{"id":148396,"date":"2025-08-03T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=148396"},"modified":"2025-07-31T10:02:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T17:02:38","slug":"sus-chords-arpeggio-embellishments-minor-7-barres-humidity-non-diatonic-chords-teaching-artist-july-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/sus-chords-arpeggio-embellishments-minor-7-barres-humidity-non-diatonic-chords-teaching-artist-july-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Sus Chords, Arpeggio Embellishments, Minor 7 Barres, Humidity, Non-Diatonic Chords | Teaching Artist July Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The\u00a0five Acoustic Guitar Teaching Artists\u2014Isa Burke, Lisa Liu,\u00a0Sean McGowan, Mamie Minch, and Thu Tran\u2014are creating\u00a0lessons just for guitarists like you,\u00a0with one new lesson every week.\u00a0You can unlock access for just $5 a month.<\/strong><\/a> Here\u2019s a recap of all the lessons from July. And there is a lot more to look forward to:\u00a0interactive hangouts, virtual open mics, and more acoustic guitar expertise!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Isa Burke | How I Play | Sus Chords<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Suspended (or sus) chords replace the third of a triad with either the second or fourth, removing the chord\u2019s major or minor quality. In this lesson, Isa explores the open, ambiguous nature of sus chords, showing you some versatile shapes and how to use them in your playing. \u201cThey can add a  sense of tension and release,\u201d Isa says. \u201cIt\u2019s really nice to move between the regular triad and a sus chord. You\u2019ll hear that a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH NOW<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thu Tran | Chords that Shaped Me | Minor 7 Barre<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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You may already be familiar with this shape, but a closer look at the minor seventh chord reveals its unique character and opens the door to creative exploration. Starting with Fm7 (F A-flat C E-flat) Thu breaks down the chord type through a practice-focused lens: first experimenting with rhythmic subdivisions, then moving the shape around the neck. Next, you\u2019ll add melodic ideas by connecting the chord to the corresponding minor pentatonic scale. Finally, it all comes together in a short etude that helps unlock the shape\u2019s full potential. \u201cGet creative! Try to expand your rhythm and melody playing,\u201d Thu says. \u201cSee what this chord shape can teach you about your playing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH NOW<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mamie Minch | My Workbench | How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Humidifier<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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It doesn\u2019t matter where you live or what kind of guitar you play\u2014humidity levels shift with the seasons, and those changes affect every acoustic instrument. In this video, luthier and guitarist Mamie Minch explains why keeping your guitar properly humidified is essential, and walks through a few of the shop-tested tools and methods she relies on to keep instruments healthy and stable all year long\u2014and for the long haul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH NOW<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lisa Liu | How I Play | Simple Arpeggio Embellishments, Complex Solos<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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In this video, Lisa demonstrates some straightforward arpeggio embellishments that can add real drama to your solos. Similar to her side-stepping chord comping approach<\/strong><\/a>, she begins by approaching chord tones from a half step above or below. Then she uses chromaticism to connect different chord tones. The third embellishment is the enclosure, which highlights a chord tone by playing around it. Put it all together, and you\u2019ll be on your way to crafting smoking solos\u2014just like Lisa does here in her full chorus over the chord changes to the gypsy jazz classic \u201cSwing 42.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH NOW<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sean McGowan | How I Play | Non-Diatonic Chords and Harmony<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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In this follow-up to Sean\u2019s first Teaching Artist lesson on the basics of diatonic harmony<\/strong><\/a>, we explore how stepping outside the key can bring new color, motion, and depth to your playing. These examples introduce common tools like secondary dominants (V\/V), diminished passing chords, and chromatic voice leading\u2014all of which can help make your progressions more expressive and dynamic. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of what\u2019s happening under the hood of your favorite songs\u2014and more importantly, the tools to write and reinterpret music in your own unique voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH NOW<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Your $5 Support . . .<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

. . . gets you \u00a0a new Teaching Artist video lesson every Wednesday, plus access to the archive of every TA lesson. You\u2019ll also gain membership to the Song of the Month Club, where each month we transcribe an arrangement\u00a0of an acoustic classic or timeless traditional tune, songs like \u201cIt Ain’t Me, Babe<\/a><\/strong>,\u201d \u201cHotel California,<\/strong><\/a>\u201d \u201cIn the Pines<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d and \u201cCanon in D<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d Below is a sneak peek of the archive, all of which you get access to with your $5 support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here\u2019s a recap of all the new Acoustic Guitar Teaching Artist lessons from July. And there is a lot more to look forward to:\u00a0interactive hangouts, virtual open mics, and more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Here\u2019s a recap of all the new Acoustic Guitar Teaching Artist lessons from July. And there is a lot more to look forward to:\u00a0interactive hangouts, virtual open mics, and more!","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1542],"class_list":["post-148396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lessons"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/july-teaching-artist-lessons.jpg?fit=1422%2C800&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":1542,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"joeystringletter-com","display_name":"Joey Lusterman","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d62788a8fb3719a625c95a649fc05b0d673d8921c9f2491f0a36cc588ee3c452?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"Lusterman","first_name":"Joey","job_title":"","description":"Opinionated creative slash beginning guitarist. Joey has worked in every department at Acoustic Guitar<\/em> in the past 10+ years: front desk, ad sales, editorial, sound guy, camera man, booth babe, email coder, podcast editor, photographer, book designer\u2026"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148396"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148412,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148396\/revisions\/148412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148396"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=148396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}