Lessons

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Lessons

Here is a bit of an assortment of really useful stuff and an example of some of the things which I cover in my lessons.

Fist of all… Get in tune!

Ideally you have a guitar tuner but, regardless, you should still know how to tune the thing up to itself.

To tune your guitar to itself…

Play the low ‘E’ string (the thick one) with your finger on the fifth fret. This makes an ‘A’ note.

Listen to the note…….

Now play the open ‘A’ string whilst the ‘A’ note on the ‘E’ string is still ringing.

Listen to the note… Do the two notes sound the same?

If not, turn the tuning head on the ‘A’ string until the two notes sound the same.

When the ‘A’ string sounds in tune, put your finger on the fifth fret of the ‘A’ string to make a ‘D’ note.

Use this note to tune the ‘D’ string.

Repeat the process for the ‘G’ string using the fifth fret of the ‘D’ string to get your ‘G’.

The only time it is different is when you come to tuning the ‘B’ string. This time you need to put your finger on the FOURTH fret of the ‘G’ string.

Finally, play the fifth fret of your tuned ‘B’ string to produce an ‘E’ note which you can use to tune the top string.

Now your guitar is in tune!

: Tune UP!

The CAGED System

CAGED is a system to help to visualize and navigate the fretboard and appreciate how chords, arpeggios and scales inter-relate with one another

C.A.G.E.D stands for ‘C’, ‘A’, ‘G’, ‘E’ and ‘D’ chord and scale fingering shapes and patterns.

Each of these open chords has a movable barre chord shape, the most common being the E shape barre chord

Open E E ‘shaped’ barre chord

For Example, an E shape barre chord’ at the first fret is an ‘F’ chord, and an E shape barre chord at the fifth fret is an ‘A’ chord.

The root of the chord is on the 6th string.

All common open chord shapes can be made into a barre (or movable) chord.

The CAGED system really comes into it’s own when applied to scales and arpeggios. Each of these 5 major chord shapes has a major scale which sits right under the chord shape. This can really help when learning where the major scales sit on the fingerboard. Here they are in the key of D maj. The numbered dots show the chord tones. The pink dots show where all the other D maj notes are on the fingerboard.

The system can be stretched further to find the pentatonic patterns too! The shapes and patterns below are also all in the key of Dmaj (or Bmin). Many guitarists tend to think of pentatonic scale patterns as minor but remember that each one also has a relative-major pentatonic with exactly the same notes.

Here’s how the 5 CAGED shapes relate to the blues scale positions. Remember the blues scale is just a pentatonic scale with an additional note- a flat 5th, or “blue note” signified here with a blue square.

The “positions” above I’ve identified (numbered) in terms of how they relate as minor pents/blues scales. Take a look at the diagram below to see how they all interconnect on the fingerboard.

Major scale modes

Here is an outline of the major scale modes with the chords which they can be used with. The formula of the scale describes how and where the scale differs from the major scale.For Example, D Dorian 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 compared to D major 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 has a flattened 3rd, which defines it as a minor scale, and a flattened 7th.

C Ionian Scale

Notes: C D E F G A B
Formula : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Related chord : Cmaj7
Use : on major chords

D Dorian Scale

Notes: D E F G A B C
Formula : 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
Related chord : Dm7
Use : on minor chords
Distinguishing features: minor scale with a natural 6th

E Phrygian Scale

Notes: E F G A B C D
Formula : 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Related chord : Em7, Esusb9
Use : on minor chords (this one has a Spanish flavour and is one of the guitar scales frequently used in flamenco)
Distinguishing features: minor scale with a flattened 2nd

F Lydian Scale

Notes: F G A B C D E
Formula : 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7
Related chord : Fmaj7, Fmaj7#11
Use : on major chords
Distinguishing features. major scale with a sharp 4th (or 11th)

G Mixolydian Scale

Notes: G A B C D E F
Formula : 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7
Related chord : G7
Use : on dominant (7 as opposed to major 7) chords (Great for Blues)
Distinguishing features: major scale with a flattened 7th

A Aeolian Scale

Notes: A B C D E F G
Formula : 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Related chord : Am7
Use : on minor chords
Distinguishing features: otherwise known as natural minor (notice the flat 6th)

B Locrian Scale

Notes: B C D E F G A
Formula : 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
Related chord : Bø (Bm7b5)
Use : on half diminished chords
Distinguishing features: plenty of flattened notes here, importantly, the flattened 5th making it suitable for half-diminished chords (AKA- m7b5)