Hey Friend,

Day 1

As with anything new, we start with the fundamentals. I know I've hounded you for a long time on some of this information, but believe me, the more you hear (and study) it, the easier it is to understand. 

So what is the foundation of chords? What do you need to have before you can create a chord? Notes, right?

But not just any notes - they have to be specific notes in order to create the the proper combination, resulting in the chord you wanted to hear (or at least sounds good within the song).

And how do we get those specific notes?

It comes down to the key. The key is a group of notes (or pitches) that fit together and create a scale. The specific notes are determined by how much space is between each note. This is a perfect place to talk about patterns.

Everything in music as we know it can be based on patterns. Scales, chords, progressions, solos - these all rely on patterns that can be learned, memorized and finally ingrained into your brain and muscle memory. Even song structure relies on patterns and methods.

Fortunately, our brain and ears know what works and what doesn't. Our bodies know when a pattern sounds right... and when it sounds wrong. You can immediately tell when a musician hits a note that doesn't belong - because that note doesn't fit within the pattern. Our ears are finely tuned instruments in their own right - they know when a sound doesn't work. 

Despite there being millions of songs using the same types of patterns, we still come up with original material, so don't worry that these patterns are all played out - it hasn't happened in the over-300 years of modern Western music.

In fact, music is a bit like Hollywood with their movie remakes (how could you even think you could improve on the original Ghostbusters?!). We can easily borrow from older music and other genres to create our own spin/freshness on a new song or style.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When my wife and I were in Ukraine many years ago, we saw music videos of bands combining dance/trance and folk music together - I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now, but apparently it was a hit in Ukraine at the time.

So yeah, patterns. 

I know some of us don't like to color everything within the lines, but with music, it's a good idea to start there. Only after you understand how the patterns work can you then start breaking out of those patterns to truly create.

I like to think of Steve Vai when I talk about this. He knows his patterns so well that he no longer needs to think of them - they just come naturally. But knowing his patterns instinctively allows him to jump into the unknown and create astounding, complex pieces that sound other-worldly. That's what decades of daily eight-hour practice sessions will get you - prolific skill and intuition.

The sooner you learn to embrace that all music comes from knowing patterns, the easier it will be for you to learn them, embrace them and use them for your own creations. Tomorrow, we will talk about the foundation pattern in the key - the scale. Once we have a scale in our hands, we the have the notes we need to begin creating the first chord. See ya!

Peace~

Dave