Music Theory Workbook for Guitar
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
| Q | I just recently bought your book "Music Theory for Guitar, Vol, 1" and started doing the exercises titled "Basic Intervals" on page 16. I'm recently new to playing guitar and have learned that the notes appears many times on the fret board. In doing the first exercise and my answers do not correspond always to your answers. For example, the first question after the example given has a D and a C sharp. Would it be wrong for the D to be played on the open forth string and the C sharp on the second fret? Is there a reason why the notes are started on a particular string and fret in your book that I am not understanding or is there another possible right answer than the one given?
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| A | First, thanks for buying the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One."
Your answer regarding the fingering of a D to a C sharp is correct. There are many correct answers for each exercise in the book; so many that the books would have become prohibitively expensive to print. I chose to use answers that were mostly within a five fret range on the neck of the guitar. Muse-eek has set up an area for customers that own one of their books where additional free information can be downloaded. You will find the alternate answers to Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One in this area. Go to main book page and you will see a link for this member's area on the left side of the page. You will see by looking at these alternate answer files that there are A LOT of right answers, and if I included all open string possibilities there would have been even more. I highly recommend that customers who own one of the muse-eek books check this member's area out. There are many extra files for music theory, ear training, rhythm and is constantly growing with new information to help you develop your musical potential. |
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| Q | Thank you for the books you have put together. I am new to music theory and
newly learning the acoustic guitar. I have taken one semester of guitar at
a University and I am presently enrolled in Fingerstyle Guitar 2 and Guitar
Chord Theory.
I was looking at Amazon for additional books to supplement my learning, and I found your books. I have purchased the first and second volumes of the Chord Workbooks. The information contained within those two volumes about chords is impressive, and I'm sure as I grow in my development I will find it all indispensable. However, I was wondering if you have written a book that describes scales in detail? My Guitar Chord Theory class just started and there is quite a mix of beginners to advanced guitarists. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by their knowledge of guitar/music theory and my almost complete lack of it in comparison. I'd like to learn how to build scales, the best way to study them, and I'd like to play them with ease. I do have a workbook provided by the University that is helpful, but it seems written more for the student who has more knowledge than I. It doesn't explain which finger goes where when you start at the second position, or what does it mean to be at the second position, etc... It assumes that I will understand this already. I didn't skip any prerequisites for the class, so I feel I must need additional instruction. Can you tell me if a beginner will find it easy to grasp scales and how to perform them by purchasing your Music Theory for Guitar Vol. 2. I realize that I should probably purchase both Vol. 1 and 2, but I'm a little tight for spending money after buying all my books for 19 credits. I'd like to just get the one that will help me right now, and I'd get the others later. Also, A Big Metronome, is it helpful for sight reading guitar sheet music and understanding the timing between notes? I'd love to have some more practice with that as well. Thank you very much for your time, and I'll be looking forward to your response. |
| A | Thanks for contacting me and thanks for buying my books. I think the 2nd volume of the Chord Workbook may be a little over your head to start with. But you should find that once you get comfortable with the chords in Chord Workbook Volume One the chords in Volume Two will be particularily helpful when you start playing with ensembles. The chords in Volume One are more commonly used in solo and duet playing. The chords in Volume Two are more useful when playing with an ensemble because in those situations one doesn't generally play any notes on the two lowest strings on the guitar. That's because the two low strings can interfere with the bass player's range and cause a muddy sound. Using chords based on the upper four strings keeps your sound more separate and discreet and can also help you work better with a piano player.
