I think that my most important breakthrough was when I realised that I could just play any note or series of notes with any time signature, at any time and I could just pass it off as saying that it is freeform jazz. This combined with the fact that I never play in front of anybody allows me to believe that I am able to play guitar to a very competent level and I sleep well knowing this and not questioning the actual sound that I produce. My therapist says that this is good for me.
Your ACTUAL breakthrough will arrive when you can do that over a standard and make it sound good, because this is quite possible (50 year player here).
(sputter sputter hardy-har-har :) :) hilarious man :) don't overlook "avant-garde jazz", "modern jazz", "abstract jazz", "neo-avant-garde", "neomodern abstract with avant-garde nuances", and........ well if only to expand your horizons they may be helpful.
JUles Broussard perfected that decades ago, as did John Coltrane. The trick is to play it fast, fluidly and virtuousically, so no one can question your competence.
You're absolutely right. I ignored triads for 25 years bc i thought i don't need them for rock stuff. And was stuck forever. Don't skip them, learn your triads folks.
You know what I'm talking about. Why I didn't just power through and do it is a mystery to me today. Probably the same thinking - "man, I don't need it for rock stuff!" Yeah, I get that 100%.
@@MarkZabel My case isn't a mystery at all. I learned some basics, formed a band immediately and stayed with the boys for 25 years 😂 Good times. Since this stopped 4 years ago i started to care about learning "new" stuff again. Or better: the basics. I wish i knew earlier, imagine how much better the music would have been with a little extra effort. But it's never too late. Thanks for your lessons, they help a lot 🙏
For those about to rock- ACDC. Whoppin rock song, rockin triads! Im guilty of the same thing as you. And im looking forward to chucking them in solos to break up manotony. Ill never stop learning. 🤙
As someone who hadn’t picked up an electric guitar in 20 years until recently, I appreciate you sharing this! It’s amazing all the great resources for guitar right here on TH-cam that we had NOTHING like 20 years ago. 🎸🤘
This may at first seem a strange thing to say, but one thing I really like about your videos Mark, is that they are short and precise. I haven't got the patience to watch other guitar tutors videos that go on for 30 to 45 minutes telling me a dozen times to "subscribe here". Well done and thanks!
Thanks. I try to keep them that way. 4:00 to 6:30 or so. If I were a "real TH-camr" I'd post videos longer that 8 minutes because then TH-cam puts more ads in them. I'll keep them short instead! Glad you've noticed.
*FREE Triad Map here:* tinyurl.com/ybpzjuwm Celebrating 100K Subs! Rockstar Membership 40% Off Annual Subscription - MZ100K40PCT All other courses and Memberships 30% Off - MZ100K30PCT Use coupon codes at checkout through October 23.
One of my biggest breakthrough moments was when I learnt that if I was playing over a jam track or something in a major key I could at any stage switch to the relative minor of that key since they use the same notes. so instead of playing over an entire jam track in just the major key, use it's relative minor as well, This is one thing that really blew the fretboard wide open for me... You can add a TON of extra flavour to your playing by doing this. Look at position one of your major scale and then position one of the relative minor and you'll see that both of those scales are right there next to each other on the fretboard. I've worked on just chaining those two scales together as one mega scale and it gives you endless possibilities for your lead work and i've been able to create alot of neat melody lines by doing this.
About 10 years ago (give or take a year) I made that same M7 to m chord connection. With the many grips i already had for Maj7 chords it opened up a plethora of new minor chord soloing paterns for me. I became obsessed with writing backing tracks with parallel Maj to Min chord changes. Especially going from A-min to C-maj7. I loved writing fast arpeggio licks that i could repeat over both chords and that led to me paying closer attention to the particular emotions that each intervel generally produced. In turn, that led to me REALLY learning my intervals. To this day, I'm still fairly slow at naming the notes on the fretboard but i can very quickly see where the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th of each chord is and learning to solo while flowing from the current chord and timing it so that I land on the 3rd or 7th of the next chord on either the 1 or the down beat of either chord improved my improvisations exponentially. I put that right up there with learning the 5 patterns of the CAGED system on the list of most important lessons I've learned over the years.
lotta guitar teachers out there that never go into the mechanics or structure of "why we do something". Everybody has their own video on how to apply scales etc but this guy actually explains it
.Thanks Mark. Your intro is just about my own glass ceiling of the last 25 years. I have been entirely self-taught since the age of 18 and had never managed to understand and get into the music theory, even the tiniest bits. Now being 52, I have decided with my son to take my first lessons of guitar with a real teacher, and though most of what he is trying to teach me is Chinese for me most of the time for me and I see that my brain is overwhelmed with concepts I had never heard of, after the 2nd year now, I see that things are slowly starting to make some sense and this allows me now to follow TH-cam tutorials without instantly zapping by lack of understanding the most basic concepts such as "intervals", "thirds", what is a chord made of and so on. Through my years of self teaching, I have developed an abilty to play by ear in most of the basic band situations and composing but I really feel so limited and revolving around the same old reflexes that I start to get bored of myself and feel a little disabled to be honest. Learning theory seems to have opened something
Wow! I've been playing guitar since 1987. I also "discovered" this exact shape and it's significance only a few months ago. And, you're totally right, it opened up an entire world!
