Tools for the bassoholic by Kevin Sullivan

The 6 Non-Dominant 7th Chord Types MA7, m7, m7-5, mMA7, MA7+5, Dim7

The 7^th Chord Type Harmony Scales

7^th Chords Fingerings

Lesson 10  7th Chords Types as Arpeggio Harmony Scales D & A Major, C & A Harmonic Minor, and C & F Melodic Minor

7^th Chord Inversions

Lesson 11  7th Chords Types as Extended Arpeggio Harmony Scales A, F C, and Bb major

Lesson 12  7^th Chord Type Arpeggio Progressions in 12 keys

7^th Chord Type Voicings

Diminished 7^th Chords Usage

Lesson 13   7th Chords Type Harmony Scales as Chords C, G, and Bb major

Lesson 14   7th Chords Type Progressions in 12 Keys

Chapter 5    7th Chord Types

  This page breaks down the table of contents for the Bass Harmony music instruction manual by chapter.  This book is a very comprehensive 136 pages.  Yes it can be used as a reference book that sits on your coffee table.  It hold an exhaustive amount of arpeggio shapes and chord shapes that can be used for great bass lines.  I have some examples of these shapes below.  But the more you study it the more you will get out of it.  This book is meant to be read but more importantly it is meant to be played through.  If you get confused on a concept pick up the bass and play through it let your ear teach you.  What your ear learns is more important that what your head learns.  So when I say the more you study, I mean the more you play through it with your bass in hands.  Using this book does not require the ability to read music.  All examples use fingering boxes along with the musical notes.  These fingering boxes are far superior to tab in many ways not the least of which is they show you what fingering is recommended.  Other music symbols are used through out this book that are well explained, allowing greater understanding of not only this book but other musical texts, chord charts, and sheet music.   

 Chapter 8:  Extended harmony refers to chords that go beyond the interval of an octave.  These chords produce some very beautiful sounds.

  Chapter 5:  The are 7 types of 7th chords.  Chapter 3 demonstrates the dominant 7th chord.  This chapter goes into the usage of the other 6 types.  Many styles of music use these chord types, but they are very common in jazz.

  Chapter 6 deals with the often misunderstood Sus chords and 6th chords.  It's actually quite simple when you know what they are.    

Chapter 6 The 6th Chords and Sus Chords

The 6^th Chords

The Sus Chords

  Chapter 2 shows the student all form of triads and and how to use them on the bass guitar.  Triads are the simplest form of chords.  This chapter greatly expands the bass players foundation of harmony.  Understanding the many usages of the 1rst, 3rd and 5th notes of chords opens the bass player up to very creative bass lines.  Examples are used for each of the triad forms and inversions that are all covered in this chapter.   A bassist could spend his/her whole career only using triads and creating very tasty bass lines. 

  Chapter 1 lays a foundation of music theory for the student to build upon.  The purpose of this chapter is to spell out what is beneficial for the bass player to understand about theory and how it applies to the instrument.  In lesson 1 you can learn the fret board in a way that will also teach you to read music if that is your desire.  The chapter name is perfect.  This truly is the bass players theory.  This is the only chapter in the book that is primarily designed for the student to sit down and read.  Most of  the rest of the book is to be put on your music stand and played through with bass in hands.

BASS HARMONY

  Chapter 9: Altered chord are frequently used to create greater dissonance in the chord progression.  The greater the tension the greater the resolution. 

Chapter 8 Altered Chords

Altered Dominant 7th Chords (minor dominant 7-9), 7-5,7+5, 7+9, 7-5-9, 7-5+9, 7+5-9, 7+5+9, 9+11, 9+5, 11-9, 13+11,13-9, 13+9,13-9+11, 13+5+9, 13-5-9

Altered Major Chords MA7-5, MA9-5

Lesson 16  Usage of Altered Chords as Arpeggio Progressions

  Chapter 4 shows the student how to apply the cadences to the bass guitar.  I wish I had this chapter back when I was studying music theory in college.  The cadences are prominent in all western music forms.  They can be thought of as the foundation to chord progressions.  Many jazz standards are a collection of cadences in different keys.  These cadences are further changed up with extended harmony and altered chords in jazz music.

  Chapter 3 shows all the forms and usages of the dominant 7th chord, often called the blues chord.  A must to master for all progressive bass players.