Play Triads Like a Pianist

Summary

In this educational video by marbinmusic, viewers are introduced to the concept of visualizing triads on the guitar fretboard through the innovative "Forbidden Diagonals." Unlike traditional methods taught in music institutions like Berklee, which use a horizontal approach, this video presents a vertical method which modernizes the practice of learning triads. This approach makes playing and understanding chords on the guitar more akin to the fluidity of piano playing. It involves memorizing 10 specific shapes (three major, three minor, one augmented, three diminished) to fully explore the harmonic capabilities of the guitar. An engaging explanation on how these shapes mimic piano patterns and enable smooth chord transitions wraps up the tutorial, inviting guitarists to explore newfound freedom and versatility on their instruments.

Highlights

• Discover a new technique called 'Forbidden Diagonals' for learning triads on guitar! 🔥
• Move away from traditional horizontal approaches; embrace the vertical for easier chord transitions! 🌟
• Learn to slice the guitar into logical intervals, much like piano playing! 🎹
• Explore the CAGED system for connecting different chords across the fretboard! 🎵
• Transform your understanding of augmented and diminished triads effortlessly! 🤯

Key Takeaways

• Unleash the power of 'Forbidden Diagonals' to make triad learning exciting and more intuitive on the guitar! 🎸
• Forget the horizontal; embrace the vertical approach and transform your fretboard skills! 😲
• Memorize 10 simple shapes and watch your harmonic genius come to life! 🧠
• Elevate your playing to new heights and well over the 'basic chord' barrier! ⬆️
• Get ready to impress your friends with this pianist-style slickness on guitar! 🎶

Overview

Ever wonder how to make triads on guitar as easy as hitting the keys on a piano? Marbinmusic's latest tutorial is here to revolutionize the way you approach chords. By introducing 'Forbidden Diagonals,' this video offers a groundbreaking method that shifts the learning process from a horizontal to a vertical perspective. This manner not only simplifies how triads are visualized but also mimics the fluid nature of piano chord transitions.

Understanding how this approach ties into the CAGED system is crucial. It allows guitarists to bridge the gap between different parts of the fretboard seamlessly. Through logical intervals that repeat predictably, players can now roll chords just like a pianist, expanding their improvisational toolbox. With clear step-by-step instructions, you’re guided through root positions and inversion techniques, offering a refreshing take on an age-old guitar concept.

For those looking to spice things up, you'll also delve into augmented and diminished triads, introducing a level of sophistication and style to your playing. By the end of the video, marbinmusic promises you'll not only grasp these concepts but be able to apply them in practical, musical ways. Plus, with just 10 simple shapes to memorize, you're on the fast track to harmonic genius!

