12 Voicing Studies (Over a 12 Bar “minor” Blues) + backing track
12 Voicing Studies (Over a 12 Bar “minor” Blues)
In this book I am showcasing some of my very favorite ways to practice harmony and work on expanding my chordal vocabulary on the guitar. I have selected the basic 12 bar minor blues form (in the key of C minor) as the canvas over which I will be presenting the different voicing studies and exercises.
Each one of the 12 harmonic etudes presented here is specifically designed to target and help improve key areas of our polyphonic navigation and control of the instrument.
Study 1 is based on voice leading concepts with 3-note harmonic structures over the entire range of the fretboard.
Studies 2-4 are based on a harmonic exercise that limits the string sets in which we can voice the desired chords and thus forcing us to stay on the same string set for the entire form of the minor blues. This approach is great to develop a horizontal harmonic awareness of the fretboard.
Studies 5-7 limit our hand movement to a specific fretboard position where we can use all six strings to voice our chords but this time we can not move horizontally too much up and down the neck which forces us to get more creative with the voice leading and soprano melody movement.
Studies 8-10 implement a static soprano note, a static middle voice and a static bass note (lowest voice). This melodic limitation in the exercise really forces us to get creative and re-think the voice leading approach and voicing possibilities if one of the voices has to remain the same through every single one of the harmonies in the 12 bar blues form.
Study 11 showcases how we can implement all the previously covered concepts together.
Study 12 illustrates how we can use simple intervals (mainly 7ths and 6ths) to suggest the changes of the minor blues in a very minimalistic, open and modern way.
Materials Included:
12 Voicing Studies (Over a 12 Bar “minor” Blues) book (PDF file - TAB and Standard Notation).
“HD” Video of all 12 studies.
Backing tracks: 12 bar blues in C minor.
For more info please e-mail: hristo@hristovitchev.com