Strange chord? Can you name it?

[SanityAssassin]

I put together a little chord progression and I love the sound of it. Basically it goes lover these chords Am7, the chord I want to ask about, Dm7, G and G7.

The Chord I would like to know the name of is very simple. In fact, I'm not sure if it is a complete chord. Instead of playing the Em chord, I lift my finger off the D string and play it open instead. So it would look like this 020000. I play this instead of Em7 because I don't think Em7 has the sound I'd like to have in my chord progression.

Also is it correct to say that it's in the key of A minor?

[DoubleTSurfer]

It is practically an Em7, but with your finger of the D string it turns it into an Em7+11. It can also be called an Em7(flat)5. Sorry I dont know how to create a flat symbol. I hope that helps a little though.

[Zeppelin_Maniac]

Instead of playing the Em chord, I lift my finger off the D string and play it open instead. So it would look like this 010000.

Hang on... let's double-check the fingering. In the quote above you say instead of playing the Em chord (022000), you lift your finger off the the D string. Wouldn't that make it 020000 instead of 010000?

[SanityAssassin]

Oops! I am sorry. Yes of course it's supposed to say 020000. I guess I slipped on the number keys or something :p

Thanks for the info. Do you also know why it's called Em7+11 or Em flat 5? Anyway, it's a really nice chord. And so simple :)

[Zeppelin_Maniac]

020000 is also an Em7. (according to chordfind.com)

[DoubleTSurfer]

Yeah, Zeppelin is right. The chord i gave you was for the 010000. Sorry about that.

[SanityAssassin]

Well it was my mistake :)

I tried out one of those automatic chordfinders, but it confused me. It displayed Dm7 as F6 or something.

[Zeppelin_Maniac]

It's all cool. We all know how to play 2 new chords now. Good stuff!

[DoubleTSurfer]

If you want, or might already have it, you can use PowerTab to find chords. Under tools there is a Chord Dictionary. Then there is a "Look Up Chord Diagram" thing that lets you put in the chord your looking for. That will give you all the possible chord names.

[TrevBales]

I havent been playing guitar for that long so I still have a lot to learn, but I was wondering what exactly are chord inversions and how do you figure what the inversion of a chord is? Thanks.

[MyMindIsGoing]

I think inverting a chord just means you're moving one of the other notes in the chord to the bass note instead of the root note. So for say a G major which is G-B-D if you play a chord where the B note (the 3rd) is the lowest note that's like the first inversion (I actually have no idea how you name them). So that chord I described could be like X20003 which I guess is pretty lame because it's just a regular open G but I took off the third fret G root, but hopefully you can see what I'm trying to say. So in summary an inverted chord is a like a slash chord except the new bass note comes from a note already in the chord.

If I'm totally wrong here somebody feel free to shove me aside :)

[Twisted Shadows]

Ok, I memorized the five patterns, and I understand that they are movable and the first note you play on the string is the root in the first pattern.
Here is where I get hung up however...If I am starting on the 3rd fret low E string how do I know which pattern to play. It seems to me the notes are similar in the patterns. Can someone take a few moments and pound this into my thick skull. If someone wants to play in the key of E, do I use pattern one starting at the third fret of the low E string? Where do I go from there if it is movable so I am not playing the same octave. Maybe my concept on what the patterns are all about is messed up. Would someone be so kind is to take a moment and pound this into my thick skull. I practice the patterns down the neck, but this can't be the way its done. Please help. I am VERY Frustrated.

Thanks.

[Allbran]

For pattern 1, your fourth finger starts on the root note - so to play in E, I think you'd have to start off with your 4th finger at the 12th fret. If you started with your fourth finger at the 3rd fret using pattern one, you'd be playing in the key of G instead, since the 3rd fret is a G note.

[fnmpm]

No, for the first position, E would be played with 1st finger (index on 12th fret 6th string). It would go [string-fret-note]:

[6-12-E]
[6-15-G]
[5-12-A]
[5-14-B]
[4-12-D]
[4-14-E]
[3-12-G]
[3-14-A]
[2-12-B]
[2-15-D]
[1-12-E]
[1-15-G]

And then back to the first root (6th string 12th fret). I hope this made sense. The other positions are for the various E roots down the neck. This was tricky for me and I just learned it. Having to memorize the notes is an arduous task :-/.