As far as scales go I would highly recommend getting the 2nd volume of the music theory for guitar. This book gives you information on how to build 22 scales and also gives you exercises to help you memorize each scale. Also the muse-eek website gives you a bunch of audio examples so you can start applying these scales. If you need help on how to practice scales go to www.arnoldjazz.com and go to the music workshop. If you look under the scale section you will find 19 scales that you can download for free and these will give you the fingerings and how to play them all over the guitar neck. You definately should not get The Big Metronome. This book is for intermediate to advanced musicians looking to improve their internal concept of time. Obviously it would help you but I think for now you need to work on the basic mechanics of music. If you want to help your recognition of notes on the guitar via notes on a page I would recommend Single String Studies for guitar Volume One. This will give you exerices on one string at a time so you can concentrate on learning were each note is on each string in relation to the notes you see on a music staff. As far as rhythm goes I would recommend Rhythm Primer. This will not explain the timing between notes but it will give you simple rhythms that you can learn. If you run into a rhythm you don't understand, e-mail me or check the FAQ page where your question may have already been addressed. It sounds like you are very dedicated to learning music the right way and I applaude you for this. You are the type of person I have written my books for and I'm glad you have found them useful. I wish you great success and don't hesitate to contact me if you have more questions. By the way postions on the guitar neck refer to the fret that you place your index finger on. so... if you start playing something on the 5th fret with your first finger on the 5th fret you are playing in 5th position. I too was mystified when I fist started studying at Berklee, as to what they meant when they talked about position. but its really that simple---it's where you put your index finger that determines the position. |
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| Q | I've recently purchased your Music Theory and Chord Theory workbooks and find them to be excellent sources for studying the guitar. However, I do need clarification on the "Cycle 5" Movement through the cycle 5, (C,F,Bb,Eb, etc.) is in 4th's (5 half steps) and not in 5th's as I previously assumed - Please explain.
Also, I know the study/practice pace will vary depending on the student's time, motivation, etc. but is there a recommended pace for your workbooks? |
| A | Thanks for buying the books and I'm glad you are finding them useful. Cycle 5 can be thought of in two ways. The most common way is to think moving UP in 7 half steps i.e. C to G etc or 5 diatonic step in the key of C C i.e. C to D to E to F to G equals 5 steps or a 5th. But, you can also think of moving DOWN 7 half steps from C which would be the note F. Once again if you are in the key of C you could also move down 5 diatonic steps i.e. C to B to A to G to F which equals 5 steps or a 5th. The reason I use the cycle moving to down rather than up is because of the way music (particularly contemporary music) moves in many compositions, i.e. it modulates through keys moving DOWN the cycle 5 pattern. But, really either way will work when practicing your theory or chord work.
As far as how to work through the "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Two" I would learn maybe 10 to 15 chords moving them cycle 5 the way I recommend in the book. This will help to make sure you know these chords in all keys and will also help you memorize the notes on the two lowest strings on the guitar. The next step would be to skip to the progressions in the back of the book. By learning chord progressions you will hear how these chords relate to real music and it will help you to memorize each new chord. One of my main criticisms of other chord books is that you aren't given enough examples of how these chords are used and what they sound like in a musical example. I noticed through my many years of teaching that if you don't apply chords to a musical situation it is almost impossible to remember a chord voicing for a long period of time. In "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" I would recommend doing a page a day. Some of my students also do one example from 10 different pages a day because they feel it helps them remember chords better. The most important thing is to at least do some work everyday. In "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two" I would recommend taking one scale writing out the answers and then applying that scale to the midifile chord progressions found on the Muse-eek website. Once again some of my students do one example from 2 or 3 different scales a day because they feel it helps them remember scales better. The most important thing is to at least do some work everyday, and applying these scales to the midifile progressions is a must. Really the bottom line of both theory books is to keep you "thinking the notes." Over time you will see a pattern developing which is OK as long as you know what the notes are and you are not relying on a pattern. With all practicing, consistency is the key. Whatever amount you can do always try to practice every day rather than once every few days. I wish you good luck and feel free to write back if anything I have said is unclear. |
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| Q | I'm reading your great book "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" and I'd like to ask you about some doubts that I have:
On page 3 you say that there is no sharp or flat between E and F, and B and C. Ok, I did all the exercises for Basic Intervals and Larger Intervals with that premise. Now I'm doing the exercises on page 18 and I found that in the exercise number 4 on the second line there is an E#. In this exercise you ask for a G# major triad. So to create the Major triad I need: a major third on the bottom which equals 4 half steps which is a C not a B# and a minor third in the top which equals 3 half steps equals D#. My answers is G#, C, D#. Now if you check the Major Triad Answers on page 109, you will find G#, B#,D#. I find the same thing in the exercise on page 18, third line, Exercise one which asks for a C# major triad, so following the rules I found the answer to be C#, F, G#. The answer in page 109 is C#, E#, G#. So, is there is a mistake in the book's answers oram I doing something wrong? I also have another question. I don´t understand the meaning of the Natural Sign. Ok, thanks for responding and I'd like to say congratulations for your books. |
| A | You have asked very good questions which come up frequently with students. First let me say that on a fixed pitch instrument, like the Guitar, Piano, most Woodwinds and Brass etc., a B# is the same note as a C and a E# is the same as an F. If you play an non-fixed pitch instrument like a violin, trombone, or voice, musicians will sometimes make a note a little sharper or flatter depending on the music and the quality of the musician. For all practical purposes though, in WESTERN notation methods, (we are not talking about for example, Indian music with all its microtones) a B# is a C, an E# is an F. You will also notice in the Music Theory Books, that I use double sharps (X) and flats (bb). So, for instance a CX is the same as the note D and a Bbb is the same as the note A.
