Amazing Triad Chord Progressions Where You Can Mix Jazz And Pop

[@georgeknightley8828]

Jens, in a 10- minute video you just gave us YEARS of ideas to work with! ( as you always do!) Thank you!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was useful! Hope you don't get overworked 🙂

[@georgeknightley8828]

@@JensLarsen 😄

[@electorize]

Just what I wanted to say: He always does this 😂

[@lawrenrich6419]

Agreed !

[@nayarlopez8655]

Well put. Excellent lesson. Thanks, Jens!

[@paulstevekillian3882]

I don't know, those major seven chords for Smells Like Teen Spirit sounded pretty good to me.

[@JensLarsen]

Well, that is up to the ears of the beholder, I guess 😁

[@Jinseng]

The minor 5 is a great chord for writing Japanese fusion/citypop chord progressions as well

[@RobKandell]

The more I watch these the more I am learning from your voicings. The guitar doesn’t have to fill in a massive “wall of sound” the whole time, especially in an ensemble. Sparse and accurate voicings with good tone leading can go a long way. Thank you again for sharing these videos.

[@tayrowell]

This is really helpful for someone like me who may never transcend into the jazz world, but wants to make his non-jazz playing more creative harmonically.

[@henaege]

I'll definitely be rewatching and studying this one

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was useful! :)

[@jeffreyfortney9180]

Just starting my Jazz journey.

[@JensLarsen]

Go for it!

[@SPCEMN3]

Fantastic material. Another reason to love spread triads is that when you add a little overdrive to them, you can still make out the pitches which is not always the case with stacked triads. Thanks for the ideas!

[@juliaojapelto]

”No rules, play minor instead of major” What to believe/trust anymore? The answer is your ears/what you hear within the context. If it sounds good, it is good. Theory and notation are desperately trying to picture/explain what we are hearing, not setting the rules for creating music. Thanx Jens again. You’re always on spot in the core.❤

[@johnmac8084]

This has really opened up ways to create chord progressions Jens, thanks

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it, John!

[@KunchangLeeMusic]

More vids like this please 🙏🏼

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it!

[@cbolt4492]

Really good video, helpful music theory but simpler and without the complications that jazz brings and the principle is easier to understand

[@JensLarsen]

That is really great to hear Christian!

[@domukaz]

Expected a totally different, way less interesting video based on the thumbnail. Very cool approach to harmony and chord movement! Loved the joke "jazz harmonization" of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" at the start.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks 😁

[@davydelafuente]

This is ABSOLUTE GOLD

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it waws useful! 🙂

[@OzzGuitar]

Amazing video. Thank you Jens!!!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it 🙂

[@koho]

Thank you, Jens! This is lightning in a bottle. And why I am a regular viewer of your channel even though I don't aspire to jazz. I immediately hear music that is fresh and that I want to be able to play or create, and leave understanding how and why. I just can't get this anywhere else. (Also, I loved hearing you say, "I don't like too many notes," after your hilarious intro to the Paul Davids solo challenge.) BTW, how did I never hear of Traeben?? Checking it out now.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂 Glad you like the videos

[@DavidGiragosian]

Hello from Cape Cod. So many ideas to explore here. Fabulous!

[@JensLarsen]

Great! Go for it! 😁

[@michaelswank6602]

This is brilliant. Some of these work well when you add open strings for added flavor.

[@StratsRUs]

You are brilliant, Jens.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂

[@RC32Smiths01]

Appreciate this way of looking at chords, especially when observing more simplistic music. Using different chords, inversions, and voicings automatically make music much more interesting. Cheers

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks Ron!

[@RC32Smiths01]

@@JensLarsen My pleasure!

[@jrlopez4341]

Yeah I should I asked you how do you learn jazz when you’re blind I can only hear it very well I can’t see it. I hear all the notes like it’s a part of my skin. Every sound runs to my body like I know where I’m going you’re amazing. I hear a lot from you. Explains a lot of theory. Thank you so much.

[@martifingers]

This is really quite brilliant. Just demonstrating what a gifted and (equally important) what a creative musician Jens is. Generous too in his thinking that not music has to be jazz to be worthwhile. I despair at the lack of musical imagination in much popular music and here he Jens showing that simple need not mean cliche or mindless and that a brilliant musician can teach relatively basic material without being in the least patronising.