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Visualizing Triads The chapter introduces the concept of visualizing triads on the fretboard, promising to make the process simple and accessible. The narrator criticizes traditional teaching methods, such as those used in institutions like Berkeley and the New School, which rely on a horizontal approach. The chapter aims to reveal a unique method of visualizing triads, referred to as the 'Forbidden Diagonal shape,' which the narrator claims students have never seen before.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Horizontal Approach in Triads The concept of the horizontal approach is introduced, which involves playing up and down a single string on the guitar, using concepts like triads, which follow the 1-3-5 pattern. This approach is likened to turning the guitar into six parallel pianos. However, challenges arise when playing chords in this manner, exemplified with C major triads and their inversions.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Challenges with Horizontal Approach The chapter titled 'Challenges with Horizontal Approach' delves into the complexities musicians face when transitioning from one chord to another, particularly on different instruments. It uses the analogy of a pianist who visually tracks finger placements to effectively move between chord inversions. This visual anchoring, which is relatively straightforward on a piano, presents challenges on a guitar's fretboard where note positions don't align as intuitively.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Introduction to Vertical Approach and CAGED System The introduction chapter discusses the drawbacks of learning guitar fretboard through memorization of individual note locations without any anchoring reference. Highlighting the difficulties of this method, such as reliance on muscle memory and excessive shifting between notes, the chapter then introduces an alternative method known as the 'vertical approach'. This approach is suggested to be more beneficial, especially for beginners, as it offers a more structured way of understanding the fretboard, likely involving the CAGED system.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Defining Grips using CAGED System The chapter introduces the CAGED system, a method of defining grips or chord shapes on the guitar. The CAGED system uses the basic major chord grips: C, A, G, E, and D, and demonstrates how they can be played in different keys. For example, all these shapes can be adapted to play the C chord in multiple ways, referred to as the C shape, A shape, G shape, E shape, and D shape for the C chord.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Analyzing CAGED for Triads The chapter discusses the analysis of CAGED for triads. It begins by mentioning that these grips are not pure arpeggios, with a focus on the C form being a pure C arpeggio in order (5 1 3 5 1 3), spanning from G to E. It further explains that the A form is not a pure arpeggio due to some notes being skipped at the bottom, illustrated by a power chord structure.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Root Position Diagonal The chapter titled 'Root Position Diagonal' discusses playing arpeggios on the guitar, specifically focusing on shapes in different positions. It notes that except for the 'C form', other chord shapes require adding two notes per string to properly play an arpeggio. Using the 'A form' as an example, the summary explains that there are two options for adding notes: either on the A string or the D string. The text seems to break down techniques for effectively playing and transitioning through these chord forms on the guitar, emphasizing note placement and strategic finger use.
• 03:30 - 04:00: First Inversion Diagonal The chapter titled 'First Inversion Diagonal' explores the challenges of visualizing triads harmonically using arpeggios. The narrator explains that this method is imperfect because it leads to a mix of power chord and arpeggio structures, which are not ideally suited for harmonic access. The discussion is focused on the limitations of this approach and the difficulties in achieving the desired musical harmony.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Second Inversion Diagonal The chapter titled 'Second Inversion Diagonal' introduces the concept of the root position diagonal on the guitar. This diagonal pattern slices the guitar into two repeating halves with intervals 1, 3, 5 and 1, 3, 5 in the next octave. The pattern is emphasized as being logical, which facilitates smooth playing or 'rolling' across the strings.