Dyads and Power Chords

Technically a chord needs three tones. What Jake is showing in the video are dyads made from root tone and its fifth. 

A true power chord doubles the root tone thus giving it three tones and technically making it a chord. How is this so? 

Well if you remember from Intervals, the Fretboard and the Strings, the interval between a lower string and a higher string is a perfect fourth, except between the G and the B, which is a major third. An inverted perfect fourth is a perfect fifth. 

So you will find the fifth of a root down one string toward the floor. Thus to play power chord, you fret a string with your index finger, fret the next lower string, two frets to the right and fret the next lower string right above the same fret.

What Jake plays throughout the video are dyads. A dyad is two tones that can imply a chord.

All the same, Jake's lesson is stellar. He is one of the best "learn rock guitar quickly" teacher on YouTube. 

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Let's Get Musical with Chord Tones: The C-F-G Diddy

In your lesson, Fretboard Mastery with Chord Tones, you learned the tones that make up the major chords E Major, A Major, D Major, G Major, B Major, C Major, Major, B♭ Major.

When you played those to help you learn the fretboard, did you hear something? Did you hear a hint of something musical sounding?

Well today, let us build on what you have done. 

I want you to focus on three tones, C, F and G. If you learned the chord tones for the matching major chords of the tones C, F and G, you are ready to begin playing some music.

Major Chord	Root	M3	P5
C	C	E	G
F	F	A	C
G	G	B	D

The C-F-G Diddy

1. Find the m3 on A, that is find C on A. 
2. Play the chord tones for C Major.
3. Find the m3 on D, that is,find the F on D.
4. Play the chord tones for F Major.
5. Find the P4 on D, that is, find the G on D.
6. Play the chord tones for G Major.
7. Now slide down and play the chord tones for F Major again.
8. Now move up from the D string to the A string and  play the C Major chord tones again.

There! You have played your first bit of music!

Practice this little diddy repeatedly. It might seem trivial and hokey right now, but years from now, after you have become a guitarist who amazes all, you will remember this little exercise and how truly it helped lay the foundation for your playing.

Also, find other frets on the fretboard from which to play the C-F-G Diddy. You can find C on the 8th fret of E as C is a M6 on E.

Where else can we find C? How about playing from the 10th fret on D? 

Beware though! Though the F falls on the 10th fret of G, because the B string is tuned as a M3 from G rather than a P4, you must slide up one fret to play the M3 of F, which is A. A M3 always is one fret less than a P4. You must move up one fret to play the M3 above F on B, otherwise you will end up playing a m3, which is an A♭.

The same holds true for G. As the G is on the 12 fret of G, which is a P8 on the G string, its M3, which is the B, falls on the 12th fret of the B string,  

Variation #1 

So now that you have the hang of the C-F-G Diddy, let us make it a bit more challenging. Rather than start on the root tone C and play C-E-G, start on the P5 tone, which is G and play backward, G down to C as in G-E-C. Do the same for the F part of the diddy, by playing C-A-F instead and also play down the G part as D-B-G.

And so you should now experience how this simple diddy can be quite challenging to play since you are starting out on guitar. Likely, there are many players if they have discovered Riptide Guitar, who, even if they have been playing awhile will find this a challenge. So you are in good company.

Variations #2 and #3

Now, mix up the two styles of runs, the ascending C-E-G, F-A-C, G-B-D with the descending runs G-E-C, C-A-F and D-B-G.

You might play it as C-E-G, C-A-F, G-B-D (Variation #2) and then as G-E-C, F-A-C and D-B-G

Improvise!

Come on now and have some fun! Challenge yourself. Make up your own variations. After all that is what improvising is all about and when you learn to improvise on the guitar, you will learn to play the guitar!

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Fretboard Mastery with the Guitar Circle of Fourths™ and Three Tones

Atop every page of the Riptide Guitar site, you will see something named Riptide Guitar's Guitar Circle of Fourths™. For these exercises, you will travel around the Guitar Circle of Fourths starting with E and ending up on G♭. You will play three tones that will help you further to burn the fretboard into your mind.

E Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for E are the E, F and G.

The E tones can be found on

• 0 fret (open E)
• 7 fret
• 2 fret
• 9 fret
• 5 fret

For each E on each string, play E, F, G three times and then end with an E.

A Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for A are the A, B and C.

The A tones can be found on

• 5 fret 
• 0 fret (open A)
• 7 fret
• 2 fret
• 10 fret

For each A on each string, play A, B, C three times and then end with an A.

D Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for D are the D, E and F.

The D tones can be found on

• 10 fret
• 5 fret
• 0 fret (open D)
• 7 fret
• 3 fret

For each D on each string, play D, E, F three times and then end with an D.

G Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for G are the G, A and B.

The G tones can be found on

• 3 fret 
• 10 fret
• 5 fret
• 0 fret (open G)
• 8 fret

For each G on each string, play G, A, B three times and then end with an G.

C Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for C are the C, D and E.

The C tones can be found on

• 8 fret 
• 3 fret
• 10 fret
• 5 fret
• 1 fret

For each C on each string, play C, D, E three times and then end with an C.

F Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for F are the F, G and A.

The F tones can be found on

• 1 fret 
• 8 fret
• 3 fret
• 10 fret
• 6 fret

For each F on each string, play F, G, A three times and then end with an F.

B♭ Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for B♭ are the B♭, C and D.

The B♭ tones can be found on

• 6 fret 
• 1 fret
• 8 fret
• 3 fret
• 11 fret

For each B♭ on each string, play B♭, C, D three times and then end with an B♭.

E♭ Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for E♭ are the E♭, F and G.

The E♭ tones can be found on

• 11 fret 
• 6 fret
• 1 fret
• 8 fret
• 4 fret

For each E♭ on each string, play E♭, F, G three times and then end with an E♭.

A♭ Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for A♭ are the A♭, B♭ and C.

The A♭ tones can be found on

• 4 fret 
• 11 fret
• 6 fret
• 1 fret
• 9 fret

For each A♭ on each string, play A♭, B♭, C three times and then end with an A♭.

D♭ Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for D♭ are the D♭, E♭ and F.

The D♭ tones can be found on

• 9 fret 
• 4 fret
• 11 fret
• 6 fret
• 2 fret

For each D♭ on each string, play D♭, E♭, F three times and then end with an D♭.

G♭ Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for G♭ are the G♭, A♭ and B♭.

The G♭ tones can be found on

• 2 fret 
• 9 fret
• 4 fret
• 11 fret
• 7 fret

For each G♭ on each string, play G♭, A♭, B♭ three times and then end with an G♭.

B Tones

The three tones that you will play in succession for B are the B, C and D.

The B tones can be found on

• 7 fret 
• 2 fret
• 9 fret
• 4 fret
• 0 fret (open B)

For each B on each string, play B, C, D three times and then end with an B.

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Use the Riptide Guitar’s Guitar Circle of Fourths to Get the Tones of Any Scale or Chords of Any Key

The Guitar Circle of Fourths rocks. It does. You can use the Guitar Circle of Fourths to work out the tones of any scale or chords of any key.

In Riptide Guitar’s Guitar Circle of Fourths, I showed you how you can find the Guitar Circle of Fourths on the fretboard.

MINOR 5 (MINOR PENTATONIC)

• The intervals of any minor pentatonic scale: m3 M2 M2 m3 M2
• The intervals of E Minor 5 from E: m3 P4 P5 m7 P8

The Visual Way:

1. Pick your tonic
2. The P5 is to the first left of your tonic
3. The P4 is to the first right of your tonic
4. The remaining two tones are to the right of the P4
5. The 2nd remaining chord is the 2 chord of the scale
6. The 1st remaining chord is the 4 chord of the scale

THE BLUES

• The Blues scale is the minor pentatonic scale with the TT added.
• The intervals of any minor pentatonic scale: m3 M2 m2 m2 m3 M2 
• The intervals of E Blues from E: m3 P4 TT P5 m7 P8
• The Blues splits the second M2 of the pentatonic scale into two m2.

The Visual Way:

1. Use the Riptide Guitar Circle of Fourths™
2. Use the Visual Way to get your tones for Minor 5.
3. Add the TT.
4. The TT is directly opposite of the tonic on the Guitar Circle of Fourths.

E MAJOR 5 (E MAJOR PENTATONIC)

• Any major 5 scale flattens the 2, 3 and 5 of the minor 5 scale.
• The intervals of any major pentatonic scale: M2 M2 m3 M2 m3
• The intervals of E Major 5 from E: M2 M3 P5 M6 P8
• The major 5 swaps the 1 and 3 and the 4 and 5 of a minor 5 scale.

The Visual Way:

1. Pick your tonic
2. The P5 is to the first left of your tonic
3. The rest of the tones are to the left of the P5
4. Two left from the tonic is the M2
5. Four left from the tonic is the M3
6. Three left from the tonic is the M6

E MAJOR 7 (E IONIAN)

• Any Major 7 scale adds the P4 and the M7 to the Major 5 scale.
• The intervals of any major 7 scale: M2 M2 m2 M2 M2 M2 m2
• The intervals of any major 7 scale from the tonic: M2 M3 P4 P5 M6 M7 P8
• Any Major 7 has two Major tetrachords (2-2-1) that hinge around a M2.
• The hinge is a P5 from the tonic and starts the second tetrachord.

1. Take the tones of the minor 5 and flatten the 2, 3 and 5.
2. Add the P4 and the M7.

The Visual Way:

1. Use the Visual Way to get your tones for Major 5.
2. Add the P4.
3. The P4 is to the first right of your tonic
4. Add the M7.
5. The M7 is right seven of your tonic
6. Another way: The M7 is left one of your TT and your TT is opposite your tonic.

