Max Davies

I used to give little thought to stretching and warm up exercises on guitar. Rather, I would just pick up my guitar and play, with little concern for loosening things up in my hands, arms and body.  I would just play until (sometimes) my fingers, arms, neck and back would hurt. I might stretch or rub a tight muscle if necessary. But I usually didn't think too much about it. While this worked for a while, eventually I started to feel more aches, pains, tingles and tension. So I began to really see the value of stretching, warming up and doing seemingly mundane exercises repetitively on a frequent basis. Below are some things that I have picked up from various sources over 30 years of playing guitar. I try to do these on a regular basis -and I try to have my guitar students do these regularly too.  In addition to helping build better technique, doing these things often helps address areas of tension and allows one to relax more in their play

For years as a guitarist I had no idea what an Fmaj7 add#11 chord should be called. I just knew that when I played that particular chord shape, it sounded good and created a color or a feeling that I liked. The specific ring of the open high strings in combination with the fretted low notes created an inexorably pleasing and strange sound. I had little theoretical insight into the particulars of the chord. I just thought of it as being some bizarre form of F.  But the exotic and complex feelings that this chord evoked in me were magical. Here is a diagram of the chord/ shape that I mean.       I don't exactly remember when the above chord shape became something I began to consciously play.  I probably inadvertently played it in the frustrating process of learning the full barre chord shape -most likely because my first finger wasn't strong enough to hold down all of the strings. But somewhere along the line, I began to use this modified barre chord shape because I liked the way

Most guitarists have encountered some form of the 7#9 chord. It can be heard in The Beatles’ “Taxman,” Pink Floyd’s “Breathe,” Prince’s “Sexy MF,” as well as in songs by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Pixies, and many others. It is often referred to as the “ Hendrix Chord” because it shows up in many Jimi Hendrix songs. (“ Purple Haze,” “Spanish Castle Magic,” “Foxy Lady,” and “ Crosstown Traffic”, are a few examples.) But the 7#9 chord was used to great effect long before Jimi Hendrix included it in his own compositions. In jazz it popped up in pieces by Grant Green, Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus, and notably in the Miles Davis modal masterpiece “ All Blues,” where it appeared not once but twice, as a D7#9 and a D#7#9. Hendrix and Pink Floyd were both influenced by jazz that explored the 7#9 chord, an important reminder that the history of music is a continuum, and that musicians often assimilate their influen

“A melody functions in a harmonic climate. The chord that’s being played is a harmonic climate.  [If] it’s an augmented chord, it’s a mysterious climate. If it’s a diminished chord, it’s a little tenser.  If it’s minor, it’s serious. If it’s major, it’s happy. If it’s major 7th, you’re falling in love.  If it’s augmented 11th, it’s bebop.  You know these are all established harmonic aromas that people recognize.”  -Frank Zappa   The preceding Zappa quote is worth its weight in gold, because it precisely explains some of what it is that we typically feel emotionally (at least in Western culture) in regard to music. This is something that we often take for granted -how we feel when we hear music. We may certainly feel these emotions on a subconscious level, but how often do we consciously think: “I’m feeling scared because of this music,” when we watch a movie with eerie dissonant strings as a soundtrack? Or how often do we question why we might cry when minor key piano music is paired w