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Combining CAGED with Diagonals This chapter teaches how to combine the CAGED system with diagonal patterns on the guitar. It starts with a simple exercise where you play three adjacent strings moving through the inversions: root position, first inversion, and second inversion, back to root position. It introduces the concept of a 'root position diagonal', and explains that each diagonal contains all the inversions, suggesting that you can explore playing these as arpeggios.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Minor Diagonal Shapes The chapter 'Minor Diagonal Shapes' discusses musical concepts including chords, double stops, and sequences. It explains how these can be transformed into open Triads across diagonals by skipping every other string. For example, a sequence like e DB can form one open Triad, while a g e forms another. The concept applies to all diagonals, and the second diagonal is referred to as the first inversion diagonal, as named by the author.
• 05:30 - 06:00: Augmented Triads The chapter discusses the concept of augmented triads, focusing on their inversions when played on a guitar from the low E string. It explains how these inversions dissect the guitar into two groups of three strings each, following a sequence of 3-5-1. To practice the first inversion diagonally, the chapter suggests a method akin to a panus, where one note is rolled along the diagonal.
• 06:00 - 06:30: Diminished Triads The chapter titled 'Diminished Triads' explores various ways to play and understand diminished triads in music. The transcript suggests practicing these triads using different techniques such as arpeggios, double stops, open triads, and sequences. It highlights the ease of the second inversion diagonal, comparing it to a C form with G.
• 06:30 - 07:00: Substitutions and Harmonizing This chapter explores the concept of substitutions and harmonizing in music. It discusses various musical techniques such as using double stops, arpeggios, and sequences. The focus is on understanding the repeating interval patterns to create harmony and how these can be applied in musical compositions.
• 07:00 - 07:30: Playing Radiohead's Creep with Substitutions In this chapter titled "Playing Radiohead's Creep with Substitutions," the focus is on understanding the CAGED system on guitar. It highlights how each diagonal on the fretboard combines two adjacent CAGED shapes, such as the G form with the root position into the A form or the D form into the E form. Mastery of the CAGED system allows guitarists to know five different 'slices' or positions on the guitar neck.
• 07:30 - 08:00: Advanced Substitution Techniques The chapter titled 'Advanced Substitution Techniques' explores advanced diagonal connections involving a set of three motions that enable the connection of two pieces. It introduces three major shapes initially and then transitions into minor shapes. The concept of 'Forbidden diagonals' is discussed, emphasizing the connection methods through these means. The chapter presents advanced techniques by transforming a root position minor diagonal from a G minor form into an A form.
• 08:00 - 08:30: Harmonic Genius with Diagonal Shapes In this chapter, the focus is on understanding the minor form of musical chords, particularly in relation to C major. The concept introduced is that of a 'cage' which can be thought of as the C major chord with a lowered third. The narrator demonstrates rolling through these chords and contrasts this with the exercises performed with the major chords. The chapter then proceeds to discuss the minor first inversion, highlighting the visual challenges that arise from this shape. Since this inversion begins on the third, it requires compensation at the bottom of the scale, which is visually complex. The narrative aims to provide insightful understanding and exercises for music learners.
• 08:30 - 09:00: Conclusion and Call to Action The chapter focuses on the transformation of musical chord shapes, specifically targeting the transition from C major to C minor. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the CAGED system for chord formation and how different positions relate to each other. Through musical illustrations, the narrative demonstrates how minor diagonal connections aid in transitioning chords from one form to another, concluding with a call to integrate these exercises into regular practice for mastering chord transitions.

