Block Chords Wes Montgomery lesson 1

[robingahan1234]

Do you use a plectrum?

[andersonlesta]

great vid. and lovely sounding chords and guitar! thanks!

[horbergus]

Normaly i HATE ALL lessons on youtube, but this is really usefull for your own creativity

[smashingpoop]

i don't get it

[GigglingGirI]

LOVE IT thank you I am using my wife's account to post because i am too lazy to log in with mine.

[Matt24ishere]

something to make it a little more interesting yet still very simple is make the 9 and 11 harmonized with a block shaped diminished chord. Wes just about always does that when running up a minor scale... ABCDE: Am7, Bdim, Amin7(C on top), Ddim, Amin7(Eontop). Diminished is a very useful chord. To learn the block voices of dominant chords, take any diminished and drop a note, that is now the root of a dominant. With the four diminished chords you can now find all four dominant shapes.

[nico1haupt]

good lesson! thanx

[forzainter02]

it's seems more a joe pass progression than wes...imho

[OldSchoolSkill]

Nice lesson. Very meditative and intuitive. Musical. Sweet.

[1crimson7]

Nice! Thanks.

[societyforrealmusic]

Fantastic

[donttouchmycar]

cool stuff

[donttouchmycar]

so pretty thanks !

[gamvidys]

Thank you so much,very helpful!

[jrichardson6]

nice description! thanks maybe you could put a few dots on neck so we can see which fret u r using..? ie on 5 7 9th  small sticker

[maxmoves64]

@jrichardson6 lol:)

[seth1studio]

Naming chords requires a context, i.e.understanding how they function (particularly in a progression)....not just what notes are combined.

[mont717]

i dont understand theory just harmony

[PrestonGerard]

@mont717 music theory is tonal harmony

[guitarslim56]

@PrestonGerard , Except for music theory of atonal harmony.

[mantatnam]

@guitarslim56 so.......my farting is a harmony

[TheHauntOfEriatarka]

*By "the second chord," I meant the second chord in the video.

[TheHauntOfEriatarka]

The second chord would more likely be named a Cmajor7/G, its the 2nd inversion of the 7th chord of Cmajor. You can have chords that do not contain the root of their name, in this case, You have named a chord an Aminor9 chord, when there is no A in the chord. However it is often unnecesary and typically frowned upon.

The notes of the chord in order from low to high are: GCEB. It is far simpler to consider it a CMajor7, as it contains all 4 notes of CMajor7

[lickmyballs]

@TheHauntOfEriatarka Listen. There's an A in the bass. It's definitely an Am9.

[TheHauntOfEriatarka]

@lickmyballs First timne I listened I did not hear the open A string being played. I thought he was simply playing the 4 notes: GCEB. I didn't hear the AGCEB. My mistake

[mightyluv]

Thanks for posting this! You make it sound so easy...

[guitarfan00000000]

yeah cool i get that. There is a basic formula. however, if you wake up tomorrow and everyone starts calling an orange (the fruit) a "blue", you can tell people theyre wrong and its called an "orange" all you want, but what good is that gonna do really? eventuallty if u wanna communicate youre gonna have to start calling it a "blue" too. so when it comes to "add9" vs "add2" or "sus4" vs "sus" or "Cmi" vs "Cm" or whatever the case may be, there is no universal standard.

[michaelteter]

Very instructive!  Great lesson, thanks :)

[taildragger53]

Great stuff jamessir. The chords here were used alot for the slow intro to Wes Montgomery's beautiful ballad "Serene" (named after his wife)

[gentilguy]

1:15

I've never been able to do this one with only 3 fingers... my fingers are just too short.

[maciejgrebowicz]

you need to tune that damn guitar son

[01234567898229]

Desafinada?

[blackvitruvianman]

Wes was a genius!!  Thank you.

[Hawkeye126]

stairway!

[timmy47]

good lesson thanks

[dealer205]

A very useful lesson, I would like to buy your book!

[lwoods95757]

Doesn't sound like wes' chords to me.

[alansaraiva]

I agree

[byzantine15]

Beautiful sound! One potential misunderstanding: I'm assuming that you're using the term 'closed voicing' to indicate the absence of open strings. This shouldn't be confused with 'close voicing'. Drop 2's are not close voicings, they are open voicings. Many close voicings are difficult/impossible to play on guitar.

[hmorganman]

It is incredible to see how with a knowledge of chord structure and voicings a simple ascending and descending scale run becomes an intricate melody.