I spent more time with this than any other thing I have learned in a long time. Improvising different rhythms and mixing of the chords, its an endless loop of fun. Throwing in some lead licks on top. Thanks Mark. BTW, I'll be seeing Steve Howe and the rest of the boys in San Antonio this Friday night. 50th Anniversary of Close to the Edge! Can't wait!
@@MarkZabel I took a little bit of footage on my iPhone which turned out quite well. LM K if you're interested in seeing that. It would be easiest to send you a dropbox link
Love your revelation and the passion expressed along with it. The geometry of the guitar neck, and a piano layout. I see both in my mind at the same time. I play both and am daily mystified by both (given that infinite possibility should mystify anyone). When the mood strikes, the entire deck faithfully rearranges for new senses of personal freedoms. You say it well MZ!
And A-minor is the natural minor of C major! I agree, the tie-ins just go on and on. I'm very excited about my study of the triad shapes and how they tie in all over the neck! Thanks for sharing this with us!!
I recommend Frank Gambale's video Modes No More Mystery. In this video he teaches how to use triads to create modal vamps. You can use these triads as material for solos over these modes as well of course. And in the video Jazz Fusion Improvisation Scott Henderson teaches which triads to use when soloing over certain chords. These triads can be easily memorized if you have watched the Frank Gambale video first. Thanks Mark for another useful and entertaining video 👍
This dude is awsome in more ways that I can express in one paragraph. He definitely has the characteristics such as patience, technique etc that makes for excellent teaching etc. Thank god for people like him
I had this same light bulb moment when playing Witchita Lineman and I saw the D minor chord inside the B flat Major 7th chord. It is amazing that one can over look such things for so long. Thanks Mark for all your videos, awesome stuff.
Great lesson. Working with the downloaded charts and a backing track. Like learning a bunch of new chords that are sort of easy. And tying them into the closest pentatonic pattern helps too. Thanks, Mark. This really helps..
Glad it was helpful Todd! Absolutely, tying them to pentatonics helps. The more you see "it's all the same ... chords ... soloing and scales ... it's all one thing" the better. Triads really help me that way.
I LIKE IT! something i could actually understand, from an intermediate level ("playing by ear" and shapes for 20 yrs and still stuck)... thank you Mark. I'll check your channel out!
Perfect Mark. Same here, although stuck for 30. I'm only a semi-pro. Weekend gigs only, for fun. This lesson expands on what I just did to help with memory visualization. I took 7 neck diagrams and drew a Cmaj scale (8'th fret) on them. Then I marked all the triads up and down the neck. First off the C. Then second diagram, off the 2,nd, third, and on up. Now I could see all the triads built from every note in that C scale. Both under my hand, and up and down the neck as well. Breakthrough enough, but when I then added the seventh, and played the whole arpeggio across the neck, I saw the connections. How everything is nested together. The chord, the arpeg, the triads, the modes, and the other chords in that key. All from that one 7 note scale. I have so many cool new licks, and can follow the changes far easier than before. Hopefully, sharing this explanation can help others. I did the same for all the pentatonic modes. So revealing and enlightening. For anyone that is working in the CAGED system, this will put the ribbon on it. It's like branding the patterns into my brain. After a few days I don't need to look at the paper. Draw it out man! This video of yours is the next step, and something good guided me here. Thanks for sharing.
Very cool! For me, it's always about finding a simple but different (for me) way of looking at things, and then trying to expand that both musically and technically. It's really fun when you start sounding different or play differently. Kind of like most things in life I guess! Thanks for stopping by!
I also ‘discovered’ triads a few years ago from watching videos on Triad Pairs. Triads are the most fundamental structure of Western music. Yet guitar players are never taught to play triads. Conventionally, guitar instructors teach you basic chords, then scales, and if you make it that far, arpeggios. But they never teach you triads. So I set about to learn triads, and it revolutionized my soloing. However, I never thought to play triads as chords. So that’s the next thing I’m going to learn from you. Thank you.
This is truly a revelation. So helpful. Very kind of you to share your time and expertise. Greatly appreciated. I'm able to solo much better using this technique. Thank you very much.
Mark, as always , your videos are excellent ,to the point, eye opening morsels of musical knowledge. Just another piece to add to the guitar learning puzzle. Thank You!!
Great lesson. I realized how triads fit into the 5 Pentatonic shapes back in the late 70s. And, I used the same shapes, only with 4 top notes, except for the A shape, only 3. A country picker turned me on to some country licks that opened the heavens for me. Long b4 the CAGED system was around. Thanks for posting!!!
Hey Mark.! This is probably one of your best vids,IMO..! I know so many players.. good players.. think that “Theory “ is a dirty word… lol.. but I’m at the point now that the more I know about my guitar and it’s theory ( there’s that word again.!) the more interesting my playing sounds.. Thanks man.! Triads are wayyy cool.!👍🏼❤️
2:45 I would like to add a little trick. Whenever you learn different shapes for the same chord/triad always find the root note and memorize the shape with the root note location together so anytime you play a random chord/triad you know what is that by the root note (you know where to find the root note by the shape). Cool video!
I too was blown away when I found the final triad in your video! I use them ALL THE TIME now! I use them for a more dreamy sound and utilize the open A and high E strings and just slide the shape up and down the neck.
@@MarkZabel So many faces appear on our screens these days to give advice to guitar players. But the only notes that truly interest them are the ones in our wallets. YOU on the other hand come across as really willing to share and encourage creativity. Thanks you so much for that.
