Learn Guitar Music Theory on the Fretboard - Lessons By Desi Serna: January 2010

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Can I Download Your DVDs?

One of the biggest requests I receive is to offer my guitar theory DVDs as digital downloads.

I think guitar players are interested in being able to access the DVD content instantly at a cheaper rate and without waiting for them to be delivered in the mail or pay for shipping.

Guitar players who live outside of the U.S. have to wait much longer for physical delivery and pay much more shipping. Obviously, a video-on-demand style format would be a great option.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do this. iTunes offers video content as digital downloads but has not accepted my programs yet. Perhaps you can help to persuade them.

You can make iTunes video requests at the link below. Be sure to include my contact info and the title of one or all of my discs.

iTunes Request Form
http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunes.html

Desi Serna Guitar-Music-Theory.com
Getting Started with the Pentatonic Scale DVD
CAGED Template Chord System DVD
Guitar Chord Progressions & Playing By Numbers DVD
Guitar Modes - The Modal Scales of Popular Music DVD

If there's enough demand, then my DVDs will surely be added soon (and new programs released in the future can be available in this format too). If this is important to you then please complete the request now. Thanks.

Play Until Yer Fingers Bleed!
Mr. Desi Serna
Website: http://Guitar-Music-Theory.com
YouTube: http://youtube.com/GuitarMusicTheoryTab
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MrGuitarTheory
Facebook: http://facebook.com/desi.serna
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/guitarmusictheory
Podcast: Search Desi Serna at iTunes

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Guitar Chord Melody

Guitar chord melody utilizes chord forms, inversions, voicings, & scale patterns in all positions. http://bit.ly/7m2oWX

Minor & major pentatonic scales are the same notes & patterns. The difference is which note is functioning as the root. http://bit.ly/7c98pm

Comment? Question? Join the discussion.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Guitar Riffs

And the greatest guitar riff ever is ... http://bit.ly/5Z1LCd

Rock's greatest riffs: The memorable ones grab you and pull you into a song: http://bit.ly/6JNrPJ

Thursday, January 14, 2010

How to Use Scales for Bass

"I have always just been a bass player that played the notes for the chord, but after watching your pentatonic scale dvd and reading Fretboard Theory I can see there's so much more to do. If I'm playing a song in the key of G can I play the G major scale up and down the 5 patterns and sound ok?"

Music theory for bass is applied a little differently than music theory for guitar. This is because bassists are expected to establish the roots or tonal center of chords. Most of the time this consists of the actual root of the chord which is why many bass players don't think much beyond roots. But chords include other intervals and bass players can sometimes use the other intervals in place of the root.

For example, you could use a chord's third or fifth. You can see a list of bass songs that use all three intervals in Fretboard Theory page 86 Triads. When alternating between a chord's intervals you'll usually need to play the root first in order to establish the correct tonality. But on occasion bass players start chords on other intervals.

When playing a chord change, once the root has been established bass players have an opportunity to either play another interval from the chord or play a bit in an appropriate scale pattern. A good example of this is the song "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. The bass always plays the root of each chord first, then follows with triad and scale movement leading to the next chord. It's a must learn song for bass players.

Other times songs are not based on chord changes but center around a single root. A good example of this is the song "Lowrider" by War. Everything centers around G using a blues mixture of minor pentatonic and mixoydian mode. The bass simply repeats a G minor pentatonic riff throughout the whole song. There is room for the bass to improvise with the scale, but it needs to get back to the root at the beginning of the 2 bar phrase in order to maintain the tonal center of the song.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Why Does the Pentatonic Follow the Root Chord But Major Scales Do Not?

As explained in Fretboard Theory, in order to apply major scales properly you must examine a whole chord progression and determine which key all the chords fit into together. Then you can play that major scale over the whole chord progression. But when applying the pentatonic scale, you only need to identify the root chord (tonal center) in the progression and then play a pentatonic key that corresponds to it. Why do you play the pentatonic based off only the root of a song and not the whole key or parent major scale? Why is the pentatonic so special that this works?

