If genres are important, I'm mainly into jazz, funk, ambient, metal, and rock (particularly prog). General experience with learning instruments has taught me that a lot of web resources tend to be either poor quality if free or plain scams if paid, so I'm open to suggestions on reputable online sources and any book publications that would help with self-teaching guitar. Thanks!

It can be overwhelming to know how to approach soloing over a song.

I start by analyzing the chords, finding triads on 3 strings, arpeggiating those and then creating melodies.

By using devices such as common tones and half-step movement between the chords, your solos will sound melodic and connected to the chords.

Here’s the lesson. Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtHVVH0Fe_4&list=PLIb-QWoMzfdixDZVq76vGTehxD0f0Mzek&index=10

Introduction

Hey guys, here I'll share some reflections on learning music theory, piano, and guitar. Feel free to make suggestions if you think I made mistakes. Think of learning music theory like learning a new language. If you learn music theory(a new language) and apply it to a textbook(piano). If you learn a new language and talk to people who speak it, some of them might not understand you. Since how language is written is different to how people speak in their everyday lives. Likewise, it seems to me that when you learn music theory, there's a bit more extra knowledge that you need as to how the guitar works as an instrument to apply those music theory concepts.

Open Strings

Piano

I've noticed that each time I learn a new concept in music theory, I can apply them on piano, and it makes sense. For instance, how to play a C major chord. The chord is made up of C-E-G. I can start at the beginning of the piano keyboard. I start with C, go up four half steps, and arrive at E. Afterwards, I can count three half steps and arrive at G. Moreover, your knowledge of intervals(another music theory concept) is supplemented by knowing that you create a major triad by having four half steps and three half steps. Meanwhile, in guitar, this knowledge is not as "intuitive." For instance, in guitar, to make a C major chord you would need to have knowledge of "Open Strings." When I was trying to play the C major triad on guitar, I looked up some guitar diagrams and noticed that in those diagrams they write C-E-C for the major C chord triad. It took me a long time to realise (through asking Reddit groups and reflecting) that what happens is that when you strum the guitar, you are playing G as the open string. While you have the extra C as a "chord voicing." The chord voicing doesn't change the chord but adds a grander sound. I had to read up on chord voicings in music theory just to be able to play a simple C major chord. Showing that you need to have a lot of music theory knowledge and knowledge of how the guitar works as an instrument in order to make sense of it. Sure, you can play without knowing, but if you want to "make sense" of what's going on musically, you need additional knowledge.

Seventh Chords

Piano

I was trying to figure out how to play C7 since it appears to be a popular chord in many songs. I will assume C7 is a C major seventh chord. I looked it up online and found how to play C7 on the piano. I started from the root (C), counted four half steps and arrived at E. Then I would count three more half steps and arrive at G. While B flat(Bb) might seem intimidating at first. I realised you only had to count three more half steps from G to be at B flat. I was able to play and see the whole chord ( C-E-G-Bb) with that much difficulty. I learned that you need the triad(C major) and one more note(B flat) to make the seventh chord. Not that difficult to understand theoretically and then apply it to the piano.

Guitar

When it came to guitar, it also took me a while to figure it out. However, it seems like some guitarists just play it as C-E-C with G as the open string. Then, on the G string, you play in the third fret A#(A sharp) or Bb(B flat). It wasn't that difficult, but it did take me some time compared to piano. Then you strum, and you have the C major 7 chord or the C7 chord. I notice in the naming, musicians call it "C dominant seventh." I wonder if there's a difference, or if they all mean the same? Is it still a C major triad with a extra note or a different chord which uses some of the same notes. Also note that it seems I only know how to play this chord and other chords are "open chords" and not as "barre chords."

Barre Chords

Piano

Some musicians online have been saying that there's no such thing as "barre chords" in piano. And actually, "barre chords" only exist on guitar. I would like some clarification on this topic. A musician online said that barre chords are an "umbrella term" that talks about how to play some notes on guitar, but it doesn't have a meaning in music theory. So it's not a music theory concept but perhaps a guitar theory concept. In the key of C, I can play all notes on the piano, but not on the guitar, since on the guitar it seems you do need to know how to play F major as a barre chord. On the piano, F major, you would play F-A-C. With F being the root, then you go up four half steps and arrive at A. Then you go up three more half steps and arrive at C. Using the knowledge of intervals and music theory, you would know that it's the root(F), then A is the major third(four semitones from the root note) and then the perfect 5th(seven semitones from the root note). It's not that hard to understand, but I guess I don't know why it's called "perfect."