There's no "one chord" that changes everything. Just study /understand all the intricacies of music. I quit playing electric guitar...now playing acoustic and mandolin. With hard work and dedication I am now playing stuff I thought I could never play before. Music is a joyful experience and will play as long as I'm able. 👍
There is for me, and the story here is mine. I don't think you watched the video through. It's not a technique video. Enjoy the mandolin. A beautiful instrument and so much fun to play.
I just came across your channel this evening. Thanks for this video. It will be a great help to me. I just made the Am/ Fmaj7 connection this weekend as my wife and I were rehearsing a coyote of songs for church. Made for a much easier transition between the two songs. I've used a few of those triads in some of our music but not really on purpose. More just trying to find an easier or better sounding way to do things. Now I can connect the dots and see what happens! Thanks again. Best-
I love all your videos Mark but this one had an extra little bonus for me, it shows a quick and easy solution to the diminished problem, you know what I mean, ha ha, I usually get over it by playing some version of a 7 th but by doing it in a triad you get over the line quick and easy, thanks Mark
Great video and, by the way, David Becker is the best teacher with whom I have ever had the pleasure to study. And Robin Ford is the is totally incredible; the full package.
@@MarkZabel Yes, David is a great guy and now a friend. I was fortunate enough to have seen Larry Carlton, Robben Ford and Jeff Porcaro play together at Donte’s in North Hollywood. Can’t remember who was playing Bass that night, but it may have been Nathan East. Anyway, totally amazing evening.
That’s like saying “it’s crazy that these different notes give me a different chord”. like triads are jus a watered down chord with all of the tones you need to convey emotion, if you move where you’re playing it’s common sense that you’d get a different chord. The real work is relating them, so try and figure out the purposes of each of your chord tones like your thirds, 7ths, 6ths, and so on (these convey emotion or allow for certain types of harmonic movement) and then figure out the functions of chords within a scale and how chords themselves relate to one another. You’ll be one step closer on your journey
@@SKJESUS-qk5qy I think he's talking about inversions of chords. Sometimes its a minor triad, sometimes it's a major 7th triad. Depends on what's considered the root at that time.
@@LoftOfTheUniverse I mean sure, and I understand getting mind blown by the functionality of music theory but seriously like learn why it’s a considered a different chord, try it with a scale or progression other than what the video says, relate it to other modes and play around with different triads over a drone note to further understand the extensions or different tones you can use in your triads. I think you might get my point. Expand from, don’t just replicate what you learn in these videos bc it will keep you trapped in a box
Hi, Mark. I too am amazed at the beautiful and elegant simplicity of the triad. I haven't read too far into the comments so this subject may have already been addressed, so forgive the redundancy. There are also triads on the first three strings; 3 simple shapes that create alternate voicings in the tenor register. Could you perhaps make a video on those voicings as well? I like your channel. Your enthusiasm is motivational. Keep teaching us, please
Pay attention to this lesson folks. I discovered these about 8 months ago and they really opened up possibilities - not least of which is that I can jam with folks in any key more easily.
Mark, you are a gifted instructor. Great video production, too! The YT algorithm did me a favor today by introducing me to you. Keep up the great work! Subscribed!
Hope you don't mind us screenshotting your fretboard diagram during the video! Thanks for making theory and shapes more approachable for old dogs like me!
Hey Mark I'm taking lessons from a guy that blows me away. He's freaky as hell. Super nice fellow and the knowledge he has in his noggin is amazing! He just sent me down the triad rabbit hole. It is seriously overwhelming but I can see it related to the Caged system...just not using all of the notes. He's got me to the point that I now HAVE to learn the notes and what notes are in what scale. It just got a hell of a lot harder. I went to him because I'm stuck in a rut. Playing pretty well in the band situation but I don't have near the confidence I should have and I need to move forward. I'm improving already but I'm seriously humbled. It's hard to learn and keep up with but I know it is making a big difference. Thanks for all of your help and support. If I'm not bonkers at the end of this and have any hair left I might be a better musician/guitar player! By the way...the guy is kind of famous...I'm very honored he would even look at me...let alone be my instructor
I am classically trained in the guitar, you are so right, there is so much more to playing guitar, classical or electric, than one hears even among recording guitarists, this is a great lesson. More info: I am doing occupational therapy to heal from surgery in my left hand (I am right-handed), I have been given a strange semi-solid substance which like a ball, but better, I crush it and play with it for hours, it helps with finger flexibility.
Wow Mark! You are sharing some great ideas. I've learned stuff from you that is really opening my eyes!!! I'm grateful. Also, I love your eclectic collection of affordable, nice sounding guitars .
I've always called those three-string things "patches." It is a particularly effective technique on electric guitar, and it eliminates clutter in the whole arrangement. It's an old '60s-'70s trick that seasoned studio musicians relied on.
Great advice! It took me years to figure this out. I kind of stumbled into it while playing with other guitarists. When we would all play the same chords at the same frets it became apparent we sounded pretty average. I watched other bands that played the same songs, only they sounded good. Lol That's when I caught guitarists playing different areas on the neck, which turned out to be triads. I didn't even know what a triad was but it brought in a whole other color to the music. You probably just helped a lot of players advance with this video!
From where I am in my playing, there’s a ton here for me to work on! I understand triads and have memorized their shapes, but this really put it together in a way I can use musically.
