Guitar Lesson #2

The Chromatic, or Twelve Note Scale

At some point it will be necessary to know all the notes on the guitar neck. You could drive yourself crazy memorizing the name of every single fret and string. Trust me that will come with time! Refer to the following just for the sake of discussion; use it as a reference guide. Notice that there are twelve possible notes (counting # sharps / b flats and naturals) before a note gets repeated. Funny to think that in all music there is only twelve notes. This is the chromatic scale.

E!!-F-!#-b!-G-!#-b!-A-!#-b!-B-!-C-!#-b!-D-!#-b!-E-!
B!!-C-!#-b!-D-!#-b!-E-!-F-!#-b!-G-!#-b!-A-!#-b!-B-!
G!!#-b!-A-!#-b!-B-!-C-!#-b!-D-!#-b!-E-!-F-!#-b!-G-!
D!!#-b!-E-!-F-!#-b!-G-!#-b!-A-!#-b!-B-!-C-!#-b!-D-!
A!!#-b!-B-!-C-!#-b!-D-!#-b!-E-!-F-!#-b!-G-!#-b!-A-!
E!!-F-!#-b!-G-!#-b!-A-!#-b!-B-!-C-!#-b!-D-!#-b!-E-!
,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,,,,@,@,

The Major, Eight Note, Scale

All of western music is based on an eight note system. If we were learning piano, the instructor would start with the C natural scale (all the white keys): C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and back to C. The scale is named for the root, or first note. Notice that there are only eight notes, and that there are no sharps or flats (the black keys).

Guitar is easier in the sense that you just need to use your visual and tactile senses to remember guitar shapes. There is no mumbo jumbo with black and white keys. For the sake of this instrument, lets learn the note names for the G major scale we learned from last week. Remember this scale pattern?

E!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
B!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
G!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
D!!---!-X-!---!-X-!-X-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
A!!---!-X-!-X-!---!-X-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
E!!---!---!-X-!---!-X-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,,,,@,@,

Lets look at the letter notes for G major: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, and back to G. Each one of these notes also corresponds with a chord. Each chord takes on the name of the root, or first note in that chord. For example th G chord has G as its root note. C chord has a root of C. For now, look to see what gets a major, and what is minor.

E!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
B!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
G!!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
D!!---!-E-!---!-F#!-G-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
A!!---!-B-!-C-!---!-D-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
E!!---!---!-G-!---!-A-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,,,,@,@,

Chord Progression for G Major Scale

Look at the following chord progression for the G major scale. The G chord would look like this on the guitar:

E!!---!---!-X-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
B!!-O-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
G!!-O-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
D!!-O-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
A!!---!-X-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
E!!---!---!-X-!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!---!
,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,@,,,,,,,,,,@,@,

or could be written more simply like this:

G major or I Chord
320003

A minor or ii Chord
X02210

B minor or iii Chord
X24432

C major or IV Chord
X32010

D major or V
XX0232

E minor or vi
022000

F# diminished or vii
2342XX

Notice how many unique major chords there are in the major scale. Count them up. One, two, three, right? Go ahead and strum G, C, and D. Sounds lovely, eh? These three chords are the magic key that will unlock most every rock and roll song that you will ever learn. Throw in one of those minor chords for variation.

Bar Chords

Seriously, that is the way that a diminished chord is supposed to sound! That seventh note, or the diminished chord, holds a tremendous amount of tension: it just wants to neatly resolve back to the G note / chord. Not pretty, eh? Many singer-songwriters will mellow out those notes, and choose to bring the tense F# sound down a bit. Try playing a F major in place of the F# diminished and your will hear a chord that you could work into a song. Give both of these a try:

F major (cheaters way, using all four fingers)
X3321x

F major (the tough bar chord)
133211

The F and Bm chords are tough to play because they require one finger to stretch across all the strings and hold them all down at once. This is only possible if your thumb is in proper position, parallel on the back of the neck. Think of your hand working like a clamp. At first these chords may have a slight buzz, or will tire your hands out quickly. Keep at it, as the more you work at it, the stronger your fingers will get.

Now we have reviewed all the major chords, note that you call find the chords to your favorite songs using OLGA, or the OnLine Guitar Archive- a free internet resource. You can search through the database of hundreds of bands and songs. You can also look up chords and variations (there is more than one way to play them) using the online Chord Finder. Look up a favorite song, play the MP3, listen along for the chord changes, and try to match the strumming pattern.

Keep Practicing!