In this lesson we go over two important alternate picking exercises that will help you sync your right hand to your left.

Whaddup Folks....its me again...

I just had to share this video on the circle of fifths its so amazing. I know PGs lesson was amazing too! But this is even more hacks that come witht the circle of Fifths!

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Enjoy!

What's up $ynners?! We all appreciate how patient you have been while the team has worked diligently to bring you this new and improved school. Of course, there are DOZENS of new features to improve your learning experience. Feel free to snoop around, poke around and explore. If you have any questions please drop a comment below! I'll be doing a tutorial on the new website very soon!
Also, please stay tuned for the badass blues series by Papa Gates!

1. Topics of discussion

In this lesson, we will discuss modal scales. So, get on the square and on the level, and let's go.

2. Modal scales explained

Modal scales (or modes) are some special scales that follow different rules than regular major and minor scales. The easiest way to understand them though is in relation to a major scale.

Let's consider the C major scale. The notes of it are, in order, C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. However, what would happen if we played the same notes, but started on D? We would get D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. In other words, we get a scale that kind of looks like a D minor scale, but isn't, because the regular minor scale formula does not apply to it.

The scale we just got is called a D Dorian scale. Dorian scales are formed by playing the notes of a major scale, starting on the second note of that particular scale.

The same process can be applied for all the other notes of the scale, including the root note. That's right, the major scale itself is a modal scale. It's called the Ionian mode or Ionian scale.

Since there are 7 different notes in a major scale, we have 7 different modal scales as a result:

• Ionian scale - it's basically the major scale (for C major, that would be the C major scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, and B)
• Dorian scale - formed by playing the notes of the major scale starting from the second note (for C major, that would be the D Dorian scale: D, E, F, G, A, B, and C)
• Phrygian scale - formed by playing the notes of the major scale starting from the third note (For C major, that would be the E Phrygian scale: E, F, G, A, B, C, and D)
• Lydian scale - formed by playing the notes of the major scale starting from the fourth note (For C major, that would be the F Lydian scale: F, G, A, B, C, D, and E)
• Mixolydian scale - formed by playing the notes of the major scale starting from the fifth note (For C major, that would be the G Mixolydian scale: G, A, B, C, D, E, and F)
• Aeolian scale - formed by playing the notes of the major scale starting from the sixth note (For C major, that would be the A Aeolian scale: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G); note that this is basically the relative minor scale for the C major scale
• Locrian scale - formed by playing the notes of the major scale starting from the seventh note (For C major, that would be the B Locrian scale: B, C, D, E, F, G, and A)

Remember the 7 positions of the major scale? Well, by playing each and every position of it, you're basically playing the modes for that major scale:


3. Modal scale formulas

Much like how major scales and minor scales have formulas based on the tonal distance between notes. so too do modes. Let's take a look at them:

• Ionian scale: W-W-H-W-W-W-H
• Dorian scale: W-H-W-W-W-H-W
• Phrygian scale: H-W-W-W-H-W-W
• Lydian scale: W-W-W-H-W-W-H
• Mixolydian scale: W-W-H-W-W-H-W
• Aeolian scale: W-H-W-W-H-W-W
• Locrian scale: H-W-W-H-W-W-W

As per usual, W stands for whole step, which means 2 frets on your guitar, while H stands for half-step, which is 1 fret on your guitar

4. Around the fretboard

The 7 ways of playing major scales from above are not the only way in which you can play these little creatures. In another thread, we talked about the CAGED system for major scales. And guess what, since modal scales make use of the same damn notes the major scales makes use of, once you figure out the CAGED system forms for the major scales of your choosing, those shapes are the same ones you can use for the modal scales as well.

The only difference is where we consider the root note to be. And of course, what is the C form for the C major scale will have a totally different name for one of the modal scales. Honestly though, unless you're planning on taking some musical course designed by the musical equivalent of Sheldon Cooper, I wouldn't worry about the correspondence. Just make sure you use the correct CAGED forms based on your selected major scale.

