Mike Cramer's Blog

If you've ever found yourself searching for a way to harmonically spice up your folk and pop based tunes then check out Sus2 and Sus4 chords. They are versatile, easy to play, and harmonically satisfying. What are Sus2 and Sus4 Chords? The sus stands for a suspension. The formula for a sus2 is [1 2 5] and the formula for the sus4 is [1 4 5]. Notice that neither chord contains the 3rd, that's because it's replaced by the 2nd (sus2) or the 4th (sus4). Playing Sus Chords on the Guitar The easiest way to learn sus voicings is by altering your triad voicings. For a usesful reference sheet on triads visit my post on triads . All you need to do is find the 3rd of your chord voicing and replace it with either the 2nd or the 4th, depending on which sus voicing you are creating. That's all there is to it! Sus Voicings Handout -click to download

Here's a handout I created for students that explains how to create all of the major scales. Click here to download. I hope you find it helpful.

Learning triads and their inversions is a must for all guitarists, regardless of stylistic interests. In our rush to play our favorite songs we often skip directly to larger chord forms and harmonic structures instead of gaining a solid foundation in basic chord structure and harmony. It's not until later, however, we get a sense that a piece of the harmonic puzzle is missing from our chord vocabulary. If any or all of this sounds familiar read on! In this post we'll look at the major triad and inversions in closed position. The Major Triad The major triad is a three note chord built by taking the first, third, and fifth notes of the major scale and stacking them on top of each other. (If you are unsure as to how to create the major scale view this post on major scale construction.) I will refer to the notes of the chord by number. Therefore, the major triad has the formula [1 3 5]. By looking at the chord tones as numbers the triad is no longer root specific. The formu...

My new book, Get a Grip: Drop 2 Voicings for Guitar , is out and I've had people ask me "What is a Drop 2 Voicing?" Fair question. I hope the following video lesson will give you a basic understanding of Drop 2 voicings. Please visit www.all12notes.com/drop2lesson.html and you can print out a handout that accompanies the video.

I'm excited to tell everyone about my new instructional book, Get a Grip: Drop 2 Voicings for Guitar . If you're looking to gain a deeper understanding of chords and increase your chord vocabulary this book can help. The first section of the book presents the theory behind the Drop 2 concept along with several diagrams for 7th, 9th, and 13th chords. The second section applies the theory by presenting several ways to voice the chords to the jazz standard All of Me . Topics covered: Drop 2 Voicings Voice Leading Chord diagrams on multiple string groups 9th and 13th chords Multiple voicing options for the jazz standard All of Me The book is available as an instant download. This ebook is a pdf, so you will need the Adobe Reader or any other pdf viewer. Price: $10.00 view sample

One of the tunes we've covered in the Swing Jam at All 12 Notes has been the classic Sweet Georgia Brown . This tune is a great vehicle for some hot pickin'. Soloing Tip The tune is primarily made up of Dominant 7th chords. A common chord scale for the Dom. 7th chord is the Mixolydian scale. The Mixolydian scale is nothing more than a major scale with a lowered 7th. The formulas is: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7 8. Take a D7 and record yourself playing the chord. Now that you have a practice track try playing the D Mixolydian scale over the D7 you just recorded. Listen to how the notes of the scale fit with the chord. Reference Recordings Below you'll find 10 different recordings of Sweet Georgia Brown. Taking ideas from recordings is great ear training and it will help you develop vocabulary that you can use to create your own solos. Amazon.com Widgets You can also find many of these tracks on Emusic...