By Ricky Sharples
If you want to play the guitar or write songs you will need to know something, at least, about guitar music theory. You could break down guitar theory down to the study of three elements: chords, scales and arpeggios.

Scales come easily to some people but others find them difficult to learn and difficult to understand. You can, in fact, relate scales to chord shapes. Understanding chords and scales is a matter of exploring the relationships between the notes on the guitar fretboard, but it is not necessary to learn to read music, just find the patterns on the guitar neck.

When you look at scales you will see a symbol like: # or b. The # is the sharp symbol which indicates when a note is played one fret above where it would normally be played. The b symbol is called a flat which is when the note is played a fret lower. One fret on the guitar is called a half step as opposed to a whole step or whole note. In the musical scale there is only a half step between the notes B and C and the notes E and F. The notes that don’t have a sharp or flat symbol are called “naturals”.

The complete set of notes in the octave are, in alphabetical order, A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#. So these notes as they are played in the C scale are C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B. The notes on the guitar begin with the open sixth string which sounds the note E, then going up the frets, F G A B C finishing the first octave on the open fourth string D. The octaves continue for twenty-one frets on most electric guitars and nineteen frets for acoustic guitars that don’t have a cutaway body.

Chords contain three or more notes. These notes form part of a scale that has the same name as the chord. The E major chord, for example, has three notes from the E major scale. Not all notes are created equal. The most important notes in a chord are the third and the seventh. They tell us whether the chord is major, minor or dominant.

When you play chords in a particulat order it is called a progression. Most chord progressions in popular music are based on the first, fourth and fifth notes of a scale. The twelve bar blues progression is one of the most popular chord progressions. Here is a how it works out in the key of C: you are using the first note – C, the fourth, F and the fifth, G. You play four bars using the C chord, two using F, the next two bars you play C again and the next two are G and F, finishing with two bars of the C chord. The most obvious example of this progression put into practice is the instrumental piece called Guitar Boogie.

Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ricky_Sharples
http://EzineArticles.com/?Basic-Guitar-Theory—Guitar-Scales,-Chords-and-Arpeggios&id=2145632

By Mike Beatham

Learning guitar can be split into two main categories – the physical and the theoretical. The physical aspects of learning guitar are the finger exercises and techniques you use to manifest your theoretical knowledge on the fretboard. As you can probably see, one cannot exist without the other. Once you’ve learned those first few chords, basic strumming/picking patterns and scale fingerings, and you begin to focus more closely on things like harmony and tonality, there is often an overwhelming feeling that there is much more to learning guitar than just “where to put your fingers”.

The first thing to note is that music theory can get very deep and complex. It takes years to fully grasp many theoretical elements. Therefore, right from day 1, you need patience! You also need to be prepared to get your head down to read and study diagrams with the same rigor as you would if studying at college/university. This is what puts off a lot of guitarists with a “quick-fix” mentality. Devote practise time to both physical and theoretical elements every day and the two will marry naturally over time. You’ll see!

So, where to begin?

1) Know what intervals are and how they work on guitar

You may have already learned a few scale fingerings, but do you know how specific intervals make up the unique tonal structure of that scale? Scale intervals, the spaces between each of the scale’s tones, are measured in “half steps/semitones” and “whole steps/whole tones”, and a sequence of whole steps and half steps in different combinations creates different scales. Intervals are, quite literally then, the building blocks of scales. For example, the major scale’s intervals are (where W = whole step and H = half step):

1 W 2 W 3 H 4 W 5 W 6 W 7 H 1… (repeat from 1 again)

So, first you need to learn how whole step and half step intervals work on the fretboard, both on a single string and in the relationship between two strings. For example, a major 3rd interval is made up of two notes, two whole steps apart. You could either map this interval out across one string (half step = 1 fret space, whole step = 2 fret space) or across two strings. Mastering intervals prepares you for knowing your way around scales like the back of your hand.

2) Know the major scale right across the guitar fretboard

The major scale is seen as the elementary scale western music is referenced against. Even minor scales are notated against the major scale’s note positions. For example, a minor third is symbolised as “b3 (flat 3rd)” because the 3rd has been flattened/lowered a half step from its original, major scale position. If you come across the symbol “#5 (sharp 5th)” that refers to the tone being sharpened/raised a half step from its original major scale position.

