Music theory for guitar players!
Let me show you how to expand your repertoire &
teach yourself to play the way you want to!
Level 1
Notes at the top of the neck.
It’s useful to have an idea of the notes here at the top of the neck. We start by understanding that the string names are also the names of the notes we hear (in standard tuning) when we play the strings “open” (with no fingers on any string).
Level 1
First 10 things. What are the first ten things you might want to know to play guitar? Well here’s one idea about that.
Level 1
Tuning Your Guitar. This is an important skill for guitar players and not too difficult to understand. We just need to know if we are below the target tone, above the target tone or right on top of it.
Level 1
C major scale in the first position. We can play a C major scale in the first position pretty easily, and that also begins to help us to understand a little about “finger position”. And, believe it or not, “chord theory”
Level 1
Major Intervals. This is a foundational piece of knowledge that we can use to teach ourselves how to play any way we want to, any thing we want to. This is the solid foundation of pretty much everything we need.
Level 1
Goals for guitarists. Like any other skill we might want to acquire, having concrete goals will help us measure our success and get to where we want to be.
Level 1
How hard to press on the strings. It’s helpful to understand just how hard to press! Not too hard, not to soft… just right. Hey! Maybe we should take a note from G and the three B’s.
Level 1
A brief introduction to tablature, or “tabs”. If you’ve been holding off on guitar because the tabs are confusing, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a video and downloadable PDF that’ll explain everything we need to get started. No worries!
Level 1
Stretching! Stretchy hands are pretty useful for guitar players for sure. Here are some simple stretches to try. I find that add some stretching to the practice regimen helps frame the mind properly. Try it and see!
Level 1
The “A” shape. Pretty darn useful and a great way for us to continue our understanding of chord theory. The same frets on the 2,3 and 4 strings are always going to have the same relationship, and that is: 5/1/3. Find out how to use that fact to your guitar-playing advantage:
Level 1
3 ways to play a C chord. There are a couple of different ways to play a C chord, and if we understand them, we can apply this to literally any chord we want to. Understanding that the shape is covering a couple of important numbers for us is an interesting way to look at it, too.
Level 1
Three ways to play a D chord. Hey! this looks suspiciously like the way we can play a C chord…
Level 1
Practice Regimen. Often we just don’t know what to practice, so it’s a good idea to have a “practice regimen”- something we can refer to reliably.
Level 1
Hand-friendly chords. Sometimes these are also referred to as “cowboy” chords. They are easy to learn and easy to play. Saddle up, greenhorn!
