Guitar Theory for Dummies

2015·56.27 MB·english

by  Desi Serna

Guitar Theory
by Desi Serna
Guitar Theory For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013944338
ISBN 978-1-118-64677-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-64687-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-64693-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-64703-5 (ebk)
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
Contents at a Glance
Introduction ................................................................................1
Part I: Getting Started with Guitar Theory .....................................5
Chapter 1: Guitar Theory in a Nutshell .....................................................................................................7
Chapter 2: Navigating the Fretboard Like a Pro ....................................................................................15
Part II: Working with Chords from the Ground Up ........................33
Chapter 3: Harmonizing the Major Scale to Form Triads and Chords ................................................35
Chapter 4: Forming Chord Shapes with the CAGED System ................................................................41
Chapter 5: Adding Chord Tones and Extensions to Chords ................................................................71
Part III: Getting to Know Keys, Modes, and Chord Progressions .....91
Chapter 6: Playing Chord Progressions by Numbers ............................................................................93
Chapter 7: Knowing Music Inside Out: Identifying Tonics, Keys, and Modes ..................................103
Chapter 8: Following Key Changes ........................................................................................................129
Chapter 9: Dominant Function and Voice Leading ..............................................................................143
Chapter 10: Filling the Gaps with Passing Chords ...............................................................................153
Part IV: Playing Guitar Scales ..................................................165
Chapter 11: Preparing for Riffs and Solos with the Pentatonic Scale ...............................................167
Chapter 12: Playing Music’s Primary Melody Maker: The Major Scale ............................................187
Chapter 13: Playing in Modes and Using Modal Scale Patterns .........................................................205
Chapter 14: Exploring New Patterns with the Harmonic Minor Scale ..............................................225
Chapter 15: Playing the Blues ................................................................................................................239
Part V: Part of Tens .................................................................251
Chapter 16: Ten Guitar Songs Worth Learning ....................................................................................253
Chapter 17: Ten Sample Scale Applications .........................................................................................265
Chapter 18: Tens Ways to Put Theory into Practice ...........................................................................269
Appendix: Audio Tracks and Video Clips ....................................273
Index ......................................................................................277

Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................1
About This Book ........................................................................................................................1
Foolish Assumptions .................................................................................................................2
Icons Used in This Book ...........................................................................................................3
Beyond the Book .......................................................................................................................3
Where to Go from Here .............................................................................................................3
Part I: Getting Started with Guitar Theory ......................................5
Chapter 1: Guitar Theory in a Nutshell ...............................................................................7
Why Learn Guitar Theory? .......................................................................................................7
Navigating the Fretboard ..........................................................................................................8
Seeing the fretboard as a grid ........................................................................................8
Viewing neck diagrams ...................................................................................................8
Reading guitar tablature ...............................................................................................10
Playing Scales ...........................................................................................................................11
Pentatonic scale .............................................................................................................11
Major scale......................................................................................................................12
Modes ..............................................................................................................................12
Harmonic minor scale ...................................................................................................12
Working with Chords ..............................................................................................................12
CAGED chord system ....................................................................................................12
Adding chord tones and extensions ............................................................................13
Passing chords ...............................................................................................................13
Charting chord progressions .......................................................................................13
Testing Your Guitar Theory Knowledge ...............................................................................13
Chapter 2: Navigating the Fretboard Like a Pro ..............................................................15
Tracing Everything Back to Strings 6 and 5 .........................................................................16
Moving between pitches with whole steps and half steps .......................................18
Naming the pitches between natural notes: Sharps and flats ..................................18
Grouping notes ...............................................................................................................20
Tracking Notes and Playing Songs with Octaves ................................................................22
Shaping octaves with your 1st finger on strings 6 and 5 ..........................................23
Shaping octaves with your 1st finger on strings 4 and 3 ..........................................24
Shaping octaves that are three strings apart .............................................................24
Repeating octaves beyond the 12th fret .....................................................................24
Measuring the Space between Pitches with Intervals ........................................................26
Playing intervals 1 through 7........................................................................................27
Filling in the gaps with flats and sharps .....................................................................30
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Guitar Theory For Dummies
Part II: Working with Chords from the Ground Up .........................33
Chapter 3: Harmonizing the Major Scale to Form Triads and Chords ........................35
Building Triads and Chords ...................................................................................................35
Major triad: Building from the 1st scale degree of the major scale ........................36