[Allbran]

It depends which pattern you're using though - I assumed Twisted Shadows meant the 1st pattern of the 5 different ones at the bottom of this page here:

http://www.nextlevelguitar.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=109

[Bounty]

okay bud here goes. I know this pretty well but to be honest I'm a little confused after reading the other posts. Here is a link to a site that will show you the minor pentatonic. You didn't say which scale you learned. I'll just go through the minor and the link should be q'ed up to the F pentetonic because the first note of the E pentetonic is the open low E string. I will also point out that it is very helpfull to learn the notes of the fretboard. I can show you a couple easyer ways to do that too. In the pentetonic minor your only playing 5 notes. That it. You just keep repeating them. Thats why it sounds the same. You can know all the patterns but if you don't know the fretboard notes it won't do you much good. Trust me I didn't believe this. I jut didn't want to put the effort into learning the notes and wow once I did it was like a whole new instument. Okay the 1st fret on the low E is an F note 2 frets up and 2 strings down is another one. Bang your at another F. That is the same with every note on every fret with one exception. The B and high E are up 3 frets. This will make more sense when your looking at the link. 1,b3,4,5,b7 is what your playing. What that means is F,Ab,A#,C,Eb You play all those notes. Everyone on the fretboard. The pattern are just how they fall. Its the same for every pattern. Hope it helped.

http://www.guitartrader.com/guitarcodex/index.html

[cptkirk23]

I'm taking a music theory class this summer but I was wondering if there's anything I can start working on to get a headstart. Lately I have felt like I don't really know where to go next while I'm playing, and I think music theory can help solve that problem, I just need a good place to get started.

[Bounty]

There are a lot of lessons on the site. Beginer and intermediate.

[MyMindIsGoing]

I don't really know what is taught in a music theory class but learning the intervals that make up a major scale and the notes that go into forming different types of chords (major, minor, 7th, maj7, etc) might be useful. (Unless you already know that stuff already).

[azumi]

yea i have been trying to learn the 7th, 7maj chords but thing i get confussed about is that u need to find the next major note to replace

[Twisted Shadows]

That was extremely helpful!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get it now! Thank you Bounty and all the rest for your kind assistance.

W

[Ovidiu]

Can somebody explain how are the root, 2nd third and all that stuff used different chords pls

Thanks

[Greg]

Sorry buy I don't understand what you mean, try to explain more.

[Ross86]

do u mean a power chord?

[disobedience]

It all comes from the Major scale. If you wanted to build a major chord you would use the 1st, 3rd, and 5th of the Major scale in the key you are working in.
Example:
Cmaj chord
The notes in the C Maj scale are C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C

If each note is numbered from 1 to 8 and you take the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes you have C - E and G to make up your C Major Chord.
Now take a look at the notes that you actually play when playing C Major as a chord.
LowE string - not generally used
A string 3rd fret is a C note
D string 2nd fret is an E note
G string open is a G note
B string 1st fret is a C note
High E string open is an E note

So the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the C Major scale make up the notes in a C Major chord :)

[Ovidiu]

Thanks disobedience really helpfull

[disobedience]

No worries Ovidiu...took me a long time to understand how it worked in terms that made sense to me :)
Just sharing what I've learned.

Rip it up!

[johnvalensi]

Hey guys please help me out.How do you actually solo?do u just run up and down the scales..erm i don't think thats the case based on stairway to heaven by jimmy paige.Any help is much appreciated.

[Flying V]

I think most rock solos are based of pentatonic scales. You dont run up and down them, you hit notes within the scale.

[Dmackenzie]

A solo should be as well planned out as a good melody... it's not just a time for a guitarist to show off, but it's also his/her chance to say something. Basically, if you know the key that the song is in, you can play around in the associated scales... so if you're in C major, you can play in C major, or A minor, or even A harmonic minor to give it a little more flavour...

dmack.

[disobedience]

I always try to look at the solo as part of the song.
If the music is telling a story..the solo should expand upon the same story.
:)

[Mitchell133]

A solo should be as well planned out as a good melody... it's not just a time for a guitarist to show off, but it's also his/her chance to say something. Basically, if you know the key that the song is in, you can play around in the associated scales... so if you're in C major, you can play in C major, or A minor, or even A harmonic minor to give it a little more flavour...

dmack.

Very nice point.

Yeah it's just several notes in the scale.

[JoanEG]

If you have a piece om music that is written for piano can you transpose that music for guitar.

