EXPLAINING TABLATURE or Tab musical notation system – part 1 – 21:57 minutes

This is part 1 of a three-part lesson where David breaks down and explains the very popular musical notation system called tablature. He takes you right from the start explaining the staff and goes into the fret numbering system and the most commonly used symbols. Tab is an extremely popular way of notating music for stringed instruments and its used all over the world.

The following two-page written lesson is a continuation of modal studies. Please print out the previous written lesson on modal playing part one. With part one you should now have a basic modal overview and now we can discuss each mode in detail and how to go about utilizing them. In order to thoroughly understand the modes we will need to look at the interval structure that defines each mode and then match them with corresponding chords and progressions where they can be applied. Remember that the modes are all just variations of the major scale and you will be playing the modes by shifting emphasis to a different note in the parent or mother major scale. Once you know all six major scale patterns up and down the neck you know all the modes of the major scale. You wont have to learn another six shapes or scale patterns for each mode – you can get to all the modes through the major scales. Refer to the past lessons and learn all six major scales and scale links up and down the neck and practice in all keys.

The illustration below shows each mode in order and its interval structure. Many of the modes are very similar, some just one interval difference. For example the only difference between Aeolian and Dorian is the Aeolian mode has a b6 while the Dorian mode has a major 6th. Mixolydian is just like the Ionian mode or major scale but with a b7 and Lydian is also like the Ionian mode but with a #4. Phrygian is just like Aeolian except it has a b2. So many of the modes are very similar but these slight differences will give you a totally different mood and totally different sounds – it’s absolutely amazing! Keep in mind that each mode has its own specific sound, texture, and mood.

In the last column of the table on page one, it denotes which modes are considered more major modes and which are considered more minor modes. Memorize which are your major modes, (Ionian, Lydian, and Mixolydian), and which are the more minor modes, (Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian, and Locrian) as this will help guide you to utilizing the correct mode over a given chord or chord progression. Notice the asterisk on the Dorian mode.

There are three different types of minor scales – Natural Minor or Aeolian mode, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor. These scales sound different from major scales because they are based on a different pattern of intervals. To create a minor scale from harmonizing the natural minor scale start on the root note and go up the scale using the pattern: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

The first chord will always be minor, the second chord will always be diminished, the third chord will always be major, the fourth chord will always be minor, the fifth chord will always be minor, the sixth chord will always be major, and the seventh chord will always be major. Due to the three different minor scales there are more choices of chords when writing music in minor key as compared to major key.

For discussional purposes and to keep things relatively simple the chart below illustrates the minor key chordal options when we compile the Natural Minor scale, (in black), with the ascending version of the Melodic Minor scale, (in red).

As illustrated you have many different chordal options when writing in minor key so experiment and let you ear guide you to the best sounding chords like you like the best and that fit the music you are creating. Remember that the chart below is just a guide and that any chord can appear in any key, the chords below are just much more likely to appear in each given key as they are made from combinations of notes in the given scale. Rock on!

How to build a MAJOR SCALE in any key – major scale building – guitar Lesson 9:51 minutes

This lesson will teach you how to build a major scale. David makes music theory easy and fun and applies it on the guitar. All music theory goes back to the major scale – its so important. We have all heard the major scale, it goes do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti. David plays the major scale in various keys for you on guitar and diagrams the concepts out so you can see them on the white board and then applies the principles on the guitar. To build a major scale in any major key you need to follow a formula – and David will teach you that formula in this lesson. And if you can memorize the formula then you can build a major scale in any key on the guitar. Knowing a little theory goes such a long way and David breaks it down and gets you going in the fastest and most efficient manner possible. ROCK ON!

Differences between SUSPENDED chords and ADD chords with major scale theory – 12:53 minutes

In this lesson we will discuss the differences between a suspended chord and an add chord. They can be very similar, but there are important differences. Remember that all major theory is compared back to the major scale. To understand the differences between chords and their relationships and intervals its important to understand a little bit of music theory. In this lesson David explains some theory on chord building and how to look at the chord intervals to determine what chord you are playing. David uses some chord examples of what you have learned in the past few lessons like D, Dsus2, Dsus4, A, Asus2, Asus4, C, Cadd2, and Cadd4.

