expertvillage asked:

Playing minor chords makes your guitar sound sad;learn to play guitar in this free video guitar lesson. Expert: Aaron De Azevedo Bio: Aaron De Azevedo is a musician, composer, song writer, and teacher who has recorded for TV shows and cds. He has been playing for 11 years. Filmmaker: joseph wilkins

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Michael Fletcher asked:




This article presumes that the reader is familiar with several different types of guitar scales, and has a good working knowledge of guitar chords (triads and extended chords). Further, this article presumes that the reader is familiar with some basic music theory (key signatures, chord and scale function within a key signature, etc.).

In general, guitar scales and guitar chords are a must-know for every guitar player. The depth of each player’s knowledge is relative only to the desire of each individual guitarist. For example, some guitarists can play a few guitar scales and guitar chords, but have no desire to truly understand the music theory behind those scales and chords. Other guitarists thrive on scale and chord construction, diatonic and chromatic relationships, and usage (including substitution principles).

This article is intended for the intermediate and professional guitarist. It is also intended for the advanced beginner who has decided to advance to intermediate and then on to professional levels of proficiency.

Learning and practicing guitar scales is essential to one’s growth on the instrument. If one truly desires to learn to play guitar, then guitar scales must become part of the learning process. Of course, the exception is for the campfire type of guitarist. Playing a few songs at the beach doesn’t require an in-depth study of guitar scales.

As the title of this article suggests, one can practice guitar scales and have fun with music theory at the same time. In fact, if one is practicing correctly, recognition of music theory should be occurring simultaneously along with the mechanical practice. Let’s play a game with guitar scales and music theory. This is an easy game to play, yet extremely profound in application.

First, we must establish the foundation for the game. Therefore, we’ll utilize the major scale along with it’s construction and function within a diatonic tonality. Further, and in the spirit of simplicity, the C major scale will be referenced for explanation purposes.

The C major scale (diatonic scale) consists of eight notes (scale tones) to the octave. For example, C (1)-D (2)-E (3)-F (4)-G (5)-A (6)-B (7)-C (8) represent the notes and degrees of the C major scale. In theory, these notes are represented as I-II-III-IV-V-VI-VII-VIII or I (VIII always means I). All of these notes and numbers represent the players in our upcoming game.

The purpose of the game is simple. However, an explanation for playing the game is appropriate in order for one to fully understand the essence of the game.

Years ago, one of my students asked me how many different ways the major scale could be played. At the time, I was teaching in Hollywood California. I instructed my student to go grab the Los Angeles phone book (sitting on top of an amplifier in my recording studio), and bring the phone book to me. Baffled, my student complied with my request. I opened the phone book and asked my student what the population of Los Angeles was. Of course, the answer is millions of people. Millions of people results in millions of telephone numbers. Hence, the name of the game is Playing The Phone Book.

The rules of the game are as follows. The numbers of any telephone number are matched with the corresponding degree of the major scale. For example, the telephone number 576-3321 would translate into playing the following notes V-VII-VI-III-III-II-I or G-B-A-E-E-D-C (5-7-6-3-3-2-1). When the number 9 is encountered, it means to skip to the next note. When a Zero is encountered, it means to repeat the previous note or command. When the number 8 is encountered, it means the same as the number 1. How would you play the phone number 236-5431? How about 652-3800? How about 871-9056?

How many phone books would you suppose exist in the United States? How many phone numbers would you suppose exist in the United States? How many different ways (presuming you understand the phone book game) do you think the notes of the major scale can be played? Millions! That’s right, millions.

By playing the phone book, one develops an awesome awareness of note location and note function. There are hundreds of variations of this game that I teach to my willing students (for scales, chords, and substitution principles). The results are staggering for both fingerboard awareness and knowledge of music theory.

The next time you find yourself with a little time on your hands, pick up the phone book and play it. However, be ready to receive a few strange looks from your loved ones and friends when you attempt to explain your actions. That’s also a part of the game. You know, it’s called consequence. Just kidding! Have a great time playing the phone book.

2008 Michael E. Fletcher. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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Ken Bishop asked:




Learning to play guitar chords is often one of the first things every new guitar player focuses on. These chords fit into categories together called “keys”. In order to learn guitar chords to the proper extent and be able to place them in songs and progressions correctly, the player also needs to learn a little bit of music theory.