[nlsstar]

yes you can...or should I say yes it's possible...I have only done it once and it wasn't all that difficult. I have also seen on tab sites where a song has keyboard parts that are transposed to guitar tab as well...now there maybe some things that just can't lay out right on guitar like if the piano part has both hands playing chords, if your piece is like that you may have to figure out which hand you want to transpose, or pick and choose from either hand.
Mitch

[Tocador]

look for related modes to the key you are in.. i like soloing in the relative minor of a song. if you're in G major, count down three semitones, that gives you E minor. pentatonics are good to solo in as well.

also another point which others tend to overlook. solos dont have to be fast. theres plenty of great solos that are slow (look at the first solo in November Rain, not exactly full-speed). a solo is just like you're talking. if you'retalkinglikethisitsreallyhardtounderstandyoub ecauseyou'resimplygoingtoofastwithouttryingtoprono unceeachwordanditsoundslikeyoureallyhavenoideaasto whatyou'redoing. whereas if you take your time, find the right notes,you'll sound great :) you can speed up some things, but dont go for a complete full speed solo, for most songs it simply doesnt sound good. if you do go for a really fast section, take a small break afterwards, or use it to climb higher or lower on the fret board. Slash does that sopmetimes (sweet child o mine solo, he speeds up about halfway through it to go higher on the board) or in Master Blaster, the bassist/ guitarist goes fairly quickly down :)

hope that helps a little bit :)

[the real prozac]

look for related modes to the key you are in.. i like soloing in the relative minor of a song. if you're in G major, count down three semitones, that gives you E minor. pentatonics are good to solo in as well.

also another point which others tend to overlook. solos dont have to be fast. theres plenty of great solos that are slow (look at the first solo in November Rain, not exactly full-speed). a solo is just like you're talking. if you'retalkinglikethisitsreallyhardtounderstandyoub ecauseyou'resimplygoingtoofastwithouttryingtoprono unceeachwordanditsoundslikeyoureallyhavenoideaasto whatyou'redoing. whereas if you take your time, find the right notes,you'll sound great :) you can speed up some things, but dont go for a complete full speed solo, for most songs it simply doesnt sound good. if you do go for a really fast section, take a small break afterwards, or use it to climb higher or lower on the fret board. Slash does that sopmetimes (sweet child o mine solo, he speeds up about halfway through it to go higher on the board) or in Master Blaster, the bassist/ guitarist goes fairly quickly down :)

hope that helps a little bit :)

Man, that was hard to read, but got the point across very well.

[gmattiuzzo]

I recently watched David's module on adding the 9th to the blues scale. I'm having a hard time understanding the theory behind where the 9th comes from. I know that the pentatonic scale (with blue note) goes 1, 3b, 4, 5b, 5, 7b, then back to 1. In David's module, he played the Am pentatonic and B was the 9th. Can anyone explain why B is the 9th in this scale? I think where I'm getting tripped up is that I thought the scale ended with the flat 7th and then went back to the root. Seeing a 9 (or any number above 7) threw me for a loop.

I had initially thought that maybe the 9 came from the 12-note scale, but when I looked at the 12-note scale for A, F is the 9th note in the sequence. B is the third note.

Help!

[steve23]

Hi,

I can tell you the answer, but not the why!

Here we go.

Ill illustrate this with the major scale, but obviously the idea applies across the minor etc scales as well.

When you 'join' two octaves of a scale together, you get the following notes numberd as listed (A maj scale)

1 = A 2 = B 3 = C# 4 = D 5 = E 6 = F# 7 = G#
1 = A 9 = B 3 = C# 11 = D 5 = E 13 = A 7 = G#

Note that although there are 14 notes listed in the scale, they are not numberd 1 to 14, but rather the numbers 1, 3, 5 and 7 repeat in the second octave.

Now, as said, i dont know how this came about, but it has to do with the fact that these are the 'important' members of the notes chord - i.e in A, the notes A, C# and E make up A major and if you add in G# you have the dominant seventh chord etc

So the only 'new' notes you need worry about is the 9th, 11th and 13th.

Simple thing to do is when presented with any number above 7, subtract 7 from it and thats the note you are talking about - so in your question, the 9th is a B (9 - 7 = 2 = B)

As said, my example above is a major scale, the minor will be the same but with a 'flat' 3, 6 and 7 notes

So, given that the pentatonic is five notes taken from the relevant scale, this should explain where the added 9th comes in!

Hope this is all clear enough - but shout up if not and ill try again.

By the way, this is good to get your head round as it becomes very relevant when you start using 9th, 11th and 13th chords etc.

All the best

Steve

[gmattiuzzo]

Steve,

Thanks so much for taking the time to explain all of this - I appreciate it very much. This definitely helps.

Geoff

[oasis123]

just a quick Q if i use a capo on the 4th fret and strum the chords Em,C,G,D
and then Am,E,F

what could them chords ring out to, if i was not using a capo?

thanks tom

[steve23]

Hi Tom,

In the order you wrote them:

G#m
E
A#
F#
C#m
G#
A

Putting the capo on the 4th fret raises all the 'notes' by four semi-tones, (two full tones)

So to illustrate with your first chord:

Em goes up one semi tone to Fm, then another to F#m, then another to Gm and then the final fourth semi tone to G#m.