[ashdr007]

dude thx for the post, but those are not block chords. theyre just different voicings of the same chord [in this case A-7]. Block chords have a dimished chord alternating with the root chord as you go up the scale to give a more dynamic harmony.

The diminished chord is essentially the E7b9 (the fifth) "disguised" as an Fdim cuz its played without the root (E). Cheers!

[marcintime]

Thanks for this excellent lesson and insight into Wes Montgomery's technique, Jamessir100. I'm lefthanded and yet could see all the chord positions clearly - usually I get lost because things are happening way too fast! Just starting out on the jazz playing road and love Wes Montgomery. Can't wait to check out your other lessons!

[guitarfan00000000]

there is actually no universally agreed upon way of naming chords...

[Syllerud]

@guitarfan00000000 partly true. The bass IS the way to identifying the root, if you play a C-major, and the bass plays D = it's a Dsus4add9 (with ommited fifth, but who needs them anyways?) i.e.

Then you just build upon the intervals. Only rule is that if you i.e. add a 13'th to a D without the 7th, it would be a Dadd13 and so on. Only the minor diffrences of each nations ifsn't agreed, like in Denmark the simply write H instead of B, and B instad of Bb.

[TheHauntOfEriatarka]

@Syllerud chords may be named however you wish to name them. Thats part of the creative aspect of music.

However you're basically implying that there's no such things as inversions. If you played a C maj with a D in the bass, it would more likely be considered a C major chord with D as a pedal tone. You're Dsus4add9 is unnecessarily complicated, but thats all up to you.

[Syllerud]

@TheHauntOfEriatarka ofcourse. When simplistic chords its far more usual to build the chord up in triads, and conclude if it's the 5'th, 3'rd, 7'th and so on in the bass. But moving further into jazz and into quartal harmony and big rootless voicings, i think the standard rule has to be the bass provides the root.

[Syllerud]

and it's "unnecessarily complicated" not to name the chords after the standard.

[guitarslim56]

@guitarfan00000000 , My way is the only correct way. Everybody else is wrong.

[spacepatrolman]

@guitarfan00000000 what do you mean a minor 9 is always the same notes no matter what key your in or where you are in the world they could be inverted [in a differant order] or voiced in open position or close position but always the same notes acegb

[noisyneil]

would you agree that when you say A11 you actually mean A7sus4 as there's no 9th?

[joepius]

Indeed, that would be "A11".

In order for it to be spelled "A11", there has to be a b7th (G) degree present. It does not necessarily mean or require omitting the 9th.

Without the b7th degree, the chord would be named "A7sus" which basically means omitting the 3rd degree, replacing it with the 4th degree.

Since chords are stapled thirds, there is no such thing as naming a chord "sus4";

hence the suspended 4th degree is simply written as "sus".

[noisyneil]

what about sus2?

[oregonskateok]

Sus chords are labeled sus4 or 2, and have been since the common practice rules were created.

[rillloudmother]

what common practice rules? if someone says Gsus to me in a jazz context first thing i think is F/G

[oregonskateok]

If you don't know what common practice is, then you haven't studied music theory.

[rillloudmother]

not recently, but i know what the symbols mean when i see them. sus4 is pretty rare on jazz lead sheets and sus2 is very rare.

[NurseDischord]

@oregonskateok I'm guessing that Wes didn't study music theory.

[franzjoseph88]

Although there is no agreed way on naming chords 11 implies that it's the fourth an octave up, from where it would be considered a fourth.

[priapus56]

Christ! Why didn't they have Youtube in 1973 when I was 16!!!!!!!

[bobgreen623]

Wassa matter pri, dincha get Bert Weedon's 'Play in a day' he he. (I also 16 in 73)

[priapus56]

"Bobby Shaftoe's gone to seeeea, Silver buckles on his kneeee!" Of course I did. There was nothing else that anyone knew about.

[thedingalingz]

hi and thanks for some realy nice lessons..is it porsible that you can show us how to use it in a 251 progression...

thanks again..glenn

[simonbigballs]

How strange. Wes montgomery has white hands

[zachNewYork]

Lol

[bobgreen623]

arf arf arf!!!

[timwarneka]

Wow! Great job! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledged.

Cheers from America.

[guitaress1]

nice lesson and sounds good

[fakesoundsjazz1983]

what guitar is that?sounds nice

[jamessir100]

It´s a guitar from Finland. Landola ACCTE 5000