YouTube recommendations for engaging, intermediate guitar theory…?

colourofsound

As it sounds really - I’ve always really struggled with the theory around playing and I’m sort of fed up of being frustrated. I’ve got a tonne of books etc and they never go in; so trying a different approach.

I’m most interested in neo soul/fusion etc (think Tom Misch, Snarky Puppy, Vukfpeck) so any sort of content that teaches the bones of how that works would be great.

Happy to pay eventually (Truefire gets mentioned a lot around here) but for now just looking for some solid recommendations for channels that might tick these boxes.

cheers!

Tannin

Music Theory for Guitar. (Of course.)

https://www.youtube.com/@MusicTheoryForGuitar

(I can't make the link clickable because our otherwise excellent site software is a bit brain-dead when it comes to You-tube links that aren't to videos. You'll have to cut & paste.

Evo

Go to church.

As silly as that sounds, and I'm not suggesting ACTUALLY visiting church, but the origins of a lot of that style is in praise and worship. Most of the really great chord guys cut their teeth in church bands and church performances where it's all passed on by ear, hence why a lot of them really struggle to explain what they're doing from a "theory" perspective. 

Mark Lettieri is a good source of info, he's someone with a foot firmly in both camps so able to both do it and explain it really well. 

As someone who bashed their head against this particular wall for quite a while, my advice is to "do" first and "learn" later.

Listen to the tracks and players you like, find licks you really like, then learn them (either transcribe it yourself, or find someone that's done it already). Once you've learned a noise you like, then look at the context it's used in and the chord/chords it's used over. This approach will get you there much faster than trying to learn the theory first, it's the way most of these guys did it after all.

digitalkettle

Evo said:

…
Listen to the tracks and players you like, find licks you really like, then learn them (either transcribe it yourself, or find someone that's done it already). Once you've learned a noise you like, then look at the context it's used in and the chord/chords it's used over. This approach will get you there much faster than trying to learn the theory first, it's the way most of these guys did it after all.

Start a thread with a question/example!

Evo

Example?

https://www.soundslice.com/slices/9c5Dc/

Chomping down on something like this isn't a terrible idea to get some ideas and vocabulary under your belt.

The entirety of the first 5 bars are a great example of things you can do over and around a Bb chord. The F(b13)/Eb in bar 3 also illustrates the very common practice of just throwing a V to I cadence anywhere you can get away with it. In this case, it's serving a helpful purpose of marking the end of the intro and creating tension before resolving to the Bb again in bar 4. But if you ever want to get a little saucy with your chords then take a look at the next chord coming up and throw a V chord before it (a G dominant before a C, an A dominant before a D, an E dominant before an A, etc, etc).

Hopping around your diatonic triads like in bars 1, 5, and 9 can give you a lot of good mileage too. In this case we're on the GBE strings and playing around Bb but try it on different strings and in different keys too. There's some good fun to be had by taking really funky, choppy guitar parts which would be expected on the GBE strings and shifting them right down onto the EAD strings (especially if you have a bass player that gets a bit too comfortable up the dusty end of the fretboard).

Just to throw a more advanced one in there as well, the Em7b5 chord in bar 6 is a bit tasty from a theory perspective. The Em7b5 chord (E, G, Bb, and D) can be looked at as a C9 chord without the root note (C, E, G, Bb, and D), and the C9 would be the V chord of the F in the next bar. Creating a V to I like I mentioned earlier.

Hopefully someone might find that useful or interesting, if not then I at least had fun writing it!

digitalkettle

digitalkettle said:
...

Start a thread with a question/example!

Evo said:

Example?
...

Ah...my post was (badly) directed at the OP but you've given him something to chew on there...nice work!

colourofsound

Evo said:

Mark Lettieri is a good source of info, he's someone with a foot firmly in both camps so able to both do it and explain it really well. 

I’ve actually had a lesson with him! Back when Snarky Puppy were still a minor curiosity rather than the award winning super group they are now.

I do like his approach and I am interested in trying one of the three courses he has; similarly I wonder if the Cory Wong course might be useful.

However before committing to buying something I wanted to check free options. I have a somewhat emotionally complicated relationship with music theory (at one point I gave up music altogether because practicing/lack of progress was making me miserable) but since I've long abandoned any ideas of making this a career, I am approaching it instead with curiosity that’s come from a frustration that I can play these tunes but I have no idea what’s actually happening.

I’m ok with shapes and patterns but adding numbers and relationships gives me the brain fog! I’m pretty sure I have sheet music dyslexia  

colourofsound

…the site just cut off half of my post there, which is annoying.

As I was saying - for an example I’ve shedding Snarky’s ‘Bad Kids to the Back’ and I’d love to know how it ticks, different improvisation options over it and so on. Letierri does a lot of nifty work moving triads around the neck (generally, not just on this tune) and knowing that stuff would be cool.

Another interesting tune is Frecce Tricolli (spelling…?) (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LdGqlPY5pAg&list=OLAK5uy_kObowi0UrgEZfwHg-dint32NJhHrx558Y&pp=ygUSZmVhcmxlc3MgZmx5ZXJzIGl2) which has a really interesting opening chord progression and then a lot of interweaving lines under a single chord. Why? How? Etc.

Evo

colourofsound said:

I am interested in trying one of the three courses he has

Now that TrueFire have merged with JamPlay, Mark's course on there is currently on sale for...if I'm reading this correctly....$5 (???)

Having been through said course, I can confirm that's an absolute steal. Buy it right now if that's correct, and that goes for anyone else reading this too. 

colourofsound

Evo said:

colourofsound said:

I am interested in trying one of the three courses he has

Now that TrueFire have merged with JamPlay, Mark's course on there is currently on sale for...if I'm reading this correctly....$5 (???)

Having been through said course, I can confirm that's an absolute steal. Buy it right now if that's correct, and that goes for anyone else reading this too. 

Duly noted! Cheers!

colourofsound

Evo said:

colourofsound said:

I am interested in trying one of the three courses he has

Now that TrueFire have merged with JamPlay, Mark's course on there is currently on sale for...if I'm reading this correctly....$5 (???)

Having been through said course, I can confirm that's an absolute steal. Buy it right now if that's correct, and that goes for anyone else reading this too. 

Got myself a Truefire account and as far as I can see the Lettieri course is free… at least they’ve not tried to charge me yet!

hollywoodrox

Brett papa Papa stache has Mark Lettieri on a lot but not in a theory type lesson .

  Ross Campbell is good  & Signals music studio for general theory 

colourofsound

Evo said:

colourofsound said:

I am interested in trying one of the three courses he has

Now that TrueFire have merged with JamPlay, Mark's course on there is currently on sale for...if I'm reading this correctly....$5 (???)

Having been through said course, I can confirm that's an absolute steal. Buy it right now if that's correct, and that goes for anyone else reading this too. 

Making my way through this course now and so far its definitely interesting. Some really nice parts to play (and I can actually play them, which is also nice) but a lot of the stuff he talks about assumes you know what he's on about and a lot of time I kind of don't! By any chance would you recommend a course or resource that would complement what Mark is teaching here?

Col_Decker

There's a YT channel I follow called 'Signals Music Studio'. He does music theory videos that are well presented and seemingly easy to follow. Of course I forget it all instantly.

colourofsound

Col_Decker said:

There's a YT channel I follow called 'Signals Music Studio'. He does music theory videos that are well presented and seemingly easy to follow. Of course I forget it all instantly.

Haha yeah I have the same issue! Cheers!