Chromatic Scales

February 27, 2013May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials augmented, chromatic, diminished, guitar, lesson, scale, tab, whole tone, whole-half

All the scales you've learnt so far have probably been Diatonic ones. A Diatonic Scale is one that ascends and descends in a pre-ordained pattern of Tones and Semitones. A Chromatic Scale is derived from a much smaller pattern. In this lesson we’re going to learn the two Chromatic Scales that have the most musical … Continue reading Chromatic Scales

Performance Directions 1: Note Values & Rests

January 21, 2013May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials

Playing from tablature alone has one large disadvantage – there’s no real indication of how long particular notes should be. If you’re learning a song with no audio reference this can make things really challenging, so guitarists are often presented with a form of tablature that includes bars of traditional staff notation as a reference. … Continue reading Performance Directions 1: Note Values & Rests

The Locrian Mode

November 28, 2012May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials diminished, locrian, minor, mode, music, theory

(Occasionally spelt “Lochrian” by awkward people) The modern Locrian is interesting. It exists more as a theoretical entity, but derived just the same as the other modes. It’s very seldom used in music, as there’s not much in it that listeners want to hear, but it does exist and can be applied nonetheless. Moreover, if … Continue reading The Locrian Mode

The Mixolydian Mode

November 28, 2012May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials dominant, guitar, mixolydian, mode, music, theory

Mixolydian is the fifth mode of the Major Scale. It's often referred to as the Dominant Scale, because it is built upon the 5th degree of the major scale. That’s also where we get the name for Dominant chords, which are a major triad with a flattened 7. And that’s all there is to it, if we take … Continue reading The Mixolydian Mode

The Lydian Mode

November 28, 2012May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials guitar, lydian, mode, music, theory

Welcome back to the modes, today we’re focusing on Lydian, the fourth mode of the Major scale. Lydian is essentially a major scale so we’ll start off with that formula, this time in F. R 2 3 4 5 6 7 F G A Bb … Continue reading The Lydian Mode

The Phrygian Mode

November 28, 2012May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials flamenco, guitar, mode, music, phrygian, theory

Today we’re looking at the 3rd mode of the Major Scale - the Phrygian Mode. Phrygian is a minor scale, so lets start with that formula. Here’s E Minor R 2 m3 4 5 m6 m7 E F# G A B C D The … Continue reading The Phrygian Mode

The Dorian Mode

November 28, 2012May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials 6th, Dorian, guitar, minor, mode, music, scale, theory

In this lesson I’m going to go over the 2nd mode of the Major Scale: The Dorian Mode. The Dorian mode most closely resembles the Natural Minor Scale, so we’ll start with that, here is the D Natural Minor Scale. R 2 m3 4 5 m6 m7 D E … Continue reading The Dorian Mode

Standard Chord Progressions 1: Maj & Min I, IV, V Chord Patterns

October 18, 2012May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials 1 4 5, blues, bob dylan, chords, cool, cream, guitar, I, I IV V, IV, jimi hendrix, major, minor, music, pride & joy, rock, stevie ray vaughn, the kinks, theory, V

The I, IV, V chord pattern is a very common progression, and it is for that reason I will be focusing on it for several lessons. If you have an interest in blues, rock or jazz music, this will form the basis for many songs you will learn, (especially in the case of the blues). … Continue reading Standard Chord Progressions 1: Maj & Min I, IV, V Chord Patterns

Quartal Harmony

October 18, 2012May 21, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials chords, guitar, jazz, quartal harmony, rhythm

Here’s something that’s been fascinating me recently - Quartal Harmony. If you’re at all into jazz or fusion you may already be aware of this idea, if not you might like to use it to embellish chord progressions, or use them as a basis for some unique solos. As I’m still getting to grips with these ideas … Continue reading Quartal Harmony

Blues-Rock Licks 1 & 2

September 17, 2012May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials

These are the kind of licks you’d get from a blues-rock band, or perhaps in a melodic moment from someone much heavier. Good technique and knowledge of string bending, finger-rolling, and one note per string style licks is advisable, so maybe refresh your memory of these if you’re unsure. In almost all of these cases … Continue reading Blues-Rock Licks 1 & 2