And if by accident you hit a note outside of those, hey, you're adding color to your playing by adding chromatic tones.

Anyhow, here's the CAGED system forms for the C major scale. I also included the chord shape used to determine the name of the form:

C form


A form


G form



E form

D form



That about covers it for this one.

1. Topics of discussion

In this thread, we're going to discuss the CAGED system for major scales. So, let's get on the square and on the level.

2. The CAGED system chord shapes

So, the name CAGED system originates from the 5 open chord shapes (or forms) used in its name: C, A, G, E, and D. let's take a look at them:


These shapes can be used to play any chord you might think of by moving up and down your guitar. Here is the C chord played using those 5 forms:

E|--0------3------8-----8-----12---|
B|--1------5------5-----8-----13---|
G|--0------5------5-----9-----12---|
D|--2------5------5-----10----10---|
A|--3------3------7-----10---------|
E|----------------8-----8----------|

Basically, when someone tells you they play the A chord using the C form, it means that they are using the form of the open C chord, but instead of playing it as you see above, they play it like this:


E|--9---|
B|--10--|
G|--9---|
D|--11--|
A|--12--|
E|------|

The same rule is applied for the other shapes as well. Hence why such chord shapes are known as movable shapes, because you can change the chord you're playing by moving up and down your instrument and using the same shapes.

3. Arpeggio

An arpeggio is obtained by playing the notes of a chord individually rather than together. Let's play the C chords from above as an arpeggio:

E|--------------0---| E|--------------3---| E|-----------------8---| E|-------------------8---| E|----------------12--|
B|-----------1------| B|-----------5------| B|--------------5------| B|----------------8------| B|------------13------|
G|--------0---------| G|--------5---------| G|-----------5---------| G|-------------9---------| G|--------12----------|
D|-----2------------| D|-----5------------| D|--------5------------| D|---------10------------| D|----10--------------|
A|--3---------------| A|--3---------------| A|-----7---------------| A|-----10----------------| A|--------------------|
E|------------------| E|------------------| E|--8------------------| E|--8--------------------| E|--------------------|


4. The CAGED system for major scales

In the examples above, we focused on playing the notes that were part of the chord shape. This time around, let's try adding notes which are still part of the chord, but not part of the chord shape. For example, let's try adding some extra notes around the open C form:


See how instead of playing only the notes from the shape, we also added some extra notes on the low E string and on the high E string? Now, let's take it an extra step further and insert the missing notes of the C major scale, which for this example would be D, F, A, and B:


And that's how you get the C form of the C major scale, using the CAGED system. Let's check out the forms for the other ones as well:


Next up, the G form:



Let's move on to the E form:


Finally, the D form:


Now, that about wraps it up. Get to playing and see you in the next poll.

1. Topics of discussion

In this thread, we're going to discuss major scales and how to play them on the guitar. This request came from @Kim La . So, let's get on the square and on the level.

2. Steps, half-steps, and frets

Much like how you can measure the distance between cities in kilometers or miles, so too can you measure the distance between notes in steps and half-steps. These bad boys are also known as tones and semitones or whole tones and half tones.

A half-step is the smallest tonal distance between two notes. On your guitar, that is basically the distance between two consecutive frets on the same string. A step consists of two half-steps, which as you can see translates to two frets on your guitar.

3. Major scale formula

Major scales consist of 7 different notes, which follow the following formula:


W stands for whole step while H stands for half-step. And what we have in the formula is the distance between two consecutive notes of the scale, in ascending order.

In other words, the difference between the first note and the second note is a whole step, the difference between the second note and the third note is also a whole step, and so on.

Since there are 7 distances there, one can conclude that a major scale has 8 notes. Then why did I say 7 earlier? Because, while there are in fact 8 notes, one of them is repeated. The note that is repeated is the first note, which is also played at the end of the scale, an octave higher than the note that started the whole thing.