When learning the major scale, it’s important to get used to seeing the 1st tone – 1 – as the “root note”. The note of this root note defines the key center of the scale. To change key, simply move the root note and the interval structure with it. This is why scale patterns can simply be shifted up and down the fretboard to change key without changing their form/fingering. You can apply this root note/key concept to all other scales you learn.

Once you’re comfortable with how intervals work, using the major scale as your foundation, you have a few choices for that next logical step – you can either use your major scale knowledge to build chords or start looking at modal theory, which itself expands into several areas. Let’s look at chords first…

3) Chord theory and scale equivalents

The major scale is the foundation scale from which we build and notate/symbolise chords. Starting with that all important root note, we can stack up tones from, and modified from, the major scale. This creates a chord shape on the fretboard – where several tones of the scale are fingered/played at once, across several strings. So, if you know the major scale right across the guitar’s fretboard, you can identify a root note in several positions and build the chord from each, depending on the type of voicing you want (e.g. high or low?)

Chords can be built in the following core forms:

Major triad – root, 3rd, 5th
Minor triad – root, flat 3rd, 5th
Diminished triad – root, flat 3rd, flat 5th
Augmented triad – root, 3rd, sharp 5th
Suspended triad – where the 3rd of the major or minor triad is replaced with another tone, usually the 2nd or 4th.

Once you’ve mastered building those 3-note chords, you can move onto “7th chords” (4 note chords) and then “extended chords” (more than 4 notes), both of which simply add to those existing core triads.

What’s great about learning how to build chords from scratch is how that same knowledge can then be applied to building scales. When harmonising over a chord as a lead guitarist, it’s helpful to know which tones make up the chord you’re playing over so you can then draw those same tones for use in your lead harmony/solo. Chords and scales are drawn from the same source – intervals.

When you begin to see chords and scales as essentially the same thing, that’s when the big picture begins to reveal itself and you start to see how music works much more clearly.

4) Modal theory

Modes are often misunderstood and are actually, I believe, made to sound more complex than they actually are. After following steps 1-3, you should be ready to explore modal “systems”.

Modes are referred to as “modes of the …. scale”, for example “modes of the major scale”. This immediately tells us that we need to first know that core scale from which its modes are derived.

Let’s briefly introduce the modes of the major scale. Each note of the major scale – 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 – represents the root of a new mode. You can find out why they have weird names later, but it’s more cultural/geographic/historical than musical:

1 – Ionian
2 – Dorian
3 – Phrygian
4 – Lydian
5 – Mixolydian
6 – Aeolian
7 – Locrian

So, to play any of the modes from 2 – 7 (since 1 is the same root as the major scale) it’s like starting the major scale from a note other than its root, meaning you’re still essentially playing the notes of the major scale, but because the root has been moved up the scale to a new position, it adopts a new key center and it takes on a new sound and form/pattern on the fretboard.

Each of those modes, like scales, is built from a sequence of intervals that give them unique flavours and moods. However, they have another function which classifies them as modes. They work over particular chord sequences within that same scale (the major scale in this case). So, once you’ve learned the modes individually, as scales, it’s time to see how certain chord movements naturally complement them.

5) Modal chord progressions

Again, working with the major scale, we learned that each note represents the root of a new mode. Well, since each mode is essentially its own scale with its own sequence of intervals, we can also build chords around those same intervals, using the tones of the mode. For example, Mixolydian is a major mode/scale and uses a flat 7th (b7), so its chord equivalent would be major (see major triad from earlier) with a flat 7th. Think of it like superimposing the chord shape over the scale shape.

So there’s a task right there – learn the chord equivalents of each mode.

Ionian – major
Dorian – minor
Phrygian – minor
Lydian – major
Mixolydian – major
Aeolian – minor
Locrian – diminished

As we have 7 modes, we also have 7 equivalent chords, creating a chord scale, which will therefore use the same major scale intervals as its modes! It’s all connected. From this chord scale we can pull different chord sequences to create modal chord progressions.

For example, one chord progression could be: I ii V, or 1 2 5, which means we are using the equivalent chords of Ionian, Dorian and Mixolydian.

The big picture…

This is a lot to take in at once, I know, and this is why it’s essential to progress logically, using the 5 steps in this article. I hope you will continue to reference this “check list” as you progress.

Once you’ve accomplished “stage 5″, you’ll be ready to explore more freely, relying more on your musical intuition, that will have developed through those early stages. It’s all about building stable foundation knowledge which you can continue to build upon as your playing develops.

