Posts Tagged ‘Introduction’

Basic theory knowledge pt 2: on Guitar!

Let’s now go back to the basic theory post (quite successful over 10k views just the day I posted!) , and let’s see how things apply to guitar…just read the explanatins in red and watch the videos!

Let’s start again:

The natural sounds are:

Sharps and flats.

# = sharp: raises the given note of a half step.

One half-step on guitar is a fret, easy. When you move up a fret (from the headstock to the body of the guitar) you are playing two notes that are a semitone/half-step apart from each other. From G natural to G# you would move up one fret.

## = double sharp: raises the given note of two half steps.

From G natural to G## you would move up two frets.

b = flat: lowers the given note of a half step.

From G natural to Gb you would move down one fret.

bb = double flat: lowers the given note of two half steps.

From G natural to Gbb you would move down two frets.

= natural: cancels sharps and flats.

The Chromatic scale.

In this first video I start from the chromatic scale and show you how to build a major scale:


The chromatic scale contains all 12 natural and altered sound (using sharps and flats).

Notes called with a different name, but identifying the same sound, are called enharmonic (i.e.: C# e Db). The shortest distance between two sound of the chromatic scale is a Half Step, the distance of a fret on the guitar.

Intervals.

An interval is the distance between two notes.

Intervals of a second, third, sixths and seventh are called major. If a major interval is raised by an half step it is calledaugmented. If a major interval is lowered by an half step it is called minor. If lowered by two half steps, diminuished.

Intervals of a fourth, fifth and octave are called perfect. If a perfect interval is raised by an half step it is calledaugmented. If a perfect interval is lowered by an half step it is called diminuished (note the difference).

All the intervals from the tonic of a major scale to any other note of tha scale are major or perfect (i.e. between C and D=major 2nd, C e E=major 3rd, C e F=perfect 4th, and so on…)

Intervals can also be calculated summing up half steps: one half-step on guitar is a fret, easy. When you move a fret up (from the headstock to the body of the guitar) you are playing two notes that are a semitone/half-step apart from each other.

where m=minor, M=major, P=perfect, dim=diminuished, aug=augmented.

How to build a major scale.

Read the theory and watch the video below:

The spacing of the notes in a major scales follow this rule:

WWHWWWH

Where W = Whole step (a major second)  H= Half step

Example : C major

To build major sales in other keys use exclusively either sharps or flats choosing the notes so that a note with the same note is never repeated. In doing so you will only use Diatonic half steps (given by two notes with different name, i.e. C-Db, opposite to Chromatic half steps given by two notes with the same name, as in D –D#).

ON GUITAR:

Major scale – fixed position patterns

The Major scale template above is from PlayGTR.net’s ‘The Guitar Kit’, a free collection of guitar templates.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ‘THE GUITAR KIT’ FOR ALL THE SCALES AND TEMPLATES YOU’LL EVER NEED!!

This is a list of all the major scales in all keys. The order follows the amount of sharps and flats in the key.

Keys with flats.

Keys with sharps.

Relative minor (key)

Every major key has one relative minor which is made of the same notes, but starting from the sixth note. In other words, starting a minor third below (or a major sixth above) the root of the major scale. For example if we take C major its relative minor is A minor, spelled A B C D E F G.

On guitar: To play the relative minor, just start two notes before the note in the red circle.

Circle of fifths.

The circle of fifths one of the most used ways to summarize all I explained so far. It is very useful to memorize how many and which alterations a specific key has.

I find very useful to memorize FCGDAEB and the same sequence backwards BEADGCF. The first is the order of sharps the second, of flats. So if a key has, for example, 3 sharps (A major) they will be the first 3 notes in the first seqence (F# C# G#).

Harmonized major scale – How to build chords.

A practical application on guitar:

In the example below every note of a major scale identifies a ‘degree’ of the scale. In the example I have used C major, but this is valid for every other major scale in any key.

If I stack on every degree two more notes a diatonic third apart (basically every other one) I end up with different kinds of triads (triad=group of three notes). These triads are shown in the example below. If we analyse the intervals between notes:

a Major Triad has a Maj 3rd and a Perf 5th (Eg. C-E-G: C-E=maj 3rd , C-G Perf 5th).

a Minor Triad has a min 3rd and a Perf 5th.

a Diminuished Triad has a min 3rd and a diminuished 5th.

