For example, play the root 6^th string major chord on the 5^th fret, (A note). The A is the root note, as depicted by the squares in the illustrations below. So this chord would be an A major bar chord. Now, move the whole shape to the 7^th fret – slide the whole shape up a whole step or two frets. Now it becomes a B major bar chord. If you move it to the 8^th fret it will be a C major bar chord.

You can move all these chords on its given string in the same fashion. Practice them in all keys and be patient, it will take some time to get your fingers to voice these chords – but with practice, you can do it. To ease into the fingering of bar chords let’s start by taking the shape of the E major open position chord we learned in a previous lesson:

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!

In this lesson you will learn all about the Major Pentatonic scale. It is the relative major of the minor pentatonic scale. The major pentatonic scale is a five-note scale consisting of five notes from the major scale.Remember that you cant always use the minor pentatonic scale so you need to arm yourself with a broad scale knowledge so you can play over any chord progression. Try using the major pent scale over major chords or major progressions. It gives that sweet major sound – very different than the bluesy minor pentatonic sounds. Print out the attached written lesson as it has diagrams displaying the major pent scale to get you started.

It is an extremely useful scale as you get a major scale feel but without the full major scale sound. At times full major scales may be inappropriate to play over a given progression, as they may sound a bit stiff. The major seventh note is a very “ify” note, especially in rock music as sometimes it works and many times it doesn’t. Defaulting to the major pentatonic scale for that major sound in many of these instances is a great idea and will give you a killer sound.

The five-note major pentatonic scale is derived from five notes from the major scale similar to how the minor pentatonic scale is derived from five notes from the natural minor scale. The intervals of the major pentatonic are root, second, third, fifth, and sixth degrees of the major scale. Basically you do not play the 4^th and 7^th degrees of the major scale. For many guitarists, there’s confusion surrounding this major pentatonic and it’s relative minor, the minor pentatonic scale. The minor pentatonic is the relative minor of the major pentatonic and lives a minor 3rd, or three frets away, below the major pentatonic. For every major key there is a relative minor key. Both keys will have exactly the same notes. Refer to the handout on the circle of fifths for a complete listing of every major key and its relative minor key. C major’s relative minor is A minor. D major’s relative minor is B minor. G major’s relative is E minor.

Illustrated below we will utilize the “box shape” C major pentatonic and its relative minor, A minor pentatonic. C major pentatonic scales can also be viewed as A minor pentatonic scales. Both scales consist of the same notes C, D, E, G, and A. Your starting and emphasis notes determines the key you are playing. The confusion often comes because of the multiple names. C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic are the same scale, just different start on and emphasis notes. Just like when playing utilizing the modes, it all comes down to what notes you are emphasizing, emphasis is so important! Play both scales starting with the root and listen to how the pentatonic major sounds very happy and major while the minor pentatonic sounds so much more dark and minor. Same notes, just different start and emphasis points. One scale gives you the happy, major, Allman Brothers type sound while the other gives you a darker, bluesy type sound

Since you probably already know your Minor Pentatonic scales across the entire fretboard there is no need to learn any new shapes to play Major Pentatonic. You can get to those shapes from the relative major and minor as discussed above. Learning more shapes would be redundant as you can think of the major pentatonic scales from the relative minor scales. So for that real sweet major pentatonic sound utilize all of your Minor Pentatonic shapes just focus on emphasizing the root of the mode – the major. For example when playing in C major Pentatonic think of the relative Minor – A Minor Pentatonic shapes that you have learned previously – just start and emphasize on the C notes – not the A notes. You want to sound major so you have to emphasize the major root – not the minor. Try to think of it this way and practice in all keys and all positions up and down the neck. Remember that you cant use minor pentatonic over all progressions and chords. At first try using the major pentatonic scales over major chords and real major sounding progressions. More to come!

There is nothing like open chords, so full and rich sounding – especially on an acoustic guitar. Open position chords have that nice full and jangley sound from the ringing of the open strings. You can really get some nice variations on these chords if you examine and understand the interval structures that make up certain chord voicings.

For example a major chord is made of the intervals root, third and fifth, (1,3,5). Following that formula a C major chord is made of the notes C (the root), E (the 3rd), and G (the 5th). Fig. 1 illustrates a basic open C major open chord that was probably one of the first chords you learned. Lets embellish the chord in a different way by adding a high G note and you get a very interesting sounding C major chord illustrated in Fig. 2. Its still a C major chord, but has a slightly different ring to it due to the doubling up on the fifth or G note.

This chord voicing won’t work for every 5^th string root chord but it will work for the ones with a G note in the interval formula. This is so because it’s the G-string that is ringing out on these open chords. G is a fifth of C, G is a third of Eb, and the root of a G chord. G would be the third in an Eb major chord – Eb (the root), G (the third), and Bb (the fifth). Fig. 3 illustrates an open string Eb major chord. Notice it has the same fingering as the C major chord in figure 2 – just slide the whole voicing down to the 5^th fret root (Eb note). In Fig. 4 at the 10^th fret you will find an open G major chord, G (root), B (the third), and D (the fifth). Try sliding these chords around for very interesting and different open string chord tones.

Let’s try the similar process to get a few cool sounding and different minor chords. Instead of a variation of an open chord like above this example is more an offshoot from a barre chord that we will embellish with an open B string ringing. So all of the voicings will have the B note in the interval formula as that is the note that is ringing out. Remember the formula for a minor chord is a root, b3rd, and 5^th. If we add a 9 on top we have R, b3rd, 5^th, 9^th – making the chord a Bmadd9.

