Chord Melody Arranging
Learn how to play stunning solo-guitar arrangements.
Intermediate-Advanced
Hit a plateau with solo guitar? Looking to step up your songwriting skills? This is the perfect Master Class for you.
3 weeks
Arianna will guide you through 6 levels of step-by-step instruction with interactive TAB and daily assignments.
Chord melody mastery
You'll leave this class with a greater understanding of theory and skills to compose your own solo guitar songs.
Take the next step
Once you've mastered chord melodies, keep progressing with more Master Classes and learning paths.
What you'll learn
Join your mentor Arianna as she breaks down her unique system for composing jaw-dropping chord melodies.
- Fuel your songwriting with practical theory
- Spice up your chord game with reharmonization
- Tackle advanced fingerstyle jazz vocabulary
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Curriculum
Stay focused with this step-by-step learning program designed by our expert team of music educators.
Your guided learning pathway
In this six-part Master Class, Arianna breaks down everything from chord melody fundamentals to advanced reharmonization techniques. This class is best suited for players who are comfortable with diatonic scales, intervals, and jazz chords.
The Fundamentals of Harmonizing Melodies
At its core, chord melody playing is all about blending rhythm and lead guitar.
Arianna will kick off the class by breaking down the basics of how to blend these elements of guitar playing.
In this section, you'll learn how to harmonize a melody using different techniques and chords.
“The Corner Store” Harmonization Walkthrough
Once you build a rock-solid foundation for chord melody playing, we'll jump straight into a real-world example and harmonize Arianna's song The Corner Store.
Gospel Harmony and “Doxology”
Next, you'll build on top of your existing chord melody skills by learning how to reharmonize, which involves giving a song a new feel by swapping out the original chords for new ones.
This is a common technique in gospel music, so we'll use a gospel hymn as a case study.
Part IV. Extra Concepts / Techniques
Drawing on her experience as a pro guitarist for top-tier pop artists like Halsey, Dua Lipa, and Olivia Rodrigo, Arianna shares tips and lessons to polish your playing and navigate the modern music industry.
Part V. Licks
Looking for some quick melodic fuel? Get inspired with 20 easy and advanced fingerstyle jazz licks.
Part VI. SongSquad
Wrap up the class with three original songs by Arianna that put everything you've learned into a purely musical context.
Part I. The Fundamentals of Harmonizing Melodies
Learn the conceptual and practical foundations of chord melody playing.
In Part I, Arianna will walk you through how to harmonize with intervals using 3rds, 6ths, and 10ths, every chord in the diatonic scale, and secondary dominant chords.
Throughout this section, Arianna will refer back to her #1 rule: Always keep your melody note on top of your chords. Always. This means, for any chord you play, the top note of the chord should always be the melody note. This also works in reverse: choose a melody note and any chord that fits under it is one that you can potentially use in your harmonization.
Part II. “The Corner Store” Harmonization Walkthrough
Put what you learned into context by examining an original chord melody of Ariana's
In Part II, Arianna will pull back the curtain on the decision-making process behind her chord melody The Corner Store. You'll learn how to harmonize the song with basic diatonic harmony, secondary dominants, and chromatic bass lines.
Part III. Gospel Harmony and “Doxology”
Dive into a second chord melody to learn the art of reharmonization
In Part III, we’ll move into gospel harmony by examining the hymn Doxology. Hymns are great material for harmonizing because their melodies tend to be simple. After harmonizing the song, you'll learn how to change the mood by swapping in a new set of chords (or reharmonizing the song).
Parts IV-VI
We'll cap off the Master Class with a series of musical resources and bonus lessons.
Part IV. Extra Concepts / Techniques
In Part IV, Arianna introduces concepts you can use to fill spaces of chord melodies and outro cadences.
You’ll also learn ten additional standalone concepts and techniques to fill out your harmonization toolbox. Becoming a great chord melody composer requires a diverse array of creative techniques to draw from – this section will help you build out your songwriting toolbox.
At the end of this section, Arianna offers bonus lessons on how to get gigs, create guitar parts in a pop setting, and achieve great tone.
Part V. Licks
In this section, you'll learn 10 easy and 10 advanced fingerstyle jazz licks. These will help you add new jazz-fueled sounds to your vocabulary and develop your own playing style.
Part VI. SongSquad
Finally, we'll wrap up the class by challenging you to learn three original tunes (called SongSquads) by Arianna that tie together everything you'll have learned in the rest of the class. For each song, there's included TAB and a breakdown lesson video.
REAL students
Don’t take our word for it, take theirs
What guitarists love about this course
FULL REFUND, NO QUESTIONS ASKED
Improve your playing or get your money back
We’re so confident that we can improve your playing that we’re underwriting your membership with a 60-day satisfaction guarantee.
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Your Instructor
Arianna Powell
Learn how to play stunning solo-guitar arrangements. Join pro touring guitarist Arianna Powell as she breaks down the art of chord melodies.
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Frequently asked questions
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