You will have the same series of chords in all the other keys Eg: F major: F, Gm, Am, Bb, C, Dm, Em.

Already with this knowledge we can understand how to Analyze simple songs or how to write pop songs:

If we stack another note a diatonic third apart from the last note of the above triads we will have Seventh chords.

This again is valid for all the 12 keys. This concept is vital to understand how songs are built and how to pick the correct scale for a solo.

On Guitar this note choice for 7th chords might not work…let’s see some more popular choices to play this on guitar:

With this we can now analyse more complex songs like a simple jazz standard…watch the video:

I hope you enjoyed this lesson!

Basic theory knowledge

What follows is just a brief summary of basic theory and harmony necessary to understand practical applications on your instrument.

The natural sounds are:

Sharps and flats.

# = sharp: raises the given note of a half step.

## = double sharp: raises the given note of two half steps.

b = flat: lowers the given note of a half step.

bb = double flat: lowers the given note of two half steps.

= natural: cancels sharps and flats.

The Chromatic scale.

The chromatic scale contains all 12 natural and altered sound (using sharps and flats).

Notes called with a different name, but identifying the same sound, are called enharmonic (i.e.: C# e Db). The shortest distance between two sound of the chromatic scale is a Half Step, the distance of a fret on the guitar.

Intervals.

An interval is the distance between two notes.

Intervals of a second, third, sixths and seventh are called major. If a major interval is raised by an half step it is calledaugmented. If a major interval is lowered by an half step it is called minor. If lowered by two half steps, diminuished.

Intervals of a fourth, fifth and octave are called perfect. If a perfect interval is raised by an half step it is calledaugmented. If a perfect interval is lowered by an half step it is called diminuished (note the difference).

All the intervals from the tonic of a major scale to any other note of tha scale are major or perfect (i.e. between C and D=major 2nd, C e E=major 3rd, C e F=perfect 4th, and so on…)

Intervals can also be calculated summing up half steps:

where m=minor, M=major, P=perfect, dim=diminuished, aug=augmented.

How to build a major scale.

The spacing of the notes in a major scales follow this rule:

WWHWWWH

Where W = Whole step (a major second)  H= Half step

Example : C major

To build major sales in other keys use exclusively either sharps or flats choosing the notes so that a note with the same note is never repeated. In doing so you will only use Diatonic half steps (given by two notes with different name, i.e. C-Db, opposite to Chromatic half steps given by two notes with the same name, as in D –D#).

This is a list of all the major scales in all keys. The order follows the amount of sharps and flats in the key.

Keys with flats.

Keys with sharps.

Relative minor (key)

Every major key has one relative minor which is made of the same notes, but starting from the sixth note. In other words, starting a minor third below (or a major sixth above) the root of the major scale. For example if we take C major its relative minor is A minor, spelled A B C D E F G.

Circle of fifths.

The circle of fifths one of the most used ways to summarize all I explained so far. It is very useful to memorize how many and which alterations a specific key has.

I find very useful to memorize FCGDAEB and the same sequence backwards BEADGCF. The first is the order of sharps the second, of flats. So if a key has, for example, 3 sharps (A major) they will be the first 3 notes in the first seqence (F# C# G#).

Harmonized major scale – How to build chords.

In the example below every note of a major scale identifies a ‘degree’ of the scale. In the example I have used C major, but this is valid for every other major scale in any key.

If I stack on every degree two more notes a diatonic third apart (basically every other one) I end up with different kinds of triads (triad=group of three notes). These triads are shown in the example below. If we analyse the intervals between notes:

a Major Triad has a Maj 3rd and a Perf 5th (Eg. C-E-G: C-E=maj 3rd , C-G Perf 5th).

a Minor Triad has a min 3rd and a Perf 5th.

a Diminuished Triad has a min 3rd and a diminuished 5th.

You will have the same series of chords in all the other keys Eg: F major: F, Gm, Am, Bb, C, Dm, Em.

If we stack another note a diatonic third apart from the last note of the above triads we will have Seventh chords.

This again is valid for all the 12 keys. This concept is vital to understand how songs are built and how to pick the correct scale for a solo.

An Introduction – the big picture

In this short introduction I will point out what a musician/guitarist should know or should work towards to reach his/her full potential. Many times we get stuck trying to perfect little details, missing out on the bigger picture. This is so that you can be a well rounded musicians, of course, if that is your goal. This list is by no means complete: I will keep adding things and modifying as I go along…until satisfied.

