Harmony Masterclass

About This Class

In this class we’ll take a trip through popular music from mixed genres and eras to understand why and how harmony works. By understanding how harmony has influenced generations of music you’ll gain a thorough understanding of: diatonic harmony, chord functions, chord substitutions, harmonic analysis, roman numeral analysis, and most importantly how to apply this wisdom in your daily practice. Not only will you learn a great deal about harmony, but I’ll also touch on how to solo over any chord progression using chord tones and scales.

The class begins with a series of lessons that cover basics such as:

• Which chords belong to a key;
• Why chord progressions progress; and
• How to understand and use roman numeral analysis.

These topics are covered in great detail using motion graphics and audio samples so that even for an experienced guitar player the basics will be fun and engaging!

In the next section of the class I’ll be showing you some of the most popular chord progressions used today. We’ll listen to how these progressions have been used in popular songs across mixed genres since the 1950’s. As we listen through these examples together, you’ll be training your ear to recognise these harmonic sequences so that you can recall and recognise them yourself.

Once you’re confident with popular instances of diatonic harmony, I’ll introduce you to an array of music that uses non-diatonic harmony and chord substitutions. Through this music you’ll learn about the most popular ways to add or substitute chords in a progression, which is the gateway to breaking free from the “diatonic box“.

Finally I’ll show you how I personally use all of this knowledge in my own music, and how you can too in your daily practice. I’ll demonstrate how to apply different harmonic devices to make a basic chord progression sound much more interesting and unique, and I’ll even show you how to improvise or solo over any chord progression using chord tones and scales.

As always, you can expect all of my classes to be highly efficient and comprehensive so that not a second of your time is wasted. I include chord diagrams throughout the entire class, tabs where required, real-world examples through popular music, and a backing track to help assist chord tone soloing towards the end. All class videos contain on-screen diagrams and annotations where required.