How To Play Guitar Music

It is crucial to learn this scale in all 5 patterns, thereby bringing about the ability to play the scale in all areas of the guitar neck rather than just one. The first scale is master is the G Minor Pentatonic. After discovering the five patterns of this scale in G Minor Pentatonic , it becomes conceivable then to improvise lead anyplace on the neck over any rock tunes in the key of G Minor (such as the famous riff from “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple). The Minor Pentatonic scale is the 1st and most critical scale to learn, especially for blues and rock n’ roll. This scale is indeed utilised by blues guitar players as well, though far less often compared to rock and jazz players.

The 2d scale to learn and take control of is the Major Pentatonic scale. The difference between the use of the two scales plainly is that guitar players broadly speaking tend to play Minor Pentatonic when the tune is in a minor key, and Major Pentatonic when the tune is in a major key. In explaining this scale, I’m going to attempt to clear up by introducing a music theory subject, specifically the subject of minor and relative major, in a fashion apprehensible to most anybody. To begin, let’s start with A Minor Pentatonic; in essence, taking the G Minor Pentatonic scale patterns diagrammed on the Cyberfret website and moving each pattern two frets up. In spelling out the notes of the A Minor Pentatonic scale, we have:

A C D E G

By learning the Minor Pentatonic scale, in reality we also learn the Major Pentatonic scale as well. This is because the Minor Pentatonic scale and the Major Pentatonic scale have the same notes when separated by a minor third (i.e. three frets), with the major higher by a minor third in relation to its minor. So for example, A Minor Pentatonic and C Major Pentatonic (the relative major, up a minor third from A Minor) have the same notes, only different roots. The notes for C Major Pentatonic then are:

C D E G A

Thus, A Minor Pentatonic in Pattern 4 is going to have the exact same fingering as C Major Pentatonic in Pattern 3; this duplication occurs with respect to the other patterns as well.

Lastly with reference to the Pentatonic scales, rock guitar players on occasion will apply these two scales interchangeably: that is, they will play both the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales with the song remaining in the same key throughout the solo section. An example is Jimmy Page’s solo on “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”, where he begins the solo in E Minor Pentatonic, switches to E Major Pentatonic, back to E Minor Pentatonic, and concludes the solo in E Major Pentatonic. The use of the two pentatonic scales interchangeably is another beneficial rock and blues guitar lead technique to know and be aware of.

The next scale of importance to learn is the MAJOR SCALE. Of all the scales in existence that a guitar player should have comfortably in hand(s), this is THE ONE. True, the Minor and Major Pentatonic scales come first with respect to rock n’ roll, but the Major scale is used in all types of Western music: rock, jazz, country, classical, just about everything in between. In fact, the Major scale is the foundation for our entire system of Western music: chords, scales, keys, modes, all of these derive their basis from the Major scale. Knowing this scale on the guitar in the five patterns is indispensable. Incidentally, the web site http://www.theguitarfiles.com/scale.php is another good (and free) online source for building both the Major and the Major Pentatonic scales (and many other scales as well).

The Major scale is the same as the Major Pentatonic scale, with two extra notes. Thus, in the key of C we have:

C D E F G A B

This scale can make any rock guitar solo more interesting. Let’s say we have a simple rock power chord progression that’s in the key of A Minor, going from A to C to D to C then back to A. Of course, we could play A Minor Pentatonic over this progression and it would sound fine. However, playing only one scale over a rock progression becomes dull and boring in a hurry. Fortunately, there are other options. The best option that will work and sound good every time over a minor chord progression that isn’t too exotic is to play the major scale relative to the song’s minor key. So, over the above chord progression, we would play A Minor Pentatonic (with bends) and also add in notes from its relative major, the C Major scale. To backtrack slightly, if we wanted to make our solo for “Smoke On The Water” more interesting, we would play B Flat Major. Again, Jimmy Page provides another good solo example, this time with reference to the major scale. On “Achilles Last Stand”, even though the underlying bass riff during the solo section is in E Minor, every note that Page plays in the solo is a note found in the G Major scale, the relative major of E Minor. In short, knowing and being able to improvise using this scale opens up a much wider range of possibilities in rock n’ roll than just using the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales alone.

