George Benson's "Secret of the 2 Chords"

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00:00-00:32 - The Secret
00:32-07:21 - The 2 Chord System
07:21-11:29 - Benson Examples
11:29-18:25 - Simplifying Jazz Tunes

[@ChaseMaddox]

What's your biggest takeaway from this lesson? Do you like this approach? Let me know in the comments! 👇

[@alchemysticgoldmind4164]

What I have learn is you must use more than one..another tool in the box

[@gregpeck9824]

The combination of chords and then the arpeggios and solo lines that can be played from and over these chords is most helpful and effective. Thank you, Chase.

[@ernestmaurizi7668]

As always your lessons are tremendous.Your communication skills are brilliant.Keep up the fabulous work.Thank you for your dedication

[@robertolopez5186]

Thanks Chase for sharing all this info, I love George Benson ❤

[@alchemysticgoldmind4164]

It's basically chord Substitutions..but it simplified to the point of genius.. brilliant

[@Floodland-bn3ol]

"There are elements within an instrument’s architecture that initiate a continuous source of valuable information. For the guitar, there are two. The first is the major third interval, and the second is the minor third interval. Once we view their repetitive information, they begin to appear as a series of automatic functions." -Pat Martino

[@ValirAmaril]

sure sounds like something he'd say

[@ChaseMaddox]

That's a great quote! Can you tell us where Pat said that? I'd love to check out the source.

[@Floodland-bn3ol]

I found it on his wikipedia page but it references an interview from Premiere Guitar Magazine ​@@ChaseMaddox

[@Floodland-bn3ol]

it's a quote from a Premiere Guitar article he wrote but the quote is also in his wikipedia page ​@@ChaseMaddox

[@tresdeseptiembremusic]

​Read something like that in nature of guitar(truefire) Pat said that the architecture of guitar is built on diminished chords( you can get dominants and half diminished movin just one note) and augmented( you can get Major and minir chords from there) Then he plays an studio doing that thing and It is awesone❤ ​@@ChaseMaddox

[@adamtullymusic]

This concept is the biggest mic drop in jazz education since Joe Pass said he thinks of II-V as simply V. I have a feeling it’s going to make a huge difference for me. Thanks Chase as always for making excellent videos!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Haha love that! Thanks for watching and sharing!

[@joeblakeukeman]

Thanks! Great idea and well demonstrated! I liken the two category approach to something really simple - the mouth organ! Suck/blow is the go, with that instrument. Two basic sounds. Subsuming the ii-V into the ii only loses a nice hinge as the 7 of ii moves to the. 3 of V. Oh, well! We can throw that in, occasionally! Travelled by plane once, to see George Benson live! Great fluency, freedom. ❤

[@alchemysticgoldmind4164]

It's like Barry Harris thinks G7 over the 2 chord

[@pedalsteelguitarjazzbebop4889]

Yes, Barry Harrys would say: “see I DON’t play the ii-, I just play the V, because they’re all the same notes”. Like wise Pat Martino played thinking ii- over the ii- AND the V… because again, they’re the same notes! Still you have to know the chord degrees as the chord change to voice lead properly. So, on a guitar, it’s more a question of “seeing shapes”, in my opinion.

[@alchemysticgoldmind4164]

Anything works it's all about tension and resolution..and telling your story

[@gthatjazz]

Great lesson. Yes, please do the Pat Martino one! Thank you!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Coming soon!

[@michaelgottlieb9083]

Brother Chase... thank you for this lesson and breakdown and keeping your word that you would do the lesson if there was enough interest as I remember it. Will have to hit repeat several times to let it soak in. Have a good one!!!

[@ChaseMaddox]

People asked for it and I got working on it the same day! Dig in!

[@peterbrooks539]

Excellent clear and incisive. I believe Joe Pass said jazz wasa series of 2 5's and the 2 is the same as the 5 (as you point out here) so during fast changes just play the 5. Best advice I ever heard.

[@Poppafunkband]

It has been said that when you're playing chords you play and emphasize the 2 and the 5. But when you're playing lines, you just think the 5 to simplify

[@pedroboschibrasil]

Great info chase! I must say after studying Pat Martino and Barry Harrys, I like to simplify and not think about too much! What I’ve discovered works for me is translating pieces of language to all keys and areas of the guitar and having them connect as I hear them in my head, then no thinking just playing ideas! Great video!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you for checking it out! The simple approach is best!

[@bnpapp]

Play what you already know and expand to other tonalities. The Juice Chase!!! Always thought best to hear it from the senior student no matter the discipline. Generally way easier to comprehend. Many thanks

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thanks for listening! 🤘

[@stevenjaywalters]

Thanks. Very clear, and I like the pace you're teaching at. Not too fast and not too slow.