Minor triad: Building from the 2nd scale degree of the major scale .......................37
Playing through the Seven Triads of the Major Scale .........................................................38
Playing the Chord Sequence of the Major Scale ..................................................................39
Chapter 4: Forming Chord Shapes with the CAGED System .........................................41
Making Chord Inversions and Chord Voicings ....................................................................41
Using the C Form .....................................................................................................................42
Using the C form as a moveable barre chord .............................................................43
Playing a C form arpeggio pattern ...............................................................................45
Playing C form chord voicings .....................................................................................46
Using the A Form .....................................................................................................................49
Using the G Form .....................................................................................................................51
Using the E Form ......................................................................................................................53
Using the D Form .....................................................................................................................55
Connecting the Five CAGED Forms .......................................................................................57
Starting on C ...................................................................................................................57
Starting on A ...................................................................................................................59
Starting on G ...................................................................................................................60
Starting on E ...................................................................................................................61
Starting on D ...................................................................................................................62
Sample CAGED Chord Changes .............................................................................................63
Playing Minor CAGED Forms ..................................................................................................65
Playing the C minor form ..............................................................................................65
Playing the A minor form ..............................................................................................65
Playing the G minor form ..............................................................................................66
Playing the E minor form ..............................................................................................66
Playing the D minor form ..............................................................................................67
Connecting the Five Minor CAGED Forms ............................................................................67
Minor CAGED Chord Changes ................................................................................................69
Chapter 5: Adding Chord Tones and Extensions to Chords ..........................................71
About Chord Tones and Extensions .....................................................................................71
Adding 7ths to the Major Scale Chords ................................................................................73
Playing major and minor 7th chords ...........................................................................77
Playing dominant 7th chords .......................................................................................79
Playing minor 7th flat 5 chords ....................................................................................80
Working with 2nds and 9ths ...................................................................................................81
Sus2 chords ....................................................................................................................81
Add9 chords ...................................................................................................................81
Minor chords with 2nds and 9ths ................................................................................82
9th chords .......................................................................................................................84
Working with 4ths and 11ths .................................................................................................85
Sus4 chords ....................................................................................................................85
Add4 chords ...................................................................................................................85
Playing 6th Chords and Blues Shuffles .................................................................................86
Adding Harmony with Pedal Point ........................................................................................88
Playing Pedal Tones with Two Guitars .................................................................................89
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Table of Contents
Part III: Getting to Know Keys, Modes, and Chord Progressions .....91
Chapter 6: Playing Chord Progressions by Numbers .....................................................93
Drawing Chord Progressions from the Major Scale ............................................................93
Using Roman Numerals to Represent Chords .....................................................................94
Visualizing Numbers on the Fretboard .................................................................................94
Transposing to New Keys .......................................................................................................95
Playing Common Chord Progressions ..................................................................................96
Playing I-IV-V chord progressions ...............................................................................97
Playing major chord progressions ..............................................................................98
Adding minor chords ii, iii, and vi ...............................................................................98
Playing minor chord progressions ..............................................................................98
Starting Numbers on the 5th String .......................................................................................99
Playing Chord Progressions with Open Chords ................................................................102
Chapter 7: Knowing Music Inside Out: Identifying Tonics, Keys, and Modes ........103
Understanding the Relationship between Major and Minor Scales ................................103
Numbering the Relative Minor .............................................................................................104
Accounting for any interval changes .........................................................................105
Looking at a few minor key song examples ..............................................................107
Identifying the Modes of the Major Scale ...........................................................................109
Ionian (I) ........................................................................................................................109
Dorian (ii) ......................................................................................................................110
Phrygian (iii) .................................................................................................................114
Lydian (IV) ....................................................................................................................117
Mixolydian (V) ..............................................................................................................121
