This is the section for all of the music and guitar theory related lessons and articles. Some of the more in depth and complex information on this site can be found here, although there will be lessons for those of all experience levels. It is important to have an understanding of music theory and guitar theory specifically to fully understand the instrument. The fretboard is a complicated grid to navigate, so the lessons in this section on interval theory and chords and scales will help you get it down. Remember that theory must be put into practice to become useful.
Here are some common scale formulas that you can get to from lowering or raising certain intervals of the major scale. These apply to all keys, and this is by no means a complete list. In fact, you can create your own scales by lowering and raising any note, provided that it doesn’t create a duplicate tone in the scale.
June 04 2008 | Guitar Theory
Scale formulas can really help you understand the notes that you are playing and when to apply certain scales. Knowing them will move you from playing memorized patterns to playing groups of notes and specific intervals with a desired sound and function in mind. Most guitarists have the modes of the major scale and other scales memorized, and in modal playing this is obviously helpful, but I have found that knowing one octave patterns of the major scale all over the fretboard and being able to modify them into other scales by lowering or raising certain intervals is a better way to look at scales.
June 04 2008 | Guitar Theory
Used as the basis of most types of popular music, major and minor scales are an important concept to grasp for musicians and songwriters of all sorts. Just being able to play the scales is not enough, you need to be able to understand them and implement them in different situations. This lesson will show you the notes and chords that they are composed of, and how they relate to one another.
If you are unfamiliar with basic music theory it is recommended that you read these lessons first: intervals and notes, key signatures.
September 25 2007 | Guitar Theory
Being able to read music is necessary for many styles of guitar playing including classical and jazz, but it is also important to know for any musician seeking to master their instrument. This chart will show you some basic symbols and parts of standard notation sheet music:
September 21 2007 | Guitar Theory
It is very important to have a good understanding of key signatures and the notes that make up a given key to progress deeper into music theory and the study of any instrument. Knowing which notes are sharp or flat in any key will help you understand what scales and chords to play during a piece of music. This list will tell you the name of every key and which notes contained in them are sharp (#) or flat (b).
September 21 2007 | Guitar Theory