is all
July 11th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
great videos i,am starting to get the under standing of it thank for the free videos,
July 11th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
DAN,
July 11th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I’ve been looking at your series of lessons and find them very good. Most of the posted “free” lessons you give are things I already know, but I sure wish I had had them years ago when I was learning.
The open chord stuff is “basic” for every guitarist and song writer. This is a good, quick explanation and you don’t over do the “tech” stuff and make it boring.
I’m interested in the Lead Guitar series and will order it when I get back from vacation.
Congratulations to you and your wife and new baby.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Dan,
Your video about scales and chords is starting to make sense. I am an old “BLUES PLAYER ” from the 60’s and also 60’s thru 70’s rock and roller, now I’m in my 60’s. Do you have any lessons on video showing Blues riffs and some rock also.
Thanks Brother,
Bill Painter
P.S. Good luck with your new Baby. Hope it’s a Boy. I have two ages 30 and 26 . One is a Hell of a Drummer and the other plays the radio.
July 11th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Dan,
This sounds like a next purchase for me. I am still studying AGS and will look forward to this. My husband agrees. Good luck and God bless you with your next baby.
Carole Lee
July 11th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Intriguing! I’m as lost as ever, but very intriguing. The best to you and your wife & family with your new baby.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
I like how you finished Vid 2 by just forgetting to verbally add in the minor, E……minor! had a chuckle! Mate, been playing for years, self taught.Even so, i will be grabbing your chord series, simply because you are a great guitar teacher. You expose alot of holes in my theory, and Im going back to basics with you. There is no doubt your teaching is thorough, easy to follow, and fun to paticipate in. Anyone wanting to learn to be a solid guitar player, needs to adopot you for a Teacher from the day they start out. Cheers mate, keep the good stuff coming!!! Paul Australia
July 12th, 2008 at 4:39 am
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the new video, I wish you and you’re wife all the best and a lot of success and easy delivery whenever it takes place, try to sleep as long as you still can afterwards it would be less more.
As I wrote to you last time I’m teaching my son for the last 2 weeks his first steps with the guitar and it goes just right, his fingertips aches and it takes more intervals but he understands the notation and the intervals and i try to force him to read the notes before playing them.
Anyway it interesting to watch the video and try the progressions it’s amazing how many pop and rock groups play their songs through those progs.
All the best and wish the course come out as you wishes and all the luck with the delivery…
Rony Amsterdam
July 12th, 2008 at 6:16 am
Hi Dan. I’m from Portugal and I have to say that your videos are very awesome! I like the way you teach
Keep the good work man!
July 12th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Now I’m beginning to understand why certain chords go together. I’ve written a simple song, but didn’t understand why it worked like it did. I am truly a neophite at guitar, so every time I watch one of your videos a new door opens. Thanks so much.
Danny
July 12th, 2008 at 10:59 am
AWESOME LESSONS
July 12th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I enjoyed the videos, You come across very real, mistakes and all.
neat stuff
July 12th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
hi, Dann thanks for all the videos.this is great stuff;all though i look for you videolessons mostly for lead guitar i always get new insights from your videos no matter what the subject is; Good luck with the new addition to the family.God bless.
July 12th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
PS:Looking for to purchase your stuff soon.
July 12th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Dan, these lessons on chords are very beneficial. I’m looking forward to your new course. I suggest 12 noon EDST on 7/31 as the release time.
Wishing you the best for you, your family and the new baby.
Thanks for the great work!
July 12th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
enjoy your videos keep them coming
July 12th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I need to learn how to seamlessly between rhythm and lead. I’m not sure anyone teaches this nor have I had any instructor provide a segue for musicians to accomplish this. Not that I play great rhythm or lead but I’m capable of combining the two — I just don’t know how to make the segue.
I’ve made a little progress but nothing I can use when jamming or playing covers. Mostly while noodling I make lame attempts which are beginning to sound a bit more coherent so I’m making progress but I feel like I’m reinventing something I could learn more quickly if I had the right material.
I have yet to find a way to maintain song structure (4 bar phrases, turnarounds, chord changes) when changing from chords to lead and back. Also find it difficult to make the transitions work for the music I’m playing.
Obviously there are no rules but I suspect that a savvy guitar instructor could break it down into some guidelines as to how construct nicely phrased mixtures of lead and rhythm. A lot of what makes learning music is narrowing down the virtually unlimited ways you can approach learning something — into some basic kind of structure — that works. Once you’ve got a sort of template to work from — you can easily add techniques and tricks to it as you become more fluent.
Most video teaching has too simple of stuff at first and then jumps to much more difficult stuff (very cool sounding but discouraging to tackle) without much in the middle. Often the most important part of learning music is the segue between levels and that is where most of the huge collection of stuff that I’ve got is deficient. Too little attention is paid to momentum and providing the tools to learn progressively. Too often the assumption is made that if you just dump all the pieces on the video that the student will just sweat through it all until they master it. Most of us know that only a tiny minority of people will actually do that if only because we live in a busy society where time is at a premium.