The reason that all these notes have such unusual names is because of the system of notation that has been developed over the last three hundred years (or so). Basically it works like this. If you have a C major scale you would have the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. If you have a C# major scale the notes would be C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#, C#. You can see that for each note in the scale we use a different consecutive letter of the alphabet and then apply sharps or flats to make these notes the correct pitch. I have recieved quite a few complaints about this from students asking why I bother to use these unusual spellings of notes, chords and scales. I believe that even though the accepted system of notation is more difficult it is my responsibility as an educator to let you know the correct way music theory is thought of by the established conventions. At the same time I will say that I do often think of a B# as C and an E# as F, but on the other hand I've also spent a lot of time learning keys like G# major (G#, A#, B#, C#, D#, E#, FX, F#) and Cb major Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb because they occasionally show up and you need to be able to read and function in those keys when they do. If you are constructing a G# major triad, a major third on the bottom is made of 4 half steps up from G# so it would be the actual note C but because you need to use a different note name for each degree of the scale you will have to alter the note C and make it a B#. and then add a D# which is another 4 half steps above the B# to complete the triad. Therefore the notes would be G#, B#, D#. There is also a little helpful device you can use when building chords and scales, which is mentioned on page 13 of the "Music Theory for Guitar Volume One". If you have a chord like Fb major triad first you write out an F, an A, and a C because these notes are every other degree of the scale and are some kind of third interval apart. Now you need to use sharps or flats (in this case flats) to make the chord conform to the 4 halfs between the 2 bottom notes and 3 half steps between the two top notes. Therefore you would have Fb, Ab and Cb. You also asked about a Natural sign. A natural sign is used to (1) describe the condition of a note, and (2) as an accidental, as are sharp and flat signs. Accidentals are used to temporarily alter the degree of a note so that it does not "fit" into the key signature that a piece is mainly written in. You might encounter a piece written in C major, where the composer wants to have the sound of a G# in there, you would see a # sign in front of the G. This would only apply for one measure. If the composer wants that G# in there again, there would have to be a # next to the G in the next measure too. Natural signs are used in the same way. Therefore if you had a measure of music where you had an Ab followed by an A you would have to put a natural sign in front of the A to cancel the Ab. Remember that all occurences of sharps flats and natural signs only apply to the measure they are in so with each new measure you will have to use these these alterations again. In modern practice a sign used as an accidental affects the note immediately following and is valid for all the notes of the same pitch (but not in different octaves) within the same measure. Let me reiterate that when using a key signature like the ones mentioned on page 5 on the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" you wouldn't need to write out every occurance of let's say an F# in the key of G because the key signature does that automatically for you. But, you would have to still write in the natural sign if you wanted to alter a note that is an accidental in the key signature. For instance if you wanted to make the F# an F natural. If any of this isn't clear feel free to contact me again. |
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| Q | Do you have to know how to read music to use this book? I'm a beginner and I'm starting to feel like a parrot playing songs with no understanding of how or why it works. I want to learn much more. Do you have any suggestions? If this book isn't right for me, which one is? |
| A | That's pretty funny about feeling like a parrot; I like the analogy. You don't need to know how to read music to work with the "Music Theory Workbooks" because both of them teach you the basics of reading music so that you can work through the exercises.