[@ChaseMaddox]

That Goldilocks sweet spot! 😄👌

[@Mike-rw2nh]

Thank you so much for this fantastic follow up. Stellar content.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you! 🙏

[@laphrase1]

I'm a huge Benson fan and I Love this concept. Thank you very much Maestro

[@ChaseMaddox]

You're very welcome! 🤘

[@bozakarlin9034]

Great lesson, thanks.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thanks Boza! 🙏

[@michaelghf6fuf6tholaski4]

Hey chase. I love this video. Yes to the Pat Martino breakdown

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you! 🙏 Please share with your music friends! 🙌

[@aadityakiran_s]

@@ChaseMaddox Chase, Pat Martino also has a similar method to think about improvisation right? Could you point me to the video for that if you've made it already? If not, a video contrasting George's method to Pat's would be great.

[@ChaseMaddox]

I'm working on this for an upcoming video, stay tuned!

[@kenkarsh]

Very well presented. Much to think about and enjoy here. Great!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Glad you liked it!

[@jazzstorie]

Excellent description Chase and presented in a way that anyone can grasp the concept, way to go!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you, John! 🙏🙏

[@robertblake3909]

Chase, this was a gift. I have been needing to open my eyes and see these relationships for soloing. Many thanks.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you for watching! 🙏

[@mobetterx1110]

So helpful! Thanks man 💡

[@ChaseMaddox]

Happy to help!

[@alchemysticgoldmind4164]

Great Lesson..Thank you Chase

[@ChaseMaddox]

Glad you liked it! 🙏

[@matthiasscheffler548]

Thanks for breaking this down!!!

[@ChaseMaddox]

You're welcome!

[@mjpslim]

Omg it does make it easier to approach the solos without thinking about all chords .. I was using the ii-V as a minor line or dominant line already but this theory helps simplify it more

[@victormusic01x]

..right on, great players are not playing every chord change individually

[@ChaseMaddox]

So glad to hear it's helped already 🙏

[@irishmuso7129]

Excellent. So clear. Category 1 I, iii, vi and category 2. ii, iv, V, vii. A certain GB 'expert' would take about 267 hour to try to do this and imo wouldn't suceed.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Glad you found it helpful and worth your time!

[@hectorrascon2671]

This is gold,thank you teacher for sharing your knowledge 🤝

[@ChaseMaddox]

Glad it was helpful!

[@AlessandroDiSalvo]

Thanks you so much!!! This is really enlightening!! And indeed I can now see lots of examples…like in the Affirmation solo he is using a lot this concept

[@ChaseMaddox]

Awesome, glad it helps you out Alessandro! 🤘

[@dallasreese8416]

Thanks Chase this rocks!

[@ChaseMaddox]

No problem!

[@user-fo1ch8cc4o]

Mind Blowing！！！！！THANKS bro

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you for watching! 👍

[@patrickcaron5929]

Thanks a lot Chase ; and I'm ready for a lesson with Pat Martino . With pleasure

[@ChaseMaddox]

Good to hear from you, Patrick! Maybe that will be my next one!

[@victormusic01x]

..Chase, Victor logging in from NY, where it’s super windy but sunny 🌞..I think this is one of your best tutorials, an important concept explained in a simple way that is not overwhelming, nice man..I tried some variations of my own on the third line, more of an eighth note line rather than the 16th note burst type that GB loves to fire over a static chord vamp..

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you, Victor! Glad this connected with you.

[@Arycke]

Collection of info: into the chords containing E are major, chords containing F etc Am7 inverted is C6 Dm7 inverted is F6 Em7 inverted is G6 G6 has less dominant effect without the b7, but it still does have dominant function V I Chords with F have at least subdominant function (G7 and technically Bdim having dominant function, Fmaj7 and Dm7 subdominant) Bm7b5 is G9 without the root. Bdim is the upper part of G7

[@Arycke]

Awesome video breaking Benson's playing bro

[@ChaseMaddox]

Nice breakdown! Thanks for checking it out 🤘

[@Arycke]

@@ChaseMaddox of course brother, thank you!

[@adamtullymusic]

Excellent! I'm starting to try this approach on different tunes. YES on a Pat Martino lesson, by the way.

[@ChaseMaddox]

In the works! 👍

[@davidsheriff9274]

I was actually there that night Benson sat in with Robben. It was at a club in New York called Mikell's in the late eighties. It was Robber's band,,he played there a lot at that time. It was a nice surprise, they also played Billy's Bounce. The band that night was Dr Lonnie Smith, Chris Hunter, Zev Kats and I forget who the drummer was. Some of the other people that played there with Robben was the drummer Mike Clark and an amazing tenor player named Bob Malach. Mikell's unfortunately is long gone.