4. Figuring out the notes of a scale

When it comes to a standard tuned guitar, these are the notes you can play on each string:



If we are to play the notes of the C major scale, then by applying the formula above, we would get C, D, E, F, G, A, B and we would end on C again. Kind of like this:



Of course, there are many other scales for you to choose from. It would be highly indicated to study the lesson the Papa Gates has on the Circle of 5ths in order to gain an even easier way to figure out the notes of each scale.

5. The CAGED system forms for major scales

The CAGED system is based on 5 chord forms. The name of the chors are in the name of the system and they are of course the basic forms of the C, A, G, E and D chords, which look like this:

|--0----0----3----0----2--|
|--1----2----0----0----3--|
|--0----2----0----1----2--|
|--2----2----0----2----0--|
|--3----0----2----2-------|
|------------3----0-------|

If we are to play the C chord using all these shapes, it would look like this:

|--0----3----8----8-----12--|
|--1----5----5----8-----13--|
|--0----5----5----9-----12--|
|--2----5----5----10----10--|
|--3----3----7----10--------|
|------------8----8---------|

In order to successfully play major scales using the CAGED system forms, you need to learn the shapes of the root chord of the scale (the chord formed on the first note), using these movable shapes. Afterwards, you just add the missing notes of the scale which are located on the frets you're not using to play the chord. Let's look at the C form for example:



Let's move on to the A form:


Next up, the G form:


The E form is next:


Finally, the D form:


6. The 7 positions of the major scale

Papa Gates has a wonderful tutorial on this. Basically, the 7 positions of the major scale is a concept referring to you playing a major scale in 7 different ways, starting on a different note each time:


That should wrap everything up.

In this lesson we add Dm & E7 with new strumming patterns.

No description

So now we're supposed to like jump up and down on an instrument or what?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Octave change markers

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we are going to talk about octave change markers and how they impact a song. So, let's have some fun.

2. Octave change markers

If you take a look at a piano, you'll notice that it has a lot of possible notes on it. And if you remember, each staff has only 5 lines on it, so in order to represent some notes on it, you would have to use helper lines. That is all fine and dandy until you have to place a note at either end of the piano spectrum on your sheet. The sheer number of helper lines would probably make some people interrupt their virtuoso experience in order to figure out what they should be playing.

And that's where octave change markers come into play. These markers inform a musician that the notes on the sheet are meant to be played an octave higher or lower, depending on the marker of course. Here is how octave markers look on a music sheet:


And here it is played back.

The process of playing a note a number of semitones or octaves higher is called transposing by the way, in case you encounter this term and are unsure of what it means.

There will be some music sheets where these markers are written as 8va (for transposing a section an octave higher) or 8vb (for transposing a section an octave lower).

And finally, you may also encounter sheets that use the 15va or 15vb markers, which means that you have to transpose a note or a section by two octaves.

And yeah...that about covers it for this one. In the next one, we are going to discuss various articulations that you may encounter. See you then.

Is this some sort of subtle dig on how people believe all music sounds the same or what?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Simple repetition markers
3. Advanced repetition markers

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will be discussing the many types of repetition markers in music. So, let's have some fun.

2. Simple repetition markers

Repetition markers are used to designate sections of a song that are meant to be played twice. They are very common in classical music and one of the more common ways in which they are used is the one that tells you to repeat the whole song twice. Here is how that looks on a music sheet:



And here it is played back.

Of course, in a song, you may have more sections that you want to be repeated. This is especially useful for classical music forms such as sonata where the sections of the song are repeated. Here's how it looks on a music sheet:



And here it is played back.

And a final example here would be of a repeated section in between two regular sections, something like this:



And here it is played back.

3. Advanced repetition markers

Now that we figured stuff out with the basics of repetition, let's take a look at some advanced repetition markers. Such repetition markers allow you to do several things:

• tell a musician that a certain measure needs to be repeated a number of times
• tell a musician that you have alternate endings to a repeated section
• use even more Italian words to tell a musician where to start repeating a section from

Let's start off with the bar repetition marker:



And here it is played back.