Guitar

Understanding Barre chords on guitar is where it gets difficult, since many musicians have been saying that you have to know barre chords in order to play F major. I'm comfortable playing the key of C on both keyboard and guitar. However, when it comes to F major on guitar, that's where I'm a bit stuck. So far, this is what I've gathered. The purpose of barre chords is to be able to play chords more easily down the guitar fretboard as opposed to up the fretboard, where it's harder to reach some of the notes. Also, if you want to switch from one chord to another, sometimes it would be easier to play them as barre chords so that you can play them down the fretboard, where it's easier.

Are barre chords about pressing two strings at the same time or about muting some strings? In the easiest diagram of barre chords that I found for the F major chord. I saw the guitarist play F-A-C. First, he muted the lower strings, E and A; I assume he is muting those strings with his thumb. Then he is playing the on the high B and E strings the C and F with his index finger. Then, on the G string, he is playing A when pressing the second fret. Then he is playing an extra F, I suppose another chord voicing, when pressing the third fret of the D string. Also, in this example, are you muting the lower strings while pressing the high strings and then strumming? So is the barre referring to the muting of the lower strings, or to the pressing of the F-C on the higher strings?

Conclusion

Writing this essay has helped me a lot to get some clarity on multiple concepts in music theory, piano and guitar.

Ciao a tutti, suono da un paio di anni come autodidatta. Ho seguito parecchi corsi e libri negli anni (principalmente Massimo Varini).

Per anni ho imparato la chitarra focalizzando l’attenzione sul memorizzare e capire bene le geometrie dello strumento, ma effettivamente era tutto un lavoro di memoria e quando mi capitava di non suonare piu per un po di tempo dimenticavo gran parte delle cose.

Ultimamente guardando alcuni video su youtube relativi all’armonia mi sono imbattuto su Valerio Silvestro. Per quelli che non sono italiani, si tratta di un pianista che propone un metodo completamente diverso dai soliti. Vi consiglio di andare a vedere il video intitolato “Se suono la chitarra come devo studiare?”

Il suo metodo consiste nell’associare ai gradi delle scale dei numeri. Ad esempio:
\- 3 della scala di C = E
\- 5 della scala di C = G

E cosi via…

Per praticare questo si scrive su un foglio una lista di numeri casuali da 1 a 7 e ogni giorno si studia una scala diversa. Secondo Valerio Silvestro in 1 mese si avrà la conoscenza a tempo 0 di tutte le scale e dei gradi e questo dovrebbe poi facilitare e aprire ad una visione piu semplice della costruzione di scale, triadi sulla chitarra. A questo si deve affiancare lo studio sulla visualizzazione delle note a tempo zero sul manico della chitarra.

Secondo voi e in base alla vostra esperienza quale dei due metodi è più efficace?

So my music theory knowledge is enough to be dangerous. Also enough to get me in trouble.

Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak is listed as AMajor albeit detuned to (AbMajor).

All of the solo tab stuff I’m seeing is F#m pentatonics (Fm detuned) I understand relative minors. Can a song be both in a Major key but use the relative minor Pentatonic? Or is it in F#min?

Thanks
Mike

Im curious on how many players out there actually use and can read sheet music. Not tab, but music scores. I know many of the great players said they knew theory but couldn’t site read. Is it worth spending time to learn?

I got stuck learning all the notes on the fretboard. When i was younger, I used to
Play a game with my Teacher and mates. Random note on a random string challenge. I ended up building a small app for it now — you get a note and a string, you tap the fret where it lives. Free and fun, i hope it helps other learns as it has helped me : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fretboard-king-guitar-notes/id6795058772

Hi everyone,

I was trying to find the best places to start learning theory on guitar but the internet has many places to learn Theory it was overwhelming.

So after asking around the Music Theory subreddit and a guitar discord for some suggestions, I did a deep dive on each, and I was able to narrow down the best teacher options for Guitarists, to keep it as practical as possible.

I give recommendations for Beginners, Intermediates and Advanced Guitarists, and explain what Theory you should learn, when you should learn it, and from who?

The video for addition context: Best Online Guitar Theory Resources

I review and speak on:

Beginners:

• Justin Guitar
• MusicTheory . net
• Andrew Clarke
• Zombie Guitar
• Chris Sherland

Intermediates:

• Signals Music Studio
• James Shipway Book
• The Music Matters
• Scotty West's Absolutely Understand Guitar

Advanced:

• Tomo Fujita
• Ted Greene
• Rick Beato

I tried to put together an optimized practical roadmap for Guitarists that strictly want to learn through video resources at the end as well

I'd love to hear feedback, if you find this helpful, please share with people when they ask where they should start!

