Free Guitar Class

3:6 The Blues Scale

2008-03-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

The Blues Scale, or Minor Pentatonic Scale is a fun and easy scale for playing along with blues or rock rhythms. Play this scale ascending, descending, mixing up pieces... any way that feels good to you. Once again, here's my backing track to jam along with.

Notice that in the key of G, it begins on the 3rd fret. Remember when I said to think of the 3rd fret as the "G" fret? Here's one reason why. So to play blues in the key of A, move the whole thing up two frets to start on the 5th fret (the A fret). For D, start it on the 10th fret... got it?

3:5 Twelve Bar Blues

2008-03-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

Twelve Bar Blues is the most common, most recognizable, simplest and most fun way to get started making music. Based on the I-IV-V progression, the pattern goes like this:

Now to play it in the Key of G, let's substitute the I, IV and V chords:

Now you play it along with my cheesy midi backing track!

3:4 Our First Song, Complete

2008-03-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

For "Holy Is The Lord", play through the chorus, then repeat. After the second chorus, we have a bridge section. Now you know all the parts to the song.

(click the music to enlarge)

3:3 The Circle of 4ths & 5ths

2008-03-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

If counting up and down frets is not your cup of tea, and you want to find the 4th, 5th and relative minors quickly, use this handy dandy chart.

Major chords are outside the circle in bold letters. Find the major chord for the 1 (the key in which you are playing) Move counter-clockwise one position to get the 4th, or clockwise for the 5th.

Minor chords are inside the circle. For each major chord, the relative minor is just inside the circle, connected by a line.

Cool, huh?

3:2 Common Chord Progressions

2008-03-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

(note - in this lesson, I may interchange numerals and Roman numerals, depending on the flow of the sentence.)

As previously stated, a chord progression is a series of chords, played in a sequence that produces a song, or part of a song. We've already looked at the I-IV-V progression. This progression appears over and over in popular music. You just can't get away from it.

How can you find the 1, 4 and 5 chords for a given key? Well the 1 is always the key you're playing in. But how do you find the others? Well, find the note with the same name as the 1 chord. Since we're used to taking the key of G for examples, let's use it. So find the G note on the top string - at the 3rd fret.

To find the 4, count up the string 5 frets. This gives us a C. The C chord is the 4th for the key of G.

To find the 5, count up two more frets. You get a D at the 10th fret. The D chord is the 5th for the key of G.

So now we have the three main chords for the key. But most songs will use more than three chords. Our first song "Holy Is The Lord" uses six. How do we find other chords that are part of the key, chords that are likely to appear in a song in that key?

Relative Minor
Very often, songs will contain chords that relate to our I-IV-V chords, called their "relative minor" chords. To find the relative minor to a given major chord, just find the note of the major chord and count down the neck three frets. What's the relative minor for the G major chord? Counting down three frets tells us it's an E Minor (Em). In the same way we can determine that C has a relative minor of Am, and D has a relative minor of Bm.

So now we know that in the key of G, we very well may find the following chords: G, C, D, Em, Am, Bm... any others? Quite often, you will also find the major chord two frets below the 1 chord, in this case, an F Major.

One of the beautiful things about music and songwriting is that it flows in all sorts of directions, or moods, or colors, or whatever you want to call them, and the possibilities are endless. Given the above information, you can explore music and amaze yourself with what comes out of your guitar.

3:1 Final Three Chords F-Am-Bm

2008-03-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

With these three chords added to the six you have already learned, you will be able to play thousands of songs. The A Minor is no more difficult than the others we've learned. You may need to practice the F and B Minor a bit, but don't let that stop you. Knowing them will open up a great deal more songs for you.

2:7 Our First Song, pt 2

2008-03-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

Let's continue learning our first song, "Holy Is The Lord" by Chris Tomlin. This time we'll add two more chords and play all the way through the chorus.

2:6 Basic Strum Patterns

2008-03-15T18:02:00.001-07:00

Pattern 1 is a simple down-up pattern. Most of the movement will come from your wrist, but don't be afraid to swing your arm slightly at the elbow. Alternate down and up smoothly. Try to get the same volume on the upstroke as on the downstroke. Repeat the pattern in a loop to keep the rhythm going. Count it 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and...