As you can see, we have two bars that have a weird sign on them. What that translates to is basically this: the bars with those signs on them have the same notes as the previous bar. In our case, the first time we see that sign, it means that we have to play the C D E F notes since the first bar consisted of those notes. And the second time, we also have to play the C D E F notes since the previous bar also had those notes.

Let's move on to alternate endings. In your musical journeys, you may also encounter these under the name voltas. Here's how they look like on a music sheet:



And here it is played back.

And now, let's move on to the fun part of this tutorial, learning a bunch of new Italian words:

• capo - translates to beginning
• fine - translates to end
• coda - basically means outro
• segno - translates to sign or mark

And now that we know this, we will take it to the next level and learn some useful musical indications in Italian:

• D.C - it means da capo, which translates to from beginning
• D.C. al Fine - it means da capo al fine, which translates to from beginning to end
• D.C. al Coda - it means da capo al coda
• D.S. - it means da segno, which translates to from the sign
• D.S. al Fine - it means da segno al fine
• D.S. al Coda - it means da segno al coda

These indicators are basically repetition markers, but in "written" form, if you will. They act the same as regular repetition markers. What is important for me to show you here is how a segno and coda look like on a musical sheet. Fine is simply written in text on the music sheet, so don't worry about it.

Here are a segno and coda example:



And here it is played back.

Anyway, that about covers it for this tutorial. In the next tutorial, we will be discussing octave changes. See you then.

So we have to use chains with our notes now?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Linked (legato) notes

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will be talking about linked notes. So, let's have some fun.

2. Linked (legato) notes

Linked notes are notes that are tied together by a curved line on a music sheet. You may also find these notes referred to as tied notes or legato notes. How linked notes are played is very dependent on the instrument, but there is a general idea behind them. But before that, let's take a look at some legato examples:


And here they are played back.

So, what about these linked notes? Well, it's a bit hard to describe in written form, but here it goes. On a piano, when notes are not linked, the steps to playing them are the following:

• play the note
• lift the finger
• play the next note

However, when they are linked like in the first bar of the example above, you are supposed to go from one note to the next and lift the finger from the previous note after you have played the new one.

However, there is also another way in which you can link notes, which is present in the 3rd and 4th bars of the example above. This is easier, as you can hear. Basically, when you have notes linked in this manner, you consider them as a single note. And the length of that combined note is the sum of the notes which are linked.

And that about covers it for this tutorial as well. In the next one, we will be discussing repetition markers. See you then.

Are you entirely sure I don't have to learn another language for this course?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Rallentando
3. Accelerando

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will be discussing two musical terms that indicate you should change the tempo of the song. So, let's have some fun.

2. Rallentando

In music, rallentando is used to signify that the section of music marked with this term is to be played gradually slower. What I mean by that is that when you play it, you have to decrease the tempo a bit during the section and then move back to the original speed.

How much slower should the section be played you ask? Well, it depends on the tempo of the song. For example, if a song is meant to be played at 120 BPM, then you should gradually reduce the speed to something like 100 BPM. However, if the song is meant to be played at a slower tempo, say 90BPM or lower, then you should reduce the tempo by 10 to maximum 15 BPM to 80BPM or 75 BPM. You need to adapt to the song so as to now slow down too much, You don't want people falling asleep waiting for the next note, you know? The example I will provide uses a 20BPM tempo change, just so you know.

On a music sheet, a rallentando section is notated with rall.... or rallentando, depending on what notation the person who transcribed the song prefers.

Here is an example of how a rallentando section looks and sounds. First off, the music sheet:



And here it is played back.

3. Accelerando

Accelerando is the opposite of rallentando and it means that you need to play the section marked with accelerando at a gradually faster tempo. The tempo change rules are pretty much the same, though I wouldn't recommend going too fast regardless of the tempo. The example I will provide uses a 20BPM tempo change, just so you know.

Notation wise, you will encounter either an accel... or accelerando notation on your sheet. Here is an example:


And here it is played back.