A great lesson for reflection thanks Mark !! A hugely creative time in music is not knowing that much...many accidents go a long way for years of unfettered jamming and song creation and joyous musical abandon...gradually creatively takes new forms...better or worse is relative to the personality...on that score certain flavors of jazz rock allude to freedom from definition...and yet people will always seek to categorize... see dictionary meaning "jazz" ...now here's the question, "where do ya wanna go" ???
i really enjoyed this video, i love larry carlton's playing also. after i watched this video a couple of times the light went on when i saw those triad maps you put on the neck of the guitar. triads are the best way to connect all the parts of the neck, and this way i don't have to force myself to memorize a bunch of extra scales i won't use
I still can't play for shit (yet), but "Connections" is just the right concept to put the fretboard into perspective. The funny things is that we can all make the connections ourselves, but it's still so elusive. Thanks for this perspective.
My pleasure. I won't kid you - making that idea work takes time, but it has been a fun ride for me, and I see things in a new light now. The best thing is that it's a very easy way to look at things, which has been extremely helpful.
This is outstanding! I always tell people who say they want to learn theory to learn the major scale, and how to harmonize it. Learn to sing it(doesn't have to be good :P, just on pitch ) . Really learn it until you hopefully have the AHA that it isn't as complicated as it seems at first. 90+% of western music is just using the major scale, and the chords you get from each degree, in different ways. This is an excellent demonstration of a great result from that sort of thinking.
Epiphany for me too. Thank you Mark. My guitar teacher has been discussing this for a while but I was in half listening mode. I didn't believe the concept was going to make me play more musically, faster or better. I was wrong, you just verified that!
Got lost around 3:11, but I overall get it just not show how to incorporate or practice triads. My guess is when the song is in Em than I look for Em, Am, and Bm triads or something,
I think that my most important breakthrough was when I realised that I could just play any note or series of notes with any time signature, at any time and I could just pass it off as saying that it is freeform jazz.
This combined with the fact that I never play in front of anybody allows me to believe that I am able to play guitar to a very competent level and I sleep well knowing this and not questioning the actual sound that I produce.
My therapist says that this is good for me.
lmao
Your ACTUAL breakthrough will arrive when you can do that over a standard and make it sound good, because this is quite possible (50 year player here).
That's a great story but I still have to listen to myself, lol.
(sputter sputter hardy-har-har :) :) hilarious man :)
don't overlook "avant-garde jazz", "modern jazz", "abstract jazz", "neo-avant-garde", "neomodern abstract with avant-garde nuances", and........ well if only to expand your horizons they may be helpful.
JUles Broussard perfected that decades ago, as did John Coltrane. The trick is to play it fast, fluidly and virtuousically, so no one can question your competence.
You're absolutely right. I ignored triads for 25 years bc i thought i don't need them for rock stuff. And was stuck forever. Don't skip them, learn your triads folks.
You know what I'm talking about. Why I didn't just power through and do it is a mystery to me today. Probably the same thinking - "man, I don't need it for rock stuff!" Yeah, I get that 100%.
@@MarkZabel My case isn't a mystery at all. I learned some basics, formed a band immediately and stayed with the boys for 25 years 😂 Good times. Since this stopped 4 years ago i started to care about learning "new" stuff again. Or better: the basics. I wish i knew earlier, imagine how much better the music would have been with a little extra effort. But it's never too late. Thanks for your lessons, they help a lot 🙏
Dittos!
Did it?
For those about to rock- ACDC. Whoppin rock song, rockin triads! Im guilty of the same thing as you. And im looking forward to chucking them in solos to break up manotony. Ill never stop learning. 🤙
As someone who hadn’t picked up an electric guitar in 20 years until recently, I appreciate you sharing this! It’s amazing all the great resources for guitar right here on TH-cam that we had NOTHING like 20 years ago. 🎸🤘
You're very welcome. Glad I could help!
This may at first seem a strange thing to say, but one thing I really like about your videos Mark, is that they are short and precise. I haven't got the patience to watch other guitar tutors videos that go on for 30 to 45 minutes telling me a dozen times to "subscribe here". Well done and thanks!
Thanks. I try to keep them that way. 4:00 to 6:30 or so. If I were a "real TH-camr" I'd post videos longer that 8 minutes because then TH-cam puts more ads in them. I'll keep them short instead! Glad you've noticed.
@@MarkZabelThe "bite-size nugget" length videos you do are just right 👍🏻
@@57RickH I agree!
Your openness and enthusiasm is a breath of fresh air
Glad you enjoyed the video!
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Celebrating 100K Subs!
Rockstar Membership 40% Off Annual Subscription - MZ100K40PCT
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Video posted 5 hours ago, yet the 'totally free' triad map is not available without signing up? That's a cost.
@@SteveLedger man… anyone with a pulse these days is “signed up “ to a zillion sites… Free means no currency… but hey… it’s a cool set of charts..
One of my biggest breakthrough moments was when I learnt that if I was playing over a jam track or something in a major key I could at any stage switch to the relative minor of that key since they use the same notes. so instead of playing over an entire jam track in just the major key, use it's relative minor as well, This is one thing that really blew the fretboard wide open for me...
You can add a TON of extra flavour to your playing by doing this. Look at position one of your major scale and then position one of the relative minor and you'll see that both of those scales are right there next to each other on the fretboard. I've worked on just chaining those two scales together as one mega scale and it gives you endless possibilities for your lead work and i've been able to create alot of neat melody lines by doing this.