Hope thats all clear enough - if not, shout!

All the best

Steve

[hookooekoo]

AWESOME,

The capo always confusededed me , but now it makes so much sense now, Thx.

[hookooekoo]

Err quick addendum

You say his 3 Note G is now an A#, would it not be a B?

[ace_mon]

Thanks Steve23.. I too was always confused with the Capos.. now its plain as day.. wow, :eek: it really that simple.. unbelievable..

[steve23]

Hi,

Hookooekoo - yes, sorry, thats a B not an A# - DOH!

:o

Steve

[duckstabbers]

or if there are two hands being used you could do one hand and get someone else 2 do the chords for the other!!!!!
adam

[ace_mon]

Hey, steve23 just a quick question about something on the Capo matter.. Ok say your capo 'ed at the 3rd fret and voice a D chord that would become F right.. and so now if we would voice a Dsus2 now would that F become Fsus2.. and would the same go for Dsus4.. and so forth for other chord shapes??

Thanks Much..

[RADAR_Brian]

You can also tune your guitar down to Eb for those songs that need it and just capo the first fret and have standard tuning back! Nice for quick changing your tuning.

[duckstabbers]

i have no idea how you can tell what key a song is in...yes im not exactly great at writing songs :( basically just seeing if anyone can help me???

adam

[stevenrocks]

try and work out which chords are being played in the song then look at the chart david has made in the written lessons or is it theory lessons anyway download that work out the chords then bam you know which key its in.

[duckstabbers]

ok cheer i know what sheet your on about i got it :) cheers for your help dude!!!!! hopefully i will be writing half decent songs in no time now!!!!

[ez-one]

here is a link to a printable table of keys, its one of the better ones and its free http://www.guitartrader.com/free-guitar-keys.html

[steve23]

Hi ace mon...

Yes - thats right.

How ever far you move your capo up (say three semi tones if you capo on the 3rd fret) all the chords and notes move up too - so as you said, your D shape chord is now an F in sound (D goes up one semi tone to D#, another semi tone to E and another semi tone to F)

Capos really are great things - esp if you like a bit of fingerpicking.

If playing along with someone else you can also use a capo on one of the guitars to give a different 'voicing' to the chords you are both playing for some nice effects.

Funny enough, I hava a guitar book from the 1930's (my dads, not mine!) and the author considers the use of a capo as just about the worse thing you can imagine, and only for amateur players! (Tell Paul Simon that)

I wonder what the author would make of my use of blu-tac to mute strings!

All the best

Steve

[RADAR_Brian]

You know,when the eraser for a pencil was first produced, "they" said it was a horrible idea and that it would make kids think it's ok to make mistakes!

ha.

[ace_mon]

Thanks Steve23.. i finally understand the capo.. lol.. and RADAR_Brain thats interesting about the erasers makes sense but, what about all the trees that would of been taken down if i where in school back then (j/k).. lmao..

[Dee1984]

Tiny Dancer by Elton John is a good example of this...

You can either play the tune fingerpick style to replicate the piano more accurately or just strum the chords - Dave Grohl did a version just like this.

:D

[guitargeek]

David talks alot about the color of chords, I was looking around for information on keys and found the following which talks about the characteristics/feeling evoked by various keys. This comes from wikipedia. Here's a link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(music)) to it.
Thought some might find it interesting.

Characteristics of Keys
Keys also exhibit certain characteristics in the music.

Here is a list of the characteristics of each key from Christian Schubart's Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst (1806)