And that about covers it for this tutorial. In the next one, we will be discussing linked notes. See you then.

So like, are there any other people out there who coined these terms aside from Italians?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Fermata explained

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will be discussing the concept of fermata. So, let's have some fun.

2. Fermata explained

In music, a fermata is used on a note to signify the fact that that note is to have a longer length than whatever length is notated on the sheet for it. In other words, whenever you encounter a fermata on a note, you are to play that note for a longer period than its original length. This is left to each musician's choice but more often than not, the length of the note is to be doubled.

One thing to note is that even though you are meant to play that note for longer than what is written on the sheet, the number of notes from the measure is not affected by it. In other words, if you have 4 quarter notes in a bar and you add a fermata to one of them, you don't need to play fewer notes because of it.

Visually, a fermata looks like this:


Here is the section above, played back.

And yeah, that about covers it for this tutorial. In the next one, we are going to discuss some tempo changing markers. See you then.

Is it too late to hope for an English only tutorial?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Tuplets explained

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will be discussing tuplets. So, let's have some fun.

2. Tuplets explained

In music, a tuplet is a technique that allows you to alter the length of a note and create new note groupings that give a totally different feel to your songs.

The most common form of tuplets is the triplet, in which 3 notes are used to form a new group of notes. The rules that apply to triplet notes with regards to length are pretty simple. When you play 3 eighth note triplets, the length of that group of notes is that of a quarter note. In other words, the length of a triplet 8th note is equal to a third of the length of a quarter note.

Before we move on to more advanced tuplets, here are some triplet note examples:


And here it is played back.

Notation wise, as you can see, the notes that are part of a triplet are grouped with a line above them which contains the digit 3.

Moving on to more complex tuplets, the notation is basically the same, the only difference being the digit that is used. You can theoretically group notes in whatever manner you like, however, the most common way to do so is by using uneven numbers such as 3, 5 and 7. This is due to the fact that 2 note groups and 4 note groups are just fancy way of writing notes that can be easily substituted with eighth notes and sixteenth notes and so on.

And now, let's tackle the length aspect of tuplets. How does one know how long a tuplet note should last in general? I mean I already mentioned something about this with triplets, but we need to figure out a general rule for this. And the general rule is as follows: an n-tuplet tells you that n notes of the given tuplet length last as long as (n-1) notes of the length used to from the tuplet.

And since that is the most abstract thing you have read today, here are some examples:

• in a triplet that is formed using quarter notes, 3 triplet quarter notes last as long as 2 quarter notes, which means 3 triplet quarter notes last for two beats, which means a single triplet quarter note lasts one third of two beats, or, simply put, two thirds of a beat
• in a quintuplet (a tuplet consisting of 5 notes) that is formed using eighth notes, 5 quintuplet eighth notes last as long as 4 eighth notes, which is also equivalent to two beats, which means that a single quintuplet eighth note wil last for 2 fifths of a beat

This is a general rule to follow when playing tuplets. However, musicians will generally use a special notation that tells you the equivalence for these notes should they want something different. The notation is something like 3:2, with the first number being the tuplet notes number and the second number being the number of notes that they should last.

Here's a quintuplet example:



And here it is played back.

And that about covers it for this tutorial. In the next one, we are going to discuss the concept of fermata. See you then.

So basically...I mean, what even are those words?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Dotted notes
3. Staccato notes

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will be talking dotted and staccato notes, which are basically regular notes but with modified lengths. So, let's have some fun.

2. Dotted notes

Dotted notes are basically regular notes that have a dot next to them. I know, nothing spectacular. However, that dot next to the note has a very important significance. Whenever you see a dotted note, it means that it's length is increased by half.

What does that mean? Well, it's pretty simple. If you have a dotted quarter note, it means that that note will last a beat and a half. As you know, a quarter note lasts for a beat. Therefore, if we would increase that length by half, it means that the note will last a beat and a half. If it makes it easier to understand, it lasts the equivalent of a quarter note + an eighth note.

