Understanding Intervallic Structures

Today we have a guest post by a vey talented guitarist, Theodore K. Hope you guys enjoy this article

Level: Advanced

Goals:

• To expand your chord vocabulary.
• To be able to create interesting open chord voicings.
• To improve your harmonizing and arranging skill.

Many intermediate-advanced guitarists feel stuck when it comes to chords. Even though sometimes they put immense study hours in chords, they feel doomed to use the same chord voicings time after time. Some of these guitarists have real zeal and passion for music and study long and hard.

They try to create new fresh and “open” chord sounds, to translate into music what they've learned from theory lessons about chord construction, tonic and modal harmony, modal interchange etc.

I used to be in that position too. But then I realized that the problem was not my eagerness to study or my willingness to evolve. All I needed was a new way of doing things. I soon came to understand that the problem was that I possessed a relatively poor voicing vocabulary. This was when I was introduced to the concept of Intervallic Structures.

This concept really helped me to tackle this problem, because it gave me a simple, applicable way I could use immediately to change my whole perception of chord structure and my ways of using it on my improvisation. Therefore, I would like you to watch this tutorial where explain what exactly is the concept of Intervallic Structures and I demonstrate (watch the video below), how we can use an Allan Holdsworth-like voicing to harmonize the C Major Scale (you can download the score and the tab for free here: http://goo.gl/42Mx5 ).

Intervallic Structures, are voicings that are created stacking various intervals (unlike the standard harmony under which chords are being created usually stacking only diatonic thirds).

For example: The structure that it is used in the video lesson is created by stacking intervals of a diatonic 3rd, a 2nd and then a 4th.

In the video lesson, I use the aforementioned structure to harmonize the C Major Scale. Having this exercise registered in your muscle memory and having visualized the voicings over the various positions of the C Major Scale, you will expand your musical palette with these “open” sound voicings and you will be able to use them in all kinds of situations: accompanying someone else, harmonizing a melody using these ideas (instead of using standard chord voicings), composing a contemporary chord-melody etc.

You can download the score and the tab from here http://goo.gl/42Mx5 :

Note #1: Don’t forget that any note from the C major scale can be used as root, giving each time different chord voicings. Since we are trying to expand our imagination here, you can (or better: should) feel free to experiment with this idea.

For example: If we take the first chord given, the notes are G-B-C-F. If we consider as root the G, the structure is a G7add11. If we take the B as root, it becomes a Cmaj7sus4, if we take the note A as root (caution: that it is not contained inside the voicing!), then it becomes an Am7b13no11 and so on.

Note #2: Don’t occupy yourself with the theory of these chords, at least at first. Using common theory terms it is actually difficult to even name most of these chords, even when you’re only studying (not playing). At least until the point where your hands have memorized these voicings, it is better to see them as stacked intervals, for two reasons: 1) it’s simpler (thus easier) and 2) it’ll help you to understand their inside structure.

That's why many times these voicing are named with the Root following by the mode they represent (i.e. A Aeolian chord, B Dorian b2 chord etc).

Note #3: Generally, you can use these structures to play any chord “as is” over almost any root to create chord extensions that will characterize or imply a modal tonality.

It is highly recommended to create and experiment with other types of Intervallic Structures, and practice them harmonizing all the scales and modes!

Enjoy!

/Theodore K