Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog on guitar instruction.

The guitar can at first appear to be a very complex instrument to master, but if you approach it in the right way, you can really make quick progress and get yourself well down the road towards mastery.

Here I share with you a couple of very useful tricks that I learned along the way.

And at the end I share with you my secret resource where I learned everything that I know about the guitar.

Enjoy!

Learn the Major, Minor, and Pentatonic Scales Plus All Modes - Right Now!

Are you kidding me with this title?

Absolutely not! Let's get started.

Check out the major scale diagram. If you position your hand such that your middle finger covers the root note (the 2 on the low E string at the bottom) then you can play the major scale without moving your hand (each finger covers a fret - index, middle, ring, pinky - top to bottom).

The fret that your middle finger starts on is the root note which tells you what major scale you're playing. For example, if it's placed on the low E string 5th fret then you're playing an A major scale. Slide it up 2 frets and you're playing a B major scale. See? Easy.

There are 7 notes in the scale so as you can see the diagram shows you how to play 2 octives (the scale runs through twice).

Now, to play the modes (a mode is just the same major scale pattern but starting and stopping at a different point along the way) simply start the scale on the finger that corresponds to the mode.

• Ionian (middle - this is the same as the major scale)


• Dorian (pinky - 2nd scale degree)


• Phrygian (index - 3rd scale degree)


• Lydian (middle - 4th scale degree)


• Mixolydian (pinky - 5th scale degree)


• Aeolian (index - 6th scale degree - same as minor scale)


• Locrian (ring - 7th scale degree)

So to play A Phrygian, just start your index finger on the low E string 5th fret (the A note) and play through the major scale from that point in the pattern. It's the same for any mode. Just play the same major scale pattern but start on the appropriate finger!

For pentatonic just learn the minor pentatonic pattern and then to play the major pentatonic just start the same pattern on the appropriate note for the scale you want (e.g. A) with your pinky and play the same pattern through!

So you see, you only need to learn 2 easy patterns, one for the major scale and one for the pentatonic. Then you simply start and stop the scale as required for the various modes you want to play. No more memorizing 5 scale positions per each and every mode! That would be 45 patterns you'd need to memorize!

Holy cow!

Once you see this and get it, then you can play up and down the neck all day long in any scale or mode and never make a mistake. You will have total fretboard mastery!

Guitar Chord Patterns Made Easy

I used to literally spend hours hunting around for guitar chord shapes.

Then I wondered just how I was going to be able to memorize them all!

Now I don't worry about it anymore. In fact, I can create "new" guitar chord shapes on the fly as I play.

How can I do this you ask?

Easy. I know the formulas. I know what scale degrees go into making up each type of chord - major, minor, augmented, diminished, 7th, major 7th, etc. For example, a major chord is simply the 1st, 3rd, and 5th major scale degrees.

You see, after you've been playing awhile, you find it's best to think in terms of scale degrees (as opposed to note names). Note names really only matter when finding your starting point or root.

When you do this, you recognize patterns. How the 1st and the 3rd relate. The 5th and the 1st. And so on.

Soon you can come up with your own chord voicings without the need for referring to a chord book!

Recommended Resources

The best resource I know for learning the guitar, I mean really mastering the instrument, is Jamorama.

No other course that I have ever seen even comes close. This is what I used and I can highly recommend it. I suggest you check it out and pick up a copy for yourself. It will make a huge difference.


Good luck and rock on!