Jam Babble

Understanding keys in music is something beginners often overlook. Whether it’s because they feel it’s too difficult or they just don’t have a need for it I’m not sure. One thing I am sure about is that without some basic understanding of musical theory and how keys work you’ll plateau as a guitar player.

In this lesson I’m going to provide you with a primer on musical keys, how to find the right chords that “fit together” in a particular key as well as provide an example. After reading this article you’ll be able to start figuring out keys for yourself.

What is a Musical Key

The definition of a musical key can get complex. The easiest way to say it is that music in let’s say the Key of D is harmonically centred on the note D major and also uses the notes inside the D major scale. So to fully understand the notes/chords in the Key of D major we must refer to the D major scale, but don’t worry it’s not every note you’re going to be playing. Some sound better then others.

Finding the Right Chords in each Key

There’s an easy method to find the best chords to play together in each key. The method is known as one-four-five, some times written with roman numerals as I-IV-V.

This pattern refers to the note numbers in a given scale. So in our example above in the Key of D major we would refer to the D major scale and pick out the first, fourth and fifth notes that occur. These notes would be the one, the four and the five of the Key of D.

Example in the Key of D

The D major scale looks like this:

D E F# G A B C# D

So from the D major scale we can see that our one is a D, four is a G and five is an A. You can play those notes from the scale as chords and you’ll have a great sounding chord pattern in the key of D.

Watch the following video for some more insight into the I-IV-V pattern and another example.

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The 12 bar blues isn’t a tough concept to understand. You do need some basic knowledge of scales, and if you know you’re way around the neck a bit that will help. If you’re not there yet don’t panic, these tips on how to play the 12 bar blues will explain how you can discover what chords to play in each key and what order to play them in. Also in the video lesson at the end of this article I’ll give you an example of how to play the 12 bar blues in A at 2 different locations on the neck.

The 12 bar blues is basically a simple pattern. While you can play the 12 bar blues in the key of A, B, D etc. There is one easy method to remember which notes you plug in.

Here’s what the 12 bar blues pattern looks like: 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 4 – 4 – 1 – 1 – 5 – 4 – 1 – 5

I now, numbers aren’t notes. No problem, because each one of these numbers corresponds to a particular note from a scale. The scale depends on the key you’re playing in.

Let’s presume you want to play 12 bar blues in the key of A. Looking at the A Maj scale:

A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A

We’d grab the first, fourth and the fifth notes which would be A, D and E. Next we plug those notes into the pattern above which would make our 12 bar blues progression: A – A – A – A – D – D – A – A – E – D – A – E

Of course when we play it as a blues progression we normally use a bit of a shuffle feel with some power chord like chords. The video below will explain more about how to play this, but this article explains the basic theory behind formulating a 12 bar blues progression.

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Learning the notes on each guitar string is an important foundational lesson for all beginners. Unfortunately it’s also something that is going to require a bit of practice at first and a little memorization.

In today’s post I’m going to explain first the difference between half steps and whole steps as well as how that translates to the guitar neck. Next I’ll explain the spacing between each musical note A through G and finally I’ll give you an example of how to find the different notes on the low E string using the different steps and fret spacings explained in this article.

So Lets get Started.

The concept of half steps and full steps comes from the Piano. Since we’re not dealing with a piano we need to understand it in terms of our guitar neck.

One half step is the same as one fret on your guitar neck. So to make up a full step that is the same as two frets.

REACP

1/2 step = 1 Fret
Full Step -= 2 Frets

The spacing between each note (A through F) is either one full or one half step. The easiest way to remember is that all notes have a full step between them except for B to C and E to F, between each of these notes is only one half step.

RECAP

Space between all notes is one full step

Exceptions: B to C = one 1/2 Step and E to F = one 1/2 step

Ok time for a quick example.

To get started it’s important that you know the names of the strings, E, A, D, G, B and E. We’re going to start with the low E or 6th string for this example.

So when we play the open E string we’re of course playing an E. The note that comes after E is F and if we remember from above E to F is one of the exceptions that only has one half step between them. So we move up to the 1st fret (remember each fret is a half step). Playing the low E string on the first fret is an F.