"Music Theory Workbook Volume One" helps to develop your ability to spell chords and know what notes are in each chord type along with what tensions are available for each chord. It also teaches where the notes for each of these chords are on the guitar. "Music Theory Workbook Volume Two" teaches you 22 scales in all keys and gives you typical progressions to use to improvise with the scales. There are audio examples of each scale on the muse-eek website. Both books also talk about the typical chords that make up chord progression and why. Of course no book can cover every chord progression and explain how it works. That's part of the reason for the info@muse-eek.com and the faq@muse-eek.com which is a forum where you, the student can ask specific questions. Building an understanding of the "hows and whys" of music really requires many different tools. Using the Music Theory books is like learning the alphabet of a new language. Building sentences, paragraphs and stories would be the next step. I have books that will help you with that phase when you get there. Remember that consistency and having a regimen of practice when working through these books is the key. Try to do at least a few of the exercises every day. If you have any more questions let me know |
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| Q | I have a question about Page 20, Row 6th, Excercise 3rd : I made the Diminished Triad and when I checked the answer on page #111, I saw that B was shown on the 5 fret on the 3rd string ??? Should'nt the B note be on the 4 fret of the 3rd string? |
| A | Well, I'm impressed you actually found a mistake in the book. The B should be on the 4th fret on the G string and not the 5th. Of all the 100's of students I've had work through that book your the first to notice this mistake. I even had the book proof read by two graduate students and they missed it too. I guess anyone would get a little cross eyed after looking at those answer pages for to long. Anyway I hope you are not to upset to find a mistake. Both Muse-eek and I have made every effort to catch mistakes and misprints, but with thirty-six and counting technical books to proofread, some get past us. We will have a "corrections" page up at the muse-eek.com website in about a month. You will be able to download a PDF file of this page so your book will be correct. And because of your comments, we will of course be correcting all future printings of the book (From today on, as a matter of fact!)--so thanks again. 03/30/00
If you have any other questions or comments please let me (us) know. We are striving to make Muse-eek an excellent distance learning company for music education. We hope to provide students with the tools to become first rate musicians and to clear up misconceptions and bad practice habits that can plague their progress. |
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| Q | I don't understand how transposition works with the guitar. I realize that guitar is a transposing instrument when you read a written part but I don't understand what that means. Could you explain it to me? |
| A | Well this transposition stuff does get confusing doesn't it. Let me give you a couple of examples that will help you see how to write for the guitar and also understand what you are reading when you play guitar music.
First, let me say that the guitar is a transposing instrument and sounds an octave below where piano music is written. So, let's say I'm composing a melody at the piano and I want the melody to be C, D and E starting on middle C on the piano. If I want the guitar to play this melody in the same octave that it is sounding on the piano I will have to write this on the 3rd space of the staff for C, moving to the 4th line for D and then the 4th space for E. As you can see the guitar is reading notes an octave above so that the sound will come out in the same octave of the piano. Second, let say you are reading a guitar part and the first three notes are C (one ledger line below the treble clef or what would commonly thought of as middle C) to D space below lowest line and E first line of the treble clef. When you play the first note C this is not sounding in the same octave as middle C it is the pitch one octave below middle C. As you can see from these two examples the guitar as far as pitch is concerned is a fairly low sounding instrument - (the low e-string sounds way down an octave and a minor sixth below middle C) but with a very broad range of notes; at least four octaves. This actually is one of the reasons they made the guitar a transposing instrument because it would need both the bass and the treble clef to accomodate all the notes on the instrument. Rather than have guitar written with a grand staff (grand staff is when you use both the bass and treble clefs together, like piano) they just use the treble clef but make the guitar a transposing instrument. It's really ultimately easier to do it that way. (--you don't want to have to read grand staff, do you?) Single String Studies is written for guitar, therefor it is already transposed into the treble clef for you . But remember if you read middle C in an exercise, you are playing the 3rd fret of the A string and it is actually sounding an octave below this note. If you are playing along with a pianist and looking over their shoulder at treble clef, you will have to play an octave higher on your instrument if you want to play the same pitch and blend with the piano.. Hopefully this helps you understand and picture how this system works. |
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| Q | I recently purchased your "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" and just started looking at it. (I've been playing (mostly by ear) for 11 years, and am really excited to learn some theory!) However, I noticed
that it says the exercises were designed for a 24 fret guitar, and as I counted the frets on my guitar, I found only 20 (or is it 21, do you count the last fret by the sound hole?). Will I need to modify the exercises in any way since I have fewer frets? I apologize if this is answered in the book...like I said, I only got thru the first few pages, and just wanted to get this cleared up before I start.
Thanks for your help with this! |
| A | First, Thanks so much for buying Music Theory Workbook for Guitar.