I like to contrast the differences between rock and jazz guitar lead playing when introducing the subject of arpeggios because playing arpeggios is generally more difficult than playing scales, just as jazz is generally more difficult to improvise than rock n’ roll (a point that could potentially stir some debate). Lead guitar for rock and jazz is fundamentally different from each other in three aspects that come to mind offhand:

(1) Jazz guitar players rarely bend strings on the guitar when playing lead, whereas rock guitar players bend strings frequently:

(2) Jazz guitar lead is more “straight-ahead”; that is, it tends to consist of eighth notes, sixteenth notes and triplets that fall on the beat; rock and blues guitar lead, on the other hand, is much more syncopated, with triplets and eighth and sixteenth notes falling on the off beat or sustaining over the beat, which makes writing the lead out on tablature and/or notation quite a bit more difficult, and:

(3) Jazz guitarists make frequent use of chromatic ideas and octaves in their lead playing; rock guitarists typically do not.

Simply defined, arpeggios are chords, played one note at a time. The reason arpeggios are more difficult to play on the guitar (perhaps more so than on any other instrument) when compared to scales is because string skipping and sweep picking techniques need to be used to play them effectively. Arpeggios that are played cleanly, however, sound very melodic and add dimension and power to any given solo. In my view, it is definitely worthwhile to learn arpeggios and eventually be able to play them well.

There are 5 types of arpeggios that are commonly considered the basic arpeggios; the major, minor, major seventh, minor seventh, and dominant seventh. The major and minor arpeggios (also called “triads” because they are composed of three notes) are crucial to know mainly for rock guitar lead playing. The major seventh and minor seventh arpeggios are indispensable for jazz guitar improvisation, primarily because it’s challenging, if not impossible, to find a jazz standard that doesn’t have a major seventh or minor seventh chord in it. The dominant seventh arpeggio is significant to know for jazz and particularly blues because the twelve bar blues is composed entirely of dominant seventh chords.

Diminished arpeggios should also be considered among the basic arpeggios but are somewhat tricky and require more attention. There is the diminished triad, the diminished seventh arpeggio, and the half diminished seventh arpeggio. The diminished triad is the same as the other two, only without the seventh; the diminished seventh arpeggio is symmetrical because it ascends in minor thirds ad infinitum; the half diminished seventh arpeggio is built from the seventh degree of the major scale (commonly known as the “minor seventh flat five” among jazz musicians) and has a minor seventh rather than a diminished seventh. The diminished seventh arpeggio is popular among many rock guitarists (probably because it can be played extremely fast with practice); the half diminished seventh arpeggio (along with the jazz melodic minor scale) tends to be popular with jazz players; the diminished triad is used by both rock and jazz guitarists, but to a lesser degree than their diminished and half diminished seventh counterparts.

This easy approach defined here is conceptually simple, but not easy. My hope is that the information in this report will help make your musical experience less mystifying and more pleasurable

In this article we will define Scale Degrees, their names and explain them and their relevance in our theory studies. As you have learned in Nathan’s excellent lesson on the Major Scale, each note of the scale is different. This trait is inherent to building a scale as no note in a scale may be repeated. In an effort to better understand the differences between the notes, we will explore Scale Degrees.

Will will use the Major Scale as our starting point. There are other scales and this information does hold true for most of them. Later, we will briefly touch on other scales and their related Scale Degrees.

The Major Scale Again, as you have already learned, the Major Scale consists of 7 separate tones. Here is the C Major Scale again as review:

C / D / E / F / G / A / B

Each one of these notes is given a designation through a Scale Degree Name. The names are in order and they stay in that order no matter what Major Scale is being used. Here are the Degree Names corresponding to their notes in the scale.