Aeolian (vi) ...................................................................................................................124
Locrian (vii5) ...............................................................................................................124
Key Signatures and Common Discrepancies .....................................................................124
Looking past the key signature to figure out a song’s mode..................................125
Considering some common discrepancies in music notation ...............................126
Comparing Scale Formulas and Structures ........................................................................127
Chapter 8: Following Key Changes .................................................................................129
Getting to Know Key Changes by Switching Tonics within a Scale ................................129
Switching between relative major and minor ..........................................................130
Switching between other scale degrees ....................................................................130
Transposing a Progression ...................................................................................................130
Changing Key and Progression ............................................................................................132
Using Modal Interchange and Borrowed Chords ..............................................................133
Playing modal interchanges .......................................................................................133
Playing minor modal interchanges ............................................................................136
Using the Circle of Fifths for Circle Progressions .............................................................138
Applying the same circle to fourths ..........................................................................139
Seeing circle progressions in action..........................................................................140
Chapter 9: Dominant Function and Voice Leading .......................................................143
Chord Function and the Dominant Chord ..........................................................................143
Leading with the leading tone ....................................................................................144
Tension rises with a tritone ........................................................................................144
Playing songs with dominant function ......................................................................145
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Guitar Theory For Dummies
Secondary Dominants ...........................................................................................................146
Drawing attention to some common secondary dominants ..................................146
Thinking of secondary dominants as mini key changes .........................................147
Songs that use secondary dominants .......................................................................149
Voice Leading .........................................................................................................................150
Chapter 10: Filling the Gaps with Passing Chords .......................................................153
Getting to Know Chromatic Passing Chords ......................................................................153
Passing chords in blues ..............................................................................................154
We gonna get funky .....................................................................................................156
Chromatic ch-ch-ch-ch-changes .................................................................................156
Getting to Know Diminished Chords ...................................................................................156
Fingering diminished chord shapes ..........................................................................157
Playing diminished 7th chord inversions .................................................................158
Using diminished 7ths as passing chords ................................................................158
Substituting diminished 7th chords for dominant 7th chords ..............................160
Playing Augmented Chords ..................................................................................................160
Playing augmented chord inversions ........................................................................161
Using augmented chords for dominant function .....................................................161
Using augmented chords in voice leading ................................................................162
Part IV: Playing Guitar Scales ...................................................165
Chapter 11: Preparing for Riffs and Solos with the Pentatonic Scale .....................167
Getting to Know the Pentatonic Scale .................................................................................167
Covering the Fretboard with the Pentatonic Scale ...........................................................168
Starting with pattern 1 ................................................................................................168
Playing pentatonic pattern 2 ......................................................................................170
Playing pentatonic pattern 3 ......................................................................................172
Playing pentatonic pattern 4 ......................................................................................172
Finishing up with pentatonic pattern 5 .....................................................................173
Connecting all the patterns ........................................................................................174
Using the Pentatonic Scale as Major and Minor ................................................................175
Playing the Pentatonic Scale in Other Keys .......................................................................179
Playing in F minor and A ............................................................................................179
Playing in F minor and A major.................................................................................180
Playing in G minor and B major ................................................................................181
Playing in G minor and B major and other keys .....................................................182
Playing in A minor and C major .................................................................................182
Applying the Pentatonic Scale .............................................................................................184
Chapter 12: Playing Music’s Primary Melody Maker: The Major Scale .................187
Getting Familiar with the Major Scale .................................................................................187
Playing the Major Scale as Five Smaller Patterns ..............................................................190
Breaking down the G major scale ..............................................................................191
Focusing on fingering ..................................................................................................193
Connecting the five patterns to cover the whole fretboard ...................................194
Practicing the Major Scale without Getting Bored ............................................................194
Playing along with accompaniment ...........................................................................196
Adding minor notes and patterns ..............................................................................196
Transposing the major scale to new keys ................................................................197
Applying the Major Scale ......................................................................................................200
Playing Three-Notes-Per-String Patterns ............................................................................201