To learn a bit more music theory on this topic or to solidify this lesson read the written lessons on chord construction in the “written lessons” section of the site and also watch the chord construction video lessons in the “music theory” video lessons section of the site. Remember knowing some music theory is very important and will make you a better player – rock on!

CHORD CONSTRUCTION on the whiteboard – demystified and applied to the guitar – 13:38 minutes

In this lesson you will learn how chords are constructed and why it is so important. You will also learn about the major scale and intervals and chord formulas. And David will also demonstrate how to you apply this to the guitar. This lesson emphasizes learning the notes and intervals as opposed to just learning the shapes or fingerings. A little theory goes a long way – rock on!

Understanding and playing in the modes is a topic that I field a massive amount of questions. There is a general consensus in the guitar community that the modes are this real beast to understand, and they are out of the reach of most guitar players. That is not true and I suggest to you that you can be playing in the modes very quickly if you put all that negative talk and negative stigmas about the modes aside. YOU CAN DO IT and I will get you there. I teach the modes to students every day and get guitarists playing in them in an extremely fast manner. In fact you will amaze yourself how fast you will be able to play in the modes with just a little understanding of how they work and then practice at applying them. The way I teach them you have to know your major scales. We will get at all seven modes through the major scales. I teach six major scales and that will get you the whole neck – then we just play variations of those scales and you will be playing in the modes. Please see my other lessons for learning all your major scales and linking them together. You don’t have to learn a whole new set of six scales for Dorian, then six more scale shapes for Phrygian, then six more different scales for Lydian – I feel that is redundant and totally unnecessary. With the system I teach, once you learn the six major scales, you know all the modes of the major scale – because you will be using those same six major scales to play all the modes. So many teachers and methods make learning the modes so much more difficult and confusing than it has to be. That is why there is such a negative stigma about the modes. Well, I am here to tell you that will a little explanation and then application – you can do it – and you can do it fairly quickly. It will take some time to master and get used to, but every can guitar player can play in the modes if he sets the goal to tackle them.

Before we can examine each mode of the major scale we need to overview the modes in general so you can have a clear understanding of their structure and sequence. This is crucial to understanding them and making them work in your playing so don’t skim through these explanations. As stated in previous lessons, music theory is compared back to the major scale. The major scale is the standard that all is compared to, you have to have one scale to compare everything else to, or it will be chaos!. The major scale is a seven-note scale that everyone has heard before – doe, re, me, fa, so, la, ti, doe. For each of the seven individual notes of the major scale there is a different mode associated with it. So there are seven modes in every major key and these modes always appear in the same order. You want to memorize the order of the modes. Utilizing the modes gives the guitarist the ability to generate an interval structure that is different than that of the major scale and therefore produces a unique sound quality. So each mode has its own “mood”, or sound quality due to the different interval structure of each mode. Simply defined, a mode means that we start and stop on a note other than the root of the parent major scale – basically think of the modes as a variation or inversion of the major scale. I am going to teach you the modes through learning all your major scales. If you know all the major scales up and down the neck in the six positions I teach – then you know the modes – it just becomes a matter of how to apply them to your playing. So just think of the modes as variations of the major scale.

The major scale is also called the Ionian mode and the Aeolian mode is also called natural minor or pure minor. You may have heard these terms utilized before. The table below illustrates the order for the seven modes. This sequence of the modes is ALWAYS the same. No matter what key you are in the modes always follow the order listed below. Dorian is always the second mode of the major scale, Phrygian is always the third mode of the major scale, etc., etc., – the sequence is always the same, no matter what key you are in – so memorize it cold.

1^st mode – Ionian (same as the Major scale)

2^nd mode – Dorian (same as Aeolian but with a raised 6^th)

3^rd mode – Phrygian (same as Aeolian but with a b2nd)

4^th mode – Lydian (same as Ionian but with a #4^th)

5^th mode – Mixolydian (same as Ionian but with a b7th)

6^th mode – Aeolian (same as the Natural Minor or Pure Minor scale)

7^th mode – Locrian (very dissonant, same as Phrygian but with a b5th)