[@JensLarsen]

What is your favorite Pop or Rock progression? I might go with Radiohead's Creep The Best Jazz Chords To Start With: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHmXpoSPnKmiqq8

[@erikberg8352]

I found Opeth's Patterns in the Ivy to be a great example of your triad progression lesson here, and they are frequent users of the I-v chord progression you mentioned. I think you are on to something with the Scandinavian folk music connection--a lot of great Swedish bands from ABBA to Ghost credit the strong music education curriculum in public schools.

[@JensLarsen]

@@erikberg8352 Opeth does indeed often have very nice and folk-inspired chord progressions. I am certainly a fan

[@jean-loupfaucher309]

Once again, this is gold ! Thank you so much !

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was helpful 🙂

[@poulwinther]

"Turning all the chords in into 7sus4 and maj7...." 😂 Good one Jens!

[@frankvaleron]

Really interesting idea for a video, haven't seen anything quite like how it's presented here

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you, Frank

[@seragx99]

The progression you opened with sounds a lot like Silvio Rodriguez' Rabo de Nube, cuban singer songwriter, very popular in all latinamerica, not exactly pop music but rather a genre known as Nueva trova (something like new folk?), he's a very proficient guitar player. Thanks for helping us understand! As usual mind blowing eye opening video!

[@cbolt4492]

Spread triads are pretty cool 😎

[@realmz]

Phenomenal information and presentation! Thanks Jens this will be quite helpful in my work for a band am in. Cheers!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was useful 🙂

[@ledaswan5990]

Very good video Jens. The spread triads remind me of Mick Goodrick’s sound. Can’t wait to wake up tomorrow and try some of these.

[@kenanderson5264]

Another great post, Jens. Very inspiring in terms of new things to try. One strong point of this presentation is that it is not prescriptive-- you know, you allow for finding things that just sound right without exactly knowing how they are justified in terms of theory, although that can be a helpful tool. I think we should be free to screw around and find intriguing melodies and then fill in the harmony that sounds appropriate.

[@mjones6983]

This is awesome Jens. I love the voice leading motifs.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! Glad you like it 🙂

[@nateo7045]

Please more of this!

[@RachaelMagidsonjazz]

, thank you so much ! I always find your content efficient, useful and inspiring !

[@JensLarsen]

Glad to hear that 🙂

[@mikegeld1280]

Great job on this one man 👍you are right about this, we dont always have to stick to theory "rules" . It's good to know them though 😏

[@JensLarsen]

Absolutely!

[@insidejazzguitar8112]

This is a little different from your usual videos. Very cool.

[@binface9]

I think that's a resounding yes 🤣

[@JensLarsen]

I appreciate the confidence 😂 (no pressure....)

[@binface9]

@Jens Larsen you're brilliant and Sheeran and the O'Connell siblings have set the bar rather low

[@jimwarner2387]

You are a great help to old Jim's playing. Thank you for what you do. My version of "California Blues" will never be the same. Ha!

[@JensLarsen]

That is really good to hear!

[@kevindonnelly761]

There are a number of great things that can be done from 3 Note Spread Chord Voicings (as demonstrated in this video). You can imagine the three parts to be 'Three Singers' (as in Bass, Tenor and Alto). These 'Three Singers / Voices' move melodically to their 'Counterparts' in the next chord. Instead of a chords just being 'grips' that you strum / pick, they become more interesting harmonically (which you can hear better because of the spacing) and melodically. As Jens demonstrates, there is always more than one way to do things in Music as applied to the Guitar - that's for sure !

[@MarkSodenJr]

I really enjoyed this video! I will be adding borrowed minor chords to my projects immediately. I particularly liked the re-imagined Nirvana with sevenths and suspensions. Nice touch!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was helpful!

[@stefanobonoli8783]

Very nice! To appeal even more you should share that open triads are essential part of Pat Metheny sound and you are done! 😀

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! Well, I already talked about that a few times in the past so....

[@stefanobonoli8783]

@@JensLarsen absolutely!

[@edesbalazs]

Never used these spread voicings, but it sounds very cool, that you always have that major/minor 6th on the top!

[@JensLarsen]

Yes, they are really beautiful!