I have no less than seven book/dvd combinations on blues and a few more that cover pop and/or rock. In every one of them the solos sound awesome. Can I play any of them? Only bits and pieces of a few of them. Every single one of them employ lots of cool techniques that I end up working on for a while, get frustrated, and realize that stuff will be out of my reach for some time. I add it to the pile of stuff that I’ll eventually revisit once I develop more of the skills and techniques I noticed were employed in the material.
PS. none of my comments are directly about the great videos that are presented. Like one of the other people who commented I find that material within my grasp though I liked the modal element of playing a major chord while playing in the relative minor key.
July 12th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Dan
First time I ever answered one of your requests for input, remember you asked for it. Im really looking forward to the release of your new course, count me in. Congrats on the new baby, just a small piece of advice from an old man….take some time “QUALITY” time with the wife and baby, even if ya gotta leave us for a little while, we will be OK and we will be here waitin for when you return.
Now heres a question for ya….You give us chord progressions, not a problem there, but instead of just a certain chord progressions how about doing it like we are writing a song. Say take a chord progression use it for the chorus then verse then chorus, verse then bridge then back to chorus then outro? Just an idea.
Mean time, I will wait for the new course and the blessed event. I will deffinetly keep you, mother and baby in our prayers.
Till next time
John
July 13th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Dan,
The course is going to be a good one. I’m really glad that I have pause and replay ability so I can slow it down to a speed that I am better able to handle.
You make it all look so easy (Which keeps me motivated!).
I can’t wait for the release.
Good luck with the new addition to your family.
Guitar contest sounds like good, But then again, there are a number of options out there i.e. personal training sessions, equipment (Amps, PA’s) but I think the course will be reward enough in the long run.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Dan, Thanks so much for the learning tools. I pass them along to my friends in the hope that they too will benefit from them. Guitar contests seem like a good way to get people talking and interested enough to pass along the information to their group but I have a couple of guitars already and play pretty well for a begginer…after over 40 years…A comment to some of the others about learning your 20 favorite songs from your generation…write them down if you wish so you don’t forget…then pick one and work it till you think you have it and then start another one and keep each one added to a practice and warm up list…it is amazing how songs change and start to “breath” after they have already been memorized.
Best wishes
July 14th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Great stuff. Learning lots of new stuff as well as good review. I’m keeping up.
Eric
July 14th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Hi Dan…Congrats on the baby girl…she will change your life forever! Thanks again for the free videos about open chords and hammering away again about the roman numeral for them. You are only the second instructor to make this so clear to me. I play with a “garage therapy” band, and this is tremendous fun, but getting some more theory makes me better able to play in the group.
It sounds like a 1200 EDT time would be good, as I’m Pacific time, so it’ll be 0900 for me.
Thank you again for the videos…I do like the way you put them together without trying to edit out every mistake…much more real, not stiff.
Regards,
Mike
July 14th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
thanks Dan, I always enjoy your videos and good luck with the new addition to the home, your new baby
July 16th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
CONGRATS !!! on ur new little miracle. I purchased ur Amazing Guitar Secrets course in Oct of last year. I cant beleive how my understanding of music theory and my ability to play it has inproved. I absoultatly love ur videos. They are easy to follow and understand. Thanks for the freebies.
Best wishes for u and ur family
July 16th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Well, Dan I have learned more beeing in contact with Ya
than i`ve learned when I had a personal guitar teacher-
lota years before- for he used to teach in a way like playing the guitar in the Classical way.But I allways wanted to blues.So I am looking forward for mor lessons
to improve my skils.
Been a Blues Singer for 20 Years in a couple of bands
-And Lord knows we `d hit the right sound-
I never grabed a Guit on Stage for I did`nt feel able
to do it right.
Now in September there is a party of my Bikers-club and
on that day I am going to play my first guit-solo on stage.
It is You that donated this to me and I`d like to thank you
Respect
Docherby
July 28th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Dan,
Thanks for everything! I played and sang in front of my church last week. It’s the first time in 40 years! I took up the guitar 5 years ago after putting it down for 35 years. Your course has given me the tools and confidence to play to the masses.
Best of luck with your new family member. Hope to see more pictures in the future.
Blessings,
Ray <
August 9th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
thanx 4 da tips…u are a great and interesting teacher-o.s.h.a.
October 31st, 2008 at 5:59 am
Hi Dan. This is Josh. I am extremely grateful to you, that you sent me(emailed me) your book on pentatonic scales. It has truly helped me a lot. I have been learning the guitar for the past one year and I can play quite well considering just one year. I can play the rhythm guitar and quite few lead pieces as well. But my teacher hasn’t taught me the pentatonic scales, he taught me the diatonic ones. But now that I read your book, I have learnt a lot, it has enhanced my knowledge of the fretboard even more. Once again Thanks a lot, and looking forward to your support in the future as well. Bye. Take care.
Josh
October 31st, 2008 at 6:01 am
Hey Dan, I reside in India.I dont use a credit card. But I badly wana purchase the books that you have written on guitar. Will I be able to find them in the renowned book stores here. If not, then what should I do?
Josh