C major
Completely Pure. Its character is: innocence, simplicity, naïvety, children's talk.
C minor
Declaration of love and at the same time the lament of unhappy love. All languishing, longing, sighing of the love-sick soul lies in this key.
C♯ minor
Penitential lamentation, intimate conversation with God, the friend and help-meet of life; sighs of disappointed friendship and love lie in its radius.
D♭ major
A leering key, degenerating into grief and rapture. It cannot laugh, but it can smile; it cannot howl, but it can at least grimace its crying.--Consequently only unusual characters and feelings can be brought out in this key.
D major
The key of triumph, of Hallejuahs, of war-cries, of victory-rejoicing. Thus, the inviting symphonies, the marches, holiday songs and heaven-rejoicing choruses are set in this key.
D minor
Melancholy womanliness, the spleen and humours brood.
D♯ minor
Feelings of the anxiety of the soul's deepest distress, of brooding despair, of blackest depresssion, of the most gloomy condition of the soul. Every fear, every hesitation of the shuddering heart, breathes out of horrible D# minor. If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key.
E♭ major
The key of love, of devotion, of intimate conversation with God.
E major
Noisy shouts of joy, laughing pleasure and not yet complete, full delight lies in E Major.
E minor
Naïve, womanly innocent declaration of love, lament without grumbling; sighs accompanied by few tears; this key speaks of the imminent hope of resolving in the pure happiness of C major.
F major
Complaisance & calm.
F minor
Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave.
F♯ major
Triumph over difficulty, free sigh of relief utered when hurdles are surmounted; echo of a soul which has fiercely struggled and finally conquered lies in all uses of this key.
F♯ minor
A gloomy key: it tugs at passion as a dog biting a dress. Resentment and discontent are its language.
G major
Everything rustic, idyllic and lyrical, every calm and satisfied passion, every tender gratitude for true friendship and faithful love,--in a word every gentle and peaceful emotion of the heart is correctly expressed by this key.
G minor
Discontent, uneasiness, worry about a failed scheme; bad-tempered gnashing of teeth; in a word: resentment and dislike.
A♭ major
Key of the grave. Death, grave, putrefaction, judgment, eternity lie in its radius.
A♭ minor
Grumbler, heart squeezed until it suffocates; wailing lament, difficult struggle; in a word, the color of this key is everything struggling with difficulty.
A major
This key includes declarations of innocent love, satisfaction with one's state of affairs; hope of seeing one's beloved again when parting; youthful cheerfulness and trust in God.
A minor
Pious womanliness and tenderness of character.
B♭ major
Cheerful love, clear conscience, hope aspiration for a better world.
B♭ minor
A quaint creature, often dressed in the garment of night. It is somewhat surly and very seldom takes on a pleasant countenance. Mocking God and the world; discontented with itself and with everything; preparation for suicide sounds in this key.
B major
Strongly coloured, announcing wild passions, composed from the most glaring coulors. Anger, rage, jealousy, fury, despair and every burden of the heart lies in its sphere.
B minor
This is as it were the key of patience, of calm awaiting ones's fate and of submission to divine dispensation.

Translated by Rita Steblin in A History of Key Characteristics in the 18th and Early 19th Centuries. UMI Research Press (1983).

[JDuclos]

"Pious womanliness and tenderness of character. "

HAha, very interesting stuff, nice find!

[guitargeek]

I thought it kind of cool. The language is very dated, but I think it still conveys some of meaning/feeling. A bit over the top perhaps. Reminds me of a wine expert describing a particular vintage in excrutiating detail and using descriptors like oak, floral, spice to convey its "essence". {No offense to any wine buffs out there. Just like anything else, the more you know about something nuance takes on greater significance and stands out.
}
Glad you enjoyed it. Hope others find something in it as well.

[vaxwell]

"bad-tempered gnashing of teeth"

Haha! I LOVE it! It's definately something to think about whilst writing/listening to songs. Thanks for posting this. :)

[nlsstar]

hey that was pretty cool...i liked the descriptions, explains alot to me too..lol...nice find and thanks for sharing:)
Mitch

[Big Ace]

Yeah very interesting, next time i go to right a song i'll check that out to see what i want to convey.

but myself i've always heard about the color of the chord and or key, but it all just seems real subjective to me, and any chord can represent about any color for me at any given time making me think their is very little relevance to it all, but i'm just cold hearted emotionless tool tho, i'm not really sure :d

[Kupnik]

Hello! I need some help creating a leadguitar, the rhytm is quite easy. How do I come up with lead? Let's say that the rhythm in a verse is G5 - D5 - A5 - B5, how can I create a leadline based on that? Or generally whatever the rythm is, what must I know?

Excuse me if my english is a little poor, I'm from Sweden.

[drewj]

Hi. I can't believe I am confused with tabs but here goes. I am looking at the following tab (Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day):

{e| |----------------
{B| |----5-----5-----
{G| |----5-5---5---5-
{D| |--5-------5-----
{A| |3-------3-------
{E| |----------------

I always thought that when the numbers appeared above each other you played both notes (so you'd play the fifth fret on both the g and the b string in this case). However, when I looked up a youtube video of someone playing the song, he was only picking single notes. Am I missing something obvious here?

Thanks a lot,
Drew

[ez-one]

it could be that he was hyper picking using the pick on the one string while plucking the other with his finger, but more than likely the guy you were watching on u-tube has learned a different way of playing it than the tabs that you have. If the tabs are from one of the free tab sites then you should know that they are attempts by people to figure out a song and are often way off, some are close enough to work, but lots are pretty poor, Even tabs that are in legit music books can still be off some, but are usally much better since the are tabbed by professional musicians instead of just anyone that has a guitar and wants to post their attempt. I would suggest playing it both ways and seeing which way you think it sounds better, sometimes taking the stuff that works from more than one source and putting them together will give you something better than eigther one by itself. Oh by the way, you are right about playing both notes at the same time according to the tab you show.

