Chords for What ANY GUITARIST Can Learn From Jerry Garcia

[B] Jerry was a rare gem and left a [A] treasure trove for guitarists to learn from.
[B] He was so original he defied
labels.
[A] So what can we learn [F#] from him and how do we apply it to our [B] own playing?
So I'm gonna start by laying a foundation [A] of looking at what [F#m] scale Jerry preferred [F#] to use.
He used so many
we're just gonna simplify it by [A] a few [C#] choices here, but we're gonna keep in mind it's not about
_ understanding and analyzing this stuff.
It's about the sound [G] and the way it makes you feel and Jerry had a great line where he said,
I don't know why it's the same reason why you like some music and you don't like others.
There's something about it that you like.
Ultimately, I don't find it's in my best interest to try and analyze it since it's fundamentally _
emotional.
So while he's talking about here music that he likes or doesn't like, he clearly did know a lot about scales and theory
and stuff, but I don't think it's something that he really focused on.
He just focused on the way it sounded and the way it made him feel.
So let's keep that in mind as we go along throughout this and don't get [C#] overwhelmed by anything
I do show you that you don't understand.
So if we [G#] look at the major scale, right?
[B] _ Just that Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do.
If [A#] you look at that Ti, Do, right?
That's 7th, C, Ab, D, let's call it the leading tone.
All it wants to do is [Bm] pull to the 1, right?
[F#] So if you flat that by one fret, bring it down here,
call it the [C#] flat 7.
That's now what they call [F#] mixolydian.
It's called a [B] mode of the major scale, right?
[C#m] And there's [B] other ways to explain it, but this is the easiest way.
Just that flat [G#] 7.
So Jerry liked that because it kind of opened it up, [A#] right?
Rather than having that
[B]
note always [E] want to go there.
[A] So that was just by far the dead's _ preferred scale choice.
Now, another one that he would use a lot is called Dorian [B] and that is just flatting the third.
So now you have, [D] _ [F#] _ _ _ _ _ [Bm] _ _
_ _ that's more of a minor sound, but you can also use that over major situations too.
It's not about getting everything perfectly matched up.
It's not this exact science.
It's about mixing and matching sounds and having tension in there.
So a lot of people think that, you know, you kind of have to go with one or the [E] other, this, that.
You can mix and match.
So another one is
using the pentatonic scale and that is just taking out the 4th [Dm] and 7th scale [G#m] degree for major
and you end up with [B] five different notes.
So that, hence the name pentatonic, five note scale.
So you end [D#] up with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 [B] and if you hit that, that's the octave again.
So five different notes, it's the same as this one.
_ _ That's called the octave because you're going up _ _ _ _
8th scale degree.
So hence the name octave, like an octagon.
_ So that is one and then you get the [F#] minor pentatonic,
_ _ _ [B] _ minor version.
If you think about songs like I Know [D] You, Ryder, _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _ you can [D] just use that pentatonic. _ _ _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Bm] _
_ So I'm [C#] using the pentatonic for each one, D major, C major and it sounds like I'm playing along the tune
outlining those chords.
So a big thing Jarrett would use.
And then the last one is looking at chromatics, which is basically just adding in
notes that are not in the scale, not in the key.
So if he's going along and [F#] mixolydian,
_ _ _ [C#] _ [B] this, he may add [A#] in, [Bm] _ he may add [A] that leading tone in [B] there, kind of just real quick [Cm] and passing. _ _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ _ So now you can start to see, this is starting to formulate the _ note choices he _ used.
So let's see how this sounds all together.
Hit the music. _ _
_ _ _ [F#] _ _ _ [F#m] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ [C#] _ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] This is great now, but if scales are all we focus on, we run the risk of sounding like we're aimlessly
noodling.
So Jerry had plenty of tactics
[E] he would use to kind of [D] combat that.
We're gonna look at those as we go along.
But let's check out [C] the [E] next thing that I find is kind of unique to his playing [A] is Jerry's
_ playfulness.
He was [E] so serious at times,
but he also [B] could really joke [C] around and [F] a really [A] playful vibe to his playing that was really uniquely him.
You know, Mr.
Charlie is a great example of his playing on there.
[B] You just listen to the [Am] way his _ touch is, his tone, his [A] rhythm, the way he
times things out, his teasing.
