The major scale (or Ionian mode) is a scale that was derived from the C note on a piano, it is all the white keys across the octave from C to C, these being C, D, E, F, G,A ,B , C. This scale is said to be natural, as it contains no sharps or flats.

In this article we will define Scale Degrees, their names and explain them and their relevance in our theory studies. As you have learned in Nathan's excellent lesson on the Major Scale, each note of the scale is different. This trait is inherent to building a scale as no note in a scale may be repeated. In an effort to better understand the differences between the notes, we will explore Scale Degrees.

In this article, I will talk about using C Scale tuning for pedal steel country guitar playing. This tuning lends itself easily to most musical forms, including classical, new age, jazz, and adult comtemporary. In modern pop and dance music, it turns the pedal steel guitar into a versatile controller for the latest electronic effects.

The pedal steel guitar tunings currently in common use hinder the acceptance of the instrument in musical forms other than American "Country" music. The addition of pedals greatly extends the capabilities of a steel guitar. Just as the logical extension of a chordal tuning is to give the player more chords at every fret, a scale tuning can be logically extended to give the player more scales at every fret.

The pedal steel guitar tunings currently in common use hinder the acceptance of the instrument in musical forms other than American "Country" music. An alternate tuning based on the natural C scale is proposed and explained.

This lesson will cover the names of intervals that we use in our 12 tone Western music system. Also, I will include musical examples as ear training exercises to help you recognize these intervals. Before we proceed, lets review a few musical terms and their definitions.

It is the first day of your guitar lesson, and you probably have many different feelings running through you. You are uptight, anxious, joyful, excited, and scared, all at the same time. You cannot wait to show your playing skills to your folks or friends. Before you learn a single thing, you want to remember a few key points.

This lesson will outline how to tune your guitar to a standard E A D G B E tuning. As a general rule, tightening a string creates more tension. This gives the string a higher pitch and goes higher in tune. Likewise with loosening your strings, the pitch goes down.

It is crucial to learn this scale in all 5 patterns, thereby bringing about the ability to play the scale in all areas of the guitar neck rather than just one. The first scale is master is the G Minor Pentatonic. After discovering the five patterns of this scale in G Minor Pentatonic , it becomes conceivable then to improvise lead anyplace on the neck over any rock tunes in the key of G Minor (such as the famous riff from "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple). The Minor Pentatonic scale is the 1st and most critical scale to learn, especially for blues and rock n' roll. This scale is indeed utilised by blues guitar players as well, though far less often compared to rock and jazz players.

This ultimately is the secret that unlocks outstanding lead guitar playing, great songwriting, and great musicianship in general. I have cited techniques used by rock and blues guitarists Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, Eric Clapton and BB King, but a point I wanted to arrive at in that context is that each and every great guitarists (and great musicians, for that matter) understand music theory; guitarists who can play at that level understand what they're doing, in other words. Now, a few folks might say, "Well, yeah, but guys like Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen and Alex Lifeson are self-taught players and have never had a conventional guitar lesson or formal guitar instructor". That would be accurate, but rest assured, these guys unquestionably know and understand their music theory; it would be inconceivable for them to play the way they play if they did not.

Tablature is a way of indicating the positioning of notes and fingering on the guitar fretboard. There are 6 tab lines representing 6 strings on the guitar. (The 1st string is the thinnest, and the 6th string is the thickest) They are as follows:

Here is how to discover the 5 approach patterns in the keys of A and E, the keys most utilized by rock and blues guitarists: