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Guitar Music Theory
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Ok,I have asked for some help on another forum but alas,they aren`t guiding me towards the goal I want....in other words no-ones replied the unhelpful bastards.:p
Anyways,I know theres some guitarists on here that have helped me before so Im hoping I can get some guidance on how my theorys going.
This is what I know (or remember...)-
Major scale-is a diatonic scale and has 7 tones (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1).The pattern to make the major scale is W W H W W W H (W=whole step,H=half step).
Natural Minor scale-is also a 7 step scale but has flat tones to make it minor (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1).The pattern for to make the minor scale is W H W W H W W.
Minor Pentanic-is a 5 tone scale (1 b3 4 5 b7 1).
A minor pentatonic-is a 5 tone scale same as minor pentatonic but is rooted on the A string.
Building chords from the major/minor scale-you can build chords from the major and minor scale by building up on the thirds of the scale from each note of the scale,so you will have minor thirds for a minor chord (3 frets) and major thirds for a major chord (4 frets).
Then you add the fifths in too.
The I IV and V chords in a major key are major chords,ii iii and iv are minor and vii is diminished (although it can be flatted and lowered one step to make a bVII chord to become the Mixolydian mode).
In a minor key III,VI and VII are major chords,i,ii,iv and v are minor.
You can use these formulas to make chords in any key,starting on any root (all these chords are barre chords by the way,although power chords will obviously follow the same pattern without the thirds).
I also know the major and minor triads,major=1,3 and 5.
Minor=1,b3 and 5.
There,so hows all that?
Now,my main problem is that even though I know all this (hopefully its right....) I cant figure out how to put it all together.
Its like having all the parts to a jigsaw but no idea what to do.
Bear in mind Ive learnt all this from my Troy Stetina books on my own,no teacher.
Also,Im trying to get into transcribing.Im starting with just the beats of songs for the moment then Im gonna try and figure out what they are playing.
One thing thats confusing me though is how do I figure out the key of a song?
In my Metal Rythm 2 book I have to go back through both volumes and write in all the chord progression numerals,no real worry but I cant figure out how to get the right key!!
Any and all help is much appreciated.
Anyways,I know theres some guitarists on here that have helped me before so Im hoping I can get some guidance on how my theorys going.
This is what I know (or remember...)-
Major scale-is a diatonic scale and has 7 tones (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1).The pattern to make the major scale is W W H W W W H (W=whole step,H=half step).
Natural Minor scale-is also a 7 step scale but has flat tones to make it minor (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1).The pattern for to make the minor scale is W H W W H W W.
Minor Pentanic-is a 5 tone scale (1 b3 4 5 b7 1).
A minor pentatonic-is a 5 tone scale same as minor pentatonic but is rooted on the A string.
Building chords from the major/minor scale-you can build chords from the major and minor scale by building up on the thirds of the scale from each note of the scale,so you will have minor thirds for a minor chord (3 frets) and major thirds for a major chord (4 frets).
Then you add the fifths in too.
The I IV and V chords in a major key are major chords,ii iii and iv are minor and vii is diminished (although it can be flatted and lowered one step to make a bVII chord to become the Mixolydian mode).
In a minor key III,VI and VII are major chords,i,ii,iv and v are minor.
You can use these formulas to make chords in any key,starting on any root (all these chords are barre chords by the way,although power chords will obviously follow the same pattern without the thirds).
I also know the major and minor triads,major=1,3 and 5.
Minor=1,b3 and 5.
There,so hows all that?
Now,my main problem is that even though I know all this (hopefully its right....) I cant figure out how to put it all together.
Its like having all the parts to a jigsaw but no idea what to do.
Bear in mind Ive learnt all this from my Troy Stetina books on my own,no teacher.
Also,Im trying to get into transcribing.Im starting with just the beats of songs for the moment then Im gonna try and figure out what they are playing.
One thing thats confusing me though is how do I figure out the key of a song?
In my Metal Rythm 2 book I have to go back through both volumes and write in all the chord progression numerals,no real worry but I cant figure out how to get the right key!!
Any and all help is much appreciated.
Post edited by JustV on
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