Let’s do another one.

What comes after F? It’s a G note. We know that there is a full step between the F and G notes so we have to move up two frets to the 3rd fret. So the 3rd fret on the low E string is a G note.

One more just to make sure you’ve got the hang of it.

After the G note we go back around to the beginning and play an A note. The spacing between the G and A notes is one full step so again we must move up two frets. Slide up to the 5th fret on the low E string and we have an A note.

Starting with each open string you can easily find the notes all the way up the neck just by remembering the space between each note and then convert that to number of frets.

Below is a quick video that recaps this lesson and also shows you the notes on the A and D strings as well. Take a few minutes to watch this video and after wards grab your own guitar and give this exercise a try.

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Most of us are familiar with playing Pentatonic scales. Those are the scales I’m always talking about here on the blog and they are primarily the first scales most often introduced to beginners.

Why? Well they have fewer notes then a Diatonic scale and are usually used in most pop/rock lead guitar pieces.

The difference between a diatonic and pentatonic scale is the number of notes used. A diatonic scale adds in two notes that are skipped in the pentatonic bringing the note count to all 7 notes from the scale rather then the 5 or “penta” notes used in the pentatonic scale.

When you’re trying to become a faster guitar player it’s worth learning and practicing both forms of these scales. I think they add a different dimension to your playing and they also strengthen your understanding of the notes on the fretboard.

I found a good video by Jonathan over at Guitartipsweekly.com that explains the Am Diatonic scale. You can watch it below and it should clear up a bit more of the possible confusion that exists between the Pentatonic and Diatonic scales.

He’s used some really nice images along with the video that help explain what he’s trying to teach in this quick video lesson.

I recently just put together a Learn and Master guitar video review. I’ve for quite a while felt that this self study learn guitar course was one of the best available but couldn’t really find a way to get that across in articles and blog posts.

So I decided to do a Learn and Master guitar review in video format.

I have a copy of this course and feel that it’s not just the fact that it uses videos that makes it such a great product. It’s the combination of all the items in the course, how they interact and the lesson plan that was developed by course author Steve Krenz.

You see the video sessions are just the start of your journey to learning guitar using this product. Once you’re done watching a lesson you can refer to the lesson book which has 20 different sections, one for each session on the 10 dvd’s. The lesson book offers additional practice exercises and a refresher of what was offered in the video.

If you’re interested in learning to play guitar, and private lessons aren’t your thing, watch my review. Learn and Master guitar might just be the product you’ve been looking for to teach you how to play.

There’s a system you can learn on the guitar neck to help you learn major chords using easy to remember chord shapes as barre chords. The system is known as the CAGED guitar system, it’s not often taught in guitar lesson dvds how ever it’s becoming a popular method among online guitar videos and other formats.

The basic premise is by using five major chord shapes C-A-G-E-D (also used to make up the name of the system) you can position them as different barre chords on the neck and create other major chords.

EXAMPLE: You can make an E major chord not just in the E position open but also by making a barre chord with a D shape at the 2nd fret, a barre chord with a C shape at the 4th fret, a barre chord with an A shape at the 7th fret and a barre chord with a G shape on the 9th fret.

All three of those examples yield an E major chord and notice how they also incorporate all five different chord shapes from the CAGED guitar system.

This can be a bit difficult to understand by reading it so I have a short four minute video for you to watch on the topic. After watching the video you should be able to go grab your guitar and practice the shapes made in the video along with finding out other variations of major chords else where on the neck.

This is a fun little system to incorporate into your practicing and adds a new dimension to playing your major chords.

Happy Practicing!

I was pretty darn excited when I got the email yesterday that Learn & Master had just started taking pre orders for their new Spotlight series Blues guitar course. I’d been contacted by a few people wanting to know if they offered a program and now there is one. Learn and Master Blues Guitar (pseudo name for now is a miniature version of their flag ship course Learn & Master Guitar.

While the original program was developed specifically for beginners, this new blues guitar course is focused at someone who has some knowledge of playing the guitar and wants to move into specializing more with blues.