CHORDS OF A MAJOR KEY

• The root of the chords of a major key match the tones of the Major 7 (Ionian) scale. 
• The intervals of Major 7: M2 M3 P4 P5 M6 M7 P8 
• The perfect tones root the major chords. 
• The major tones root the minor chords. 
• The M7 chord is a diminished chord. A diminished chord is like a minor chord with a flatted 5th. The intervals of a diminished chords: m3 m3. 

The Visual Way:

1. Pick your root
2. The P5 is to the first left of your root
3. The P4 is to the first right of your root
4. The remaining four chords are to the left of the P5 and before the TT
5. The 2 chord is first
6. The 4 chord is third
7. The 6 chord is second
8. The 7 chord is fourth

The Step Way:

1. Pick your root
2. The P5 is -1
3. The P4 is +1
4. The M2 is -2
5. The M3 is -4
6. The M6 is -3
7. The M7 is -5

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Span the Fretboard to Find Tones Easily

You can find the same tones all over the fretboard with ease. From Intervals, the Fretboard and the Strings, you should know that going down one string and left three frets produces a M2. In Riptide Guitar, I call that finger stretch the pinky-to-pointer-down span. 

By intervals, you should know that a M2 is two frets (a whole step) above the P1. So if you go two frets left, you end up on the same tone from where you started on the string above!

Here is what it looks like for B. B is a P5 from E. Using the pinky-to-pointer-down span minus 2 frets gets you to the next B.

Now that you can find B on A, finding B on the D is easy using intervals. A P5 is seven frets away. So, add two and seven to get nine. Thus, you find B on D on the 9th fret. 

Alternatively, the interval between every third P5 string is a m7. A m7 is two frets below a P8. So to get to that P8, you can use the index-to-ring-down-twice span.

And from the 9th fret, you can find B on G easily.

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The Seventh Fret Secret

In Intervals, the Fretboard and the Strings, I showed you how knowing intervals helps you to gain guitar mastery. Knowing a bit about intervals helps you further reveal the secrets of the fretboard.

Any tone on the 7th fret of a P4 string (E, A, D, G) produces a P5 for that string. In Riptide Guitar, we think of the string (B) as being tuned down a half step from the G string. So you need to move up one fret to the 8th fret to get the P5 for B.

If you notice, the tones at the 7th fret starting on "chin" E (aka low E) are the tones of the open strings starting on B and rotating around to G. Wow, right?

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Shapes? Say What? Riptide Guitarists Play Runs! Master the Minor 5 (Pentatonic Minor) Runs.

Back in my teenhood, a guy in his late 20s from NYC, a guitarist and maybe a heroin junkie tossed me a softcover workbook-style book. I cannot remember the title of the book but I believe Alfred Publishing produced the work. This book was old. The copyright must have been dated to the early 1970s.

Other than not getting past the first couple of pages, as I recall, the booklet had runs which look exactly like "shapes" as seen below. The first page had the Position 5 run. I played that over and over. After awhile I stopped because I knew it was doing nothing for my playing even though I did not understand why.

After that, I put down the guitar for a long time. Bad teaching will discourage anyone.

So, today, everywhere on the Internet are lessons with pentatonic shapes played at positions. All of that kind of teaching seems so wrong to me in the same way as the Alfred book did many years ago.

Rather than shapes, you should learn to run through the scale, diatonically. In short, you should learn runs. Said another way, you should learn scales. Forget shapes.

Runs are so much easier to learn and to master. If you learn the runs, you will unlock another hidden doorway to advance your playing. Here are the three runs you need to learn. 

Index Finger Run — Minor 5 Scale

Pinky Finger Run — Minor 5 Scale

Ring Finger Run — Minor 5 Scale

So how does it work? 

1. Find your tonic tone.
2. Play the run that matches one of the fingers — index (aka pointer), pinky, ring.

Playing with the Open Strings

When you play a run with open strings, you must imagine the plucked open string is the number 1.

That Pesky B String

If you recall from Intervals, the Fretboard and the Strings (yes, you should have read that by now), the intervals between all the strings is a perfect fourth (P4), except between G and B, which is a major third (M3). Looking at it another way, the B string is tuned down a half step from the other strings.

To overcome that half step tuning down of the B string relative to the other strings, your playing must "tune up" by one half step. 

Before your fingers hit the B string, you must adjust the position your fingers in the run up one fret. 

Moving up a fret because of the B string happens so often in runs that two more runs are quite common — the D String Ring Finger Run and the G String Middle Finger Run.

D String Ring Finger Run

D Only Ring Finger Run  — Minor 5 Scale

G String Middle Finger Run

G Only Middle Finger Run — Minor 5 Scale

Practice, Of Course

1. Practice the three runs from tonic tones on the E string so you can master these runs with ease. 
2. Once you have the three runs down, practice from the A string.
3. Practice the D String Ring Finger Run and the G String Middle Finger Run.

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