So, you have become a little tired of simply playing your favorite songs without adding a little of yourself into the mixture? Or perhaps you are simply looking to expand your understanding of these favorite songs by exploring their inner harmonic and tonal fabric? Whatever your reason for being here, let me be the first […]
A Minor Pentatonic Scale – Comprehensive Theoretical Guide
There are scarcely more ubiquitous scales in rock music than the A Minor pentatonic scale, or the minor pentatonic in just about any key signature for that matter! It has been at the forefront of just about any major development in mainstream rock music you can conceivably name, effectively there since its very genesis. Since […]
Scales and Intervals: All You Need to Know
So, the essential building blocks of Western music. Doesn’t exactly sound like the easiest topic to be tackling. But the very strength of this topic lies in its reputation, on what it has founded. However, at its heart it’s no more difficult than basic mathematics, which the entirety of music in the West, theoretically or […]
How to Play the D Major Scale on Guitar?
Diligent and intelligent practise is key for learning in all its forms, and nowhere is this more evident than in the study of a musical instrument. The guitar especially lends itself to this ethos of success through repetition which, when harnessed intelligently and consciously, aligns in a seemingly post-human way all of these various aspects […]
How to Use the Ionian Scale on Guitar?
Making the way up the ranks as a guitarist, one could be forgiven early on for feeling as though the modes were another language altogether, one that would evade understanding, like audio-linguistic eels. However, like much of Western music theory, they have much more to do with mathematics and formulas (cue the Pythagorean mode!), so […]
Lydian Mode: How to Play it on Guitar?
Making the way up the ranks as a guitarist, one could be forgiven early on for feeling as though the modes were another language altogether, one that would evade understanding, like audio-linguistic eels. However, like much of Western music theory, they have much more to do with mathematics and formulas (cue the Pythagorean mode!), so […]
How to Use the Phrygian Mode on Guitar
Making the way up the ranks as a guitarist, one could be forgiven early on for feeling as though the modes were another language altogether, one that would evade understanding, like audio-linguistic eels. However, like much of Western music theory, they have much more to do with mathematics and formulas (cue the Pythagorean mode!), so […]
The Major Scale Formula for Guitar
Western music begins with the major scale, establishing its central tenets of chromatic, diatonic harmony, as well as of equal temperament between notes. Even the minor and minor pentatonic scales contain the same notes as their relative major scales, though we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. At the centre of all of this, […]
Beginner’s Guide to Guitar Scales Chart
When you first learn a new instrument of any kind, you start by learning all the notes. You can memorize the musical alphabet, which encompasses the tones on the treble and bass clefs. You may remember, for instance, that the notes on the low side spell out the word F-A-C-E. This theory and all that […]
Learn the Basics of Jazz Guitar
Many thanks to Marc-Andre Seguin from JazzGuitarLessons.net for providing this guest post. Learn more about the author at the end of the post.? Even if you have no intention of ever being a jazz guitarist, learning the vocabulary is essential to anyone looking to really expand their understanding of improvisational music and music in general. […]
The C Major Scale Positions on Guitar
In an earlier lesson we looked at how to play the major scale on guitar. In this lesson let?s take a look at the C major scale in multiple positions along the fretboard. Why Learn this Scale in other positions? Learning this scale all over the guitar will open up a lot more options for […]
How to Play the Blues Scale for Guitar
Ever wanted to learn to play the blues? One of the fundamentals of learning the blues is learning the blues scale. So in this lesson I will show you how to play the blues scale for guitar. There are some different variations on the blues scale but for the sake of this lesson we will […]
How to Play the Major Pentatonic Scale on Guitar
Last week we looked at the minor pentatonic, this week I will show you how to play the major pentatonic scale on guitar. Recap on Pentatonics Remember that a pentatonic scale is simply any scale with 5 notes within the octave. The major pentatonic is no different. Like the minor pentatonic, the major pentatonic is […]
How to Play the Minor Pentatonic Scale on Guitar
Learning how to play the minor pentatonic scale on guitar was one of the best things I ever did on guitar. It was the biggest breakthrough for me in terms of being able to improvise. The beauty of this scale is that it fits over so much. It works best with the blues but can […]
How to Play the Melodic Minor Scale On Guitar
In previous lessons we have looked at the natural and harmonic minor scales. In this lesson we finish off the trio by showing you how to play the melodic minor scale on guitar. The 3 Minor Scales As we learnt in the previous lessons, there are 3 different minor scales. The Natural Minor Scale The […]
How to Play the Harmonic Minor Scale On Guitar
In the last lesson we looked at the natural minor scale and today, as promised, we will look at how to play the harmonic minor scale on guitar. The 3 Types of Minor Scale As we learned in the natural minor scale lesson, there are 3 types of minor scales: Natural Minor Scale Harmonic Minor […]
How to play the Minor Scale on Guitar
This page is dedicated to teaching you how to play the minor scale on guitar. When we are talking about minor scales it is important to distinguish which minor scale we are talking about. This is because there are 3 different minor scales. Natural Minor Scale Harmonic Minor Scale Melodic Minor Scale This might seem […]
How to Play the Major Scale On Guitar
Learning scales may sound boring ? and it can be a bit tedious at times ? but it?s also really beneficial to your playing. This post will show you how to play the major scale on guitar. In future posts I will cover the various minor scales and other scales such as the pentatonic scale. […]