Dave Brons Guitar Lessons

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Rhythm Lessons

These are lessons aimed at beginners to help develop strumming patterns, playing in time and counting.

Lesson #1

An introduction to strumming patterns and ⅛th notes.

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Lesson #2

Introducing tied ⅛th notes.

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Lesson #3

Introducing 1/16th notes and the "double down" technique.

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Lesson #4

Introducing 1/16th notes with ties.

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Lesson #5

Funk guitar, the final frontier in your journey to rhythm heaven.

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Style File

These lessons cover how to play the following rhythm styles; rock, funk, soul, reggae, jazz, country, and others.

Lesson #1 - Rock 'n' Roll Style

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Fretboard Fluency

These lessons are mainly reference lessons, which wil enable you how to play scales and chords anywhere on the neck.

Lesson #1 - Scale tone chords

This lesson will show you how to learn what chords are in a key. This is important to know because it helps you play songs by ear, and change the key easily. The major scale is formed as follows tone, tone,semi-tone, tone, tone, tone, semitone. (A tone is 2 frets up and a semitone is 1 fret up).

In the PDF files to the right The red dots are the scale notes. Each note has a chord built on top of it the root note has a major chord built on it , the second a minor chord then minor, major, major, minor, dom etc.

Practise each note of the scale, then go up 1 chord at a time.

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Lesson #2 - How to build a major or minor scale on a chord.

I view scales as chords with passing notes. So if a song is in G major.eg. The chords are G C D and Em Try making up melodies. First with the G major arpeggio, Then add a few more notes to form the Pentatonic scale. Finally when you are confident add the rest of the notes and make up melodies with all the 7 notes of the major scale If the song is in the rel min eg.Em G C D take the same approach but build the arpeggio on on the chord, then the minor pentatonic scale and finally the full minor scale.

 


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Lesson #3 - Understanding the neck of your guitar using the CAGED system

the caged system is a way of breaking the neck up into 5 positions. Each of these positions are based around 5 ways of playing the same major chord . These chord shapes derive their names from major chord shapes in an open position that they resemble. C shape, an A shape a G shape, an E shape and a D shape the best way to learn this is to learn the chord shapes first...then practice them ascending and descending the neck. After you have mastered this practise ascending one scale and descending the next scale shape.

 

 

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Lesson #4 - Learning 5 pentatonic scale positions

This builds further on the CAGED system by showing each pentatonic scale position. Practice each scale ascending then descending. If you get bored but a record on and jam along.

 

 


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Lesson #5 The Major Scale in 5 positions

Now that you have learnt all the pentatonic scales and chords you are ready to move on to full scales. Practise the chord, and also visualise which pentatonic scale each major scale is based on. Learn one shape at a time by playing the chord, then the pentatonic scale and finally the full scale. This will take a lot of practice, but if you learn all these scales you will have finally unlocked the code to playing all over the guitar, (a never ending journey of discovery)

 

 

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Lesson #6 Playing all the scale tone chords in one position

This lesson takes the concept of.scale tone chords one step further by showing you how to play all chords without moving out of position....this makes it easy to play jazz style solos where you add chords to your melodies, it is also great for swapping between solos and funky chord riffs. Close your eyes visualize each shape and then play them.

I will be adding more rescources like videos and advanced lessons on how to play fast, insane terror guitar licks keep watching this space.

 

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Lesson #7 Modes

This lesson will show you shapes for each of the 7 major scale modes. It will also teach you how to get some weird and wonderful sounds, including te chord and pentatonic shapes behind each mode.

Modes 5 positions

Lesson #8 Mixolydian Dominant Arpeggio Substitution

Are you bored of always playing the same old blues scales over the dominant 7 chords? This lesson will show you how you can play not only dominant 7 arpeggios but also minor 7b5 and major 7 arpeggios over dominant 7 chords to get some really interesting sounds.
Mixolydian dominant arpeggiosubst

Lesson #9 Dominant 7 arpeggio substitution

This lesson will teach you how to spice up your 12 bar blues progressions with less obvious arpeggio choices.

Mixolydian dominant arpeggiosubst

Lesson #10 Minor 7 arpeggio substitution

Learn how to use arpeggio shapes other than minor to get some cool sounds.

Mixolydian dominant arpeggiosubst

Lesson #11 Dominant Danger Scales

WATCH OUT! Those scales are dangerous!

Mixolydian dominant arpeggiosubst

Lesson #12 Melodic minor modes

(See title).

Mixolydian dominant arpeggiosubst

Lesson #13 Harmonic minor modes

Miners, Harmonicas both of which have nothing to do with this lesson.

Mixolydian dominant arpeggiosubst

Chord Chemistry

Have you wondered what a Bm6/9#11 chord is?
These lessons will teach you how to construct any chord, and make up your own chord shapes.

Lesson #1 - How are chords built?

This lesson explains the theory around basic major and minor chords. So next time someone asks "why does A major have a C#'' you can smuggly respond ''Because!" confident in the knowledge that you know more than them! Alternatively you could be a good sport and say ''because major chords have a major third and minor chords have a flat 3rd, Stupid "


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Lesson #2 - Suspended Chords

This what the 7 is after some chords. Contrary to what some old wives say they are not "lucky chords", Neither do they pick on other weaker little chords just because they are dominant.

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Lesson #3 - Seventh Chords

Ride the 7th wave! * Seventh chords are not really any luckier than any other chord, in fact they are found a lot in Blues music so you could argue that they are quite unlucky. Anyway, here is a description of Minor, major and Dominant seven chords. 

*( This is a surfing reference to the 7th wave in a set always the best one. To be honest I haven't really found this to be true, but I digress...)

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Lesson #4 - Diminished chords and

Scale tone chords

Diminished chords are strange and cool little chords that strike fear and confusion into the heart of guitarists when they pop up unexpectedly in the middle of nice easy chord sequences.
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Lesson #5 - Slash Chords

Slash chords like D/F# are not as violent as they sound. Understanding them will unlock lots of cool sounds. It will also help you understand those mentally lazy keyboard players who keep going on about C/A chords rather than calling it Am7 which is what the chord should be called in the first place....don't get me started on classically trained pipe organists!

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Lesson #6 - Chord Dictionary

All the chords you'll ever need, and a few you wont.

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Lesson #7 - Open chord glossary

Great reference for beginners. It has all the basic chords you'll need.

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Lesson #8 - Drop 2 chord Voicings

Ever wondered how jazz guitar players can play 14 chords and all that is written on the score is 1 chord? Well here's some of the secrets to playing chords all over the place.

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Advanced Techniques

These lessons cover techniques for playing fast guitar such as legato, various picking techniques : Sweep picking, alternate picking etc, Two handed tapping and arpeggio techniques like string skipping.

 

Lesson #1 - Legato practice

Get your fingers up to speed with this smooth legato workout.



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Lesson #2 - Pentatonic Sequences

The humble pentatonic scale can be spiced up by playing some of these high speed sequences. Remember by-all-means have fun by playing these, but don't hurt yourself!
pentatonic sequences
NOTE PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PRINT OUT THESE PDF FILES. PLEASE DO NOT PASS THEM OFF AS YOUR OWN WORK OR POST THEM ON WEBSITES WITHOUT ASKING ME FIRST.
FOR PERMISSION JUST EMAIL ME. CHEERS. DAVE.
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