The pentatonic scale can follow the root chord because it includes scale degrees common to all possible major scale modes. For example, let's say you have a progression revolving around a C major chord. Well, depending on the other chords involved the C could be the first (Ionian), fourth (Lydian) or fifth (Mixolydian). Each of these modes are slightly different and produce different chords, but they all include the notes in the C major pentatonic.

C D E F G A B - C Ionian (C is chord I in the key of C)

C D E F# G A B - C Lydian (C is chord IV in the key of G)

C D E F G A Bb - C Mixolydian (C is chord V in the key of F)

C D E G A - C major pentatonic

The same thing happens in minor keys. If you're playing a chord progression that revolves around an A minor then the three possible major scale modes are Dorian, Phrygian and Aeolian.

A B C D E F# G - A Dorian (Am is chord ii in the key of G)

A Bb C D E F G - A Phrygian (Am is chord iii in the key of F)

A B C D E F G - A Aeolian (Am is chord vi in the key of C)

A C D E G - A minor pentatonic

You can see that the pentatonic scale is missing the intervals that complete the whole major scale. These same missing scale degrees are what make the modes different. Without them there is no conflict regardless of mode. In fact, if a chord progression changes keys (parent major scale/mode) but still revolves around the same chord, then you can still play the same pentatonic scale over it without needing to consider the key changes.

For example, "Moondance" by Van Morrison has a section based on A Dorian and another section based on A Aeolian. If you want to play full major scale patterns then you'll need to switch keys. But since both sections revolve around the same Am chord you can continue to play A minor pentatonic scale patterns.

Pentatonic scale patterns are easier to apply and require less thought or music theory knowledge for the reasons explained above. This shouldn't be considered a bad thing because often times the sound of the pentatonic scale is a better choice. But a smart guitar player will also understand how to use and apply major scale patterns and modes. Sometimes it's the more complicated approach that sounds best. Use your own judgment.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Roots, Keys and Applying Scales

As I teach in Fretboard Theory Chapter 7 (Roots, Keys and Applying Scales), you must identify the one major scale that the whole progression stems from in order to know what major scale to use for melody, riffs, and solos. But the pentatonic needs only to correspond to the root chord in a progression.

Major Scale Patterns
For example, the guitar solo in the acoustic version of "Layla" by Eric Clapton uses the chords Dm, Bb and C with Dm functioning as the root (where everything leads to and resolves). These three chords together can only fit into the F major scale. So you can play F major scale patterns over the whole progression.

Pentatonic Scale Patterns
Since Dm is the root chord, you can play Dm pentatonic over the whole progression as well. In fact, the pentatonic notes are all in the major scale. So the pentatonic is really just the major scale minus two intervals (in this case the 2nd and minor 6th). But guitar players visualize and play in pentatonic and major scale patterns differently. This is why we have names for the two and they're taught differently.

Clapton's approach to this solo section is a combination of both. Some of his phrases are based on full major scale patterns while others are in typical pentatonic boxes.

Music Theory For Guitar
Of course, there are more options to choosing scales for solos but what I've outlined above is what is generally done most of the time. Be sure that you completely understand this guitar theory and have mastered applying these concepts before you explore more complicated ideas.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Why do some songs not fit into any one key?

Anything goes in the world of music composition. Many artists play solely by ear by piecing ideas together through trial and error. But there are fundamental concepts that underlie all music like scales, chords, progressions, modes, etc.

If a song doesn't all fit into one key, then it's a combination of different keys. Sometimes this is thought of as borrowing elements from other keys. In this case, you have to break the song down and separate it into pieces that each fit into a key.

Another possibility in this type of situation is the usage of scales beyond the pentatonic and major scale patterns I teach. For example, the harmonic minor and melodic minor scale. But you need to understand pentatonic and major scale theory first as advanced concepts stem from them.

Going through this trouble to understand a song's construction is not usually necessary in styles that don't require much melody or harmony. For example, some heavy metal riffs are simply based on chromatic movement or rhythmic noise. It can be kinda pointless to try and connect these things to some sort of structured guitar theory.

Learn Guitar Music Theory on the Fretboard - Lessons By Desi Serna