C - Tonic D - Supertonic E - Mediant F - Subdominant G - Dominant A - Submediant B - Leading Tone

Now, lets review each Scale Name and why it is called what it is. Important to recognize is the fact that the distances referred to here are in reference to the scales in their original mode. Once sub modes are considered, the distances from one note to the next note change. However, this is understood and when one refers to Degree Names, it is assumed that the original mode is being used. Also, in our previous lesson on Intervals, we learned that there are Major and minor 3rds and diminished and Perfect 5ths and that those intervals are comprised of various numbers of half steps. When dealing with 3rds, 5ths and 7ths in scales however, the counting method is used. Later, in this lesson, we will learn that Roman Numerals are also used to relate Scale Degrees. However, for our 3rd, 5th and 7th counting, Arabic numbers will suffice and are used as follows. Again, using the C Major Scale.

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

So, when we speak of the third of C in the C Major Scale, we simply count C as 1, D as 2 and E as 3. Of course, the C - E interval is a Major 3rd (four half steps) however, this step is not required as numbering the Scale works perfectly.

Tonic The Tonic is the focal point of the scale. The scale derives its name from the Tonic, the above is a C Major Scale. Likewise, all of the other scale degrees are so named by their relationship to the Tonic. Any piece of music written using a certain scale will use the Tonic as its focal point.

Supertonic The Supertonic is one whole step above the Tonic. This holds true for the Major and minor Scales.

Mediant The Mediant is a 3rd above the Tonic. It is also midway between the Tonic and the Dominant. The mediant is the 3rd of our scale. 3rds or Tertian Harmony, are that upon which chords are based. It is important to recognize the Mediant or 3rd of any scale. You will see it again and again and your knowledge of theory grows.

Subdominant The Subdominant is located a 5th below the Tonic. This is the first time we have been asked to count backward from the Tonic. Let’s review that for a moment. If we start at C and recite the scale backwards we have:

C / B / A / G / F / E / D

As we reviewed at the start of this lesson, a simple numbering of the scale is how 3rds, 5ths and 7ths are found. If we count backward from our Tonic, F is the 5th below the Tonic. While the Subdominant can also bo considered a 4th above the Tonic, it is important to recognize the 5th below element as that is where its name is derived. I will explain further in the Dominant definition.

Dominant The Dominant is located a 5th above the Tonic. Now is a good time to review the Subdominant. Sub meaning below gives us our reason why we counted the Subdominant as a 5th below the Tonic. The 5th or Dominant is so named because of its dominating role in harmony and melody. The Dominant is the 5 in the R+3+5, or Tertian Harmony, method of constructing chords.

Submediant Can you guess the relation and location of this degree just based on the name? Since the Mediant is a 3rd above the Tonic, the Submediant is a 3rd below the Tonic. The same counting method that we used in the Subdominant definition can be used here.

Leading Tone The Leading Tone is one half step below the Tonic. When playing a scale, one often ends on the octave above the Tonic. Since the Leading Tone is only one half step away from the Tonic, hearing the Leading Tone leaves the listener wanting to hear the Tonic as resolution to the scale. The Leading Tone leads the listener back to the Tonic.

Subtonic In minor scales the 7 degree is not a half step below but rather a whole step below the Tonic. This awkwardness of the minor scales is resolved with the different forms of the minor scales but that will be a different lesson. Just note that the 7 degree scale name in minor scales is Subtonic.

The Roman Numerals Scales Degrees are also described using Roman Numerals. While they do range from 1-7, the Roman Numerals serve another purpose. Nathan described in his lesson on the Major Scale the chords that are derived from that scale. When Roman numerals are used to describe Scale Degress, the also describe that chord related to that degree by appearing in upper or lower case. Here is an example:

C - I D - ii E - iii F - IV G - V A - vi B - vii

While it may appear a bit strange to see Roman Numerals in lower case, this is an accepted method of showing Scale Degrees and their related chords. An upper case indicates a Major chord, a lower case indicates a minor chord and lower case with this symbol indicates and diminished chord. The pattern of Major and minor chords is the same for any Major Scale. It will always be.