I hope this article has at least left you feeling more confident about the path you can take to mastering guitar/music theory. Then, finger placement will be less of a guessing game and more of an informed creative process, which is especially what the art of improvisation requires, when you come to it.

Enjoy the journey!

Mike Beatham runs a free, easy to follow guitar lessons site with backing tracks, tools and exercises to help you develop your own unique playing style. To learn more about the techniques discussed in this article, visit http://www.fretjam.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Beatham
http://EzineArticles.com/?Learning-Guitar-Theory—First-5-Steps&id=2340362

By Kevin Sinclair

That’s music to my ear is a common phrase used to express a person’s emotional response to how a particular tune can make them feel. Some people listen to music all the time. Some study the art of playing an instrument. It’s therapeutic; it’s enriching; it’s a way of creating moods in any environmental setting. If you are interested in music for more than the pure enjoyment people get out of listening to it, then learning about music theory is an ideal mode for you.

Music theory can be an important attribute in a person’s life, for many reasons. People often ask, “Is music theory necessary?” “Why do we need it?”

First of all, even though you don’t have to understand how to read sheet music to perform as a musician, you will need an understanding of music theory. It opens so many other doors for you in the world of music. Music theory will not show you how to understand music, but with music theory you will be able to communicate musical ideas, explore music in whole new ways, and redefine the tremendous scope that entails the magical world of music.

Music theory allows you to voice your opinion with others in the field, expand your musical horizon. Give a little input to a fellow musician and you’ll get something in return.

Notations And Communicating With Other Musicians

Music lovers all develop a keen sense of awareness, musically speaking. Sometimes, musicians explain that if they study music theory, then it’ll stunt their creativity. Wrong! The world’s greatest composers were all masters of music theory: Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, J.S. Bach. These experts composed a keen understanding of the theoretical concepts. Years were spent studying the concept, down to some of the smallest details.

Music can be played by ear, picking out tunes without the aid of written music. Your ears can be your guide. The reason this is brought to light is that some musicians with strong theoretical training often disregard the art of playing by ear.

Think of playing music by ear this way: We’re all born as non-verbal creations. Communication begins with crying, making sounds, displaying body language. Parents quickly become experts on baby talk. It’s an innate sense. Over time, language develops by mimicking sounds. Toddlers don’t learn nouns and verbs; they learn to speak by example. Music can be the same way. Hence, the reason so many people pay top dollar for live performances. It’s invigorating, magical.

Understanding Harmony And Chord Progression

Chord progression and harmony, two features of music theory, help broaden any musician, regardless of their genre of study. Chord progression is a series of chords that are used to harmonize music. All compositions use chord progression. Those that improvise – which, as already mentioned, adds charm and magic to the environment of music – invent brand new melodies that blend in with an existing chord. It’s a musical transition, something that must be practiced, repeatedly. The great composers and musicians develop chord progressions and transitions until it becomes natural, a second-natured maneuver.

If a musician improvises in a more interconnected manner, these new melodies show the musician the progression as one whole unit, and not a series of bumpy transitions. The more practice that goes into this aspect of music learning theory, the more interesting substitutions they will develop along the way. Once the concept of chord progression and its structure is understood, it will be easier to remember. Jazz musicians, therefore, show a keen interest in the study and analysis of chord progression.

The study of music theory will show musicians and musical scholars that the objective, initially, is not to consider an entire composition in one sitting. Instead, musicians, students and teachers alike, view a chord progression in segments, or units. These units correspond to musical sections known as stanzas.

A stanza is the complete statement and development of a single musical idea. It’s a fairly simple act of dividing pieces into small manageable sections, with the melody itself forming, or suggesting the boundaries for sound.

Tonality, another element of chord progression, means different things to different people. Some would consider it to be this: any piece of music with a well-defined key center. Others envision any music that uses the conventional chords as tonal.

Music without the use of chords in a functional manner to reinforce a tonal center is not tonal. It is referred to as non-tonal music. The names of these styles are not always agreed upon between musical connoisseurs. But expressing difference is one key element that makes music such a beautiful art form, with countless possibilities.

So, if you are considering studying music, be it to play an instrument, teach music, or simply hone in on personal curiosity, learning music theory is a must for you.

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of MusicianHome.com, a site that provides information and articles for musicians at all stages of their development.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Sinclair
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Benefits-Of-Learning-Music-Theory&id=677420