Here is how dotted notes look like on a music sheet:


And here it is played back.

3. Staccato notes

Staccato notes function somewhat in reverse to dotted notes, in that a staccato note has its length halved. In other words, if you have a staccato quarter note, you only have to play it for half of its length, which would translate to an eighth note. Staccato notes are notated by using a dot under the note rather than next to it.

The main difference between dotted and staccato notes is that a staccato note does not influence the other note lengths from a measure. What I mean by that is that beat wise, a staccato quarter note is counted as a beat in a measure, even though it lasts an eighth note.

So, hoes does one play a staccato note on an instrument? I mean, it may be confusing because a staccato note counts as a regular note, even though it should last half as long. Well, it's quite easy. You simply lift your finger from the piano key/instrument string after the required time.

Here is a music sheet example for staccato notes:



And here it is played back.

And that about covers it for this tutorial. In the next one, we are going to be discussing tuplets. See you then.

So, do notes speak in different accents when you press a pedal, right?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Accentuated notes
3. Pedal indications

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will be learning all about dynamic volume markers. So, let's have some fun.

2. Accentuated notes

An accentuated note is a note that is to be played a bit louder than the other notes around it. How loud you ask? Well, about a volume level higher than the volume of the section. For example, if the section is in piano, an accentuated note should be played at a mezzo-piano level. You could also lean towards a mezzo-forte level, but never higher. As was the case with crescendo and decrescendo, the safe way to go about it is to lean towards a volume level difference so in this case, mezzo-piano.

So, how does one know that a note is an accentuated note? These notes have a > sign under them (or over them), like this:


And here it is played back. As you can hear, there is a subtle difference between the notes.

3. Pedal indications

During some songs, you may notice that the musical sheet has an indication that contains the Ped. marker along with some lines like we will se below. This is only used in music sheets for pianists since pianos have pedals. And pianos come with two or three different pedals. Usually, the pedal indications on the sheet refer to what is known as the sustain pedal, which is located on the right side of the piano, meaning you will use your right foot to press it. The sustain pedal is used to allow the notes to keep playing after you have to lift your finger from the piano keys.

On a music sheet, you will encounter the following types of lines under the notes which are to be played using the sustain pedal. As I have already mentioned, you may also encounter the Ped. indicator at the beginning of these lines. Here is an example:



And here it is played back.

Notice how the notes with pedal indications can be heard even after the finger used to press the piano key was raised.

And that about covers it for this tutorial. In the next one, we will start discussing ways in which we can modify the length of a note. See you then.

So do I have to learn Italian now or what?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Crescendo and decrescendo explained

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will be learning all about dynamic volume markers. So, let's have some fun.

2. Crescendo and decrescendo explained

In our previous tutorial, we discussed volume indicators. And they are pretty good and all. But during some songs, you may notice some sections that have volume changes that occur in a gradual manner. Either the volume increases constantly towards a maximum or it decreases towards a minimum. But the change is not sudden, it's gradual.

And that's where these two musical terms intervene, so to speak. Crescendo tells you that you have to increase the volume towards a maximum value during a section of a song. Decrescendo tells you that you have to decrease the volume towards a minimum value during a section of a song.

On a music sheet, this looks something like this:


So, this is all fine and dandy, but how much does one have to increase or decrease the volume you ask? Well, it all depends on your style of playing and on the volume indicators present in the song. It usually goes something like this:

• figure out the volume level at the beginning of the section - when approaching a crescendo or decrescendo section, you need to figure out what level you should play those notes at if there was no crescendo indicator at all
• figure out the volume at the end of the section - there will be times when the end of the crescendo/decrescendo section of the song will have a volume indicator; if it does, then you know what the volume you should strive for is; if there is no indicator, you should try to modify the volume by one or two levels maximum; for example, if the beginning is in mezzo-piano, and you have a crescendo section, you should try to increase the volume to mezzo-forte or forte maximum, if that's how you are feeling the song; the safe option, in this case, would be mezzo-forte though

That about covers it for this tutorial. In the next one, we will be focusing on accentuated notes and pedal indications. See you then.

