Chordplay - Implied Chords [From Blues To Van Halen]

Hey everyone! here's the next episode of Chordplay with Implied Chords - From Blues To Van Halen. I've had the idea for this lesson on the back-burner the entire time I've had the LNL channel, and I'm honestly not sure why it took me so long to create this lesson, as this is an eye-opening and inspiring look at the world of implied and partial chords. They're heard in every style of music and this is essential material to get under your fingers and in your head - so let's dive in!
This lesson begins with a recreation of something that occurred in a music theory classroom while I was a student at AIM that revolves around this topic, and from there we're investigating/exploring implied chords as found in blues, funk, rock, and even some of Van Halen's implied chord secrets.
Arranging your chords and chord voicings with an implied/partial approach creates a lot of space for other instruments/musicians in the mix. The is especially true in band settings, where you might find yourself playing along with another guitarist, a bassist, keyboardist, horns, and more! As you'll find, sometimes the less you add to the mix - the better!
This lesson is really just opening the door to this topic and area of music. From here the water gets deeper and sometimes murky - especially in jazz/fusion music. You'll find that jazz musicians are masters at implied chords and chord progressions like this, so you might want to save that exploration after you've tackled the basics - which is what you'll find hiding in this lesson!
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[@Wolf-51.50]

Whenever i don't feel that musical, i watch one of your videos and it makes me wanna play guitar again 😊 Thanks ❤

[@halbertking2683]

Dave Brewster , There was a radio show on KCSM radio . It was a special on Louis Armstrong . They were interviewing someone about Mr Armstrong . " It's not the notes that he played . It's the notes he implied . " How heavy is that ?

[@ericgruber]

Man, you not only made my day, you've made like a decade. I grew up playing mostly metal and hard rock, and It's been a while since i've been trying to understand how guitarists, like the guys who have played with Stevie Wonder, comp on songs with such harmonic complexity, and they don't move around the neck nor do they play complete barred-chords most of the time. More recently, the guitar playing of Andy Summers has also been a struggle. I've studied the concepts of inversions, but, man, you shined a light on the subject in such a way that it feels it just expanded my understanding of the way these guys play. I'm so, so thankful for this lesson. Please keep on with your videos. Your channel is amazing.

[@ewan_ou182]

One of your best ever videos David. Really informative, but most of all I found it inspirational. You referred to it as ”Opening a door” - and exploring what’s inside. My mind just exploded with fresh ideas. Again, a very big thanks on this one. cheers, Ewan

[@jimshomestudio4669]

Pink Floyd Run Like Hell is exactly what I’m hearing in this lesson, after the initial 7ths half of the video. Nice job as always.

[@dougstubbs4351]

Hell yeah man I love these lessons. Very interested in seeing how this is done

[@Mike-rw2nh]

Fantastic upload. Thank you so much.

[@warrior4949]

You made my day with this lesson. Excellent!

[@BlueBeeMCMLXI]

Learning how pitches combine - from thick to thin voicings - is what propels meaning in music. Without understanding these choices, a musician will not understand how emotion is conveyed to a listener. No feel, no deal.

[@MT-or7lv]

Great lesson Dave. I've been playing for a long time and I'm still amazed at what I can learn. You are a great dude for sharing your knowledge. Thanks!

[@mikeivey8471]

Thank you for this video !!! I have always used these "implied" chords but not really knowing what they were ... I probably should have but I just knew they sounded good !!! LoL thank you for the knowledge you share !!

[@chrisrausch9134]

Yeah, man. You throw down such a lot of good stuff every episode. Hell yeah.

[@atteljas]

And you can get this for free! But the patreon with all transcriptions is worth the money, big time

[@BillLarkinmusic]

Thanks for the lesson!! The new EVH 'Frankie' mexico line is a great guitar btw..

[@dougstubbs4351]

I play in a cover band with 3 guitar players, I use this technique a few times, it really can bring new life to the song and progression, I use it on shine by collective soul, and tonics if you can only see

[@LateNightLessons]

That's awesome man and actually Collective Soul is a great example of this type of playing. Those guys were great back in the day and the way they arranged for three guitar parts in their music was brilliant. It was like putting puzzle pieces together, with clean/acoustic layered with an electric riffing and another adding swirly effects and stuff is really inspiring. Good call and ROCK ON!