BB was the king of this
About 10 years ago (give or take a year) I made that same M7 to m chord connection. With the many grips i already had for Maj7 chords it opened up a plethora of new minor chord soloing paterns for me. I became obsessed with writing backing tracks with parallel Maj to Min chord changes. Especially going from A-min to C-maj7. I loved writing fast arpeggio licks that i could repeat over both chords and that led to me paying closer attention to the particular emotions that each intervel generally produced. In turn, that led to me REALLY learning my intervals. To this day, I'm still fairly slow at naming the notes on the fretboard but i can very quickly see where the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th of each chord is and learning to solo while flowing from the current chord and timing it so that I land on the 3rd or 7th of the next chord on either the 1 or the down beat of either chord improved my improvisations exponentially. I put that right up there with learning the 5 patterns of the CAGED system on the list of most important lessons I've learned over the years.
Thanks for all the help Mark, you always make things more reachable, less intimidating with these videos. You unlock doors & open our ears. 🦋🖤🦋
Thanks so much Kris! You're the best!
Thanks Mark!
Wow, cool playlist! Aldo Nova ... that's getting back up the trail! ✌
Thanks!
Thanks for the support. Much appreciated!
lotta guitar teachers out there that never go into the mechanics or structure of "why we do something". Everybody has their own video on how to apply scales etc but this guy actually explains it
Thanks so much!
That's a great lesson and an even better story of personal victory. Thanks, Mark.
Glad you enjoyed it
.Thanks Mark. Your intro is just about my own glass ceiling of the last 25 years. I have been entirely self-taught since the age of 18 and had never managed to understand and get into the music theory, even the tiniest bits. Now being 52, I have decided with my son to take my first lessons of guitar with a real teacher, and though most of what he is trying to teach me is Chinese for me most of the time for me and I see that my brain is overwhelmed with concepts I had never heard of, after the 2nd year now, I see that things are slowly starting to make some sense and this allows me now to follow TH-cam tutorials without instantly zapping by lack of understanding the most basic concepts such as "intervals", "thirds", what is a chord made of and so on. Through my years of self teaching, I have developed an abilty to play by ear in most of the basic band situations and composing but I really feel so limited and revolving around the same old reflexes that I start to get bored of myself and feel a little disabled to be honest. Learning theory seems to have opened something
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for sharing your story. Keep on rocking!
Appreciate your generous sharing. You just lifted the level of guitar playing for who knows how many people.
Thank you!
Oh man. His Star Licks video in the 80’s changed everything for me. Thank you for posting this.
My pleasure. Thanks for watching!
Deeply apprecaite you pausing to show where on the frett board the notes are for each chord. You earned my sub for that alone. Thank you again.
My pleasure. Thanks for the sub!
Wow! I've been playing guitar since 1987. I also "discovered" this exact shape and it's significance only a few months ago. And, you're totally right, it opened up an entire world!
Cool!
I spent more time with this than any other thing I have learned in a long time. Improvising different rhythms and mixing of the chords, its an endless loop of fun. Throwing in some lead licks on top. Thanks Mark. BTW, I'll be seeing Steve Howe and the rest of the boys in San Antonio this Friday night. 50th Anniversary of Close to the Edge! Can't wait!
Oh wow!! That's awesome. Enjoy! (Probably in my top 5 favorite "songs", if you want to call "Close to the Edge" a song.)
@@MarkZabel I took a little bit of footage on my iPhone which turned out quite well. LM K if you're interested in seeing that. It would be easiest to send you a dropbox link
@@kerrfoot Sounds good. Dropbox is fine. mark@markzabel.com
@@kerrfoot Or you could put it on your channel for the benefit of the rest of us?
Really appreciate all your time and all your efforts. Thank you so much!
My pleasure!
Thank you! The production which includes the exact notes youre playing is VERY helpful!
Glad it was helpful!
Mark, thank you so much for all of your videos. Love your playing and teaching style.
Glad you like them!
Love your revelation and the passion expressed along with it. The geometry of the guitar neck, and a piano layout. I see both in my mind at the same time. I play both and am daily mystified by both (given that infinite possibility should mystify anyone). When the mood strikes, the entire deck faithfully rearranges for new senses of personal freedoms. You say it well MZ!
Thanks so much!
And A-minor is the natural minor of C major! I agree, the tie-ins just go on and on. I'm very excited about my study of the triad shapes and how they tie in all over the neck! Thanks for sharing this with us!!
My pleasure. Thanks for watching!
I recommend Frank Gambale's video Modes No More Mystery. In this video he teaches how to use triads to create modal vamps. You can use these triads as material for solos over these modes as well of course. And in the video Jazz Fusion Improvisation Scott Henderson teaches which triads to use when soloing over certain chords. These triads can be easily memorized if you have watched the Frank Gambale video first.
Thanks Mark for another useful and entertaining video 👍
Thanks Lars! Great recommendations!
This dude is awsome in more ways that I can express in one paragraph. He definitely has the characteristics such as patience, technique etc that makes for excellent teaching etc. Thank god for people like him
Thanks so much Lee!
I had this same light bulb moment when playing Witchita Lineman and I saw the D minor chord inside the B flat Major 7th chord. It is amazing that one can over look such things for so long. Thanks Mark for all your videos, awesome stuff.
That's great! Thanks Ray!
Your comment is indeed an eye opener!
Thanks!
Great lesson. Working with the downloaded charts and a backing track. Like learning a bunch of new chords that are sort of easy. And tying them into the closest pentatonic pattern helps too. Thanks, Mark. This really helps..