[@ChaseMaddox]

That’s amazing! I was fortunate to see many live shows with the great Dr Lonnie Smith.

[@davidsheriff9274]

@@ChaseMaddox Dr Lonnie Smith was a legend. I saw him with Peter Bernstein once and it was a great show. I also saw him with Jonathan Kreisberg which I wasn't so crazy about, he's a good guitar player, but a little too technical for that gig in my opinion. Have you ever checked out Jesse van Ruller? He's one of my favorites.

[@ChaseMaddox]

I've checked out some of Jesse van Ruller's work, but honestly not a lot. Any favorites you'd recommend?

[@davidsheriff9274]

@@ChaseMaddox One of my favorites from him is an early live record called "Live At Murphy's Law" which is a straight ahead trio playing standards, and he did a record called "Views" which is a little more modern with his own tunes. Those two records should keep you busy for the next 100 years. He also just did a duo performance with Peter Bernstein at the club in Amsterdam Bimhuis, the video of that is on KZbin and the two records I mentioned are also on KZbin.

[@JazzStrat781]

Great lesson Chase 👍🎸 I've been working on this 2 chord appeoach for awhile, still have so far to go. Would love to see a video on Pat Matino's minor approach too. I have his book on minor activity lines, really enjoy these concepts! Best to you brother!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thanks Doug! I'll add that to my list! 👍

[@JazzStrat781]

@@ChaseMaddox Chase I have some health things going but always watch your videos, even though I can't comment on all of them. I sure wish you the best in everything 🎸👍

[@ChaseMaddox]

Sorry to hear about your health issues 🙏

[@JazzStrat781]

@@ChaseMaddox thanks Chase 👍🎸 I am blessed no matter what is going on in my life, I sure wish you the best my friend

[@WickBeavers]

I’m a blues guy, working at putting greener comping (!) into my playing. I really connected with your chat on playing the octaves and adding the inside notes- fuller is better as EC and JB both say. The rest is grandma’s Christmas gravy and I’m gonna dive in with this- and your lessons- regularly. Thanks, this is a score!❤

[@ChaseMaddox]

Welcome aboard! 🙏

[@gregpeck9824]

Thanks for the real nice lesson, Chase...I would love to see you do a lesson of the late Pat Martino's guitar playing. Been a big fan of his ever since I first heard his live recording of Sunny many years ago.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Working on it!

[@shanehen]

Yes, please do the Martino thing. Is it Parental Forms? I think I understand that pretty well.

[@ChaseMaddox]

I’ll relate Martino’s approach to what I discuss here with Benson’s, and the similarities and differences.

[@insidejazzguitar8112]

Excellent lesson and video. I think of it as tonic versus not-tonic. There is a lot potentially going on in that not tonic category, but like chase said, it contains the fourth degree of the key, or the flat seven of the dominant chord.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you! 🙏 That's also how I think of it, although I like using tension and release as the words that connect to me.

[@johncostigan6160]

I think this is going to be a big deal for me. Thank-you, Chase.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Amazing! Please let me know how it goes 🙏

[@titosmith7942]

Great stuff! I know some of this but not all, so definitely will explore. Would love to get some sense of Pat Martino's approach that I can actually understand. 😄

[@ChaseMaddox]

Coming soon! 👍

[@bookert2373]

Yes, much as I respect Pat’s playing, in every interview I’ve seen with him, his explanations are more mystical than revealing. I would greatly appreciate hearing of a simplified approach to thinking of diminished chords related to dominants and how to quickly determine an appropriate scale, etc. When playing, you can’t do math, you need some simple shortcuts so you can focus on the sound and direction of a solo.

[@jzgtr100]

Great! Was already doing a lot of this, not knowing it was a thing. B-7b5 is always D- and so is G7.. Typically, I think of G7b9 and E7b9 as the same. Sort of G#diminished. Usually 4 chord is 1 chord minor for me. Thank you. Definitely interested in the Pat Martino switch all to minor. Still trying to figure it out. I have a lot to learn on this one.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thanks for watching! I'll work on that Pat Martino concept for an upcoming video.

[@user-cv1jf1wq2m]

15 minutes to sound less crummy! I’ll take that deal!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Hopefully it was worth your time! 👍

[@reinh]

Always interesting to compare the differences between the greats. For example, Barry Harris says "think V over II-V" rather than II and emphasizes that Em7 and Am7 are not the same chord so that we can bring out that difference in our improvisations. Neither is wrong - they've obviously both produced great art with their respective methods - just different. And it's good for developing musicians (i.e., all of us) to have different ways to think about music.

[@reinh]

But then Barry's "6 on the 5" is "think II over V"!