[@WaltWht]

Dave this was your best lesson to date! Thank you so much!❤🤘🎸

[@slapwagon]

demonstrating why youre the best on youtube with every upload dave! would love to see you cover john squire someday

[@bestboy897]

your lessons are pure gold

[@frankiedonofrio5438]

really dug this lesson. Thank you

[@ghfdt368]

Great lesson dave! One cool trick someone showed me was with that first shape and position you showed on the D and G strings. The one chord which of course is G chord if you add in the B string half a step up in this case, 3rd fret D string, 4th fret G string and 5th fret B string, you magically imply a G dominant 13 chord! If you do that move the same shape half a step up to the 5 chord which is D of course you imply a dominant D7#9 chord or the hendrix chord! so you immediately get access to 2 more sophisticated chords just by adding in one extra note on the B string.

[@gunslinger80sguitars]

Good stuff🤘🏻

[@FenderTeleDeluxe]

Those same implied chords were a big part of Vito Bratta’s repertoire, too, notably on Wait and Little Fighter.

[@alejdiazdelao8153]

"Van Halenisms", what a great term. And what an excellent, eye-opening lesson. Thank you!

[@mudnducs]

Great lesson in ‘less is more’ Thanks!!!

[@QBRX]

Wow, pretty cool and eye opening!

[@clausgeiger3244]

I knew i liked this lesson 53 seconds into it !!!

[@aminahmed2220]

Absolutely fantastic have a wonderful day also happy Tuesday ❤😊

[@midiman5045]

Great lesson thanks for sharing.

[@bertgetner9397]

Excellent. Im glad you finally got around to that! 😃

[@cgbenner9615]

This is really eye opening and informative. Definitely going to play around with this when I get home! So many of my heroes like Lifeson and Taybor play big ass extended sus chords and such so I always felt that was the way to go. It as you said, not done right it starts to get messy and muddled weird fast in a band setting lol. Would love some more videos on this if you have it in you. Love the channel 🤘

[@davidsummerville351]

Very important info!😎🤓

[@cguys]

That is brilliant!

[@thack102]

… that rock style chord progression down the neck @14min I heard Phil Collin’s … “turn it on again I think” before you even said a word! but yeah everyone probably here’s something different! This was cool and useful 👍💯

[@bghammock]

Great stuff with tons of application!

[@thedude-jb7wx]

im starting to learn that with understanding comes conviction ands soul when you understand the mechanic its removes doubt . im starting to believe for myself i cant truly enjoy playing unless i know the theory and fundementals and am playing with gecent enough technique. Using my thiumb when i played opened a ton of doors as well as control and muting to be more free. Kmowing implied chords also has set me free and is part of knbowing the neck. i put off theory and all these things and it kept me in a rut for years. i shouldve stopped trying to sound amazing and spent those years building knowledge and technique cause thats what helped to start to sound like a good guitar player. Many guitarists maybe were stuck like i was until they said i need to know fundamentals,

[@cowcat7816]

Funny things of life: Opening the video, seeing the VH t-shirt, looking down at my t-shirt and being the same as the VH II cover on the wall.

[@collinsmith6565]

Great video my man. If i may offer a suggestion, when youre playing over a looped bass part maybe try turning the guitar vol down some just so that the interaction of the harmony comes across stronger.

[@ey870]

Wow - I actually never really thought about that 3rd/7th but as soon as you explained it - totally made sense!.I have only recently started doing partial chords (mainly used powerchrds) and now that has just expanded my brain a ton, really can hear it when you were doing the blues progression - thank you, awesome stuff

[@douglasbroccone3144]

Awesome lesson

[@jamesturner519]

on behalf of bassists, vocalists and keys players: thank you for this lesson lol.

[@MindsEyeVisualGuitarMethods]

There needs to be a double thumbs up option

[@elizabethanderson2968]

Less is more! Lovely colour on that Tele! Ever do a show n tell on your axes?!

[@simonvanderheijden432]

I believe the guitar is white but due to the filter he's using on his video's it looks like it's yellow. There's a video were he introduces the Tele and he switches of the filter for a couple of seconds to show us the real colour.

[@jacobs9163]

Thanks mate

[@waynegram8907]

The most important notes of a chord are "guide tones" which can be any of the scale degrees. The 3rd and 7th are the voice leading notes on how they resolve to the next follow chord. The 3rd and 7th define the chord but you have to include "guide tones". You should need to do a theory lesson about guide tones. Implied chords is not really using a drone root note while the upper chord harmony is changing which will be implied chord. Mostly Implied chords are either the passing notes, surround notes or enclosure notes that are in-between each chord that are implied chords. Its the notes in-between each chord those are the implied chords. Example if you play a C major chord and after play an A note = C6 implied chord.