Play Triads Like a Pianist Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 after this video you will know how to visualize Triads on the fretboard it will unlock the Forbidden diagonal a shape that you've never seen before that will make visualizing these Triads easy and accessible I promise you you've been taught this concept all wrong and it's really simple so let's go we're going to start by looking at how Triads are taught in institutions like Berkeley Julia new school it's all relying on What's called the horizontal approach
• 00:30 - 01:00 the horizontal approach is basically taking one string and learning how to go up and down it using the tools that we're talking about like Triads are 1 3 5 1 3 5 now that's actually super logical linearly it turns the guitar into six parallel pianos but the trouble is once you start playing chords this way here's a C major Triad here's the next inversion here's the next one
• 01:00 - 01:30 now this is not wrong but it's complicated in the sense that there are no anchoring points think about how a Pianist looks down at a piano he's holding down C EEG so he has two fingers on E and G and when he's trying to roll the chord to the next inversion all he needs to do is move these two fingers visually to where these two were pressing and then see how that note rolls up an octave but when we try to do that on the fretboard this e and C note go to
• 01:30 - 02:00 entirely different new locations that are the same notes but not anchored on the fretboard in any way right if I go to roll this inversion to the next one I have to study it like independent places and it's all muscle memory with a lot of Shifting so this way is great for some things but really bad to start out so let's explore a different way what people call the vertical approach the ver vertical approach is best
• 02:00 - 02:30 examplified using caged what is caged it's a system of grips as opposed to our pedio so let's define grips here are the basic grips on guitar for major chords c a g e d now if I put them all in one key I have what I call the C shape for C the a shape for C the g-shape for C the E shape for C and the d-shape for C these
• 02:30 - 03:00 shapes these grips are not pure arpeggios one of them is the C form is actually a c arpeggio all in order meaning 5 1 3 5 1 3 that's a c arpeggio G to e but if I take a look at the a form it's not a pure arpeggio meaning I'm skipping some notes at the bottom here I have this this power chord type thing on the
• 03:00 - 03:30 bottom four strings 51 51 all of the other shapes other than the C form are going to have skipped notes so to play an arpeggio through them I have to add two notes per string to some of these shapes so for instance here on the a form I have two options of how to do that I can add the added note on the a string or on the D string a string form D string added
• 03:30 - 04:00 form so this is an imperfect system for visualizing Triads because I'm not really able to access them harmonically if I arpeggiate through the shapes I get a mixture of power chord type structures and arpegio type structures so where does that leave us well if I play one note per string arpegios I access the let's let's get through the first
• 04:00 - 04:30 diagonal shape we're going to call it the root position diagonal it's going to look like this c e g c e g now the first thing you want to notice is that it's slices the guitar into two halves that repeat intervalic I have 1 3 5 and then the next octave 1 3 5 so this diagonal is very logical in that way now this allows me to roll
• 04:30 - 05:00 cords in the same way that a Pianist does this is the first exercise I want you to do just play three adjacent strings and move through the inversions root position first inversion second inversion root position now this is the root position diagonal but every diagonal has all the inversions in it you can figure out a way to play it as an arpeggio
• 05:00 - 05:30 or as chords or as double stops or as sequences you can also travel it as open Triads in any of the diagonals just by skipping every other string meaning e DB is one open Triad and a g e is the other one and that's true for every diagonal diagonal number two is going to be called the first inversion diagonal I'm naming them
• 05:30 - 06:00 after their starting points on the low E string but they contain all the inversions so here is a first inversion second inversion root position first inversion now again it slices the guitar into two three string groups 3 5 1 3 5 1 so to practice the first inversion diagonal do the same thing you can do it like a panus meaning rolling one note along the diagonal
• 06:00 - 06:30 [Music] as an [Music] arpeggio as double [Music] stops as open Triads as [Music] sequences now the last diagonal the second inversion diagonal is the easiest because it's just like a c form with G
• 06:30 - 07:00 in the base here is the form rolling [Music] it as double stops as an [Music] arpeggio as a [Music] sequence very very easy to see now again notice that the interval pattern repeat
• 07:00 - 07:30 meaning 51 3 51 3 another thing to notice is that every diagonal combines two adjacent caged shapes so here is the G form with the root position into the a form here is the D form into the E form here's the C form into the D form so if I know caged on the guitar I have five slices
• 07:30 - 08:00 and if I know the diagonals The Forbidden diagonals I have three motions through them to connect every two pieces so one 2 3 okay those are three major shapes let's add three more by turning it into minor so the root position minor diagonal looks like this it's the G minor form into the a
• 08:00 - 08:30 minor form if you're unfamiliar with cage you can just see it as the c major with a lowered third same idea through it I'm going to roll the [Music] chords you can do all the exercises we did with the major I'm going to just move on to save time the next shape is the minor first inversion now notice since the first inversion starts on the third I have to compensate on the bottom which is visually challenging so here's
• 08:30 - 09:00 the first half of this diagonal C minor first inversion flat 35 root flat 35 root here's the Triad exercise rolling now here's that c major shape I'm turning it into C [Music] minor so thinking about the cage shapes that the minor diagonals connect the root position connects the G minor form