Pattern 2 is slightly more difficult. Don't play the strings on the 3-downstroke, but keep your arm and wrist movement the same as in pattern 1.

2:5 Three More Chords E-A-Em

2008-03-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

Three more essential chords:

Add these to your arsenal. Finger them as you did with the first three: 1 for index finger, 2 for middle finger and 3 for ring finger. A "0" means play the string open, an "X" means don't play that string. You'll need two of these for the next part of our song.

2:4 Know Your Fretboard

2008-03-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Homework! Print this chart out and fill in the circles with the notes. To start, fill in the circles at the top with the notes of the open strings, E-A-D-G-B-E. Then move down (actually up) each string using the musical alphabet.

2:3 E Phrygian Scale

2008-03-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

Here's a new scale to add to your practice routine. Basically, you're playing only the notes of the chromatic scale that are found on the white keys on a piano, the letter notes A-G. It sounds more like music, and it's easier than the chromatic. But don't quit practicing the other scale. This one doesn't work your pinky like that one does.

2:2 Notes on the E String

2008-03-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, knowing the notes of the musical alphabet, and that every fret on the guitar is a half step, look how easy it is to apply this amazing knowledge to the guitar.

Since our 6th string is tuned to an E, we can count up the string using the alphabet and determine the notes along the way. You can see from Fig. 6 that we're playing an F on the first fret, and a G on the third fret. So what's the note on the 2nd fret? That's right... an F#.

Now try it on the 5th string, which starts with A. What are the notes as you move up the neck?
You should have said A-Bb-B-C-C#-D...

Now here's a guitar player's tip:
Start thinking of the frets according to the letters you see in Fig. 6. Think of the 3rd fret as the "G" fret. Think of the 5th fret as the "A" fret. Notice that your guitar may have fret markers at key frets on the neck. Once you start playing moveable chords and scales, these markers will be your friends.

Also, remember when I said that the 12th fret is a magical fret? Since there are 12 notes in the musical alphabet, the notes start over every 12 frets, so many of the same things that apply on a given fret also apply 12 frets above. If that is confusing to you, don't worry about it. As you understand more and more about the guitar, it will become clearer.

2:1 The Musical Alphabet

2008-03-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

If you're familiar with music or piano, you probably know the names of the white keys on the piano, letters A through G. In addition, there are black keys which fall between some of the letters. Each step up or down, using all the keys, is called a half step. Go ahead and start thinking of the notes in half steps, since that's how we'll apply the musical alphabet to the guitar.

Learn the pattern of notes at the top of Fig. 5. Whether you start the pattern with an A or any other note, it makes no difference. The pattern is always the same. Guitar players tend to start with an E, since that's the lowest note on your guitar, and the open note on the top string.

This pattern of notes is what you are playing when you play the chromatic scale. It just starts with E: E-F-F#-G-G#-A-Bb-B... and so on.

Got it? Great. Now let's see how to apply the alphabet to the fretboard...

1:7 The Chromatic Scale

2008-03-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

There are a total of 12 different notes, letters A-G and five additional notes that are described as sharps or flats. We'll look later at the musical alphabet, but for now lets say that the Chromatic Scale is a scale that includes all 12 notes. You would play the chromatic scale on a piano by playing all the keys, white and black. On this scale, each interval between notes is called a half step. Likewise, each fret on a guitar is a half step, so you could play the chromatic scale by simply moving up or down a single string, playing each fret as you go.

But the great thing is, there's no need to move all the way up the neck. Remember the 5th fret tuning method? Once you get to the 5th fret on the 6th string, you've got an A. Hey! There's an A on the 5th string too! So lets play it like this...

Play the 6th string open. This is an E. Now use finger 1 on the 1st fret for the next note. Then finger 2 on the 2nd fret, and on up to the 4th. Then skip down to the 5th string and repeat. Notice that on the 3rd string you won't play the 4th fret.

