Instructional Series
The most common blues chord progression is the 12-bar blues.
This fundamental chord progression is featured prominently in blues music and forms the basis for many rock, jazz, country and R&B songs.
This post will cover the basic elements of a 12-bar blues chord progression and provide instruction on how to play the progression on a guitar in any key.
read moreA sixth chord is a major or minor triad with an added sixth scale degree.
Major and minor sixth chords are commonly found in jazz, blues and other forms of music. They often function as substitutes for major and minor seventh chords.
This post will cover how to construct sixth chords and provide examples for each type of chord.
It will also provide common fingerings for each chord along with instruction on how to play them on a guitar with any root note.
read moreIn a suspended chord, the third scale degree is replaced with the second or the fourth scale degree, which gives the chord a suspenseful quality.
This post will cover how to construct various suspended chords and provide examples for each type of chord.
It will also provide common fingerings for each chord, along with instruction on how to play them on a guitar with any root note.
read moreAn add9 chord is a chord to which the ninth scale degree is added.
A ninth scale degree is commonly added to a:
This post will cover how to construct add9 and 6/9 chords and provide examples for each type of chord.
It will also provide common fingerings for each chord, along with instruction on how to play them on a guitar with any root note.
read moreA pentatonic scale is a five-note scale, derived from a diatonic (seven-note) major or minor scale.
A major pentatonic scale contains five of the seven notes in a major scale; a minor pentatonic scale contains five of the seven notes in a minor scale.
Pentatonic scales are among the most popular scales used for soloing, as they blend well with many types of chords and are relatively easy to use. Their simplicity and easy-to-remember guitar patterns (fingerings) make them especially popular among beginners.
This post will cover how to construct a major pentatonic scale. It will also provide a common fingering for the scale, along with instruction on how to play it on a guitar in any key.
read moreA pentatonic scale is a five-note scale, derived from a diatonic (seven-note) major or minor scale.
A major pentatonic scale contains five of the seven notes in a major scale; a minor pentatonic scale contains five of the seven notes in a minor scale.
This post will cover how to construct a minor pentatonic scale. It will also provide a common fingering for the scale, along with instruction on how to play it on a guitar in any key.
read moreRelative major and minor pentatonic scales relate to each other in the same way that relative major and minor scales relate to each other.
Every major pentatonic scale has a relative minor pentatonic scale that shares the same notes and key signature. This post will illustrate the relationship between relative major and minor pentatonic scales.
A pentatonic box pattern is a guitar fingering for a major pentatonic scale and its relative minor pentatonic scale. This post will provide a common pentatonic box pattern, along with instruction on how to use it.
read moreA blues scale is a six-note scale that contains the same notes as a pentatonic scale but with an additional note, often referred to as the blues note.
As with pentatonic scales, blues scales can be major or minor.
This post will cover how to construct a major blues scale. It will also provide a common fingering for the scale, along with instruction on how to play it on a guitar in any key.
read moreMy last post covered major blues scales.
This post will cover how to construct a minor blues scale. It will also provide a common fingering for the scale, along with instruction on how to play it on a guitar in any key.
read moreIn tonal music, melodies and harmonies are based on a central (or primary) pitch, called the tonic. All of the other notes in the music are viewed in relation to this central pitch.
The key center (or tonal center) of a piece of music identifies the tonic note along with the type of scale and related diatonic chords being used in the music.
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