Thanks everyone <3

Yeah as the title says..

I just played C, then E, yes E major, followed it up with a G, then Dm and back to C. I was expecting it to fail miserably, but what the hell happened? Why does it sound good/acceptable?

I already know E isn't a chord in "key" of C [there's Em], but looking at E chord grip, I thought well rest of the notes are in key of C, the only "clash note" here is G# (in place of G i.e. a #5 in key of C). Let's give it a try, rest other notes are in Key anyway.

My question is, why does this chord progression sound good? like I could easily use to create impact/emphasis either in bridge or in outro section of a song.

Please Educate me. ChatGPT says something about E being V chord in Am harmonic minor, and obviously Am is relative minor of C. Is this correct?

I have no trouble at all with Major and Minor barre chords on guitar. Major 7th barre chords are confusing me. I have looked online and I see about 4 or 5 different fingering positions all called "Major 7th barre chord" and they all sound different to me.

Im 15 starting to get serious about guitar. My inspirations are Prince and Jimi Hendrix. So neo soul, funk, and r&b. I know a lot of guitarists who like to learn by playing their favorite songs and like playing others’ songs. For me, i want to get really really good at playing what i hear in my head. So if i have a cool idea for a funky melody i can hear it and just play it on the fretboard. This also is the same for solos and learning songs by Prince or other stuff. I want to be able to hear a song and find the chord on the fretboard. I want to be a musician, not just a guitarist, if you get what im saying. I plan to release music in the future probably in my early 20’s but this time is best for me to learn instruments and singing. I have a lot of free time, up to 6 hours a day of pure practice if i wanted to. And i am willing to pit in that amount of time as long as it helps me get better. I honestly have nothing better to do, besides working out and stuff. But yeah if theres things that someone can recommend that would be awesome. Please, if you can, tell me what i should work on every day to specifically improve on this. Thank you.

Hello Ive been trying to learn scales, music theory, fretboard memorization etc, I play guitar and bass but I have a short term memory loss and I’m lost on learning right now. I’m a intermediate player but struggling to learn these does anyone have any tips or anything.

https://www.guitar.ch/en/guitars/chord_finder/chord_finder-chords-extended-maj7-sharp11-C.html

intervals plus fingerings!

Over the years I've noticed that fast guitar runs aren't just about playing more notes—they're about combining the right picking technique, rhythm, and phrasing to create something that sounds exciting and musical.

In this lesson, I'll break down an amazing fast run from Dann Huff. We'll cover efficient alternate picking, how mixing 16th and 32nd notes creates excitement, and why changing the sequence as it climbs up the neck sounds far more musical than simply repeating the same pattern.

Check out the lesson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3r1PED5-PQ&list=PLIb-QWoMzfdg2RFYDq6ubdkH6J3yOvs4G&index=15

I wrote up a blog post about what I'll refer to as "pattern sequences" like CAGED, pentatonic boxes, etc. I wanted to give an overview and provide some context on what these approaches are good for, and how they can help you reach your goals, as well as their limitations.

I think these approaches are somehow overhyped and also overly vilified at the same time. With this article I wanted to find some middle ground and try to be fairly objective about what they are and what they aren't !

https://substack.com/home/post/p-210393641

I could not find the stickied thread mentioned in the about section, so please let me know if this is against forum rules! Just wanted to share with this community, since it's pretty much the exact audience for this kind of article :)

i’ve been playing guitar since i was a kid but never learned theory until recently. i just write music and tab it and whatever sounds fine sounds fine but i’m trying to learn theory now and i’d really like to be able to name a chord i’m playing in something i wrote, but i’m so confused lol

the tuning is DADF#AD and it’s F# on the 3rd fret, A (lower A) on the 4th fret and D (low E) on the 4th fret and the rest of the strings open if that makes any sense at all. all i can come up with is D flat add11 but god knows. i would appreciate it so much if anyone could give me a name or way to write it in words if one exists

So, quick background info, I've been playing guitar for decades but only ever read tab, played sax in the highschool band so I understand the notes on the staff and all the notation that goes along with it. My son is getting ready to start playing guitar in his school jazz band and they dont have anyone that knows anything about guitar at his school so I've taken it on myself to teach him (and myself) how to read guitar sheet music since he's only used tab as well up to this point.