Style(s)

You should be able to play both rhythm and solo in the most popular styles: pop, rock, funk, jazz, Motown, R&B, metal, classical and so on. Pay attention to the ‘feel’, on how musicians interpret or ‘carry’ the tempo: this is what we are trying to copy. Are they relaxed? Are they playing in a very aggressive way? Are they playing behind the beat or ahead of the beat? What are ‘typical’ chord progressions in a specific style? Or comping patterns? Soloing phrases? Are there traditional and modern ways of playing in that style? You’ll agree that a shred metal solo played in a reggae tune will sound out of place…so if you are asked to play a solo over a tune or comp in a specific style, you should be able to pull it out from your ‘library’. I am not saying that it is wrong to fuse different styles, but here I am trying to cover the everyday-type situation.
The best way to do this is by expanding your repertoire: learn all the classics, no matter what your favorite style is. Good tunes are good tunes regardless of the style they are played in.

Harmony/Music theory

A lot of guitarists like to think that just ‘playing by ear’ is good enough. But ‘good enough’ is not what we are aiming for here: this is about reaching your full potential, being able to have your sensed trained so that you can recognize music by ear, use your brain to analyze and your fingers to play it. Theory can be a two-headed monster: it is very easy to get stuck trying to understand everything…and forget about playing. So try and keep your understanding of theory related to what you are doing, whether it is playing or composing music. When you discover something new try to take the theory to your instrument or your writing routine. What you must know? I’d say the basics are: how to build chords, major/minor scale harmony, modal harmony, voice leading, functional harmony (=understanding the structure of songs and their chord progressions), the Blues and all that goes with it. Of course everything in all 12 keys!

Ear training

Ear training is the skill of recognizing pitch, intervals, chords, chord progressions and more. I’d say you should be able to recognize at least a major chord from a minor chord, a major key from a minor key, and all the intervals (distance between two notes). If you want to take it a step further you should be able to recognize chord progressions, from simple (2-5-1 and so on) to more complex; modes and modal progressions; extensions played in a chord (is that G7 or G7b9b13?) and so on.
A lot of people think perfect pitch (or absolute pitch) is essential to be the next Beethoven. I think relative pitch is probably more important. Yes, perfect pitch is great if you want to transcribe a solo and you don’t have your instrument with you, but I think to recognize progressions relative pitch helps a lot more. And relative pitch is easily acquirable.

This is a good website to check out to develop your skills:
http://www.good-ear.com/servlet/EarTrainer

Technique

Technique is not speed, how fast you play…technique is how cleanly you play. So try and focus on your articulation: it does not matter if you play one or a million notes per second. You have to able to play in a seamless way, without glitches and with good articulation. Keep yourself always in top conditions, as you’ll never know when you will need to pull out all the stops. Explore all possible techniques: alternate picking, economy picking, finger picking, legato, slides…It does not mean you will have to use only one exclusively; your playing will incorporate a mix of all of the above.
You will find many technical exercises at the end of the video lessons page.

Reading/Notation

Reading and being able to notate (=write music) is a great skill to have. First of all it will improve the knowledge of your instrument. Secondly it will open the doors of millions of tunes for other instruments that do not use tab. I mean, tabs are a great tool to quickly put down an idea…but trust me: you will never be presented a tabbed chart in a paid job, as you cannot sight-read tabs. There is no trick or secret about reading, all you have to do is find out how to read the black dots, where to find them on your instruments, and then just keep reading, a little bit every day, even just a few minutes, as long as it is music you have never read before. We are talking about sight reading here, not about learning a tune, so the material you read has to be something you have never seen before. Search online, borrow a book or look for charts in the music section of your library.

Composition

It is a known fact that you stand a better chance at ’making it’ (whatever that means) if you write/record your own music. And it is also a known fact that writing your music is a mix of inspiration and craft. So I suggest to write a bit every day if you can, and not to wait for inspiration. So when that great inspired idea comes along, you’ll have great craft to back it up.

Repertoire

I think this section goes well with the ‘Style’ section as well as the ‘composition’ section. Try and expand your repertoire as much as you can. At the end of the day, what you will be playing, the final results of your efforts and hours of practicing, are the songs you play live. Even if you only want to play original music you still should know the classics, and as many as you can. The best musicians I know can pull out the most famous songs (or at least ‘busk’ them) in any key, just playing by ear.