I wrote the book thinking that most people would be playing electric guitar, and many of those have twenty four frets. Would I be correct in assuming you are playing an acoustic guitar? If so, don't worry. For the purposes of learning music theory, it will be fine, since I believe the highest note used in the book is on the 20th fret. The only difference is that it is much EASIER for you to physically play the notes on a 24 fret guitar when the exercises are found on the upper range of the neck. The main thing is memorize where the notes are on the guitar fretboard and understand how each interval or chord is build using standard musical notation. I hope you enjoy the book. Learning music theory is a lot like mastering a foreign language--it requires work and memorization to learn the grammar and vocabulary, so it isn't always easy. But if you can get it to the point that you can just think and speak it, you will be able to communicate what is inside you to other people in newer and more eloquent ways. Good luck! |
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| Q | Let me ask you something :
Page 21, 3rd row,exercise 3: I found the following answer: F on 5th string, fret 8; A on 4th string fret 7 and C# on 3rd string fret 6 but the answer on pag.112 is F on 4th string, fret 3; A on 3rd string fret 2 and C# on 2nd string fret 2. The notes are the same, but the position on the fretboard is different. If you see the exercise just above, second row exercise 3 is just 1/2 step up of each note : F# on 5th string, fret 9; A# on 4th string fret 8 and Cx on 3rd string fret 7 Why the diference ? |
| A | There are many places to play the same notes on the guitar. In the example you cite there are 3 places to play those notes. If we just look at the F (1st space on the treble clef) this note could be on the D String 3rd fret, A string 8th fret and the 13th fret of the E string. Therefore there are 3 right answers for this example. This points out one of the reasons why the exercises in a book like Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One are so important. The guitar has so many notes that are doubled that it makes it very confusing for a student to know where to play notes that are written on the staff. The music theory book makes you aware of this problem.
Some students have asked why I didn't write down every possibility. I could have given the starting note for the first exercises but I wanted to force the student into finding the note on the fretboard without any help. You must also realize that this would have given the book two to three times more pages. To try and keep the price down I decided to just put one answer for pages 16 to 36, so it is possible that your answer is correct even though it is different from what is written in the book. After page 36 I have given you the starting note so this forces you into one position for each exercise, but of course there would be more correct answers if you started on another string. In general, you should not discount your answer right away if it differs from the answer in the book. Think it through, and see if your answer could be correct. You may find your answer can work too. Of course if you believe your answer is correct but want to be sure, you can always contact me. Some students just change their answer to the book's answer until they get stronger with note recognition on the fretboard. Either way, you are thinking about where the notes are located on the guitar which is what I'm trying to encourage you to do. Let me know if you have any other questions. We are in the planning stages of a new section for the Muse-eek website. Soon we will have a place that is especially for people who have bought and are working seriously with the books. They can log on and get all the alternative answers, on downloadable pages. We are also planning to have tests that will be very like "midterm" and "final" exams. We'll even give diplomas!! But we haven't got that part quite figured out yet! Stay in touch |
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| Q | I really enjoy the book. I've been moving lately and have put it down but will start again soon. I have been studying West African balafon for the last few years and I was so excited to hear about the proposed exercises that I sat right down and ordered it at my next internet session. I'm also strongly considering applying to Berklee. Do you have any tips? thanks again |
| A | It's hard to mention everything you might need to prepare for when entering Berklee College of Music or any college to study music.