The scale chart and the tab version are just two ways of showing the same scale. On the tab, however, the numbers are to show which fret, not which finger.

I hope you find this scale useful. Don't get discouraged if you can't do it well. If you play it a little every day, you'll steadily improve.

1:6 Our First Song, pt 1

2008-03-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

Time to learn a song, or the first part of our first song, "Holy Is The Lord" by Chris Tomlin. We'll learn to play the verse using our G-C-D (I-IV-V) chord progression in the Key of G

Here is the song: Holy Is The Lord

Don't try to play along with the recording, but listen to it for the strumming rhythm and where the chord changes come.

1:5 The I - IV - V Chord Progression

2008-03-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

This is really a teaser for a lesson we'll get to in Section 3, when we'll study chord progressions. A chord progression is simply a sequence of chords played to produce a song, or part of a song. The most basic of these is the I-IV-V (1-4-5) progression. The numbers are taken from a system called the Nashville Numbering System or the Nashville Notation System.

The numbers are taken from the scale named for the key in which you are playing. For example, the G major scale is as follows:

G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G

Seeing that this scale is made up of eight notes, what are the first, fourth and fifth notes of the scale? That's right... G, C and D. Whether we talk about rock music, folk music, country music, praise music or punk music, this progression, or a variation, occurs over and over and over again.

As I said, we'll get deeper into this later. But when we start working on songs, we'll first use the key of G, and the G-C-D (I-IV-V) progression. Later, we'll see how to find the I-IV-V for any key, but here are few examples:

Key of A: A - D - E

Key of C: C - F - G

Key of D: D - G - A

Key of E: E - A - B

1:4 Three Essential Chords, G-C-D

2008-03-13T06:24:00.000-07:00

Let's start playing guitar. Here are the first of the guitar chords you must learn in order to play the guitar. I repeat... you cannot be a guitar player without knowing how to play a G major, C major, and D major.

Look at the chord diagrams above.

The heavy horizontal line at the top represents the nut, so it's as if we're looking at an upright guitar neck. Above that line, you see that some strings are marked with a "0". This shows that the particular string is played open, with no fingers of the left hand touching it. A string marked with an "X" is not played at all, since those notes aren't part of the chord.

The other horizontal lines are the frets. The vertical lines are, of course, the strings, with the 6th (low E) string on the left.

The dots with numbers in them show (1) which string to fret, (2) which fret to play, and (3) which finger to use. We'll use this as a key: Thumb = T, Index Finger = 1, Middle Finger = 2, Ring Finger = 4, and Pinky = 5.

So, for example, in the case of a C Major chord, we use the index finger on string 2, first fret, the middle finger on string 4, 2nd fret, and the ring finger on string 5, third fret. The 6th string is not played. Easy, huh?

Practice these chords until they are second nature to you. You'll need them from now on.

1:3d ElectronicTuners

2008-03-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

Here, let me save you some trouble. Buy an electronic tuner. Even a cheap one will make your guitar playable A good one will run you $40 or more.

Some have lights, some have needles. But these little items will make your life easier. The downside? You might have to change the battery after several months. So you'll learn to keep one with your gear.

1:3c 5th Fret Tuning

2008-03-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

For this method, you'll still need to get your 6th string tuned to an E before starting. If your guitar is a little out of tune, but close, you can bring it in tune with itself at least. At any rate, you should learn to use the 5th Fret method. It will be useful at some point.

Here's how it works (assuming the 6th string is in tune, or close):
1) Fret the low E (6th) string at the 5th fret. The note you get is an A. Match the open 5th string to that pitch.
2) Fret the 5th string at the 5th fret. This gives you a D. Use it to get the 4th (D) string in tune.
3) Do the same thing on the 4th string to get a G and tune the 3rd string to match.
4) Fret the 3rd string at the 4th fret to get the B for the 2nd string.
5) Fret the 2nd string at the 5th fret to get the high E and tune the 1st string.

Once you have done this (and know a chord or two) play a chord to check intonation. An E chord works well for this. If it's not right, keep trying.