Sound/Gear

Know as much as you can about your equipment. Rather than having a lot of ‘stuff’ and changing it often, I would personally pick the equipment you like best and know how to use it in detail. If you want to dial in a specific type of reverb or chorus you should know how to do it quickly, like you would be expected to do in a ‘live’ situation. I see too many guitarists going through the presets of the latest multi effect processor, without knowing what the difference between chorus and a flanger.
Learn how effects sound, and how to ‘copy’ sounds you hear on records (e.g.: that guitar has a lot of hall reverb, some chorus, 800ms delay and a low gain overdrive).
Remember that a lot of the hype behind certain effects is marketing. If you want to emulate your idol in terms of sound, you might want to look into what kind of gear he/she plays, but if you want to create you own sound you need to have an idea of what sound you want in your head before you buy tons of pedals.

Instrument care

This is something I have learnt the hard way. When you are touring and you don’t have the luxury of a roadie, you need to know how to take care of your instruments, and how to perform basic repair/maintenance jobs. It will save you a lot of money as well, even if you have access to a repair shop. I am talking about basic setup, soldering cables, changing pickups, troubleshooting faults in your instruments, and so on. All you need to do is get yourself a good book (there are many out there) and a very cheap guitar to experiment on. Keep a basic toolbox with a screwdriver with interchangeable heads, a soldering iron with all that goes with it, a basic multimeter, a few different small sets of pliers, cutters, cable ties. See if there are parts in your equipment that need replacement often and keep backups. Warning: never put your hands in a tube amp if you don’t know what you are doing! There are very high voltages in some of the capacitors and if you don’t know exactly how to discharge them it can be fatal!

Self criticism/Reviewing/Knowing your strengths and weaknesses

Listen to recordings of your playing from different periods, keep them in a drawer and listen back from time to time. Be critical in a positive way: what do you think has improved? What do you think can be put back in your playing? Set goals for yourself and review those you have set in the past. Did you achieve them? If you failed, why did you fail? Remember that failing is not necessarily a bad thing, as we can learn a lot from our own mistakes.

Business mind/Being able to find work for yourself/Networking

Are you a good advert for yourself? What does your image say? It doesn’t matter how many degrees you have or how fast you can play, or even how many pedals you own, at the end of the day, unless you are extremely lucky, you have to have to know how to find work for yourself and how to network. There are many resources on the net (Myspace, for example) and on paper for you to find work…visit the ‘jobs’ page if you want to read more. Still, I think the best way is to find out where good live music venues are. Go check out the local music scene and when you hear a good musician, go talk to him/her.

Health/energy

Playing is more stressful to your body than you think. After a ‘rock out’ gig, you will feel exhilarated yet exhausted. The same if you play four hour-long sets in any style, or ten hours recording in a studio. Try to stay healthy and exercise frequently as energy levels have to be high all the time. I am not here to preach, but it is needless to say, stay away from smoke, drugs and all that, drink plenty of water, don’t eat too much junk and get a good night sleep. I think ‘balance’ is the right word here. Also try and channel negative energies to a more positive goal: sometimes if you are angry or frustrated you might find you perform better if you know how to channel that energy in your playing.

Inspiration/Artisticity

Sometimes you need to look for inspiration, or listen to how other artists found a solution for something you are looking into. I think a great way to do this, especially taking advantage of the current level of technology, is creating play lists. You can sort them by different keywords: by genre, by mood, by year, or even just because you like certain tunes and you want to incorporate parts of them in your style. It is true that, in musical terms, you ‘are what you listen to’. As a matter of fact back when Motown was writing ‘number one hit’ after another, the writers hired by the label were told to listen only and exclusively to number one hits so that they could ‘get that number one sound’ into their writing. That’s ‘food for thought’. You should ask yourself are you a guitar player, a musician, or an artist? And do you want to impress, entertain or express? I am sure you know what I am trying to say.

Goals

This is the most important part if you want to succeed musically, artistically, financially and professionally. Set goals and find out how to achieve them. When achieved, set new ones…and so on. A very good example: imagine you had to build your own house from scratch, all by yourself. You would need to find out what tools are needed, how to read the project from the architect and so on…

Fun

Remember to have fun with it! Remember why you started playing. Sometimes it helps not to take your self too seriously…