[@coalfacechris1336]

Perfect timing, David. Been doing a fair bit of work with CAGED and partial chords of late. If EVH and others from that burgeoning scene back in the day were influenced by Terry Kilgore, maybe that would be worth a look in a future episode?

[@PaulC13]

Dude! I didn’t know you went to AIM. I was there back in like 99’. What year were you there? I also didn’t graduate from it either because of reasons but I learned a lot and I learned what Randy taught you in that class from Bill Hart in jazz performance 1. Crazy. No wonder you know so much great stuff. Love the channel and keep this stuff up. Always surprises me what you come up with.

[@eldoctortangalanga6480]

David sos crack saludos desde argentina.

[@MarkEdward-bl6cr]

Wouldn't you call those first examples Comping ? Valuable stuff nonetheless 👍👏🤘🎸

[@theredshirts7245]

Not just the first examples- IIRC Anybody not playing the melody would be ‘comping (short for accompaniment).

[@gergemall]

Hi David ❤

[@LowdenOs]

Great lesson!! Do you break strings a lot?? You have such a merciless right hand, it seems 😅

[@jwandhistools]

You should do the chords of Pat Thrall from when he was with Pat Travers. The live record has numerous examples of high chord embellishments and swells that really spiced up that music. Hooked on Music. Go All Night. Heat in the street. Etc. Thrall was a very interesting player. Pat Thrall needs to be investigated.

[@jayallen5372]

I always blame it on the tuning down half a step in Eddie’s playing never really never understanding the sus chords. Until now🤘🏻🎶

[@davidfisher5177]

Excellent lesson. When you were covering Van Halen, aren't they triad chords rather than implied chords?

[@marqsee7948]

Jimmy Page's opening riff to Rock & Roll.

[@greg77hot]

Dave can you do some BTO and or Randy Bauchman ?

[@hammingus]

13:25: that's a C5 there right? Are you borrowing from A Minor here or how do you think about it?

[@willbryan8890]

Aren’t the blues progressions you demonstrate known as Tritone substitutions?

[@LateNightLessons]

Hey! No, that's something else entirely. Flat-Five subs (or tri-tone subs) is where you replace the five chord (V) with the flat-five (b5/bV). To put it in the same key as the blues area of this lesson, that would be like moving from G7 to Db7 (I-bV). The Db7 would be the flat-five substitution in the key of G. This lesson is more about simplifying things, and playing less while implying more. Good luck and thanks for watching/commenting! ROCK ON!

[@willbryan8890]

Thanks!

[@theredshirts7245]

Tritone subs are always a giveaway because they are a 1/2 step above the root chord (the chord they move to) For example Db7(or C#7) is a tritone substitution for G7, and a G7 to Cmaj becomes Db7 to Cmaj. Happens a lot in jazz because the minor ii7 chord is a half step above that so you get really cool chromatic movement with the chords going from something like Dm7-Db7-Cmaj7.

[@redrumkiller213]

Dave is your fretting had bigger that your other hand

[@taylordiclemente5163]

Thinking in chords is a trap. It's better to think in lines in counterpoint. When a musician moves from one chord to another, they are leading contrapuntal lines in counterpoint - against each other in efficient ways and following set rules. The rules of counterpoint have been refined since the time of Guillame de Machaut in the 14th century. They can be learned elsewhere - JJ Fux's 18th century treatise Gradus ad Parnassum is an imperfect but straightforward introduction - but the basic paradigm is to guide one's chord progressions as if conducting a choir. There is no need to have full tertian chords, there is only a need to steer the harmony with lines.

[@jeffro.]

1. Not sure why you call them "implied" chords. Technically, triads ARE chords, diads are too somewhat. 2. When you asked, "What are the 2 most important notes in a 4-note chord?" I automatically first thought of a 7th chord, so the answer was obvious: 3rd & 7th, because they provide the real 'flsvor" of the chord. If I could only play 2 notes of a 7th chord, those are the 2 I would play. I guess I know more theory than I realized.... Of course, there are times when playing lead that I like playing the flat 5 & flat 7.... 3. I like the voicings after the first one if I have a bass player. Don't need to repeat any notes.