Glad it was helpful Todd! Absolutely, tying them to pentatonics helps. The more you see "it's all the same ... chords ... soloing and scales ... it's all one thing" the better. Triads really help me that way.
This is right up my alley! I love it!! Can't wait to work on them!
I LIKE IT! something i could actually understand, from an intermediate level ("playing by ear" and shapes for 20 yrs and still stuck)... thank you Mark. I'll check your channel out!
Thanks brother!
After screwing around for 50 years I too came to the Triad idea yesterday and this video REALLY helps. Thanks
Awesome! Best of luck!
Perfect Mark. Same here, although stuck for 30. I'm only a semi-pro. Weekend gigs only, for fun. This lesson expands on what I just did to help with memory visualization. I took 7 neck diagrams and drew a Cmaj scale (8'th fret) on them. Then I marked all the triads up and down the neck. First off the C. Then second diagram, off the 2,nd, third, and on up. Now I could see all the triads built from every note in that C scale. Both under my hand, and up and down the neck as well. Breakthrough enough, but when I then added the seventh, and played the whole arpeggio across the neck, I saw the connections. How everything is nested together. The chord, the arpeg, the triads, the modes, and the other chords in that key. All from that one 7 note scale. I have so many cool new licks, and can follow the changes far easier than before. Hopefully, sharing this explanation can help others. I did the same for all the pentatonic modes. So revealing and enlightening. For anyone that is working in the CAGED system, this will put the ribbon on it. It's like branding the patterns into my brain. After a few days I don't need to look at the paper. Draw it out man!
This video of yours is the next step, and something good guided me here. Thanks for sharing.
Very cool! For me, it's always about finding a simple but different (for me) way of looking at things, and then trying to expand that both musically and technically. It's really fun when you start sounding different or play differently. Kind of like most things in life I guess!
Thanks for stopping by!
I also ‘discovered’ triads a few years ago from watching videos on Triad Pairs. Triads are the most fundamental structure of Western music. Yet guitar players are never taught to play triads. Conventionally, guitar instructors teach you basic chords, then scales, and if you make it that far, arpeggios. But they never teach
you triads. So I set about to learn triads, and it revolutionized my soloing. However, I never thought to play triads as chords. So that’s the next thing I’m going to learn from you. Thank you.
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed the video.
Connecting the dots is such a good feeling! Thanks for sharing :)
My pleasure.
This is truly a revelation. So helpful. Very kind of you to share your time and expertise. Greatly appreciated. I'm able to solo much better using this technique. Thank you very much.
Glad it was helpful!
EXCELLENT INSIGHT, WELL DONE, GOOD JOB
I must say! Mr.Zabel, you are a great ,great teacher and seems to be a very nice guy!!!! Thanks!! Kjell /Sweden/
Thank you so much!!
Beautifully done. They are making a huge difference for me.
Thank you! Glad to help.
Mark, as always , your videos are excellent ,to the point, eye opening morsels of musical knowledge. Just another piece to add to the guitar learning puzzle. Thank You!!
Thanks Jay!
Does this man sound like Don Felder? Similar voice.
That first triad thing you did reminded me of the Guess Who's Running back to Saskatoon!!!
Interesting! Didn't think of that.
Great lesson. I realized how triads fit into the 5 Pentatonic shapes back in the late 70s. And, I used the same shapes, only with 4 top notes, except for the A shape, only 3. A country picker turned me on to some country licks that opened the heavens for me. Long b4 the CAGED system was around.
Thanks for posting!!!
My pleasure. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the triad lesson it really works
My pleasure.
Simple and brilliant, Mark. Also, it sounds good!
Thanks Dave!
Just what I needed, thank you Mark
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
Nice lesson! Explained well and the tab diagrams make it crystal clear. Great presentation.
Glad it was helpful!
Hey Mark.! This is probably one of your best vids,IMO..! I know so many players.. good players.. think that “Theory “ is a dirty word… lol.. but I’m at the point now that the more I know about my guitar and it’s theory ( there’s that word again.!) the more interesting my playing sounds..
Thanks man.! Triads are wayyy cool.!👍🏼❤️
Wow, thanks! Yes, triads are indeed way cool!
2:45 I would like to add a little trick. Whenever you learn different shapes for the same chord/triad always find the root note and memorize the shape with the root note location together so anytime you play a random chord/triad you know what is that by the root note (you know where to find the root note by the shape). Cool video!
Thanks!
Thank you for the help . Can't wait to start playing these .
Have fun!
I too was blown away when I found the final triad in your video! I use them ALL THE TIME now! I use them for a more dreamy sound and utilize the open A and high E strings and just slide the shape up and down the neck.
Mark Z Rules! & so does that Awesome Guitar! GREAT LESSON!
Thanks Dave! Really appreciate it!
I do this religiously finding all my triads on each string set major and minor.the caged system really helped with this
This will be so helpful for me...can't wait to get in the shed. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
OMG!
Most of your lessons are totally over my head but this is something I can work up to. Thanks!
Excellent!
Thanks for the mention, Mark!
Sure thing David! Love your playing and your "One note solo" lesson in your "Transitions to Jazz" course was a real eye-opener.
@@MarkZabel much appreciated. Anytime you have any questions, feel free to reach out!
Thank you for sharing your Eureka moment. You have moved me to explore triads as you suggest.
Awesome!