So, what are the problems with the 5th Fret method? Your low E string first has to be in tune, and you again need to rely on your ears. And lets face it, some ears are better than others.

1:3b Online Tuners

2008-03-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

There are some really nifty online tuners. As with using a piano, you'll need a good ear (and a computer, but if you're reading this blog, you may very well have one).

Here are some links to a few:

get-tuned dot com

chordbook dot com

gieson dot com

1:3a Tune to a Piano

2008-03-11T09:31:00.001-07:00

Tuning Method #1: Tune to a Piano

We will discover that there are a lot of similarities between the way notes work on a piano and on a guitar. Look at the piano keyboard below:

We'll find the E note for the 6th string below middle C on the piano. If you don't have access to a piano, don't know where middle C is, and can't make any sense of the illustration, then this may not be the method for you.

Locating the E below middle C, match that tone on your 6th string. Then work your way up to the high E on the 1st string.

The problems with this method are 1) you need a piano, and 2) you need a good ear for matching the notes. So good luck!

1:3 Getting In Tune

2008-03-11T04:35:00.000-07:00

This is the first of the posts that I have labeled as essential. In order to be a guitar player, you must be able to get your guitar in tune. I know it sounds crazy that I would even have to say that, but with the first class I taught, a month later kids were bringing in guitars with no way of tuning them, not having practiced tuning them, strung in such a way that they could not be tuned...

I decided that the next time I taught, I would take as much time as necessary to help students get their guitars in tune. Nobody is going to want to keep playing a guitar that sounds bad. So treat this as your first essential guitar skill - tuning your guitar. I'll try to give you enough options so that you can find what works for you.

First, let's learn the notes on the open strings.

Notice that under the note letter names E-A-D-G-B-E I've added the numbers of the strings themselves. Even though you might think the heaviest string would be string number one, we count the strings 1-6 from the bottom up. Go ahead and get that in mind as we'll probably use the numbers some in the future.

See the letters with lines next to them? The idea there is that you come up with a cute saying to help you remember the notes. I use "Eat A Dang Good Breakfast Everyday". I know "everyday" should be two words, but it works. I've also heard "Elephants And Dogs Grow Big Ears", and one that a student, Jared, came up with - "Every Animal Does Good By Eating". Come up with your own and have fun with it.

Now that we know the notes, how do we get the guitar tuned? We'll look at four ways to do it, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. But if you don't want to read, let me skip to the bottom line. Buy an electronic tuner. You'll thank me.

1:2 Holding a Guitar

2008-03-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

Stop slouching! Sit up straight! Did I sound like your mother? Well, she was right about that. You can play (and sing) better if you sit up straight. So follow these simple suggestions:

1) Sit straight with your back against the back of your chair.
2) Bring the back of the guitar in contact with your stomach/chest.
3) Rest the guitar body on your right leg (if playing right-handed), perpendicular to the floor.
4) On your fretting hand, place the thumb behind the guitar neck and fingers should curl at the knuckles.

That said, do whatever feels right to you, within reason. It is for fun and relaxation after all.

1:1 Parts of a Guitar

2008-03-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

Let's begin by getting familiar with the instrument:

Attached to the headstock are the tuners. Take a moment to look at the head of your guitar. Notice the direction in which the strings are wound on the peg. Turn the tuners a little and notice which direction makes the sound higher or lower. Notice where the heavier and lighter strings are. One day you'll break a string, or need to replace a set of strings, and you'll want to get it right.

The strings sit in grooves in the nut, which may be made of various materials. But generally on an acoustic guitar, it's the white strip at the end of the neck.

The frets are your friends. By "fret" we may refer either to the wire frets themselves, or to the spaces between them. Notice the fret markers. Many guitars have them at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and other key locations on the fretboard. You may have a double marker at the 12th fret. There's a good reason for that. The 12th fret is a magic fret... more on that later.

Examine your guitar and notice differences and similarities between it and others you have seen. Pay close attention to the bridge, and to how the strings are attached to it, and how they interact with the saddle. The saddle is a strip of material similar to that of the nut, which functions as part of the bridge.