When we see our favorite musician doing an acoustic set with just a microphone and a guitar, we are mesmerized by their ability to make their guitar create those wonderful sounds. A student guitarist tries hard learning to play guitar chords as well as the musician who had inspired them. In order for us to create these sounds ourselves, we need to know what chords that musician had used in that song. Sure, they might have been using a tip here and a trick there for an added sound effect, but it was still simply a guitar making the sound of a particular chord.

By learning to play guitar chords, we will easily be able to hear, recognize and understand the method in which they are used in our favorite songs. We may even be able to write a few songs ourselves by putting this knowledge to use.

While many people ask friends or others for help in learning to play guitar chords, a lot of people turn to books, dvd’s and the internet as well in order to learn tips and tricks that they might not otherwise be fortunate enough to learn. One thing to remember, however, is that each persons interpretation of each song is different and so are playing techniques.

When it comes right down to it, everyone has their own unique style of playing and no matter how much we want to and try to mimic our favorite guitar god, we will still have our own style that will make us at least a little bit different than all the rest. It’s also important to remember that everyone’s guitar knowledge is on a different level so when you ask a friend what those guitar chords were, they may not even know the name. A lot of players simply memorize instead of learning so they know how to form the chord but they do not understand the theory behind it so they cannot really share any information other than a hand’s on visual.

If it is your desire to play the guitar you should seek the help of a professional when it comes to learning to play guitar chords. You can get a qualified teacher in your area or you can even do it online on your computer.

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Peter Edvinsson asked:




A guitar is a fantastic instrument. It can be extremely difficult to master but it also invites you to explore the beautiful but easy chords that are available. I will give you some easy but nice sounding progressions to explore!

In this guitar lesson I will use a special form of tablature with only numbers. I have found that the ordinary tablature staff can be displayed completely wrong on some article sites.

Therefore I invented this tablature notation instead. It works as follows:

The first number indicates the fret to press down. The number after the slash tells you what string to play. Here is an example:

3/2

This means: Press down the third fret on the second string and play the note!

Why should you learn the following guitar chords?

1. They are easy to learn.

2. They sound good.

3. They give you examples on what you can do with a guitar.

Learn a flamenco guitar sounding progression

In this guitar lesson we will begin by learning what you can do with an ordinary easy E-major chord. It is played like this:

0/6 2/5 2/4 1/3 0/2 0/1

If you slide this guitar chord up one fret the three open strings will sound the same but as the other frets change you will hear a completely different chord with a morish touch to it. We can notate it like this:

0/6 3/5 3/4 2/3 0/2 0/1

Our next guitar chord is created if you slide the chord up two frets further. This will result in the following chord:

0/6 5/6 5/5 4/3 0/2 0/1

Now it is time to use these guitar chords to create a flavour of Spain. We can call the first chord A, the second B and the third C. You can play the chords in this order:

A B C B A

or a little more sophisticated:

A [A B] A [A B] A B C B A [A B] A (The chords between brackets played faster)

Learn some pop sounding guitar progressions

We will start out this guitar chord progression with the same basic E major chord:

0/6 2/5 2/4 1/3 0/2 0/1

Now we will change the sound of the chord by sliding it up three frets to the following position:

0/6 5/5 5/4 4/3 0/2 0/1

It will now be a nice sounding E minor 7 chord.

Try to slide the chord up two more frets and you will get the following guitar chord:

0/6 7/5 7/4 6/3 0/2 0/1

This guitar chord is called A add 9.

We can use the same method we used in the previous example. We call the first chord A, the second B and the third C.

You can play these chords in the following order:

A B C B with four downstrokes on each or a little bit faster with two downstrokes on each chord:

A A B A C C B B

Finally we will add just one more position to slide to with the chord. Move it up two more frets and you will get the following guitar chord:

0/6 9/5 9/4 8/3 0/2 0/1

It’s a sort of B chord and we can call it D when we construct patterns. Let’s experiment a bit with the chords we now have at our disposal. Play four fast downstrokes on each chord:

A B C D

This was just a few examples on what you can do with common basic chords. You can try this method with the common A-major chord or other chords and listen to the results.



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Christopher Sung asked:




This article is devoted to learning how to play guitar (and even those just thinking about learning to play or giving the gift of music to a loved one) and how to approach gaining some kind of proficiency on the instrument. Now, we’ve all seen people playing the guitar at various times, sometimes on TV, sometimes up close (a real treat), playing various kinds of music and at varying skill levels. I think the hardest obstacle to overcome when you’re learning how to play the guitar or thinking about starting is the thought that playing the guitar is only something musicians can do, or is only for people who are musically inclined. The simple fact is that anyone can learn to play the guitar. It’s just a matter of spending some time with it on a regular basis, and practicing in a manner that’s both fun and productive. Once it becomes part of your routine, it’s only a matter of time before your skill level and confidence develop.

