DarrenHayhurst.com » Music Theory for Guitarists http://darrenhayhurst.com Amalgamation of Music and Media Mon, 10 Oct 2011 05:07:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.3 Music Theory 1 for Guitarists http://darrenhayhurst.com/2009/08/music-theory-1-for-guitarists/ http://darrenhayhurst.com/2009/08/music-theory-1-for-guitarists/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:56:05 +0000 Darren http://darrenhayhurst.com/?p=125 Music Theory 1 for Guitarists! You can jump around through these lessons but I advise to follow them in order so you don’t have gaps in your learning. Have your Guitar in your hands and go through what your reading as you read it. So go pick it up and lets get started. I want to keep these lessons short and easy to grasp. If you have questions leave me a comment and I will help.

This is where it starts. Thick E string… From the open Fret to the 12th Fret. This is one octave. From the open string to the 12th fret you have 12 notes. They are… E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, and E again. REMEBER THIS!!! E and B have NO Sharps, NO #’s. This is important. Its not hard just remember it. E and B have no sharps. Play each of these notes and call out the names as you go. Starting Open, play each note sliding up one each time. E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, and E again. You have just played One octave. This is a scale, its called the chromatic scale and in my mind it is the most important scale to know. All other scales are created from this scale. All chords are created from this scale. In fact EVERYTHING in music is taken from this scale. In my mind it is the most important scale to know. As you will find out in the coming lessons this scale is very important to know. Seems easy just sliding up and down the neck but then Music Theory is VERY easy. A lot of intellectuals and music teachers make it seem hard and take you the long way around but music theory is VERY easy.

So does this make sence? 12 notes = 1 Octave. E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, and E again. Its called the chomatic scale. E and B have no sharps.

Now for the practice. This is an important scale and will be used more than you could ever imagine. Play it, up and down. Dont worry about how you play it just slide your finger up and down and learn the names of the notes. I cant stress how important it is to know the names of these and where they are. We will use it to name Chords, Scales, Start positions, Ending positions, so many different things.

Some points to help learn these notes… Open is E… The first dot on top of your neck is the 3rd (on most Guitars) This is G… The 5th is A… If you slide up 1 fret from the A your playing A#. If this seems really simple its cause it is. Music Theory is not hard at all. Its all very simple. Just take your time and make sure you practise.

If you think this is too easy for you thats great. Stick with this and you will learn more than you could imagine. With in a very short time you will be playing different inversions, modes, embelished chords, understanding Harmony and Theory and composing complex music. All lessons are this short and this easy. All Music Theory is easy. And this is all aimed for Guitarists. Remember at any stage if you have a question, chances are someone else is thinking it so ask here in the comments section and I will answer.

Cheers

Darren

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]]> http://darrenhayhurst.com/2009/08/music-theory-1-for-guitarists/feed/ 0 Music Theory, A basic understanding for guitarists http://darrenhayhurst.com/2009/08/music-theory-a-basic-understanding-for-guitarists/ http://darrenhayhurst.com/2009/08/music-theory-a-basic-understanding-for-guitarists/#comments Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:07:36 +0000 Darren http://darrenhayhurst.com/?p=118 For so many years now i am still amazed at how many Awesome Gutiar Players dont know anything about music. On so many occasions I have said to fellow axemen “Play the 6th chord” or “You play the 3rd” and im looked at like a freak! I get why they dont, and in many ways that is one of the reasons the guitar is such an awesome instrument to play. The guitar is tuned in 4ths and this basicly means you can learn a shape on the neck ie an “E” chord shape and then using a bar with you first finger, move it anywhere up or down the neck and play any other like shaped chord. It works with every shape chord “A” like double bar chords “A-” chords, what ever. The very cool part is it works with Scales, Riffs, Runs etc. What ever you can play can be moved to a new position and then play it in any key.
Now this is going to be the first of Many Many posts on this topic because it is huge and encompasses so much important information. I have taught this very same information to my all my students, purely because it is so important. I love to see them go from being a Riff playing guitarist playing purely by TAB and ear, to being able to compose, transpose and play what they actually hear in their head. I hope to use this to be able to do the same from you. I would how ever like your feed back on how clear it is to understand this information as I give it. The advantage of teaching one on one is that I can see when the light goes on for my students and move at thier pace. This information is by no way hard and I have taught it to everyone from 8 to 80, but like everything in life there are concepts to grasp and once you get them everything clicks. But sometimes those alone can be tough to get. If you want this information Subscribe so you can get the lessons as I make them. Understand that once you get this your playing and more so your understanding of “How” to play will explode. If your keen to learn how to write and take your playing to a new level subscribe and let me help. This is by no way new information but if its new for you it will blow your playing out to a totally new level.

Cheers
Darren

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