• 09:00 - 09:30 with the a minor form the first inversion connects the D Minor form with the E minor form the second inversion connects the C minor form with the D Minor form now there are two more types of Triads the first of which is very easy augmented why is it easy well it's symmetric if I see C major I just sharpen its fifth so here's C major C
• 09:30 - 10:00 augmented okay 1 3 sharp five now the next point is 1 3 sharp five [Music] rolling now it's easy because that's a symmetrical Triad so the fingerings repeat identically the intervals don't it's 3 sharp 51 3 sharp 51 and here it's a little bit confusing because of the orientation to the bottom
• 10:00 - 10:30 note meaning it starts on the sharp five so if this was your C form remember that's the fifth so you're sharpen the bottom note sharp 5 1 3 cool so these are three more diagonals but it's really just one shape so right now we have three for major three for minor one for augmented now here's the doozy diminish Triads I have surveyed every one of my students and ask them to
• 10:30 - 11:00 perform diminished Triads for me even the very good jazz players cannot do it guitar players even the good ones no diminished seven arpeggios and some of them that play gypsy jazz and stuff like that no minor 7even flat fives they know things that contain diminished Triads but they don't have control over diminished Triads now here are the diagonal for diminished Triads if I take minor I just flatten its fifth one One Flat 3 flat 5 One Flat
• 11:00 - 11:30 3 flat 5 rolling first inversion minor flat 3 five root I flatten the fifth flat three flat five root same thing on top rolling now here I have fifth root flat 3 so I flatten the bottom note flat five
• 11:30 - 12:00 root flat three kich cool you might think this is a crazy shape I've never seen it before not true think about G7 just like basic chords right here the middle four notes of that G7 if I take off G from the bottom and the top are this what is that that's a b diminished Triad on this diagonal without B and F so if I roll roll this
• 12:00 - 12:30 one that's the shape I get how about this G7 if I take off the G this is a b diminish Triad on this [Music] diagonal how about this real basic chord I take off the G so just from knowing basic chords I'm almost there it's just about connecting that Concept in your mind a really good exercise is what I call the Jango Reinhardt suspension if you just go from
• 12:30 - 13:00 C major to C diminished check this out here's my first shape all I got to do is flatten the third and the fifth and keep the root so C major C diminished back C major C diminished back C major C diminished back C major C diminished back next inversion [Music]
• 13:00 - 13:30 one of the biggest advantages of learning things this way is the ability to extend the sound that you're on so if I'm just playing a pop tune and I'm sitting on a c chord and I'm just kind of like going up the neck now I can make my way down these diagonals and connected way just like a Pianist comps
• 13:30 - 14:00 when you look at Paul McCartney playing piano he's not a genius at it but he's always able to play in a really pleasing way where the sounds kind of can go up and down freely it's this improvisation that's built into your hands another thing you can do is seeing it like a jazz player using upper structure chords what's the idea if I have a C major 7 and I know my diagonal Triads I can recognize that what's really happening here is an E Minor triad with C in the
• 14:00 - 14:30 base really this is all a part of this E minor diagonal so if I'm playing a 251 that goes [Music] here I can extend the sound of that E minor but I can do it with any chord this D Minor is an F major with d in the base so I can run this diagonal on that D
• 14:30 - 15:00 root that G7 is a b diminished with G in the base so if I'm playing a 251 I can be in this kind of world of arpeggiating F [Music] major these are the hidden chords the chords inside the chords that's one advantage now let's let's take a look at Radio heads creep to see how we can use
• 15:00 - 15:30 this kind of substitution thinking the first version of it the easiest to digest would be just following the chords on the page C major E7 F major F minor now what we're going to do is roll the chords just triadic C E F F minor but we're going to voice lead meaning find the inversions that are next to each other so creep
• 15:30 - 16:00 [Music]
• 16:00 - 16:30 okay now the next thing we're going to do is add some substitutions so the first thing you can do is always add augmented in place of dominant chords from the same root so that's the easiest way to substitute because you don't have to to think about a distance from the
• 16:30 - 17:00 interval like build a chord from its third it's from the root so E7 is e augmented instead so check this out [Music] [Music]
• 17:00 - 17:30 okay that's pretty cool now we're going to increase the complexity here the next thing we're going to do is in place of that E7 we're going to use a diminished Triad from the third of e major third of e so it's G sharp diminished why well this E7 like the G7 and the key of C we mentioned before has a chord on its inside this E7 has this diminished St that's a G Sharp diminish Triad G Shar
• 17:30 - 18:00 diminish Triad on an e root is a sound we call E7 so by using that diminished Triad I'm really using the active part of the E7 without the root the three five and flat 7even of that e check out the sound on creep [Music]
• 18:00 - 18:30 [Music] da d [Music]
• 18:30 - 19:00 all right now the last level of complexity is using diminished in place of a minor chord so this works for Dorian and melodic minor but instead of that F minor I can always use a diminished Triad from its sixth so 1 2 3 4 5 natural six is d d diminish Triad in place of that F minor why well it gives me this here is the
• 19:00 - 19:30 Triad minor six sound with outer root it's a substitution so now in my mind I'm playing C gsh diminish Triad F major D diminish Triad let's hear it [Music] [Music]
• 19:30 - 20:00 [Music] down so this is going to make you a harmonic genius right this
• 20:00 - 20:30 diagonal it's beautiful it's great and it simplifies it all you got to do is memorize 10 shapes three minor three major one augmented three diminished that's it that's the game we have a ton of stuff about this on our patreon we have a lot of other lessons there please join us there I guarantee it's worth your time and your money like subscribe share do all the things and we'll see you next time morning two m
• 20:30 - 21:00 [Music] [Music] all
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