When I started learning the guitar, there were a couple of learning aids I found to be indispensable. They include:

Learning to Play Guitar Chord Reference Book – This is really helpful when you’re not sure how to play an F chord or a B minor, or want to learn some other ways to play it

Artist Songbook – This is a songbook which has the piano, lyrics, and guitar chords to your artist’s favorite songs, and is great for learning how to strum and change from chord to chord

Classical Guitar Book – This helps you familiarize yourself with the feel of scales and arpeggios, and also improves your sight reading

Guitar Tab Songbook – As you progress, you’re going to want to play some of the guitar parts from your favorite songs note-for-note, meaning exactly as your favorite guitarist plays them. This type of book has the music for this both in standard notation and guitar tablature



I had a very insightful guitar teacher who started off each lesson by showing me a new chord and how to play it. Some good chord reference books that tackle these types of chords are the Whole Book of Guitar Chords and The First Book of Chords for the Guitar both written by Dan Fox. Once I had a feel for the chord, he would choose a song from a songbook from one of my favorite bands that used this chord (say a B minor or an A7) and would have me learn that song using an appropriate strum pattern. My mom played the piano, and would often visit the music store to buy sheet music songbooks from her favorite artists, so eventually I got her to buy me a few gems of this type:



Beatles Complete – This is a valuable book for two reasons. One is that it’s The Beatles. The second is that The Beatles composed songs with relatively few and very easy to play chords (“I Saw Her Standing There” has three), and also songs with many and often unorthodox chords (“Michelle” has, um, a lot), especially when used in rock music. This makes it a great vehicle for learning new chords incrementally via their songs

Neil Young – Decade – My brother wore out this recording and when I started playing some of the tunes from it on the guitar, it gave his little brother some instant credibility. Many of the songs in this book were recorded by Neil on the acoustic guitar, so it lends itself to the beginner who’s learning on an acoustic

Led Zeppelin Complete – This is a strange and beautiful book. It has the main guitar riffs for every Led Zeppelin song on the first five albums (I – IV and House of the Holy) but it’s in standard notation. I spent a summer learning every song in this book and not only did my guitar playing improve, but so did my sight reading

Eric Clapton Deluxe Revised – This contains some of the best songs from Cream, the Layla disc by Derek and the Dominoes, and some of Eric’s early solo work, but it’s unique in that it has a separate section with some of Eric’s best guitar solos transcribed. Eric is a great role model when you start learning how to play a guitar solo, because some of his solos are simple enough that they can be played by a beginning-intermediate guitar player (though it takes a lifetime to learn to play it with as much feeling as Eric)

Once we covered the chord of the week and the song that went with it, we would tackle a classical piece. One of the best classical books I can recommend, especially if you’re not a classical guitarist, is Classical Studies for Pick-Style Guitar – Volume 1. This book is great for developing your right-hand picking and also for developing your sight reading since all the music is in standard notation. There are some interesting pieces by Matteo Carcassi, which require you to arpeggiate various chords, and also some Bach Inventions that are arranged for duet guitar, so you can play with a friend. You can hear how this sounds in an on-line guitar lesson I created at WholeNote – Bach’s 8th Invention.

The one thing that’s changed over the past decade in sheet music for guitarists is the emergence of guitar tab songbooks. In the late 1990′s, an archive of guitar tablature files was collectively created and dubbed the On-Line Guitar Archives (OLGA), in which random guitarists from around the world created text files containing their own transcriptions of how to play your favorite songs by your favorite bands. The problem was that the quality and accuracy of the transcription was hit or miss. Sheet music companies finally wised up and started releasing accurate note-for-note transcription books, which were the real deal. In my day, you were a god if you could play the guitar solo, “Eruption”, played by Eddie Van Halen off Van Halen I, because you had to learn it by ear off the record, which is pretty much impossible. Today, you can just buy the Van Halen I guitar tab songbook and get all the music for Eruption both in guitar tab and standard notation. Oh, and they also throw in the rest of the songs from Van Halen I, and from Van Halen II, as well. I’ve always loved the whacked-out intro that Eddie plays in Mean Street, which opens the Fair Warning recording. The Van Halen Guitar Anthology Series has the tab for this, note for note, including every last harmonic, pick scrape, bend, and tap. It’s unbelievable. And it’s not just Van Halen. You can find similar guitar tab songbooks for The Beatles, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band, Nirvana, Green Day, Audioslave and pretty much anyone else you can think of.