So do songs like have volume dials now?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Volume indicators
3. Figuring out your volume levels

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will be discussing the various volume indicators you will encounter in music. So, let's have some fun.

2. Volume indicators

The beauty of music lies in its interpretation. By interpretation, I am referring to the fact that certain sections of a song will be played at different volumes in order to induce certain emotions. For example, silent sections can be used to induce a state of calm or sadness, depending on the notes played of course, while loud sections can be used to induce anger, enthusiasm, and other emotions.

But how does one know how loud a certain section of a song is to be played? And how loud is too loud for it? Well, let's start with the first question. When using music sheets, you will encounter certain notations that indicate how loud or how soft a section needs to be played. There's a total of 8 markers and we will go through each one, from softest to loudest. So, let's see how volumes are notated on a music sheet:

• ppp - this is read as pianissimo possibile and it tells you that the notes from that section should be played as soft as possible, and by that I mean you have to barely touch the keys or strings of your instrument
• pp - this is read as pianissimo and it tells you that the notes from that section need to be played very softly, meaning that they should be played a bit louder thatn ppp notes, but not by much
• p - this is read as piano (not to be confused with the instrument) and it means that the notes from that section need to be played softly
• mp - this is read as mezzo-piano and it tells you that the notes are meant to be played mildly soft, just under your average volume
• mf - this is read as mezzo-forte and it tells you that the notes are meant to be played mildly loud, just above your average volume
• f - this is read as forte and it tells you that the notes are meant to be played loudly
• ff - this is read as fortissimo and it tells you that the notes are meant to be played very loudly
• fff - this is read as fortissimo possibile and it means that the notes from that section are to be played as loud as possible

During a song, you will encounter many markers such as the ones above that will tell you how loud you have to play that section. And now that we know how to read these, it's time to figure out how to apply them to your singing style.

3. Figuring out your volume levels

Volume indicators are cool and all but there is a small problem. They are very abstract. I mean sure, they're to the point with what they mean. But what does as soft as possible or as loud as possible mean?

This is relative to each and every musician out there. And I say this because what you might feel is as loud as possible may be different from what I feel is as loud as possible. Let's take the piano as an example. a fortissimo possibile volume would usually mean that you hit the piano keys as hard as possible without playing extra notes and you know, not hurting yourself.

So, how should you go about it? Well, there are two things you can do in order to understand how loud or soft each volume indicator should be:

• listen to other people playing songs - Spotify and YouTube are full of classical music songs, so the best thing you can do is take a listen to such songs from Mozart, Beethoven, etc. and take a look at the music sheet for the song to figure out the volume level for each indicator
• play some songs and accustom yourself to your own volume levels - I cannot stress this enough, but everyone plays songs differently; and while technique is useful and it has to be done correctly, interpretation is subjective to everyone; that's why one of the best ways to figure out these volume indicators is to play songs...like a lot of them

That about covers it for this tutorial. In the next one, we will be looking at two more volume indicators, that tell you you need to gradually change the volume. See you then.

3 Notes Per String - Horizontal - 3 String Note Groups - B minor

Dorian & Voodoo Scales

6 Note Groupings - A minor

Hi everyone! Just wanted to share the video I made this week.
In it I share my 5 favourite tools to learn guitar, these are all books and websites that have made a big difference for me to learn different things, like how to apply music theory on guitar, ear training, etc.

I'm sure you all will be familiar with my favourite one , but hopefully the other 4 can be useful to someone.

Enjoy!

Here... I found this video very inspirational. Especially for us musicians.

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So you mean these things actually get played in songs?

1. Topics of discussion
2. Using advanced chords
3. Take care of your voicings

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will be discussing where the advanced chords we have learned best fit. So, let's have some fun.