[@enricosenno7767]

Great ideas. Is there a specific course on benson in your Academy? Can't wait x Pat Martino one

[@ChaseMaddox]

There's isn't a specific Benson course, but I do talk about a ton of his lines and concepts throughout.

[@jroc2201]

I think i might be able to grasp this, I'm close, thanks,,,,,,by the way, excellent,well played

[@ChaseMaddox]

Glad I could help!

[@MrJairCarvalho]

Very nice to know how Benson looks at it...i normaly think the same concept except on some resolutions such as 2-5-1 i think Of 4-7-1 FMaj7;Bm7b5;CMaj7 and sometimes instead of thinking on the Bm7b5 as the 5, i do Db79#11

[@peterobertson7939]

I like this approach a lot - thank you. This seems to be about reducing things to either tonic or dominant/subdominant. I would be interested to understand how this fits with Pat Martino converting everything to minor; and also Joe Pass saying he only thinks in terms of major, minor and dominant chords. They all sound similar but slightly different.

[@ChaseMaddox]

They are all very similar! Martino simplifies Benson's approach by converting the major to minor so everything is one pattern. And Joe Pass seems to not simplify as much as Benson or Martino. I'll do a lesson on Martino's approach soon 👍

[@plantdemic3935]

Great 👍 🎉🍻

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thanks for watching! 👍

[@anthonysguitarchannel]

Hi Chase. Great video. I found your explanation of this Benson concept very easy to follow. Is there any variation to this concept in minor keys? Especially on the V chord in Am for example? E7 doesn't seem to relate well to the Bm7b5, Dm, F or G category. I may be missing something. Your help is appreciated. Thanks.

[@ChaseMaddox]

You’d want to think of Am as the i, so the chords that relate for the ‘tension’ category would still be the ii (B-7b5), iv (D-7), V (E7), and vii (G#dim.7). You keep the scale degrees but have to adjust for the G# that’s introduced.

[@anthonysguitarchannel]

@@ChaseMaddox Great! Much appreciated.

[@jmcyncy]

I am wondering how the corollary for this 2 chord system would work in minor keys. With Am as the relative minor of C Major, the F note which would be the landing note for Em (III chord in C major) does not seem to be the same treatment as the F note is in the Em (V chord in Am) but would not be in the E7 (typical minor key Am V chord).

[@gregbrown391]

It's a pity that there is such arrogance emanating from Peter Farrell regarding George Benson's method. Peter is now insulting you, calling you names and claiming that you are trying to teach something that you know absolutely nothing about, as if he is the only person on the planet that knows anything about the Benson method. He admits that it took him years to really "understand” what George meant when he said there are only “two chords” and now because you are sharing what you understand by George’s remark (after watching Rick Beato’s interview) he is criticizing you as if you are a novice regarding guitar instruction. Chase you are perfectly entitled to interpret Benson’s remark in any way you like. Thanks for freely sharing your interpretation and not charging us $250 to reveal some ambiguous nebulous “secret”. Peter’s lessons are generally unstructured, unfocussed and all over the place. But I suppose that is the way you have to “teach” and market you products if you want to keep people in the dark, creating the illusion that everything is “hidden” and a “secret”.

[@benben3210]

Agreed.Peter seems to think he owns George Benson and no one but him should be allowed to even mention him 😂it was obvious during the live yesterday he didn't like the Rick Beato interview either.. he's a good player but that doesn't equal good teacher. His lessons are made of nothing but fast flashy lines with very few explanations. Chase is a better teacher.

[@benben3210]

@@anneonym7346 can i ask why you say that?

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thanks for your comment Greg 🙏 It’s my opinion that Peter feels threatened by anyone else teaching Benson’s concepts, especially when people seem to dig my teaching method. So he feels the need to attack and say I don’t know what I’m talking about. I believe you each are more than capable to listen to both of our explanations and methods and decide which you prefer 👍

[@bookert2373]

Yes, when I encountered the Farrell material a couple years ago, I was leery of the $1250 price tag I saw and asked about seeing a list of topics, etc. Seemed like a natural request to me since even famous guitarists normally only charge about $30 for a published book, but I was met with secrecy and admonished for sounding ‘disparaging’. That left me with an uneasy feeling of what was going on with his course(s), so I opted out. So I loved hearing/seeing Chase’s explanation of Benson’s thinking/method - very much appreciated!

[@ChaseMaddox]

You're not alone in having this experience unfortunately. I appreciate you checking out my videos!