Finally, as you develop your practice routine, the one thing most often overlooked during practice is being able to play in time. When you start to get comfortable with chords and strumming, there’s a natural tendency to stop or to hesitate while switching between chords. A good metronome will make you aware of this and force you to play in time. The Qwik Time QT-7 Quartz Metronome is a good budget option and provides a good click, while the Wittner Wood Case Metronome w/ Bell and Cover is the kind you can hang onto forever and pass along from generation to generation (and I should know – I have one from my grandfather). The Fender MT-1000 Chromatic Tuner/Metronome is unique in that you get both a metronome and a guitar tuner in one convenient package. Very handy, indeed.

You too can learn to play the guitar today! Hopefully, this gives you a bit of direction as you learn to play the guitar. Remember that it’s simply a matter of spending some time regularly practicing some of the basics and then applying them to your favorite music. Keep expanding your knowledge of the basic chords and learn to play songs that use them, along with the strumming patterns of the tune. Combined with some classical pieces for dexterity and developing your sight-reading chops, you’ll be well on your way to mastering the guitar in no time!





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Peter Edvinsson asked:




Turnarounds are chord progressions with the last chord taking you back to the first chord thus making it possible to play these progressions over and over again as an intro to a song, an ending or between verses. Here are some nice sounding but easy turnarounds for you!

In order not to mess up the layout with the guitar tab staff I will not include left hand fingerings but I suggest that you choose left hand fingers carefully so you don’t get into trouble!

However, in order to learn to play these guitar chord progressions as intended I will say something about your right hand fingerings.

When you play these progressions on your guitar I suggest that you play the bass notes with your thumb and the first three guitar strings with you first finger, middle finger and ring finger.

Of course you can use a pick if you **** picking with you right hand fingers. If you strum the chords you will have to mute unused strings with your left hand fingers or otherwise you can pluck the strings with your pick using different patterns.

The first chord progression includes the guitar chords A F#m7 Bm11 and E7. You can use any right hand pattern you like as you play the chords.

1. —0—0—0—0—

2. —2—2—3—3—

3. —2—2—2—1—

4. ——————-

5. —0——-2——-

6. ——-2——-0—

Our second turnaround consists of the guitar chords Amaj7, F#7, Bm11 and E7. When you learn to play these turnarounds I strongly suggest that you follow my advice above about left hand fingerings.

When you have found the most effective fingerings for the guitar chords it is important that you stick to the fingerings so that you can learn the progressions by heart and be able to move between chords fluently.

1. —0—0—0—0—

2. —2—2—3—3—

3. —1—3—2—1—

4. ——————-

5. —0——-2——-

6. ——-2——-0—

Turnaround number three is a bit harder to play, at least the last chord which requires a bit of stretching. The chords are A, F#7+, Bm11 and Bb7add+11.

Try to move your fingers as little as possible when changing chords. To keep the fingers close to the fretboard will help you change chords smoothly. Here is the guitar tab:

1. —0—0—0—0—

2. —2—3—3—3—

3. —2—3—2—1—

4. ——————-

5. —0——-2—1—

6. ——-2———–

The last guitar tab turnaround consists of the chords Aadd9, C9, Fmaj and Bb9+11.

The most difficult and most important thing when playing chord progressions on your guitar isn’t to hold a chord but to change between chords.

To practice really effectively you can choose two consecutive chords and practice changing between them in a slow tempo.

1. —0—0—0—0—

2. —2—3—1—1—

3. —4—3—2—1—

4. ———–3——-

5. —0—3——-1—

6. ——————-

Now you can play four guitar progressions that of course can be mixed. You can replace the second chord in a progression with a second chord from another progression and so on.

I will end this learn to play guitar article by showing you a right hand pattern you can use with the chords. Use the pattern once for every chord in the progression. The thumb will of course be on different bass strings depending on the chord.

1. —a—a—

2. —m—m—

3. —i—i—

4. ———–

5. —p——-

6. ———–

There are many common turnarounds that are used frequently in pop songs like the old pop song Diana, Last Christmas and many more. To practice the common progression C, Am, Dm, G7 in different keys is a good way to learn how chords are related and also a good way to practice the art of changing between chords in a smooth way.

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