Roles 02 | Rhythm Guitar | Effects and Tonal Complexity (Patreon)

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Hi Everyone,

This is the second lesson in my Roles Series. In this one I'm discussing and exploring how it sounds when you add or subtract tonal complexity in your rhythm parts, and how effects pedals can help or hinder your efforts. You have a LOT of power to affect the way a song sounds as a rhythm guitarist, and this lesson is designed to help you discover and explore more options.

 
Your homework for this one is:
1. Explore substituting the basic triads of this song with 7th, 9th, sus chords, or whatever other fancy chords you like. If you want to refresh your 7th chords, check out MTM 03. I'm realizing I haven't done a formal lesson on 9th chords and 11th chords, so if you'd like a Music Theory Monday lesson about extended chords (9, 11, & 13th chords) let me know and I'll get working on that!
2. Explore removing the third of each chord and playing power chords instead.
3. If you are able: For both assignments, experiment with using effects pedals on your rhythm parts. Generally, more distortion/overdrive for chord with fewer tones (ie. power chords and triads) and less overdrive for more chord tones (7th, 9th, 11th etc)

Post your discoveries, successes, failures and experiments on the community forum.

Effects pedals and tonality are just another factor that add to the intensity or intimacy of each section of a song. If you wanna keep track of your choices, take notes on the Dynamic Chart Scratch Paper.

Play along to the track:
This Song is for Practice (Full Version)
This Song is for Practice (without Rhythm guitar)

Other lessons in this series:
Roles 01 | Rhythm Guitar | Introduction
Roles 02 | Rhythm Guitar | Effects and Tonality (current lesson)
Roles 03 | Rhythm Guitar | Tertiary Rhythm (coming soon)
More coming soon!

Check out the Lesson Archive for more Music Theory lessons.