@@MarkZabel So many faces appear on our screens these days to give advice to guitar players. But the only notes that truly interest them are the ones in our wallets. YOU on the other hand come across as really willing to share and encourage creativity. Thanks you so much for that.
@@niosfear Thank you so much. You REALLY made my day. Take care!
Beautiful lesson Mark, you have given an in-depth view of triad use.
Glad it was helpful!
There's no "one chord" that changes everything. Just study /understand all the intricacies of music.
I quit playing electric guitar...now playing acoustic and mandolin. With hard work and dedication I am now playing stuff I thought I could never play before.
Music is a joyful experience and will play as long as I'm able.
👍
There is for me, and the story here is mine. I don't think you watched the video through. It's not a technique video.
Enjoy the mandolin. A beautiful instrument and so much fun to play.
@@MarkZabel 😉👍
Thanks for the lesson. And sharing your elevation!
My pleasure.
I just came across your channel this evening. Thanks for this video. It will be a great help to me. I just made the Am/ Fmaj7 connection this weekend as my wife and I were rehearsing a coyote of songs for church. Made for a much easier transition between the two songs. I've used a few of those triads in some of our music but not really on purpose. More just trying to find an easier or better sounding way to do things. Now I can connect the dots and see what happens! Thanks again.
Best-
My pleasure. Thanks for watching!
I love all your videos Mark but this one had an extra little bonus for me, it shows a quick and easy solution to the diminished problem, you know what I mean, ha ha, I usually get over it by playing some version of a 7 th but by doing it in a triad you get over the line quick and easy, thanks Mark
Thank you so much!
Great video and, by the way, David Becker is the best teacher with whom I have ever had the pleasure to study. And Robin Ford is the is totally incredible; the full package.
Thank you! David and I corresponded a bit. Seems to be a great guy. Heckuva player. Robben Ford? Yeah, no doubt!
@@MarkZabel Yes, David is a great guy and now a friend. I was fortunate enough to have seen Larry Carlton, Robben Ford and Jeff Porcaro play together at Donte’s in North Hollywood. Can’t remember who was playing Bass that night, but it may have been Nathan East. Anyway, totally amazing evening.
Thank you Mark...great lesson and I appreciate the free stuff!
My pleasure. Thanks for watching Dennis!
This is really helpful. Thanks 😊
Awesome!
Mark, you are a freaking GENIUS!
Thanks buddy! Glad you enjoyed this one!
Theory is so interesting, it's amazing how a triad can be so many different chords depending on where you use it.....
No doubt. I love simple things that can be used creatively.
That’s like saying “it’s crazy that these different notes give me a different chord”. like triads are jus a watered down chord with all of the tones you need to convey emotion, if you move where you’re playing it’s common sense that you’d get a different chord. The real work is relating them, so try and figure out the purposes of each of your chord tones like your thirds, 7ths, 6ths, and so on (these convey emotion or allow for certain types of harmonic movement) and then figure out the functions of chords within a scale and how chords themselves relate to one another. You’ll be one step closer on your journey
@@SKJESUS-qk5qy I think he's talking about inversions of chords. Sometimes its a minor triad, sometimes it's a major 7th triad. Depends on what's considered the root at that time.
@@LoftOfTheUniverse I mean sure, and I understand getting mind blown by the functionality of music theory but seriously like learn why it’s a considered a different chord, try it with a scale or progression other than what the video says, relate it to other modes and play around with different triads over a drone note to further understand the extensions or different tones you can use in your triads. I think you might get my point. Expand from, don’t just replicate what you learn in these videos bc it will keep you trapped in a box
Thank you, Mark! You rock!!
Thanks!
Hi, Mark. I too am amazed at the beautiful and elegant simplicity of the triad. I haven't read too far into the comments so this subject may have already been addressed, so forgive the redundancy.
There are also triads on the first three strings; 3 simple shapes that create alternate voicings in the tenor register. Could you perhaps make a video on those voicings as well? I like your channel. Your enthusiasm is motivational. Keep teaching us, please
Glad you're enjoying the channel Jon! I certainly will do more videos on triads, as they're a key to opening up so many things in music.
Pay attention to this lesson folks. I discovered these about 8 months ago and they really opened up possibilities - not least of which is that I can jam with folks in any key more easily.
Absolutely!
Mark, you are a gifted instructor. Great video production, too! The YT algorithm did me a favor today by introducing me to you. Keep up the great work! Subscribed!
Welcome aboard! Thanks for subbing!
Once again a great video. Interesting and concise. You are a great teacher and sharer of music.
Thank you kindly!
Hope you don't mind us screenshotting your fretboard diagram during the video!
Thanks for making theory and shapes more approachable for old dogs like me!
Not at all my friend - screenshot away!
Hey Mark I'm taking lessons from a guy that blows me away. He's freaky as hell. Super nice fellow and the knowledge he has in his noggin is amazing! He just sent me down the triad rabbit hole. It is seriously overwhelming but I can see it related to the Caged system...just not using all of the notes. He's got me to the point that I now HAVE to learn the notes and what notes are in what scale. It just got a hell of a lot harder. I went to him because I'm stuck in a rut. Playing pretty well in the band situation but I don't have near the confidence I should have and I need to move forward. I'm improving already but I'm seriously humbled. It's hard to learn and keep up with but I know it is making a big difference. Thanks for all of your help and support. If I'm not bonkers at the end of this and have any hair left I might be a better musician/guitar player! By the way...the guy is kind of famous...I'm very honored he would even look at me...let alone be my instructor
Glad I can help a little too.