[@Piutenson]

Non è facile spiegare certi concetti in maniera così semplice ed esaustiva. È una dote ammirevole.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you! Glad you connected with the lesson 🤘

[@oscaralmonte]

Thanks for sharing knowledge. This is how we change the world for better. That guy insulting you should be collaborating with younger cats like you instead of claiming he’s the only one who can teach this. In an era where you can find everything on internet it’s a shame to know somebody is talking Sh… about others educators. Rick Beato has helped millions of people without take anyone down. Keep the great job you’re doing. Here there’s a new subscriber! 🎉🎉🎉

[@ChaseMaddox]

Welcome Oscar! Thank you for your support! 🙏

[@alfredtuley481]

Wow, awesome way to look at things! When I was a beginner, my dad told me "just play any note in the scale and it'll work", which got me pretty far. Then I started trying to connect 3rds and 7ths, superimposing pentatonics, etc. but it's hard to do all that computation on the spot. This looks way easier! Thanks for sharing.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thanks for sharing and watching! 🙏

[@future62]

Thanks for this explanation. Reminds me of tonicization. I think a lot of people get lost in improvisation because they overcomplicate it. To me as far as note choice it's more a process of elimination.

[@ChaseMaddox]

I agree! Thanks for watching!

[@michaelgottlieb9083]

Would also like hear about Pat Martino’s approach. Thanks

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thanks for the feedback, Michael!

[@DLCsince83]

I've just had a think about this trying to relate it to Barry Harris important arpeggios on the dominant, in this case G7. The important arpeggios are root (Gmaj), 5th (Dmin) and b7 (Fmaj). So what about the Bm7b5? That's Barrys 6th on the 5th, which is Dmin6, which Bm7b5 is an inversion of. So Benson and Barry are thinking the same thing in terms of putting G7, Dmin7,Fmaj7 and Bm7b5 together as the "minor totality" within the diatonic (C maj). Awesome vid - thanks!

[@ChaseMaddox]

That’s it! So many ways to conceptualize this fundamental truth 👍

[@DLCsince83]

Just goes to show no one owns the rights to these ideas. Keep up the strong work for all us work a day aspiring jazzers.

[@scottwilliams6660]

playing through changes with shaun baxter cover this too. It starts at 1:22 melodic minor scale choices. A lesson on Baxter's melodic scale choices would be great! thanx

[@jamesrobinson529]

This video is going to blow up!!! I appreciate your explanation, btw. I've heard one other person attempt to explain it. But his program is way too expensive and his accent is too hard to understand. So, thank you!

[@ChaseMaddox]

I hope so! Help me by sharing it! Peter’s explanation is quite different from me beyond his accent and cost.

[@jimmyc5498]

Chase, this is easily one the most important lessons on the internet, great for rhythm changes, even song writing. I stumbled on this early 20O1, never looked back. If you are flexible with the “chord tone down beat” rule, play your first line over G13. F Lydian or B Locrian, D Dorian all work over G13. Lots of choices. You can borrow any diatonic mode fingering and use on those diatonic changes( I know you know this stuff). Great lesson! Thanks

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you! Haha there's definitely a lot of nuance to this approach beyond what I laid out, like what you said. It's always a balance trying to give detail without going too far out of the scope of the general audience.

[@victormusic01x]

@jimmyc5498…a definite good point to bring up, I would mention that by bringing up possible modes over a G13 as an example, it seems that you’re moving beyond the simplicity of the “two chord system” a bit..imo of course, jazz lives

[@jimmyc5498]

@@victormusic01x you’re absolutely right. I got a little excited hearing Chase’s post.

[@victormusic01x]

.@jimmyc5498…only because of all the different knowledge and ability levels…I think that with the right practice and hanging in there, one’s ear should start to hear things automatically..jazz is like learning a language..total immersion will get you there in time

[@jimmyc5498]

@@victormusic01x agree. When I learned diatonic fourth voicings(4note), it took time to hear it, each day until it felt right.

[@ldmixer4228]

In "Stella By Stralight" play Dminor over Bbmaj7,Aminor over Fmaj7.All the major7 chords convert into up 3rd minor that might Pat Martino's substituion ideas?

[@ChaseMaddox]

I’ll go over this in my upcoming video showing how Pat’s approach is similar and different to Benson’s approach 👍

[@TheRealSandleford]

Stella: putting in brain so when you says we arent getting into too much theory and said take the g minor up a minor third, then this A7altered is gonna be the tri tone V of the Ab thus the Bb min cat. right?

[@ChaseMaddox]

Yes 👍 Bb minor over the A7alt is the correct approach.

[@TheRealSandleford]

​@@ChaseMaddox Thank you, let's get out there and play music!

[@myyootube2]

How do you address non diatonic substitutions then? If Am (6th) suddenly becomes A do you treat that as a new Major Category in the key of A temporarily? Or perhaps as the F#m category since it is likely a secondary dominant? Does this formula only fit diatonics and you need to adjust the diatonic key to fit the formula? I like the approach. Genius really the whole downbeat thing.

