Guitar Theory For Dummies with Online Practice

Contents

• Introduction 1
• About This Book 1
• Foolish Assumptions 3
• Icons Used in This Book 3
• Beyond the Book 4
• Where to Go from Here 4
• Part 1: Getting Started With Guitar Theory 7
• Chapter 1: Guitar Theory in a Nutshell 9
• Why Learn Guitar Theory? 10
• Navigating the Fretboard 10
• Seeing the fretboard as a grid 11
• Viewing neck diagrams 11
• Reading guitar tablature 12
• Playing Scales 15
• Pentatonic scale 15
• Major scale 16
• Modes 16
• Harmonic minor scale 16
• Working with Chords 17
• CAGED chord system 17
• Adding chord tones and extensions 17
• Passing chords 17
• Charting chord progressions 17
• Testing Your Guitar Theory Knowledge 18
• Chapter 2: Navigating the Fretboard Like a Pro 21
• Tracing Everything Back to Strings 6 and 5 22
• Moving between pitches with whole steps and half steps 24
• Naming the pitches between natural notes: Sharps and flats 26
• Grouping notes 26
• Tracking Notes and Playing Songs with Octaves 29
• Shaping octaves with your 1st finger on strings 6 and 5 30
• Shaping octaves with your 1st finger on strings 4 and 3 31
• Shaping octaves that are three strings apart 32
• Repeating octaves beyond the 12th fret 32
• Measuring the Space between Pitches with Intervals 34
• Playing intervals 1 through 7 35
• Filling in the gaps with flats and sharps 39
• Part 2: Working With Chords From The Ground Up 43
• Chapter 3: Harmonizing the Major Scale to Form Triads and Chords 45
• Building Triads and Chords 46
• Major triad: Building from the 1st scale degree of the major scale 46
• Minor triad: Building from the 2nd scale degree of the major scale 48
• Playing through the Seven Triads of the Major Scale 49
• Playing the Chord Sequence of the Major Scale 50
• Chapter 4: Forming Chord Shapes with the CAGED System 53
• Making Chord Inversions and Chord Voicings 54
• Using the C Form 55
• Using the C form as a moveable barre chord 55
• Playing a C form arpeggio pattern 56
• Playing C form chord voicings 59
• Using the A Form 62
• Using the G Form 65
• Using the E Form 67
• Using the D Form 70
• Connecting the Five CAGED Forms 72
• Starting on C 73
• Starting on A 73
• Starting on G 73
• Starting on E 73
• Starting on D 73
• Sample CAGED Chord Changes 79
• Playing Minor CAGED Forms 81
• Playing the C minor form 81
• Playing the A minor form 82
• Playing the G minor form 82
• Playing the E minor form 83
• Playing the D minor form 84
• Connecting the Five Minor CAGED Forms 84
• Minor CAGED Chord Changes 86
• Chapter 5: Adding Chord Tones and Extensions to Chords 87
• About Chord Tones and Extensions 88
• Adding 7ths to the Major Scale Chords 90
• Playing major and minor 7th chords 94
• Playing dominant 7th chords 96
• Playing minor 7th flat 5 chords 98
• Working with 2nds and 9ths 99
• Sus2 chords 99
• Add9 chords 99
• Minor chords with 2nds and 9ths 100
• 9th chords 102
• Working with 4ths and 11ths 103
• Sus4 chords 103
• Add4 chords 104
• Playing 6th Chords and Using the 6th Interval 105
• Adding Harmony with Pedal Point 107
• Playing Pedal Tones with Two Guitars 108
• Part 3: Getting To Know Keys, Modes, and Chord Progressions 111
• Chapter 6: Playing Chord Progressions by Numbers 113
• Drawing Chord Progressions from the Major Scale 114
• Using Roman Numerals to Represent Chords 115
• Visualizing Numbers on the Fretboard 116
• Transposing to New Keys 117
• Playing Common Chord Progressions 118
• Playing I-IV-V chord progressions 119
• Playing major chord progressions 120
• Adding minor chords ii, iii, and vi 120
• Playing minor chord progressions 121
• Starting Numbers on the 5th String 122
• Playing Chord Progressions with Open Chords 125
• Using the Nashville Number System 126
• Chapter 7: Knowing Music Inside Out: Identifying Tonics, Keys, and Modes 129
• Understanding the Relationship between Major and Minor Scales 130
• Numbering the Relative Minor 132
• Accounting for any interval changes 133
• Looking at a few minor key song examples 135
• Identifying the Modes of the Major Scale 137
• Ionian (I) 138
• Dorian (ii) 139
• Phrygian (iii) 144
• Lydian (IV) 147
• Mixolydian (V) 151
• Aeolian (vi) 155
• Locrian (vii 5) 155
• Key Signatures and Common Discrepancies 155
• Looking past the key signature to figure out a song's mode 155
• Considering some common discrepancies in music notation 157
• Comparing Scale Formulas and Structures 159
• Chapter 8: Following Key Changes 161
• Getting to Know Key Changes by Switching Tonics within a Scale 162
• Switching between relative major and minor 162
• Switching between other scale degrees 163
• Transposing a Progression 163
• Changing Key and Progression 165
• Using Modal Interchange and Borrowed Chords 166
• Playing modal interchanges 167
• Playing minor modal interchanges 171
• Using the Circle of 5ths for Circle Progressions 174
• Applying the same circle to 4ths 175
• Seeing circle progressions in action 177
• Chapter 9: Dominant Function and Voice Leading 179
• Chord Function and the Dominant Chord 179
• Leading with the leading tone 181
• Tension rises with a tritone 181