The course instructor is once again Steve Krenz, same as before, but he has brought along with him some blues experts to help out with the instruction.

There are some special interviews included with the course from some very well respected people in the blues industry. I think anyone who has followed blues acts such as the Allman Brothers or Delbert McClinton will really appreciate this part of the course.

The course is setup the same way as the original Learn and Master guitar course. There are

• 6 DVD’s (with 8 hours of instruction)
• Jam A long DVD & CD (with 20+ songs)
• Downloadable Lesson Book
• Access to Online Support site

More or less a scaled back version of their beginner guitar course with 20 DVD’s. Of course the original beginner guitar course doesn’t cover much on the blues. It spends the majority of the time getting you up to speed with beginner techniques, theory and the likes.

If you’re into blues guitar and have always wanted to learn how to play I think this blues guitar lesson dvd is something you should check out. It’s priced at about $100 for the full course which is a steal for the content you get.

You would never be able to get all that content for $100 if you were taking private lessons, plus you’ll have access to reference it more or less forever.

Interested?

Check it out now at their official site.

Learn and Master Spotlight Series: Blues Guitar

If you take a stroll through your local music store I’m sure you’ll find a dozen different learn to play guitar dvds. Most of these are geared towards specific styles of guitar playing such as jazz, blues or metal.

Sure there will be a few dvd’s geared towards beginners, but they won’t be a complete course. It’s the nature of the self study guitar world, there just aren’t a lot of products that take you from a complete newb all the way through to being a half decent acoustic or electric guitar player.

That is until now.

I want to introduce you to what I feel is the best guitar lessons dvd program available. I posted a video of two of this program on my blog before so for anyone who’s followed my posts this might not come as a surprise.

The best dvd program I feel is Learn and Master Guitar by Legacy Learning Systems.

This course truly is a complete program that takes you from learning to hold, tune and strum the guitar right up to learning genre specific skills for jazz and blues.

Of course it doesn’t claim to make it happen over night. It takes time for you to practice and learn the skills it teaches along the way, but the key is that everything is in there.

A true beginner probably would find there is more then 1 years worth of material on the 20 DVD’s that come with the new expanded program. While a more intermediate player might make it though the content in 6-8 months.

How ever at the $150 price point it’s a steal no matter if you’re just picking up a guitar for the first time or have been playing for a couple of years on your own.

The instructor, Steve Krenz, is top notch and recognized in the music industry as being one of the best teachers in Nashville. He has toured across the US with some big names and also done studio and session work for artists around Nashville.

I could go on and on about this program (I own a copy), but I don’t want to over hype it. I suggest you visit this site, it talks more about the complete guitar lesson dvd course pack.

If you’re on the journey of teaching yourself to play guitar using videos on YouTube and other free resources I’m sure the question has come up when do I start learning chords, and what chords do I need to learn?

When you first start out you’ll want to stick to the basic major and minor chords and avoid barre chords. If you try barre chords too early it can be discouraging. Your fingers aren’t strong enough yet and over all you’re not used to the positioning of your hands and fingers.

In this post I want to introduce you to the most important beginner guitar chords. I’ve found a great video that shows you the correct finger positioning as well as hand positioning for each chord so you can watch it being done and then practice on your own.

I’ve learned a lot using guitar lesson dvds over the last year so I can say from experience that using videos to further your understanding of guitar is probably the best method outside taking a private lesson from someone.

Beginning Guitar Chords

OK here are the chords the video is going to cover for you:

• Em
• E
• C
• A
• Am
• D
• G
• F (there is a second way to play F besides what the video shows, they show a barre chord)
• B (don’t get discouraged by B yet, it is a barre chord but you’ll get it just take your time

Knowing these basic major and minor chords will allow you to grab some chord progressions on the web of your favourite songs. Don’t get discouraged right away since it takes some time to

1. Be able to form and hold the chord correctly
2. Switch from one chord to another smoothly

Learning these chords is the beginning, but practicing them and learning to switch between them smoothly with varying strumming patterns is when you really start movin!

So here it is: Guitar Chords for Beginners Enjoy!