Triad Pairs
Hey, hello, how’s it going? So I’m just going to do another video for you guys, and I think it’s going to be fun. Someone mentioned on my Instagram that he wants me to talk about little triad pairs, so I thought maybe I can demonstrate what I would play over a minor chord. So, let’s say I have an A minor chord.
- Frequently Asked Questions
- What’s the difference between playing a triad pair and just playing the pentatonic scale?
- How do I use triad pairs over a major chord like C major 7?
- Can I apply triad pairs to the diminished scale?
- What’s the best way to practice arpeggios for triad pairs?
- Triad Pairs on Guitar: Understanding and Application
A couple of things you can think about besides the pentatonic scale, as we talked about in my last video on how to spice up the pentatonic scale, is creating some different extensions like taking chromatic notes and making triads over them or using sus chords to open the sound, getting out of that kind of box.
When you think about triad pairs, what are you going to try and start doing? Let me see if the light is good. New YouTuber passing through. Let’s say you have a minor pentatonic, and you can take maybe A minor and F minor. That’s cool because with F minor, you get this major 7 sound. Listen to it over the A bass.
Now you start arpeggiating them.
First arpeggio for A minor:
F minor:
Now you can add the nine to the arpeggio:
This can work over just an A minor chord by itself, you know? Think about like two stations of harmony superimposed over one chord. Someone’s playing that chord, just that single chord, and you’re superimposing another sound. I love that kind of stuff.
So yeah, that was A minor to F minor. Let’s try another sound, but this time over major chords.
Let’s take, for example, C major seven.
Okay, so chord. Let’s take C and F sharp and see what kind of sounds we can get just from those two.
C to F sharp:
You see, I’m just using arpeggios and superimposing those two tritonic relationships. C to F sharp is a tritone, superimposing it on the C major seven chord. So I’m getting some cooler sounds, out and in.
And if you’re signed up for my Galactic Jazz Licks course, you know this lick. By the way, the link is in the description.
All right, how about another example? Let’s take, hmm, what else do I like? What about taking the diminished scale, for example? By the way, I have a full course about the diminished scale coming up, but just a quick taste.
On the diminished scale, you can move in minor thirds, so you can play F, B flat, D flat, and E, and they will all act on the same scale. So let’s say I have a G7 and I’m playing this half-whole scale, which is half step, whole step, getting this kind of sound.
Now I can apply phrases that use the triads moving or voice leading in minor thirds. So let’s say I have like:
Maybe G to B flat to D flat to D to G again, and then I can go D flat:
So that’s a little bit about triad pairs. I hope you guys enjoyed this lesson. If you’re not subscribed yet, please make sure to subscribe. If you want to check out my online courses and lessons, the links are in the description or just go over to weissguitar.com and get yourself a nice course for the next two months or a year or so.
I really enjoy making these videos, and what helps me is if you guys share them, press the like button, and even more if you give me some ideas of what kind of lessons you want me to create.
For now, the way I’m just going about it is picking up the guitar, opening the camera, reading one of the comments on my Instagram of people’s requests, and just talking freely. I’m sure I will get better at it as time goes by, but I’m really enjoying creating these kinds of videos for you, and it’s kind of like an open-source thing right now.
So that’s it. Signing off, and I’ll see you guys soon.
Frequently Asked Questions
01 What’s the difference between playing a triad pair and just playing the pentatonic scale?
Triad pairs involve superimposing two separate triads over a single chord to create richer harmonic extensions, while the pentatonic scale stays within one tonal center. This gives you more color and sophistication – for example, playing A minor and F minor together over an A minor chord creates a major 7 sound that you can’t get from the pentatonic alone.
02 How do I use triad pairs over a major chord like C major 7?
You can use tritone relationships to create interesting tensions. For C major 7, try pairing C with F sharp – they’re a tritone apart, which creates cool harmonic movement when you arpeggiate them. This technique works because you’re adding extensions and altered tones that complement the major 7 quality.
03 Can I apply triad pairs to the diminished scale?
Yes, the diminished scale is perfect for triad pairs because you can move in minor thirds. Since F, B flat, D flat, and E all exist in the same diminished scale, you can use triads built on these notes and voice lead between them smoothly over dominant chords like G7.
04 What’s the best way to practice arpeggios for triad pairs?
Start by learning the basic arpeggios for each triad, then add extensions like the ninth to expand your vocabulary. Practice switching between the two triads smoothly while maintaining a steady rhythm, and experiment with different voicings to find combinations that sound musical to your ear.