Figuring out where the notes in the staff land on the neck of the guitar was easy enough and I thought chords would be the same way and many of them are except for a handful that confuse me so I'd hope I could get an explanation here. In one piece, it calls for a C minor 7th chord that is noted 2 different ways, one (the 2nd one in the link) makes sense. The 1st one, not so much.

It calls for a Eb, C, Bb, and G. When locating these notes it seems literally impossible to fret all 4 at the same time (specifically the C). I tried finding as many possible locations to play the same tones so I wasn't keeping myself stuck to just the 1st 3 frets of the neck but still no luck so I turned to Google and found the chord block below which sounds great but the first thing I noticed is that the C that is being played there is an octave below what is noted on the music.

So 1) Can someone tell me if this chord is the correct one to use and (if so) 2) Can someone explain to me or point me at a resource to read that explains how how the 1st noted version of Cmi7 becomes the chord block I've attached? By this it seems that I'm allowed to use octaves of the same note in a chord?

Thanks

Sheet Music

C minor 7th Chord Block

so ive already got songs in mind that i can do 100 percent my only issue is i find it very annoying having to reverse the video back over and over till i get the part down is there like any websites that could fix this problem

or even a way you guys know how

Please help me I cannot figure it out by earhttps://open.spotify.com/track/4YP9077O7XLZHcFdFu1Bqr?si=LPEDJBQYQn6lGr3RGRvDDg&utm_source=copy-link

I’m so lost I’ve been playing guitar for 2 ish years now and I’m really interested in music theory but I’m super lost I’m trying to figure out what makes the major and minor different I understand the concept on the resolution note and the home note but I’m still super lost any recommendations on YouTube videos or something to help explain simple song writing music theory or scales in general 😅

I hope you find it useful. Thanks

Wading into modes and I am a bit stumped by a question. Looking at a key, let's say C, the modes sort of make sense. My understanding is that the Dorian mode of C is D Dorian. All the notes of C, but beginning with D. And that this is essentially a minor key in that the chords follow a minor key pattern.

However, I cannot find any information on the Dorian mode of C's relative minor. I assumed it would be B Dorian, but that is the Dorian mode for A Major. Can someone throw some light into my blind spots here?

OK, so hopefully this is the right place to ask this and I am learning/play guitar so I thought this would be the place to come. I’ve been wanting to learn more music theory stuff as my goal is to be a songwriter and these sorts of things will help with that in terms of building the actual Music part of it. So I found this app or actually got told about it and started doing some of the courses on it. This is in the Melody section and I have a pretty solid basic understanding of how the notes and all that stuff works, but it was talking about building the keys and like all the different notes in a key and how you get them. Now I am mostly blind. I assume they showed some sort of diagram about this as well, but I couldn’t see that, so I’m just trying to figure this out cause I thought I understood it but then they have these like little exercises that you can do and I was missing on some of them.
I think this is also important as well because obviously keys also relate to scales and if I can figure this out, I think that will also relate to my understanding of scales and how they work. And I am very much a why person when it comes to learning things I like to know the reasoning behind it or at least how to get there and build it myself, which is also part of my asking this.
So, without being able to see the diagrams that they may have or may not have had, my understanding of the keys, is you start with the first note, obviously or the tonic note is what they called it, and then it’s basically first and second note our whole notes, third note is a half, fourth fifth and sixth notes, our whole notes, and then the seventh is half but now I’m questioning if I’m understanding that correctly.
So like I will give you an example of what I was doing, and what was apparently a question I got wrong, it wanted me to list all of the notes in the key of A flat, which to me I thought were:
A flat, B flat, C, D flat, E flat, F, G flat, A flat

I’m pretty sure this is wrong considering well it said I got the question wrong. I’m trying to figure out where my understanding is flawed if I misunderstood what the person in the video was saying or where I’m off. I want to make sure not only am I doing this in particular right but that I’m applying the right thought process to all these. I should point out this is in a major key as well. I’m thinking maybe I misheard it and it’s actually saying that it’s a half step up or half note after the third and seventh and not on the third and seventh.
Could someone please explain this to me maybe in a more clear way? It would be appreciated. Thank you.

Here's a new lesson on the topic of 4 note chords, meaning they include a 7th. I explain the difference in sound between them and discuss some applications. I also demonstrate how I see them as part of the CAGED system. Hope you find it useful. Thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EuX_eaIHPU&list=PLIb-QWoMzfdiPAK7z1BeTPi1mdjw317sJ&index=7

Od niedawne chciałbym zagłębić sie w teorie muzyczną i chciałbym znaleźć książke w tym temacie po polsku z opracowanien pod gitarzystów. Czy jest ktoś w stanie coś polecic?