[BILLT]

Looks like an arpeggiated power cord to me.

[MyMindIsGoing]

Am C D F E.

These are the chords used in House of The Rising Sun. The Am chord sounds like "home" so I thought A minor at first for the key but A minor has Dm and Em chords in it, not D and E major chords. I've tried E major and C major as well and they don't fit either.

Anyone have any idea?

[drewj]

Okay I'll try that. Thanks a lot guys.

[girlfromdixie]

House of the Rising Sun is in Am I think. Those same chords are also in the key of C, which is related to Am. I think I'm remembering that right, anyway.

[MyMindIsGoing]

Well E major is not in the key of C, that's what's screwing me up. I found this little snippet here: http://www.guitarnoise.com/faq.php?id=107 which says that the key for HOTRS is not well-defined. I'm not so much interested in that song as I am interested in what key an Am, C & E chord progression would be in, and so far the answer appears to be none.

[Dee1984]

Well you can certainly have chords that step outside the constraints of the key, i think... But at first glance I would say thats in the key of C, or Am, but I lack knowledge of the minor key theory. :)

[girlfromdixie]

Well E major is not in the key of C, that's what's screwing me up. I found this little snippet here: http://www.guitarnoise.com/faq.php?id=107 which says that the key for HOTRS is not well-defined. I'm not so much interested in that song as I am interested in what key an Am, C & E chord progression would be in, and so far the answer appears to be none.

I don't know much about this so someone else may need to correct me. The Harmonic minor and Melodic minor keys of Am contain the E chord, although the C would be Caug. Maybe the fact that HORS is arpeggiated, so the notes are actually played one at at time instead of all at once, makes a difference? I dunno. You could email David Hodge and ask! Or you could email our own David here.

[MyMindIsGoing]

The first chord progression goes like: Am C D F Am E which could be be A natural minor at the beginning and harmonic minor at the end but now there's that D major chord in the middle, I don't know where that fits either.

The song (of my own) that I'm actually working with actually has a Dm which fits both scales so I think I'll try mining both scales for chords and see what I come up with. I appreciate the contributions from everyone though.

I wish David would stop by and help us out but I was under the impression that he usually saves his advice for the paying members section, am I right?

[ez-one]

David comes through here every once in a while, his personal ask David a question is reserved for the paying members, so that we can ask questions about lessons we are on or things that we are working on. I play it all with barr chords and the first C is played as a barred E on the 8th fret the E7 is played as a C7 but at the 7th fret and the second C is played as a 5th string root barred A at the 3rd fret here is the progression
Am, C, D, F, Am, G, C, E7 I was playing it with a friend who has a much better grasp on music than me and he said that one of the chords was not in the same key as the rest, but when he played the right chord I did not think that it sounded as good

[triumphdave]

I will also point out that it is very helpfull to learn the notes of the fretboard. I can show you a couple easyer ways to do that too.

http://www.guitartrader.com/guitarcodex/index.html

Hi Bounty
I would be interested in this if you wouldnt mind shareing.:)

[Crate SG]

shoot... i wouldn't know but mayby you can play the notes g, d, a, b on the neck.

[robc445]

Doing things like that are really well beyond my limited knowledge but I would guess that you could find a scale in the proper key and try playing that over the rythm and see what it sounds like. you might have to try several to find something that sounds right but it would probably get you in the ballpark any way and give you a starting point to improvise from.

[ez-one]

first you want to figure out what key you are in, then find some target notes that fit on the chord changes, then work fills from the notes in that key trying to get back to your target notes, that would be a good start

[Jess]

well it looks to me as if your in G, so try G minor and major pentatonic plus G dorian. All of your G major scales will work basically. Just emphasize those G notes.

[Crate SG]

me to plzz bouty if you are still doing this

[GeorgeC]

Hope this helps.
1. You got all five positions of the pentonic. That's the hard part, and your beyond it now.
2. All five positions have within them two "root" notes -except one position that has only one root note.
3. You can play in any key you wish by simply identifying the root note of that position.
4. Keep the entire scale and all five positions unchanged; if you simply slide the entire petonic down three frets you just switched from playing in the Minor key and just moved in to the Major Key.
5. What helped me the most was practicing in a different key every day.

It's all really simple once you can identify the "root" note of each position. Getting that down is much easier in comparison to mastering the entire scale. You'll be challenged again to capture all the notes on the neck. Practicing in a different key every day leads to that whether you want to learn them or not it can't be avoided.

Good practicing my friend.

