Improve your phrasing with triads

[Robert****]

Finished a lesson today I hope some will find useful. It is about using triads when playing through, and improvising with, a major scale, in this case G Major.

Check out the triads lesson and let me know what you think!

[sunvalleylaw]

Thanks Robert. As you can tell from some of my posts, I am really wanting to broaden what I do in soloing. Right now I vary from note by note sometimes just by randomly jumping up or down scale, but have had no theory to approach it with. I will try it some tonight after the littles are in bed. (maybe a little before!)

P.S., Nice guitar there!

[Tim]

Awesome Robert. Now that is what I call a very good lessen. It was a simple lesson to follow, but powerful in improving skills. Like Sunvalleylaw, I need these kinds of lessons. The tab you provided helps tremendously. There are times I can not see where on the fret board you put your fingers. In referring to my book on scales, you always started the triad on the root note. Is that normal in playing scales or solos? Finally, I always thought triads where three note chords and they are played like double stops. Now I know better. Thanks for the lesson.

[Robert****]

Glad you like it! I think there is a lot of usefulness coming out of this idea about triads. I do this stuff all the time when I improvise. Just listen to any of my videos and I'm sure you'll hear me playing triads all over the place.

Triads are the root note, the 3rd and the 5th of that mode of the scale. When improvising, you can start on any of those. Always starting on the root note can make it sound robotic and boring.

Triads are 3 note chords, except you play the notes one by one. If you play them all together at the same time, you have yourself the simplest of chords (consisting of 1-3-5). Hope that makes sense.

[marnold***]

Actually, I was pondering this very thing a while back without really realizing it until I watched your video. I was working on sweep arpeggios and thought to myself, "You know, you could apply this stuff to blues playing too and not just shredding." A three-note sweep is often a triad, so you're applying the same principle, just without the actual sweep. Minor triads can have a very baroque sound to them.

[Robert****]

Right on Marnold. You can even sweep triads in blues - I do this quite often. SRV did too. Just listen to Tin Pan Alley....

[Big_Rob]

*Wishes he had his guitar at werk so he could try this awesomeness*

[sunvalleylaw]

*Wishes he had his guitar at werk so he could try this awesomeness*

That is what an extra Fully is for!

[Big_Rob]

That is what an extra Fully is for!

Ive often though about bringing my backpacker in so I could noodle around during slow times

[sunvalleylaw]

Hey, I was able to borrow one of those for my recent beach vacation and really enjoyed it! I thought about you in fact cause I knew you landed one cheap. I also had that thought about work. The one I borrowed had pretty high action and bends were even a bigger challenge than on my standard acoustic, but it sure was fun. The Backpacker quieter than my normal acoustic so is more appropriate for the office. But, the Fully was cheap. I bet your Backpacker would work great for that.

[aeolian]

Great lesson, I totally get it. Thank you.

[jpfeifer]

Great lesson Robert, and very good explanations! I'm a big fan of the whole triad approach to soloing. There's a lot of great players who use these techniques in their playing. Larry Carlton was the first guy that I'd heard of that used this approach which partly explains why his solos are so melodic.

-- Jim

[Spudman***]

Really good lesson Robert. This is a great way to break out of the old box habit and add a little spice to my playing. Thanks.

[Robert****]

Thanks Spud, I will have more of these types of lessons later on. I already have a nice little Guitar Pro file with triads and arpeggios I plan on making a new lesson for.