[@ChaseMaddox]

There's a LOT more nuance than what I explained in this 15min video for sure. I can't answer it properly since it would depend on the context of the rest of the harmony that would follow.

[@myyootube2]

Ok I’ll keep watching. Would love to see some of Bensons pop songs which aren’t as ii V oriented analyzed such as the way he approached Beatles songs or This Masquerade. Thanks for the content!

[@GoGetFletch]

Good lesson Chase. Thank you. As well as a Pat Martino - reduce everything to minor - lesson, could you also do Barry Harris lesson as a comparison? Even better if you could do them side by side - compare and contrast the two approaches.

[@ChaseMaddox]

George Benson Vs. Barry Harris - The ULTIMATE Showdown kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4aQXp2aqr-Jq9U

[@GoGetFletch]

@@ChaseMaddox That’s perfect. I must have missed that video. Thank you.

[@ChaseMaddox]

You’re welcome! 🙏

[@winstonsmith8240]

I just pretty much think Minor (a la Pat Martino) but struggle on Major chords a bit and have to make alterations. This I think solves the problem. Many (many) thanks. 😊

[@ChaseMaddox]

I also tend to mostly think ‘minor’ like Pat Martino. Glad this helps! 🤘

[@winstonsmith8240]

@@ChaseMaddox Very much. Your content is cracking young man. Live long and prosper. 😉

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you!

[@didifischervideo]

Wow, when I was young, I worked my ass off with the Charlie Parker songbook - but I never could use it for improvising. This helps me out. But: one main secret of Benson from my humble oppinion: he knows always exactly where he is in the tune, because he's listening while playing. he's so incredible musically. He can sing what he's playing.

[@ChaseMaddox]

If this helps you, I'm happy with that 🙏

[@kevinmaddox]

🙌🙌🙌

[@ChaseMaddox]

Fast turnaround on this! 😉

[@kevinmaddox]

Yessir 👍@@ChaseMaddox

[@burninho]

Quite interesting!! Pat Martino, do it!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Working on it!

[@AnthonyShaw-ty9pi]

Fantastic lesson bro!!👍🎩👍 The explanation of the improv throughout the changes, was awesome. Great job!! Hey, if you don't mind. Can you please slow those benson lines down a bit. Lol😂 So we can see exactly whats happenning there. One at your regular tempo, then one slower. Thanks.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thanks for watching! Haha I wanted to see if I could play those lines at "Benson" tempo, but I'll keep that in mind for future fast examples 👍

[@barfboy2000]

recently watched Rick Beato's interview with Mr. Benson, which was great, but all the things they talked about were higher level and stories. To have some nuts and bolts is great. It totally makes sense that his approach would be clean as a whistle. It seems that the way music is talked about is antiquated, the concepts are usually quite simple, but the necessity to translate in language is the problem. It may be that the great players simply have greater facility in circumventing that bottleneck by speaking the language of music natively, which is why they sometimes seem frustrated when attempting to communicate those simple concepts to a lay person. I remember a Danny Gatton video where he basically just said something like, "if you want to play you got to figure it out", when talking about what notes work over what chords when stepping out of the diatonic center. That was some tough love.

[@ChaseMaddox]

I think it's especially tough for these masters to talk about because they started so young that a certain level of mastery was developed before they really knew what they were doing or why it worked.

[@matt8637]

When you say "line" are you meaning the major played over the root chord? I feel I am missing something.

[@DLCsince83]

A line is a selection of note choices over a given chord or chord progession. Think of notes on a staff. They run in a line.

[@michaelhoffman176]

In a progression the Dm7, Fmaj7, G7 and Bm7b5 chords will also create "movement" in relation to Cmaj7 (played before or after Cmaj7) for the same reason...Dm7, Fmaj7, G7 and Bm7b5 contain the 4 of Cmaj7 (the unresolved interval in C Ionian which is the F note.) Cmaj7, Em7 and Am7 do not have the F note and are therefore "resolved" to Cmaj7 which provide "rest." This realization opens up many harmonic doors.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Yes! There are a lot of ways to take this idea much much further, but I wanted to keep this at the base level first before talking about how different chords could be combined to create tension within a CMaj7 sound.

[@michaelhoffman176]

Understood. Great job! @@ChaseMaddox

[@carlospellot2426]

Please! Make the Martino version of this. Thanks

[@ChaseMaddox]

I’ll work on it! Thanks! 🙏

[@haloskater24]

Do you give in person lessons? Im in South Florida

[@ChaseMaddox]

I don’t give in person lessons any more. All of my teaching is done through Chase’s Guitar Academy and I only teach a limited number of private students.