[macdave]

As an intermediate player diving into to some theory, which scale should I learn first the major scale or the Pentatonic, or does it matter?

Thanks
Dave

[tommo2]

A major
This key includes declarations of innocent love, satisfaction with one's state of affairs...

An example of a key in A major:
Out on the Weekend - Neil Young.

It opens with:

I think I'll pack it in...


LOL:D

[the real prozac]

D major
The key of triumph, of Hallejuahs, of war-cries, of victory-rejoicing. Thus, the inviting symphonies, the marches, holiday songs and heaven-rejoicing choruses are set in this key.

Canon is in D, so this kinda makes sense.

[Max_Rockwell]

Hmm.. don't know who you were asking but i feel like replying with an answer.

The Minor Pentatonic scale is used a lot more than the Major Pentatonic scale in music overall. If you want to have immediate fun with your scales, start with the minor pentatonic. You'll be soloing to almost anything. Then once you got those down, move on to the major. Both are important, but just so you dont' get bored or frustrated, go with the minor pentatonic scale first.

[Crate SG]

DO you guys reccomnd any sites or books to learn music theory! I'm also saving up my money for next level guitar!

[custom24]

www.nextlevelguitar.com :) (Shameless plug) But in all seriousness, David steps you into theory without overwhelming you, giving you digestible chunks, which is very helpful. I've read how to build a major scale a thousand times, but it never sunk in, but after going through the lessons here, it's easy and effortless. Well worth the money. Consider that a year here is like $120, now think how many private lessons $120 would buy you. No comparison.

[Crate SG]

thanks i joined next level guitar before and finished the basic section and before i could start the intermidiate my month finished. So yea i'll save up my money and join the next level guitar.

[JeremyT]

I would like to know this as well Bounty if you are still around! If not thanks anyway!

[Crate SG]

Okay I am writting my first song and its very basic chords (5th chords)
Key of Bb
Intro - D5 F5 A5 C5
Verse 1 - F5 C5 Bb5 D5
Chorus 1 - D5 F5 A5 C5
Bridge - D5 A5 C5
Verse 2 - F5 C5 Bb5 D5
Chorus 2 - D5 F5 A5 C5
Solo??:mad: :confused:

I'm confused about the solo:(!! The Scales I know are Major and Minor Penatonic (Just the basic shape). Will i use major or penatonic, what notes do i pick out, :eek: I just want to be able to finish this Solo and add lyrics. I have no idea where to start. Plzz help, tips, ideas, anything plzz

[tazdevil20]

You can try first by using your minor pentatonic (G minor pentatonic) which is the relative minor of Bb. Just emphasize the Bb notes instead of the G notes. This is the same as Bb major pentatonic. You can start out by playing the basic box shape on the 6th fret (6th string is the Bb root).

[Crate SG]

so i pick out notes from the notes of the Bb minor penatonic scale?

[tazdevil20]

You could play a Bb minor pentatonic, but I would play Bb major pentatonic (which is the same as G Minor pentatonic) instead.

[Crate SG]

So Bb major penatonic = same notes as G minor Penatonic? is That right

[tazdevil20]

Yes, G minor is the relative minor of Bb major. The 6th degree of any major scale is the relative minor for that major. For example, Am is the relative minor to C Major. A is the 6th interval in the key of C Major.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C D E F G A B C

Notes in A Minor scale
A B C D E F G

[Mannana]

Thanks Zep, chordfind.com is great

[kiuythabbott]

Hi people, I need to learn to play the blues guitar and the thing being that its not as easy as it seems cause I cannot find a good teacher to make me learn this and the second thing being the cost of private lessons…. so I am looking for online classes. I have an acoustic guitar with strings made from other than nylon in standard tuning.

I have some basic knowledge and know to play a few chords. But what I need is a crash course or something for beginners to get on going. Please do drop in your ideas to help me. (Hail the great William Christopher Handy who wrote the first blues song “Memphis Blues”)

Thanks in advance!

[screamin eagle]

Well there are a few different directions to go, but getting a book to follow may be your best and quickest to get started. I don't know what kinda blues you want to play, but I can recommend so books to get you started.

Blues You Can Use vol 1 is a great place to start. It touches on different flavors and artists and gets you working around the pentatonic system really fast. Also, the author has a website called bluesyoucanuse.com where he has a forum for folks to discuss lessons, techniques and the author answers lots of questions.

Texas Blues Guitar by Musicians Institute is a good compliment to the other book because it is more focused on rhythm guitar for blues. Each lesson is a study in a particular rhythm. The first is a slow blues lump, or shuffle. It also contains a few variations to throw in and make the shuffle a bit more interesting. The next part of a lesson 1 is the second guitar part--playing partial chords on top of the shuffle--this is an important part of learning the blues on your own. The third section is a solo (all tabbed out) to play over the shuffle progression.