[@ziob06]

Grate lesson! I have learned a lot. One suggestion - could it be that 'Clock' of Coldplay (3:05 in the clip) is actually in a scale of Ab (even maybe if it never goes there..) and then the flow goes - iv Eb -> ii Bbm x 2 -> vi Fm (Deceptive cadence). If you try to end the tune with the suggested tonic Eb it never sounds 'home' as tonic should sounds. Thanks!

[@JensLarsen]

Ok, I hear it in Eb, but you can easily find other examples of songs that are playing around with being mixolydian, especially in Rock. Just listen to AC/DC

[@binface9]

Great lesson!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂

[@jima2985]

This was really one of, if not the, best videos you’ve done.

[@acousticaacousticduo1458]

This lesson is absolutely timed perfectly for my next step in my guitar journey! Thank you!

[@warrenwilson7836]

I always appreciate your open-handed sharing of knowledge you gained from years of study. It’s a gift to us when you frame it in sound theory yet make the ear the final arbiter. Thank you for your giving nature.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like the video and put it to use 🙂

[@Angus.Maclean]

This fits so well with my current focus on voice-led cycles. Thanks!

[@JensLarsen]

That's great 🙂

[@bee5616]

I love the visual aids in your videos. super helpful having the chord diagrams and tabs fo everything you play. Thanks so much for the hard work. makes my life a lot easier

[@xoxb2]

At last, you've covered something I already do, albeit in a more haphazard way than this, and with less reliable results! The only problem is trying to remember what I did ...

[@stephenowen5229]

This is gold! Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into your channel.

[@ИгорьШаманов-ц3к]

That's a great useful and inspiring video as usual! 👍🔥Being subscribed for years to Jens' channel. You always can find something cool, interesting and inspiring here👍👍

[@KrenarCilkuGuitar]

Thanks for this video, Jens! I'm putting together a list of songs and messing around with a looper to get out there and possibly gig. I definitely needed to hear some of these ideas. Cheers!

[@LeeEisenstein]

Mahalo for the great videos! Have you looked at the chord progressions in the 1st movement of the piece, "Five Bagatelles For Guitar", by William Walton? Julian Bream rocks these , "5 Bagatelles: No. 1, Allegro". I love those gorgeous progressions & voicings and they might make for a good video discussion. Another very different, more esoteric piece, (chordally and melodically), is "Drei Tentos" by Henze, (Bream performance).

[@jep3305]

Beautiful, Jens! Greetings from Berlin! J.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you!

[@GreatWaterCircus]

Brilliant... thank you

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it!

[@danqodusk8140]

Nice stuff, Jens.! I think the more exotic sounds are mostly appreciated by musicians. People who listen to mostly pop music probably wouldn't understand anything but straight, diatonic sounds. I admit I like some current pop. I like Adele and, of course, Lady Gaga, as both can sing very well. There are some good and decent pop stars out there. Good presentation. It reminds me I haven't done any creative exploring as you presented in a long time. Perhaps you or I will write the next number one pop song and become filthy rich! Ha-ha!

[@jamescopeland5358]

Jens, great lesson! That is very useful!

[@chrislarcombemusic8445]

Would love to see you digest some Tame Impala songs. Some of them have extremely interesting chord progressions, that’s on first glance seem to only gel together via Kevin Parker’s amazing vocal melodies. Apocalypse Dreams’ comes to mind

[@AdamLevyGuitarTips]

Yes, yes, yes!

[@kane6529]

I think you just gave a very Beatles like approach to songwriting 🤩 as we know they were some of the most brilliant songwriters of all time! I would love to see pop shift back to this at some point keeping some of the electronic stuff that’s popular in modern music but still making more interesting chord choices

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it 🙂

[@JustinKahrs]

The Smells Like Teen Spirit jazzy progression legit made me laugh

[@JensLarsen]

👍😁🙏

[@samhornbymusic]

Thanks!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much Sam! I really appreciate that you want to support the channel!

[@johantipker1406]

Very nice

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you, Johan 🙂

[@christophermartin7973]

Sounds great and this will be fun to practice. Music would get so much more interesting and rich if todays artists started incorporating some of these concepts.

[@dexterleeledford2347]

Very nice!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it 🙂

[@dexterleeledford2347]

@@JensLarsen Right away I could hear these chords in neo-soul type ideas. thanks!

[@SarkisHD28]

Excellent, merci beaucoup.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it!

[@Rehmoss]

I wish I had been told this 5 years ago!

[@clintstewart6627]

Well done! Again 👍😎

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it!