[@jackstrauss4076]

Pat Martino Vid.. Yes Please!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Coming soon! 🤘

[@robgrenville1432]

With greatest respect, that’s not how I see what the great man was referring to. When he said that, my response was yes, that’s what I do. I’m 70 with many thousands of gigs behind me: swing, Honky-Tonk, Soul, R&B. To me he was talking about chord solos, not single note solos. That cluster you quoted works over all the chords of the home key. The modes of that key all have those notes. Passive modes, I call them. They are the default fall back to all solos when home key chords prevail in the chart. In chord solos from double stops, triads, shells or drop chords, the ONLY rule is major or minor. All the rest is colour. (Remember, major loves minor, but minor will never tolerate major) Get that right in your chords in home key and everything will work. Get it wrong and you’ll clash. Simple as that. Thst being said, great chord solos can avoid the third and the minor chord: blues double stops do this all the time. George sang everything he played. He was never a left brainer, always a right brainer, always sung. Major, minor is the fundemental to how we hear music. All the rest is colour. He was, to me, saying something simple.

[@ChaseMaddox]

You are welcome to interpret it however you’d like! 👍

[@donsimons9810]

may i ask what your education is? i haven’t heard this expressed so well - thanks!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you! I studied with Barry Greene at the University of North Florida 👍

[@AmeryAbraham7]

Fantastic! Great lesson very clear! Chase, you are a great teacher and tremendous good to all jazz enthusiasts and though I’ve not seen Peter Farrell’s attack on you, it seems to me that he is probably upset and jealous that his teaching might not be as good as yours and want to destroy you. My suggestion is to pay no mind to him and to keep doing what you’re doing!

[@ChaseMaddox]

I'll keep on keepin' on!

[@JAYDUBYAH29]

You’re great at this, Chase. I hope you’re getting decently paid for it!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you! I’ve got a great audience who supports me by buying my ebooks/courses and by becoming members of Chase’s Guitar Academy 🙏

[@MickeyAbraham2022]

Peter Ferrell?

[@agindertube]

Secret or not - I don't care. It all makes perfect sense (for reasons I can't explain, but you can!) Thanks!

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thank you for watching!

[@armando534]

👍

[@ChaseMaddox]

🤘

[@PeterParker-fb1yr]

Yo make a video about the pat martino method

[@ChaseMaddox]

Working on it!

[@africanchina1]

So the basic message is that over the “C major group” chords, you can play the same line over any of the chords, and the same logic applies to the “D minor group” chords??

[@ChaseMaddox]

That's it! 👍

[@africanchina1]

But over the C Maj 7, you played arpeggios of other chords of the "C group" chords, In one part you where playing over a CMaj7 the following arpeggios: E-7, CMaj7 and A-7. Can you elaborate on this a bit further?@@ChaseMaddox

[@FURDOG1961]

2:50

[@MrBruneaux]

I could follow the logic until the last Example "stella by Stralight". If in a certain tune e.g. a Minor chord pops up and I can't immediately judge to which key center it beklongs, how can I determine if it falls into the major or minor category (except for obvious II-V's)? Sorry for the stupid question, but even after some research on the Benson 2 chord concept I couldn't find any other helpful source (and Peter Farrell was immediately out of scope. I do not support haters i social media. They are ruining our society)

[@ChaseMaddox]

In almost all cases you can treat any minor chord like it's in the minor category as I was describing. I'll be discussing that Stella by Starlight example in an upcoming video where I discuss my views on Pat Martino's approach to simplifying everything to minor.

[@ValIkediashi]

I've been trying to understand the secret of 2 chords by George Benson. But peter farell won't give you a clue on it. He'll want you to pay huge money for the book. and i never enjoyed Peter Farrell's teachings. Infact i stopped watching his videos cause I've never understood anything from his lessons. He'll like to keep you in the dark so you can purchase his books. I've searched the internet to know if there's any other teacher that have done a lesson on Benson's 2 chord secret, but i found none. Thank you Chase Madox for this lesson, and thanks to @rick beato for that interview, because that's what brought about this lesson.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Absolutely my pleasure! Happy to help you!

[@TTFMjock]

Opening music “I’ve never been in love before “?

[@charleshill9649]

I haven't watched yet. But my guess is the two chords are V dominant and I major

[@ChaseMaddox]

No! But good guess!

[@khbgkh]

But also yes lol

[@Stniiic]

accidentally read the title as ""George Bush's Secret of the 2 Chords"💀💀💀

[@Floodland-bn3ol]

I will try this out and see what happens.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Let me know how it goes! 👍

[@gbfat]

Do pat martino

[@ChaseMaddox]

Will do! 🤘

[@johndisalvo4868]

I fail to see how any of this specifically applies to George Benson's style of playing (?).