While blues you can use will get you making lots of different blues sounds, from Delta acoustic, to swing and jump blues, to T-Bone Walker, to blues rock, to gospel blues, all the while teaching you to use the pentatonic scale system in all of these different styles showing you how to get different sounds from it, the other book provides a good focus on rhythm, which is the most important part about blues guitar, period. If you can't keep your rhythm in the blues, you won't be sounding musical with any solo or single-string.

There are many, many books to get--these will cost you about 25 bucks together, and should provide you with about 6-12 months worth of work, depending on how much you practice.

If you are not feeling these books, you should consider just about anything by Arlen Roth. He is probably the best guitar/blues/country teacher in the country--he has taught guitar to hundreds of accomplished artist, i.e. paul simon, art garfunkel are just two of his students.

I have two of his books, and they are great. He does have a book title something like "Complete blues guitar" or something like that. It was he second every published books, and is considered an treasure trove of useful blues knowledge. I don't have this book, because of the others that I do have, and I don't like getting books that overlap too much.

Any questions just ask.

[ez-one]

David now offers a dvd on beginner blues guitar, that might be a good place to start. Avoid the places on the net that say you can Learn to play the blues in 30 days and stuff like that, most of them do have some useful stuff but not for what they charge, there are some free lessons over on youtube that also might help ya, Hal Leonard Guitar Play along series also has a few blues books that seem pretty good.

[kiuythgfd]

I believe that it’s good to learn online as I have the example of my friend who has really made himself good on guitar by learning from the net. He used online lessons and it did him good.


Please read the rules before posting

[kiuythabbott]

Hello everyone,

I really want to learn electric guitar. My favorite electric guitarists are BB King, SRV, Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, David Gilmour etc.

How difficult is it for a fingerstyle player to learn electric guitars and be able to play Blues Solo? I only play with thumpick and three fingers and never learn to play with a pick. And I am very new to scales etc. I personally feel that learning online lessons could be a better option then going to private classes…Anyone here knows a good source for online lessons for beginners interested in electric guitars.

[Blewbyou]

http://www.nextlevelguitar.com/

It's all you will ever need and more

[screamin eagle]

forget the pick since you already play without one. A lot of blues players don't use one, and many players, Eric Clapton for one, say that tone is in your hands and the players who play with their fingers have the best tone. I do both. Buddy guy does both--E.C does both.

[kiuythgfd]

I applaud your decision to go online. A good source to
http://www.nextlevelguitar.com/

[Jessica]

I wasn't able to view the link correctly. Can someone send me the link that BOUNTY offered on minor penatonics?

[screamin eagle]

What Bounty was touching on is a technique for learning the notes on the fretboard.

Here you go:

If you are playing barre chords then you should be familiar with some 6th string notes--the G on the 3rd fret, the A on the 5th fret, the B, C, E.

If you know this, than you already know the notes on two strings--the low E and the high E. What bounty was talking about is the Octave trick. On the 6th sting and 5th string (Low E and A) you can locate a note on the 4th and 3rd strings just by knowing the note on the 6th or 5th string. Here is how it works.

For both of these strings you skip one string down and skip one fret down.

E|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|----
B|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|----
G|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---D-|-----|-----|-----|-----|--G--|-----|----
D|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|--A--|-----|-----|-----|-----|--D--|-----|----
A|-----|-----|-----|-----|--D--|-----|-----|-----|-----|--G--|-----|-----|-----|----
E|-----|-----|-----|-----|--A--|-----|-----|-----|-----|--D--|-----|-----|-----|----

So if you learn all the notes on the 6th and 5th string you will be able to figure out quite quickly the notes on the 4th and 3rd string--Which means that you know the notes on the 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd and 1st string.

That only leaves the notes on the 2nd (B) string.
To find the notes on the B string you can use the same approach, but you skip two frets instead of one--it looks like this:


E|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|------|-----|-----|-----|-----|----
B|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|--G--|-----|--A--|-----|-----|-----|----
G|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|----
D|-----|-----|-----|-----|--G--|-----|-A--|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|----
A|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|------|-----|-----|----|-----|-----|-----|-----|----
E|-----|-----|--G--|-----|--A--|-----|-----|-----|-----|----|-----|-----|-----|----

There are other ways to help learn the notes--you can count up or down from the open position of the 12th fret. Or you can use the Root trick--which is: there are 5 'root shapes' that can be used to find any and all of the roots. This is a good thing to learn after you have gotten down the octave trick that I have posted. I will elaborate on the 'root shapes' if you guys want me to.