[@daynemin]

Awesome video, love spread triads. Does anyone have tips on making secondary dominants less abrubt. Is it about inversions and or rhythmic placement? Thanks 😊

[@ronnyskaar3737]

Wow. Where can I study this without going completely jazz?

[@AlDunbar]

The short clip of a jazzed up Kurt Cobain song is a pretty good illustration of how adding jazz chords to pop songs is not always a good idea

[@brad724p]

Nice one!

[@miguelcastellanos29]

Muchas gracias!!!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it!

[@georgetarbaya2001]

Thanks for your hard work - spreading information for lazy ass guitarists))))

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like the videos 🙂

[@ronwijnands]

7:24 you use a Db in the second measure ;where is that coming from (other than the Neapolitan 6)?

[@JensLarsen]

It comes from voice-leading. I am talking about not being limited by rules in that section and the next one as well.

[@proximact695]

nice!!

[@karayuschij]

I was wondering if it exists a "Triads Book" as it exists many "Chords Books"

[@sergeybogdanovich7019]

Hello guitarist 🍀🙏🎶🎼🎵❤️👌🎸✌️

[@tesibegaming3875]

this sounds like tonic sub, modal sub but we will see what is Jens up to 😊

[@dawgvlogs6747]

Jens you should make a video of you playing metal haha

[@nilssmelteris7845]

Yes,easy

[@TheRussianGenius]

Du godt nok sindsyg til det her

[@JensLarsen]

Tusind tak!

[@JeffreySaxophoneTallNewton]

Ed's "Thinking Out Loud" uses the same chord progression as Marvin (actually Townsend's) "Let's Get It On," probably because he's incapable of coming up with his own chord progressions. But, there's a LOT more to it than the chord progression, regarding the copyright lawsuit. He's just unoriginal. Those very same chords are used all over the place and don't sound like LGO. Much earlier, "Georgie Girl." And the University of Michigan's "Let's Go Blue" pep rally break song (probably scores of marching bands use this). And Zawinul's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." None of those sound like each other....

[@sridharraju7588]

2:51 That sounds like Thanks Nobuo by Periphery.

[@Helil]

Do I need to subscribe to the newsletter to get this lesson's PDF?

[@JensLarsen]

Yes 🙂

[@LennyBonapart]

Check the Glasper version of smells like teen spirit.

[@villevirmala667]

Opeth - Isolation Years !

[@PaoloMonteverde]

Next month's Spotify top 10 songs will have contain 11 songs witn plagal cadence

[@JensLarsen]

That could be fun 😁

[@peterdalby8019]

Key of C, B half, 😉

[@ELMENDORFX]

What I admire most about SpongeBob Squarepants is his ability -from a severed arm, to grow an arm back.

[@JensLarsen]

That is indeed impressive!

[@jamesmiles3341]

Kurt cobain himself hated that song glad you fixed it

[@RobKandell]

Is it possible? Yes, it’s called tone leading and most guitarists can’t be arsed.

[@italovercellina6322]

👍👋😍

[@JensLarsen]

🙏🙂

[@moonradio-ca]

TED GREENE VIBES

[@matthewpublikum3114]

That's lydian isn't it?

[@greguz]

Of course you can write great pop music, even just using diatonic triads. Composers knew this hundreds of years ago, long before pop music as we know it was even invented! Great pop composers of the 70s, like Benny Anderson, knew this and took lots of inspiration from old Johan Sebastian and Wolfgang Amadeus. The reason pop music today lacks musical interest is not to do with lack of musical possibilities. It's because pop music is increasingly becoming disposable, a mass market commodity always appealing to the lowest common denominator. I'm sad to say that your video is not going to save pop music, even if it contains great musical advice.

[@CellZealot]

It's just a hook to get more engagement...I think Jens is well aware that his target audience is Jazz lovers with generally more sophisticated tastes in music. That shouldn't stop him from trying...and I am sure won't...

[@jwh475ezc]

Pop music, please don't go there.

[@pumjuice5568]

This video isn’t really George Benson

[@JensLarsen]

No, he is mostly a real person and not a digital online video

[@HenriDucrocq]

What's the point of these premieres? Mostly a source of disappointment, when you like the title but realise you have to wait.

[@JensLarsen]

For the people who show up and hang out it seems to be fun? I really like them for that 🙂