One big thing will apply at most music colleges: You will have very little time to actually play your instrument. This is because music colleges will initially try to improve your basic musicianship skills, like music theory, sight reading to develop your recognition and performance of rhythm and melody, and ear training. The colleges must bring the students up to a basic level of musicianship before anything further or more exciting is taught. So if you can get yourself up to that level BEFORE you go, you will really get a lot more out of the program, and you will get to play your instrument a lot more. I would recommend working through as many of my rhythm books as you can. i.e. "Rhythms 1-3", "Rhythm Primer", "Odd Meters", "Contemporary Rhythms 1-2" "Independence One". You should be able to read these books at the following tempos: "Rhythms One" at half note equals 120 (metronome on 1 and 3 and also 2 and 4) "Rhythms Two" at quarter equals 120 (metronome on every beat) "Rhythms Three" at quarter equals 50 (metronome on every beat) "Rhythms Primer" whole note equals 100 (metronome one beat per measure) "Contemporary Rhythms One" same as Rhythms One "Contemporary Rhythms Two" same as Rhythms Two "Independence One" various tempos depending on exercise For music theory I would work through "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume's One and Two". Even if you are not a guitar player you could work through the exercises because each problem requires that you answer it in traditional notation (guitarists are also required to place the notes on the fretboard.) If you can bring your music theory up to a level where it is a language you can speak fluently you will get a lot more out of music school For ear training I would recommend getting" Ear Training: One note" either Beginning or Intermediate level depending on your background (read more about the book at amazon or on muse-eek's website to make your choice) I would also purchase "A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing". If you can get your ear to the point that you understand what's going on by just hearing the notes you can process music and musical concepts much faster. I know this sounds like a lot of work but this can make a major difference in your success at college and in music in general. |
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| Q | I am a beginner of actual guitar instruction, but have played for 2 years. Anyway, I was wondering if you were to place your books in order of "importance for beginners" or "best way to learn" and the student had the amply time and money to focus his/hers time and energy into the books what order would you recommend them? I have already bought your, "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1" and already (in only a week in fact) have learned tons about what makes chords, why certain chords go together etc, but is there a book of yours that would be more beneficial in the long run to study before this one? I realize that all students have different wants/desires out of the guitar but could you please give me a kind of "road map"? Thanks again Mr. Arnold, and I look forwarding to getting better at the guitar through your books. |
| A | Regarding a regimen of study with my books, I recommend starting with "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1" and "Theory Workbook for Guitar" Volume 1 or Volume 2 (you don't have to complete Volume One before going to Volume 2) Along with this I recommend getting started with Ear Training. You should at least work with "Ear Training: One Note Beginning" and at some point not too far in the future you should start working with "A Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training."
You should download the proper way to play scales, which is located on the www.arnoldjazz.com music workshop site. This will give you a good base to start from. Also you should get yourself a tape recorder so you can record some chords/vamps to play over. Keep in mind that there are 5 basic areas that you should be working on to develop properly: 1. Music Theory 2. Chord Work 3. Ear Training 4. Scale work 4. Improvisation (playing over chord progressions)-- basically being creative! This is where you apply the chords, scales, theory you've been working so hard to learn. This will also develop your ear and your musical connection to real music. You should also register for the "members area" on the main book page of muse-eek.com Over the next year muse-eek will be adding extra text and audio files, videos and other educational information which is free for you, being an owner of one of my books. |
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| Q | I have played guitar for 10 years but have never become what I would call an accomplished guitar player status. I've also taken a number of theory courses in High School, at UT Austin, and at MIT. None of them applied to guitar and I've never really been able to retain the theory. I've always played by ear and so have never gained any knowledge of the theory with respect to guitar. So you can assume I don't know the scales or chord names etc... Now in August I will be leaving to travel for leisure around the world for 1 year. We will be backpacking and I will be taking a Martin Backpacker guitar. I would like to use some of this time to get back into playing. What I would like you to help me with is to locate the right materials for me to meet my goals and/or to have some insight from you on how my goals may need to change. Basically, I'd like to learn more guitar theory enough so that I can also spend some time learning to play Jazz. So, I am trying to figure out the right guitar theory book/s and Jazz book/s to take with me. I am considering your books but would like your opinion on what would be reasonable and appropriate to take. Keeping in mind that I cannot carry more than a few books. I truly appreciate any time you take to help me make my decisions. |
| A | For your trip I would recommend either Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One or Two and Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. The Theory Workbook will give you the same theory you learned in your classes but it is completely geared to the guitar fretboard. The Chord Workbook will teach you chord voicings (many of them you might already know) and have you apply them to 36 chord progressions found in the back of the book. When learning theory or chord usage, application is the only way I have found to memorize and ingrain this knowledge so that it becomes a natural part of one's musical ability. Let me also say a few things about each book.
