Welcome to Chord du Jour!

For those who haven't been to this site - Chord du Jour - welcome! We currently feature 336 short bursts of musical knowledge! Chord du Jour is on hiatus until next February (or March), but we will return for the fifth and sixth cycles of music lessons.

By Skill Level:
Beginner lessons
Intermediate diagrams
Recording equipment and production tips

By Lesson Type:
Chord du Jour - easy charts for beginners and/or formula de-construction for intermediate musicians!
Scale du Jour - some pentatonic, hexatonic, and heptatonic scales so far, other variations on the way!
Mode du Jour - looking at scales from other "angles"!
Chord Progressions du Jour - trying to make sense of Roman numeral music algebra!

By Instrument:
Guitar
Keyboard
Vocal

We hope that you will find this site to be a useful resource. We wish you, the reader/musician, good luck on all your musical endeavors!

Cheers,
DeRamos.org

Lesson #77: Blues in F (Guitar, Intermediate)

If you've been paying attention to our other 12 bar blues lessons, you pretty much know the drill:

F 2 3 4
F 2 3 4
F 2 3 4
F 2 3 4

Bb 2 3 4
Bb 2 3 4
F 2 3 4
F 2 3 4

C 2 3 4
Bb 2 3 4
F 2 3 4
F 2 3 4 (variations during the turn around; previous blues lessons should give you an idea about this part)

The F Blues Scale sounds good in F 12-Bar Blues, as well as in F minor and Ab major (try this past week's variety of chords).

Lesson #76: Power Chords in F Minor (Guitar, Beginner, Intermediate)

In F minor: F5, G5, Ab5, Bb5, C5, Db5, and Eb5 - see A-flat major.

In E-sharp minor: E#5, F##5, G#5, A#5, B#5, C#5, and D#5 - see power chords in G-sharp major.

Lesson #75: Power Chords in F (Guitar, Beginner)

In F: F5, G5, A5, Bb5, C5, D5, and E5.

Lesson #74: Seven Chords in F Minor (Guitar, Beginner)

In F minor: Fm, (not pictured: Gdim), Ab, Bbm, Cm or C, Db, and Eb.

In E# minor: E#m, (not pictured: F##dim), G#, A#m, B#m or B#, C#, and D# - see G# major.

Lesson #73: Eight Chords in F (Guitar, Beginner, Intermediate)

The chords are F, Gm, Am and/or A, Bbm and/or Bb (usually Bb), C, Dm, and (not pictured: Edim).

Lesson #72: F Minor and the Capo / Barre (Guitar, Beginner)

You probably already know how to play this voicing for the F minor chord:


It is basically using your index finger as a barre across the 4th fret, and essentially the same as using a capo at the 1st fret and playing the basic Em chord:


Try either placing a capo on or using your index finger to barre the 8th fret and play the Am chord:


If you capo or barre at the 3rd fret and play the Dm chord, you're actually playing the Fm chord:

Lesson #71: F and the Capo / Barre (Guitar, Beginner, Intermediate)

In standard tuning, this is one form of the F major chord:

If you use a capo (for beginners) or barre (for intermediate players) your index finger at the 5th fret, you can play the F with the regular C chord fingering:


Capo or barre at the 8th fret and finger the A chord:


Capo or barre at the 10th fret and finger the G chord:


Capo or barre at the 1st or 13th fret and finger the E chord:


Capo or barre at the 3rd or 15th fret and finger the D chord:

Lesson #70: Blues in Bb (Guitar, Intermediate)

If you've been paying attention to our other 12 bar blues lessons, you pretty much know the drill:

Bb 2 3 4
Bb 2 3 4
Bb 2 3 4
Bb 2 3 4

Eb 2 3 4
Eb 2 3 4
Bb 2 3 4
Bb 2 3 4

F 2 3 4
Eb 2 3 4
Bb 2 3 4
Bb 2 3 4 (variations during the turn around; previous blues lessons should give you an idea about this part)

The Bb Blues Scale sounds good in Bb 12-Bar Blues, as well as in Bb minor and Db major (try this past week's variety of chords).

Lesson #69: Power Chords in Bb Minor (Guitar, Beginner, Intermediate)

In B-flat minor: Bb5, C5, Db5, Eb5, F5, Gb5, and Ab5 - see D-flat major.

In A-sharp minor: A#5, B#5, C#5, D#5, E#5, F#5, and G#5 - see power chords in C-sharp major.

Lesson #68: Power Chords in Bb (Guitar, Beginner)

In Bb: Bb5, C5, D5, Eb5, F5, G5, and A5.

In A#: A#5, B#5, C##5, D#5, E#5, F##5, and G##5.

You'll want to play in B-flat, for simplicity's sake.