So lets try that at various positions with the open B string ringing out. Fig. 5 illustrates a Bmadd9 chord consisting of a root (B), b3rd (D), 5^th (F#), and 9^th (C#). Really cool sounding chord with the open B string ringing against the added 9^th of a minor chord. As in the example above lets find other places where this chord will work – chords with a B in the minor add9 formula. Fig. 6 illustrates the same fingering just move to the 4^th fret and you have an Abmadd9. The B is the b3rd in this chord – root is Ab, 5^th is Eb, and the 9^th is Bb. Fig. 7 moves to the 5^th fret and you have a Amadd9 as the B is now the 9^th. Fig. 8 illustrates an Emadd9 chord at the 12^th fret where the B is now the 5^th of the chord. Try all these variations and intimately examine the open strings and their relationships to chord intervals and you will be making some very interesting and different tones.

The “5 KNOWS” or “5Ks” for guitarists

In my opinion there are certain principles that every guitar player should consider tackling. Some are harder than others, and some take quite a bit of work to get proficient. However, in the end you will be glad you took the extra time to learn the principles outlined below as they will make you a better guitarist and a better musician. There are no real shortcuts here, it will be more work, and quite difficult at first, but in the end you will be a better musician if you take the time to nail these down. Go slowly at first and don’t overwhelm yourself – these are processes that take time. Set some goals…maybe learn a principle over a period of a few months or so. Set those musical goals…and go out and achieve them, and have fun in the process. I believe the following five principles are essential for the guitarist looking to move up to the next level. I call them the five Ks or five knows. Take stock in your playing and see if you are deficient in one or more of these areas and then really work hard on getting up to speed and getting these concepts down cold – you wont be sorry that you did as you will be a much better guitar player and musician.

1. Know the notes on the neck – there is just no way around this one. Guitar players want to strive to learn the notes on the neck cold. The problem with tablature and just learning shapes is that you don’t learn the notes that make up the chords, or the scales. You are just learning finger position, fret numbers, and shapes. You will always be a better musician and be able to better speak the language of music if you take the extra time to learn the notes that make up each chord, scale, and the notes on the fretboard. This will also allow you to grab a needed note quickly at any time. Try not to become too dependent on tablature. Tablature only tells you what fret number to play, it does not tell you the note that you are playing. Tablature is a fun way to learn songs if you don’t read music so certainly use it, but not exclusively. Along with tablature learn the notes on the neck and what notes and what intervals make up each chord. Knowing the notes on the neck is a huge undertaking, so make it a process which you learn them over a period of time. Don’t overwhelm yourself and try to get them all down in a week. Try to learn one string at a time. Then go to the next string. Utilize octaves to make the learning process a bit easier. Refer to the handout illustrating the notes on the fretboard and the 12-note scale. Take your time and you will have the whole neck down before you know it!

2. Know a large catalogue of chords – As a musician having a big vocabulary of chords is very important. Unless you want to be stuck playing A, D, and E all day long! Being able to play a lot of different chords proficiently is a difficult task, but so worthwhile. Knowing a good number of chords will open many doors and allow you to embellish and decorate your playing with all kinds of new musical melodies and rhythms, as well as an endless stream of song writing possibilities. Why play a stock, sterile, every day Am chord when you can play a much more interesting and harmonically rich Am7 chord, or Am9 chord. Embellishing chords is a great way to spark new ideas and new songs, and put life into some old songs. Add a rich sounding suspended fourth chord to the stock major chord….why not! Having a lot of chordal options when playing rhythm makes it fun and exciting not only for the guitarist but also more fun and interesting for the listener.

3. Know how to play solid rhythm – Knowing a large chord vocabulary is the first step. Next is being able to play solid rhythm with good timing when utilizing the chords. Music is more than just notes and chords, it is also about rhythm and meter. In most band scenarios as a guitarist you will be playing rhythm 80% of the time. So the misinformed guitarist who thinks they can just concentrate on soloing and improvisation are in for a huge surprise first time they start playing with a band or jamming with someone else. Your lead playing will pretty much only ever be as good as your rhythm playing. Know how to strum well in many patterns using quarter, 8^thth notes as well as being able to switch chords in time and on the fly and eventually comp chords. Be able to make your own strum patterns and be able to arpegiate chords in time. Know how to embellish chords and how to add suspensions, and add chords as well as being able to embellish your strumming with chucking on both open and bar chords. It will add so much interest and richness to your playing. Know how to play good rhythm with good meter, its invaluable.

4. Know and analyze the chords you are playing over – For lead playing and improvisation the chords that you are playing over will provide the roadmap to what you can play solo wise. Just knowing the key signature of the song is not enough on its own. You want to know exactly what chords are in the progression and then analyze them to determine what scales, modes, and landing notes to utilize. In many instances you need to look at if there is a IV chord or V chord in a progression and are the chords major or minor. You need to know which notes make up the chords that you are playing over so you can use their respective chord tones as strong landing or emphasis notes. You will need to know the chords and their structure to fully understand and apply which mode you want to solo with. You want to lock in with the rest of the band and to do this you cant be in your own little world playing random notes but rather you need to understand and musically analyze the chords and the progressions that you are playing over.

5. Know the major scales cold – This is invaluable for the lead guitar player. Knowing your major scales will help give you the tools to quite a bit of lead playing and improvisation. Knowing when to utilize the scales and over which keys and chord changes is just as important as knowing the scales themselves. Knowing all the scales ever created will do you absolutely no good unless you know how to utilize them and when to apply them into your playing. Knowing the major scales up and down the neck in all keys will be the springboard to knowing the modes, relative major and minor, and many other important concepts. So learn those major scales in all keys!

*And as I always say, and will keep saying and repeating, one of the most important things that you can do to help move forward is to DEVELOP YOUR EAR!