As a fan of Ben Eunson’s music, guitar playing and educational output, I am always excited to dive into any of his releases. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on his masterclass, How To Play Triad Pairs & Hexatonic Scales.
This is part of his suite of courses, eBooks and other educational releases at Ben’s Guitar Club.
According to Ben in the introduction for this masterclass:
We’ll start by defining what a Triad Pair is and how to build Hexatonic Scales. From there, we’ll explore a total of 18 Triad Pairs and Hexatonic Scales that you can incorporate into your own playing.
To assist with the practical application of these concepts on the guitar neck, we’ll focus on applying Triad Pairs and Hexatonic Scales to a ii-V-I progression in C Major.
Ben is systematic, which is great for any guitarist since he gives context to the material from a theoratical and guitaristic perspective. It’s also great that Ben has a calm supportive teacher vibe in the videos, which makes it easier to approach the lessons. You always have the sense that Ben is helping you and not looking down on you, which can be the case for some instructional content from some virtuoso guitarists in their teaching videos.
In Section 1 of the masterclass, Ben begins by taking a triad pair option for the chord Cmaj7. He then shows how you can practice this as arpeggiated chords, triad pairs and hexatonics. Each of these options opens up different sounds for melodic improvisation. The second triad pair opens up a different sound for Cmaj7. Out of respect for Ben’s material, I won’t mention the exact triad pairs he introduces, but just note the chords they fit over. I particularly love this triad pair since I’ve used this before.
However, Ben’s legato-tinged approach makes it sound different than what I’m used to, which is nice! The final triad pair that Ben uses on Cmaj7 is an outside sound. This is dissonant pair that I haven’t used before. Out of the three triad pairs introduced, this is the one that perked my ears the most! Once again, I find it fascinating how much Ben’s technique helps shape the sound of these – both as triad pairs and hexatonics.
Moving on to Section 2 of the masterclass, Ben goes into the various possibilities for triad pairs and hexatonics over a G7 chord. There are three pairs in total, the first being a very inside sounding one followed by two more dissonant options. This section is particularly interesting as we start going into much more outside sounds. The format of the material is similar to the previous section. Again we have the concepts explained, musical examples notated and played, and we also get backing tracks to practice the examples.
In the final part, Section 3 – Ben goes into three triad pair options for Dmin7. The first one is more inside, followed by two more dissonant options. I have to say that these are very interesting!
In conclusion, this course provides a unique look into triad pairs and hexatonics in a a truly Ben Eunson way. In perspective, I would recommend probably studying his “How To Solo With Triads” masterclass prior to embarking on this one.
Pros: Great course material, well explained and well organized.
Cons: None.
TLDR: If you love the kinds of melodic lines that Ben Eunson plays, this masterclass might help you get some of those sounds into your playing.
Get the masterclass here: https://bensguitarclub.teachable.com/p/how-to-play-triad-pairs
I received a complimentary review copy from Ben Eunson. Thanks Ben!
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