Post Four - Note the position

An example our I-IV-V minor chords are Am-Dm and Em. Note the position. When A is on the 5^th fret, 6th string the IV is across one string and the V is up to frets on the 4^th.

When the A is on the 5^th string we need to go down and across two frets to find the IV and up two frets to find the V which is now next to the starting note or root note.

This demonstrates where Am, Dm and Em are when playing bar chords. If you are playing in a major key the positions will be the same.

Additional Chords

These chords are made up by adding other notes of the scale that can be easily seen if we give each of the notes a number, as we did before.

Am as a scale would look like this:

1 2  3  4 5 6  7  8

A B C D E F G A

Am7 is an Am with a G added, the 7^th note

Amb5 would have an Eb

Post Three - Bar Chords

Bar Chords

These four chords when played with a bar will allow you to move them along the fretboard. This will present the entire Major and minor chords possible to your repertoire. The first two chords below are called root 6 bar chords because the follow the notes of the 6^th sting, the lowest sounding string, the other two are the root 5 chords following the notes of the A string or 5^th string. Root 4 bar chords would follow the 4^th string, or D shape up the fret board.

When the four basic bar chords shapes have been practiced it is important to recognise where the I, IV and V chords are situated in relation to your starting position. You will find that both Major and minor chords will be in the same relative position.

Post Two - I, IV and V

I, IV and V 

The Am is called the relative minor of C major and is the main minor chord of the key. Hear how the minor chord will give a melancholy sound as opposed to the bright sound of the Major chord. If the principle chord is Am is said to be in the key of Am. It’s notes will be the same as C major but will start on A instead of C.

If we give each of the notes of the scale a number

1  2  3 4  5  6 7  8

C D E F G A B C

We find that the major chords C,F and G are positioned on the I, IV and V degree of the scale.

Like wise if we play in Am

1  2  3 4  5  6 7 8

A B C D E F G A

The three minor chords Am, Dm and Em are positioned on the I, IV and V  degree of the scale.

So we find that the I, IV and V chord of any key, minor or major contain the main chords of that key. As most popular music is written using these chords we will start with various keys that use simple open chords. The following examples have been selected because they use simple chords and are easy for a beginner to get started.

C Major = C, F and G Major

A minor = Am, Dm and E minor

G Major = G, C and D Major

A Major = A, D and E Major

D Major = D, G and A Major

And for those that can play Gm

D minor = Dm, Gm and A minor

Warm Up
It is very beneficial to warm up and stretch before you start playing. This will give greater stretch and stamina but has the best benefit in keeping you able to play well in the long-term. I found this excellent tutorial on warming up.
http://www.guitarlessons365.com/effective-finger-stretches-for-guitarists/

Post One - PART 1 - Introduction

Introduction

For those who don't know Adrian Carroll aka Killer 'Guitar' Carroll I will give an introduction. I have been playing since I was 13 years of age (1976) and have had some success in a band called the Spatterheads in the 80's and are currently playing in a band called the Boondall Boys in Brisbane, Australia. It must be noted here that I didn't play on the Boondall Boys first and only album to date, Hard Rubbish. I have been self taught in the ways of Rock music. I have had some tuition in Classical guitar and Flamenco guitar and these courses of study have influenced my approach to Rock music significantly.

The purpose of this blog is to document my methodology of guitar development and practice. It is written in the form of a guitar lesson and if you know how to play guitar you could start at part three. In writing the process down it is hoped that I will learn by the act and also develop through comments and suggestion. The way you approach the guitar has a lot to do with the end result and I am very happy with the resultant sound of my method. What you don't play is as important as what you do play and having a method gives you a schema to work within. This method will be developed as I continue to incorporate new ideas and sift out the ones that work best.

Illustration of the learning mechanism

How we learn is important because if we get the process right from the beginning we will enjoy continue learning all our lives. We might have to fine-tune our direction - but it does help to head in the right direction. We need to know the rules of music before we break them and make new music that others enjoy. We also need to know the relationship between the task and the physical body, so we can achieve an end result with the least amount of strain on our physical system; for example: if we are playing live and want to focus our attention on our audience, we need to practice standing up, so we exercise the muscle group in the position. It is also good to practice without any visual cues so that our reflex will be automatic, I suggest practicing in the dark to achieve this end result.

Equipment check

Our equipment needs to be checked by a professional because a cheap guitar that is set-up right will set you off in the right direction, but an expensive instrument that plays badly will give you bad habits, if it does not kill your desire to play altogether.

The Beginnings
In learning guitar we first learn how to tune our instruments, learn a few chords, and find where the notes are, and hopefully make them into a song. From these first steps I would like to develop an understanding of a key and what chords and notes belong to a key, so we come to an understanding of how a song is made. This knowledge will help us work out songs and write songs we enjoy.

Starting Out
When learning chords it is important to have them in a context. I am amazed by the multitude of chord books that give you every E chord imaginable. This is good as a reference but what is most important is having at your disposal every chord imaginable in a particular key. The reason this style of publication wouldn't be popular is the repetition of chords it would produce. Below is a perfect example of the concept and excellent for young players because they can learn chords that sound good together.

C major

C major is the first scale we learn. It has no sharps or flats and is represented by the white keys on the piano.

In any key you will find three Major chords and three minor chords and a diminished chord that are built on the seven notes of the Major scale.

C D E F G A B

When we make a cord out of each of these notes we have.

C Major, Dm, Em, and F Major G Major, Am and Bdim

We are not concerned with the B diminished at this stage.

The three Major chords are C Major, F Major and G Major

The three minor chords are Am, Dm and Em

  

If a song is in a Major Key it will probably contain the three Major chords and if it is the minor key it will probably contain the three minor chords using the others to a lesser degree.