The Power of Two: Part II

Welcome to the second Cory Wilds lesson page. Here's another no brainer, a basic overview of a dyed in the wool guitar classic, harmonized sixths. Harmonized sixths are used in tons of tunes and they make great stock for improvising active themes and lines.

Harmonized sixths are usually positioned two strings away from each other so they pose a slight problem because we must contend with a middle string, which ultimately needs to get muted or missed entirely. Regarding the right hand, you can strum the examples with a flatpick, use a hybrid picking technique (pick and finger) or use a fingerstyle approach. Each technique offers a different tone and I encourage you to try them all.

In the first lesson I dealt with the harmonized third as in Ex.1 The harmonized sixth illustrated in Ex.2 is a kissin' cousin of the third in ex.1 because it contains the same notes but the notes are inverted resulting in a sixth. (The open B on the second string moved down an octave to the second fret B on the 5th string.)

In the left hand, it is important to keep your first finger on the third string throughout the lick in Ex.3 to get a smooth and connected feel. As you play the lick use your first and second fingers on beat one and your first and third fingers on beat two and continue to flip flop back and forth between these two fingerings as you move through the line.

Ex.4 illustrates the same line over an A7 chord. Here the fingerings have changed so you'll need to approach it a little differently. Keep your second finger on the fourth string throughout the line. Use your second and third fingers on beat one and use your second and first fingers on beat two and continue to flip flop back and forth between the two fingerings as you move through the line. Realize that each example has only two different fingerings.

Ex.5 illustrates the same line over a B7 chord and should be fingered the same as ex.4.

Ex.6 puts the three lines into a common 12 bar patterns for exercise. Experiment with different tempos and make it swing! The first version is in the Key of E. The second version is in the Key of A.

In this lesson I hope I've offered a basic vocabulary using harmonized sixths. This is just a starting point so be aggressive as you seek out variations on these classic sounds. The harmonic and rhythmic possibilities of harmonized sixths are endless in the hands of an inventive player so strive to make them your own.

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