2. Using advanced chords

During the last few lessons, we talked about a bunch of different chords. And I think it's about time we discuss what genres are the best fit for these chords. So, let's get into them one by one

• 6th chords - as I've already mentioned, 6th chords can be used to add flavor to a song by substituting a regular chord from a scale; while you may not encounter them in heavy metal songs, rock ballads, jazz, and Latino music are very good places in which you can use them; realistically, they can be used any time you are playing an acoustic or clean guitar
• added tone chords - much like the previous ones, they too can be used to substitute a regular chord in a chord progression; they can be found in some soft-rock and pop songs
• 9th, 11th, and 13th chords - very much used in jazz music and some of them might also give you a sort of funk music vibe; don't expect to see them in too many metal songs though, mostly because the sheer number of notes required to play them would make it impossible to figure out what notes are being played on the rhythm guitar, especially with metal music having a tendency to use really low tunings on their guitars

One might ask if one wants to write a progression in a certain key, let's say C...how do I know how to substitute my chords?

The answer is very simple. You have to look at the quality of the chord you are substituting. For example, if your chord is a major chord, then you should substitute it with its major equivalent (major sixth, added tone, major 9th, major 11th or major 13th). The same goes if your chord is minor, dominant or diminished (dim chords have a corresponding m7(♭5) chord so there is that).

3. Take care of your voicings

Before we wrap up, I wanted to remind you all something very important. The order in which you play the notes in your chord is very important. Because it may be the difference between D6 and Bm7. Don't believe me? Let's analyze for a bit.

D6 consists of the D F♯ A B notes. The first inversion of this chord would be D6/F♯, which has the same notes, but in a different order: F♯ A B D. The second inversion would be D6/A, which consists of the same notes, in this order: A B D F♯. And as you may see, this isn't really a D6 chord anymore. Mostly because B D F♯ is a Bm triad and thus, the feel of the chord is less D6 and more Bm7. Not to mention that if we do another inversion, we actually get a Bm7 chord in its basic form: B D F♯ A.

The same rules apply to all other chord types. Of course, you can still use inversions and whatever placement you want. Just make sure that the end result is still the same chord that you intended to play in the first place.

And that about covers it for this tutorial. This is sort of the last tutorial in the chords series. Next time, we'll probably revisit some scales or some more theory. I'll see how I feel

So do you plan on putting two octaves worth of notes in these chords or what?

1. Topics of discussion
2. 13th chords explained

1. Topics of discussion

In this tutorial, we will talk about 13th chords in detail. So, let's have some fun.

2. 13th chords explained

Major 13th chords, notated as maj13, are formed by adding the 13th note on top of a major 11th chord. The formula for them is 1 3 5 7 9 11 13.

Dominant 13th chords, notated as 13, are formed by adding the 13th note on top of a dominant 11th chord. The formula for them is 1 3 5 ♭7 9 11 13.

Minor 13th chords, notated as m13, are formed by adding the 13th note on top of a minor 11th chord. The formula for them is 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 11 13.

Minor 13th flat five chords, notated as m13(♭5), are formed by adding the 13th note on top of a minor 11th flat five chord. The formula for them is 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 9 11 13.

As you can see, 13th chords consist of 7 different notes, which technically makes them impossible to play on a regular guitar. So, what to do then? Well, as was the case with previous chords, we'll just have to skip some notes when playing these chords.

Generally speaking, when playing such advanced chords, you need to check what notes are the ones that make or break the chord. For example, the 3 or 5 notes can be omitted when playing such a chord. However, we would require at least two of the higher notes (7, 9, 11, 13) to be present. And since these are 13th chords, I think you know which one of those needs to actually be present. As a result, you're left with a choice between the other 3.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's try and figure out a way to play these chords. We'll be going through them from maj13 to m13(♭5) and we'll be using C as a root note. First off, Cmaj13:


And here it is played back.

Next up, the C13 chord:


And here it is played back.

Let's move on to the Cm13 chord:


And here it is played back.

And finally, the Cm13(♭5) chord:


And here it is played back.

That about covers it for this one. Next time, we're going to create advanced chords with modified triads. See you then.