[@Malcolm.Y]

My takeaway is that the gist of the lesson is fine. You are talking about sets of 4-note chords that have 3 notes in common. So, they are consonant with each other. I prefer the Joe Pass foundation that there are "3 chords." I disagree with your theory at the outset that somehow the meledy works because it has a lot of E's and the chords have E's. I find it hard to believe that people hear two distinct parts at exactly the same time, no matter how many times the accompanist repeatedly bangs the chord trying to force us to do it, as you did in your example. I believe almost all people hear music the way I do. I believe your melody line works because if its own tonal gravity, and a good comp line would work the same way - and the human mind can trace both of these lines, but by bouncing back forth. This why the soloist can play Db7 - not "over" - bunt interspersed with the accompanists G7. Anyway, good luck with your channel.

[@bobdeyoung7261]

I don't pay attention to what notes are on strong or weak beats. I just let my ear guide me when improvising a solo.

[@ChaseMaddox]

For a beginner it is helpful to understand that chord tones falling on strong beats is a starting place to start developing their ear. As you develop you won’t consciously think about this and you will also break the rule to fit what you hear.

[@robfirestone6158]

@@ChaseMaddox I looked over a Charlie Parker solo and he definitely breaks that rule!

[@dmytryk7887]

But Fmaj7 has an E in it as well.

[@michaeldennisguitarlessons]

I “stumbled upon” some similar concepts “decades ago” when I discover the “scale of thirds”, for example Key of C A C E G B D G B D F A C E Key of G E G B D F# A D F# A C E G B Key of F D F A C E G C E G Bb D F A The “scale of thirds” allowed me to easily see the relationships between: Key of C Am7-Cma7-Em7 G7-Bm7b5-Dm7-Fmaj7 Key of G Em7-Gma7-Bm7 D7-F#m7b5-Am7-Cmaj7 Key of F Dm7-Fma7-Am7 C7-Em7b5-Gm7-Bbmaj7 Perhaps this comment will help fellow “students of the guitar” see things in a fresh and interesting light!?

[@ChaseMaddox]

That’s a nice visual way to understand this same concept 👍

[@michaeldennisguitarlessons]

@@ChaseMaddox Thank You!

[@brianwarner308]

You’re a smart guy Chase you should get a better turntable

[@ChaseMaddox]

That was a gift. Any recommendations for good ones?

[@brianwarner308]

@@ChaseMaddox well then hell that is a very nice gift...if you have a decent record collection, or at least plan on accumulating one, buy a used technic SL1200...you will never need another TT so long as you live plus you scratch and mix if you wanted to, which you may since you are deep into music..

[@jazzguitar4all]

Man, you are doing a great job with this channel, but this time I think you came out very uncollegial. Of course, the analysis of Benson's playing does not belong to anyone. If anything, the more people do it the better. But in this case you used the terms and principles of another teacher and KZbinr, knowingly, I guess. It's also perfectly fine, but the minimum required as a colleague, I believe, is to give credit and even a reference to the person who invented and promotes this term and method. Even if he is a business competitor. And again, all this without taking away the great work you do on this channel, spreading the teaching of jazz to the masses.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Thanks for your comment and support. I disagree with most of what you say for these reasons. Benson is the one who termed this “Secret of the Two Chords”, not Peter Farrell. Furthermore Peter does not actually explain this concept at all like I do, which he claims means I teach it wrong. I’ll let people decide which explanation makes more sense to them.

[@matteogervasiomastrocola4572]

First

[@ChaseMaddox]

Second

[@AzSamad]

@@ChaseMaddoxthird

[@patrickteiho1930]

Arrêtez chacun sa Méthode j’ai beaucoup appris de Peter et de Chase.Vive la Musique.

[@Earthstein]

My Biggest take-away; I'm an idiot. -- Thanks

[@ChaseMaddox]

Not at all! We’re all learning things from different starting points, but the journey of growth is the same 👍

[@Earthstein]

@@ChaseMaddox Chase, thank you. But too late. I already cut of my Arms! --- Actually I love your technical approach. I value you lesson. Thank you sir.

[@Arthur_My_Dear]

There are no secrets in music. There are gatekeepers though. I’m afraid Mr Farrell has identified and made a fool of himself

[@ChaseMaddox]

100% there are no secrets only concepts to understand and hard work in practice!

[@Arthur_My_Dear]

@@ChaseMaddox Thanks for the lesson btw, I’ve been using it to practice this morning. That’s what it’s all about, surely? I really appreciate you giving your time and sharing your knowledge so freely

[@MrGuto]

Mr Farrell? The guy doesn’t deserve the reverence. Little P would be more appropriate.

[@ChaseMaddox]

Little P is a hilarious nickname 😄

[@robfirestone6158]

@@ChaseMaddox My suggestion: don’t return nastiness for nastiness.