We’ll who’s the famous teacher? We’re intrigued
@@kane6529 Madonna...hehehe Sorry...can't betray. He's embarrassed enough for teaching me.
I am classically trained in the guitar, you are so right, there is so much more to playing guitar, classical or electric, than one hears even among recording guitarists, this is a great lesson. More info: I am doing occupational therapy to heal from surgery in my left hand (I am right-handed), I have been given a strange semi-solid substance which like a ball, but better, I crush it and play with it for hours, it helps with finger flexibility.
it is like clay but far more malleable, it helps with finger movement.
Thanks. (And that's a good tip about the finger strength exercise too!)
Some good stuff here with triads. I follow up lesson with more examples would be nice. Thanks
More to come!
Wow Mark! You are sharing some great ideas. I've learned stuff from you that is really opening my eyes!!! I'm grateful. Also, I love your eclectic collection of affordable, nice sounding guitars .
You are so welcome! Glad you found my channel!
@@MarkZabel Me too!
I've always called those three-string things "patches." It is a particularly effective technique on electric guitar, and it eliminates clutter in the whole arrangement. It's an old '60s-'70s trick that seasoned studio musicians relied on.
Yep! 100%.
Passionnant ! Thanks from France
My pleasure. Thanks for watching!
Thank you Sir, it is the way you mentioned. Trying over long time bear the fruit in its time. Best regards. Paul, 67, fan oéf solo guitars playing.
It's lifelong learning, and it's fun. Looking at something a different way often helps.
Cord inversions are a very good and powerful tool.
Thx Mark... nice insight.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks Mark! I appreciate your simple and effective tricks. Keep up the good advise and keep on jammin' !
Thanks, will do!
Great advice!
It took me years to figure this out. I kind of stumbled into it while playing with other guitarists.
When we would all play the same chords at the same frets it became apparent we sounded pretty average.
I watched other bands that played the same songs, only they sounded good. Lol
That's when I caught guitarists playing different areas on the neck, which turned out to be triads. I didn't even know what a triad was but it brought in a whole other color to the music.
You probably just helped a lot of players advance with this video!
Thanks!
From where I am in my playing, there’s a ton here for me to work on! I understand triads and have memorized their shapes, but this really put it together in a way I can use musically.
Great!
A great lesson for reflection thanks Mark !! A hugely creative time in music is not knowing that much...many accidents go a long way for years of unfettered jamming and song creation and joyous musical abandon...gradually creatively takes new forms...better or worse is relative to the personality...on that score certain flavors of jazz rock allude to freedom from definition...and yet people will always seek to categorize... see dictionary meaning "jazz" ...now here's the question, "where do ya wanna go" ???
i really enjoyed this video, i love larry carlton's playing also. after i watched this video a couple of times the light went on when i saw those triad maps you put on the neck of the guitar. triads are the best way to connect all the parts of the neck, and this way i don't have to force myself to memorize a bunch of extra scales i won't use
Thanks! And I think you're exactly right. So much easier to quickly navigate and play something meaningful.
A very good triad lesson, A guitar in hand every day, these things improve the ear and the playing,
Thanks!
Excellent..... Thank you Mark.
Glad you enjoyed it
Nice job demonstrating the triads.
Thanks!
thanks for the video, just trying to avoid barre chords as they still hurt my wrist. nice guitar BTW have the same Contemporary squire
Cool, thanks!
Never got into triads till I used D, G, and turnings, now changing turnings I think in Triads! And now I pay more attention to base or root of cord!
Great!
Thanks for sharing, for learner may take years to find out the "trick" by self.
You're welcome. Thanks for watching!
I still can't play for shit (yet), but "Connections" is just the right concept to put the fretboard into perspective. The funny things is that we can all make the connections ourselves, but it's still so elusive. Thanks for this perspective.
My pleasure. I won't kid you - making that idea work takes time, but it has been a fun ride for me, and I see things in a new light now. The best thing is that it's a very easy way to look at things, which has been extremely helpful.
Thks for the map , I think this will help .
You're welcome.
This is outstanding!
I always tell people who say they want to learn theory to learn the major scale, and how to harmonize it. Learn to sing it(doesn't have to be good :P, just on pitch ) . Really learn it until you hopefully have the AHA that it isn't as complicated as it seems at first. 90+% of western music is just using the major scale, and the chords you get from each degree, in different ways.
This is an excellent demonstration of a great result from that sort of thinking.
Thanks Len. Good advice!
Epiphany for me too. Thank you Mark. My guitar teacher has been discussing this for a while but I was in half listening mode. I didn't believe the concept was going to make me play more musically, faster or better. I was wrong, you just verified that!
Glad I could help. Thanks for watching and for the kind comment!
@@MarkZabel You Rock!
Knew the maj7 triad but you just opened a good door nice lesson I will try this.
Great. Thanks Mark. I'm loving these 5 min videos - they tie in with my limited attention span! 😀
Glad you like them!
Truly inspiring lesson! Thank you!
My pleasure. Thanks for watching and for the fantastic feedback!
Thanks!
Thank you! Very much appreciated!
Got lost around 3:11, but I overall get it just not show how to incorporate or practice triads.
My guess is when the song is in Em than I look for Em, Am, and Bm triads or something,
Great and useful as always
Thanks buddy!!