• Playing songs with dominant function 182
• Secondary Dominants 183
• Drawing attention to some common secondary dominants 184
• Thinking of secondary dominants as mini key changes 185
• Songs that use secondary dominants 188
• Voice Leading 188
• Chapter 10: Filling the Gaps with Passing Chords 193
• Getting to Know Chromatic Passing Chords 194
• Passing chords in blues 195
• We gonna get funky 197
• Chromatic ch-ch-ch-ch-changes 197
• Getting to Know Diminished Chords 198
• Fingering diminished chord shapes 198
• Playing diminished 7th chord inversions 199
• Using diminished 7ths as passing chords 200
• Substituting diminished 7th chords for dominant 7th chords 202
• Playing Augmented Chords 203
• Playing augmented chord inversions 203
• Using augmented chords for dominant function 204
• Using augmented chords in voice leading 204
• Part 4: Playing Guitar Scales 207
• Chapter 11: Preparing for Riffs and Solos with the Pentatonic Scale 209
• Getting to Know the Pentatonic Scale 210
• Covering the Fretboard with the Pentatonic Scale 211
• Starting with pattern 1 211
• Playing pentatonic pattern 2 213
• Playing pentatonic pattern 3 215
• Playing pentatonic pattern 4 216
• Finishing up with pentatonic pattern 5 217
• Connecting all the patterns 217
• Using the Pentatonic Scale as Major and Minor 219
• Playing the Pentatonic Scale in Other Keys 223
• Playing in F minor and A 224
• Playing in F minor and A major 225
• Playing in G minor and B major 226
• Playing in G minor and B major and other keys 227
• Playing in A minor and C major 227
• Applying the Pentatonic Scale 229
• Chapter 12: Playing Music's Primary Melody Maker: The Major Scale 233
• Getting Familiar with the Major Scale 234
• Playing the Major Scale as Five Smaller Patterns 237
• Breaking down the G major scale 238
• Focusing on fingering 240
• Connecting the five patterns to cover the whole fretboard 240
• Practicing the Major Scale without Getting Bored 242
• Playing along with accompaniment 242
• Adding minor notes and patterns 244
• Transposing the major scale to new keys 245
• Applying the Major Scale 248
• Playing Three-Notes-Per-String Patterns 250
• Chapter 13: Playing in Modes and Using Modal Scale Patterns 253
• Understanding Modes 254
• Knowing how modal sounds are made 254
• Remembering that modes are more than just patterns or starting positions 255
• Playing Ionian Mode 255
• Seeing and hearing Ionian mode in action 255
• Using Ionian mode with the pentatonic scale 257
• Playing Dorian Mode 258
• Getting the Dorian details 258
• Using Dorian mode with the pentatonic scale 261
• Playing Phrygian Mode 263
• Playing Lydian Mode 266
• Playing Mixolydian Mode 270
• Playing Aeolian Mode 273
• Chapter 14: Exploring New Patterns with the Harmonic Minor Scale 277
• Getting to Know the Harmonic Minor Scale 278
• Raising the 7th scale degree 278
• Identifying some harmonic minor chord progressions 280
• Using Harmonic Minor within a Pentatonic Pattern 282
• Adding a raised 7th to the pentatonic 283
• Outlining the V7 chord 284
• Completing the harmonic minor scale 286
• Covering the Fretboard with Harmonic Minor Scale Patterns 288
• Picking out patterns 289
• Focusing on fingering 289
• Practice, practice, practice! 289
• Transposing the harmonic minor scale to new keys 291
• Playing in a Harmonic Minor Mode 291
• Getting to Know the Melodic Minor Scale 292
• Using Harmonic Minor in Dorian Mode 293
• Chapter 15: Playing the Blues 295
• Recognizing Blues Elements in Popular Music 296
• Playing Over a Blues V7 Chord 297
• Playing the dominant scale 297
• Using the major and minor pentatonic 299
• Mixing up the scale options 300
• Tackling Whole Chord Progressions with the 12-Bar Blues 302
• Switching dominant scales 304
• Sticking with minor pentatonic 305
• Using a major pentatonic scale 305
• Changing pentatonic scales on each chord 306
• Playing the Blues Scale 306
• Part 5: Part of Tens 311
• Chapter 16: Ten Guitar Songs Worth Learning 313
• "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd 314
• "La Bamba" by Los Lobos 316
• "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp 317
• "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison 318
• "With or Without You" by U2 319
• "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin 320
• "Smooth" by Santana 322
• "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream 323
• "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry 325
• "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms 325
• Chapter 17: Ten Sample Scale Applications 327
• G-Em-C-D 328
• E-B-C m-A 328
• E-D-A-E 329
• D-C-G-D 329
• Am-G-F 329
• Am-D 330
• Am-Bm 330
• Em-D-C-B7 330
• F -B-C 331
• E5-D5 331
• Chapter 18: Tens Ways to Put Theory into Practice 333
• Learn and Analyze Songs 333
• Play Along with Songs 335
• Record and Listen to Yourself 335
• Become a Super Looper 335
• Play with Others 336
• Play Out 336
• Practice a Little and Play a Lot 337
• Study More Music Theory Resources 337
• Set Reasonable, Realistic Goals 338
• Have a Good Time All the Time 338
• Appendix: Audio Tracks and Video Clips 339
• Index 343