You could [C#] say that he was a [D] jokester, a [A] prankster.
You could say he was a merry prankster, right?
So that is a really [Am] unique thing that you can add to your playing.
Stop taking things so seriously like
obsessing about [E]
scales and gear and things like [D] that and just play around and have [A] fun and let your own
personality shine through his playing because [D] he clearly [G#] did not hold back when it came to [E] that.
So one thing Jerry does to [A] combat that noodling sound was he [E] _ outlined the [C#] harmony
_ [C#m] very often.
So if we just [E] play around with the mode here for Althea,
_ [B] _ _ _ [Bm] _
_ [A] _ _ _ _ [E] sounds okay, but if we now outline the chords,
_ [Bm] _ _
_ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _
_ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _ [Bm] _
_ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ _ now it [Bm] adds a whole new
[A] dimension, new depth and it pulls [E] us away [A] from just playing with this one way,
[E] but now it's a more vertical way of [A] playing over those [E] chords.
But there's an even easier way to achieve this sound [Bm] and to get an even more
[E] big connection with the song that we're gonna check out in just [B] a little bit.
So another great takeaway from Jerry is that he was an _ innovator.
And one of my [F#m] favorite quotes from him [D#] was that you don't want to be the best at what you do,
[E] you want to be the only one.
And now we're listening to Stella Blue right now
and this is a very unique original, kind of lesser-known
[A] dead tune and I think that we could sit down and analyze this about why it's so innovative and original.
But in more true Jerry [Em] fashion, let's just focus on the simple thing and the thing [G] at hand.
_ Why [C] was he such an innovator?
I believe for many reasons,
but the [B] number one thing is that he was not afraid of being
_ imperfect.
And that is extremely important in this day and age because people increasingly [E] just want to be perfect.
They're auto-tuning music.
They're [G#m] playing to a grid.
They're punching in a lot of electronic stuff, not even playing _
_ [D] traditional instruments.
They're afraid of looking imperfect.
They're [A] photoshopping their Instagram photos, whatever the case may be.
So Jerry was [Em] not afraid of having mistakes [G] and he constantly pushed himself forward [Cm] experimenting and
reinventing himself because of [B] that _ _
fearlessness.
Now out of all the things that I've done from my own [A] playing to try to get better at
improvising [B] solos is this one thing that I believe [A] that was the best takeaway we can get from Jerry's playing.
He [B] did so much of and that is to [A] just focus on playing the vocal
[B] _ melody.
It is that simple and many people [E] are aware of this, but they don't actually do it in their own [B] playing.
It really really comes down to tying it [A] together and connecting with the [F#] song by just playing [B] that melody or teasing it a little bit.
[E] So let's say [A] we take that example of Fire in the Mountain.
[F#m] If I'm [Bm] just noodling around, right?
[F#] _ _ _ _ _
[C#] _ _ _ _ _ _ Right, [B] that can sound great and all, but if [C#] we just play the [A] melody it connects the listener to something they're [B] familiar with. _ _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ Right? _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ You can kind of just [F#] mix that in.
[B] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ [D#] _ _
_ [B] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [C#] _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _
_ [B] _ _ Right?
So I started throwing a little [C#m] chromatics, this that, just teasing the melody [B] and the beauty of it is when we're outlining the chords,
[A] _ _ you know, you've got these notes that are in the chords [B] while they're happening, but when you put the melody, _ a lot [A] of vocal melodies,
[E] the vast majority hit a [B] lot of those notes as they go along.
So if you just [A] play the melody,
_ which is [E] much easier, not the [B] process in your head,
you know, as much of what all these notes that [A] look like a computer processing it, you end up playing [B] along with those chords.
So you end up outlining [A] the chords in a much more intuitive, [F#m] natural [B] way.
And knowing this is great,
but [F#] you want to dive deeper.
You want to really apply this stuff to your own [B] playing.
And I have a playlist right [A] here of about 14 videos,
[B] most of which are dead tunes, breaking down the vocal melody [E] for guitar.
So I challenge yourself, see [B] how it can change your playing.
If you're not used to playing melodies, check it out right now.
[A] Pick one out, just dive [B] deep into that and see how it will change [N] your playing. _