For simplicity sake let’s examine the key of C major which has no sharps or flats. Looking at the modal sequence above, Dorian is the 2^nd mode of the major scale. In the key of C major if you start the scale on the 2^nd degree or 2^nd note of that C major scale, you will start on the D note. Then continue with the next seven notes of the major scale till the D octave and you have the D Dorian mode – you are playing that C major scale from the D to the D. The D Dorian mode is the second mode of the C major scale and utilizes all the exact same notes in C major scale but starting from the second degree, the D note. So you can play all the C major scales but start and emphasize the D notes, not the C notes. In D Dorian you want to establish the tonal center as D, so by emphasizing the D notes in a C major scale we arrive at a new scale sound that sounds different than C major because our ear hears the resolution to D – so it sounds more minor because the Dorian mode has a b3rd and b7th. Dorian is considered more of a minor mode, although you can use it in some major applications and I will teach you that in coming lessons. As you can see from the illustration below C major and D Dorian are constructed from exactly the same notes. Just take a C major scale and start and end on the D note.

Scale degrees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

C major scale C D E F G A B C D

2^nd mode – D Dorian D E F G A B C D

Continuing in the key of C major let’s examine the 3^rd mode of the major scale, Phrygian. Same construction as with Dorian we just start the mode on the 3^rd degree of the C major scale, the E note. So as you can see from the illustration below C major, D Dorian, and E Phrygian all are constructed from the same notes. C major = D Dorian = E Phrygian. The notes in each mode are the same but its all about EMPHASIS – which notes are you starting and emphasizing give you the different moods of the modes. Remember when you start or emphasize a major scale on any other of the notes except the root – you are playing in a mode. If you start and emphasize the 2^nd note you are playing in Dorian mode. If you start and emphasize the 5^th note you are playing in Mixolydian mode. If you start and emphasize the sixth note you are playing in Aeolian or the relative minor.

Scale degrees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

C major scale C D E F G A B C D E

2^nd mode – D Dorian D E F G A B C D E

3^rd mode – E Phrygian E F G A B C D E

Below are the seven modes listed in the key of C major. Keep following the same construction as illustrated above to get the note sequence for each mode. Notice in each mode below there are no sharps or flats, which is consistent with the key of C major. The Dorian mode begins on the 2^nd degree of the C major scale, the D note. The Phrygian mode begins on the 3^rd degree of the C major scale, the E note. The rest of the modes follow this same formula. Utilize this same formula to examine the modes in all keys and we can start learning how to apply these modes to your playing and using them in your lead playing and improvisation.

C major C D E F G A B C

D Dorian D E F G A B C D

E Phrygian E F G A B C D E

F Lydian F G A B C D E F

G Mixolydian G A B C D E F G

A Aeolian A B C D E F G A

B Locrian B C D E F G A B

This written lesson goes hand in hand with the lesson on the circle of fifths. These two lessons together will really help you with your music theory and understanding of key signature, major scales, sharps and flats in each key, and more. The two tables in the PDF file explain how sharps and flats are arranged in each key and follow a structured order. The order of sharps backwards is the order of flats. Know the order and some of the circle of fifths and you wont even have to look at your instrument to determine what notes are in what major keys.

This written lesson begins discussion on the circle of fifths. The circle is a fantastic visualization tool to illustrate the relationships between major and relative minor keys, chords, sharps and flats, and much more. We will start with the basics to get you going on the circle in this lesson. Like I always say, music theory can be broken down into digestable pieces, so dont fear it – but rather embrace it and use it to further your playing to the next level! Use this lesson in conjunction with the very next written lesson on the order of sharps and flats.

Other video lessons to watch that coincide and dovetail with this lesson:

In the “MUSIC THEORY” section of the website watch: 

– Chord construction theory and major scale building – Guitar Lesson 9:20 minutes

– CHORDS in each KEY – SONG WRITING LESSON FOR MAJOR KEY – part 1 of 3 – 13:41 minutes

– CHORDS in each KEY – SONG WRITING LESSON FOR MAJOR KEY – part 2 of 3 – 13:13 minutes

– CHORDS in each KEY – SONG WRITING LESSON FOR MAJOR KEY – part 3 of 3 – 13:39 minutes

Other written lessons to print out and read that coincide and dovetail with this lesson:

-SONGWRITING and Theory LESSON – chords in each MAJOR key – CHORD CHART – PDF FILE