1. The Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One teaches you how to build chords from simple triads to highly complex chords. You have to write the notes found in each chord on a staff and also write out where these notes would be on the guitar. This directly applies music theory to your guitar and makes all the difference as far as actually using this knowledge when playing the guitar. 2. The Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two teaches you how to build scales. You have to write on a staff where the notes are found in each scale, and also write out where these scale degrees would be on the guitar. Once again this directly applies music theory to your guitar and makes all the difference as far as actually using this knowledge when playing the guitar. 3. The Chord Workbook will teach you chord voicings but not every chord voicing under the sun, only the voicings professional guitarists use. The voicings found in Volume One always have the root in the bottom voice. Volume Two gives you the upper four string voicings. This book also teaches you how to reharmonize a chord progression. The 36 chord progressions in the back of the book show you how to apply the reharmonization techniques. The chord progressions are presented in two formats. a. Chord symbols with a fret number to guide you to the right voicing b. Chord voicings (just the notes) which forces you to figure out chords based on the notes only. FYI At Berklee College of Music and many other Universities, not to mention in the professional world, you are required to read music where only chord voicings are given. This is extremely hard if you haven't put in the time to learn to read in this fashion. I should point out that though even a beginning guitarist could use any of these books, they are designed to prepare a guitarist for a professional career in music. Whenever possible these book approach music from the perspective of how you, the player, will encounter music in the "real world." Consequently these books are not "fun" and I must emphasize to you that they are very hard work. But if you stick with it, your musical ability will escalate like crazy; I've seen it countless times. I usually give the analogy that learning music theory is like learning a foreign language. You need to learn the nuts and bolts of how a language is put together before you can make sense of it and begin to use it to express yourself. You also need to realize that you can't just jump into these books 4 hours a day, either. You will need to build up slowly or you will burn out. Think of it like being a runner-- you wouldn't go out and run a marathon your first time out, right? You would work up to it. In particular I think the theory books would be really good for you. Many of my students work on these books when they are traveling. Keep in mind that mental practicing is even better than physical practicing, so working through these theory book exercises even without a guitar is great. Note: you can check how well mental practicing works by finding a short excerpt of music and learning it entirely in your head. Work out how you would pick it, where the notes would be on the instrument, what the rhythm would be. Then slowly try to build up speed in your mind. Do this for a week and you will find that that when you first play this excerpt it will probably be the best, fastest thing you know how to play. I'm always practicing in my head. But, keep in mind that this kind of practicing is extremely taxing, and you will tire quickly. If you do decide to get the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One you should go to the "members section" of the www.muse-eek.com website and download the "alternate answers for the first pages. This will greatly help you get started with the book because it contains alternate answers to each exercise. Many students wonder why these alternate answers weren't in the book to start with. The problem with that is that the book would have been around 1800 pages long. This would have been very expensive not to mention a drag to carry around. But, it does point out one of the main problems that guitarist have to deal with when learning their instrument. Each note can be found in many places and that is one of the reasons the guitar is one of the most difficult instruments to master. I hope you have a good time on your vacation. If you decide to get the books I think you will find yourself in an entirely new place with your guitar in a year. If you have any questions along the way let me know. |
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| Q | I'm quite interested in your books; I'm moving forward from Bill Edwards' Fretboard Logic Series and I think I've found the right path with your books. I think that I'm going to start out with the Music Theory series, but I noticed that you said in the FAQ that you didn't have to complete Vol. 1 before doing Vol. 2. Can I simply order Vol. 2 and do it? Is it like a totally seperate book -- does not rely on any of the info in Vol. 1? My preference would be to get started on scales, but I don't want to cheat myself and not do Vol. 1. I'd get both, but I'm almost a starving college student (already starving, almost a college student). Thanks a bunch. And, btw, is the theory series the right one to start off with? It's either that or chords, and I'm thinking theory is the way to go. |
| A. | Yes, you could just start with Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. Basically "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" teaches you how to build chords and gets you to memorize the "available tensions" on each chord type while "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two" teaches you how each scale is built and what type of chord progressions you can use with each scale. There is a theory section at the beginning of each book that is pretty much identical in both books. The exercises of course are completely different.
Both books are essential to developing your music theory knowledge. Basically you need to get your music theory to a point where you can communicate like a second language with it. Usually at a college level this takes two years of class work. What's unique about these two theory books is they not only teach you chords and scales but they also ingrain where these chords and scales are on the guitar. If you do start with "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two" make sure to take advantage of the audio files found on the muse-eek.com website. Along with doing the exercises it is of parimount importance to improvise with these scales so you develop a "real" musical connection. I usually recommend students start with one of the theory books and the "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One," but that can be kind of expensive for some folks. You might check out the "order page" of the muse-eek.com site to see if there are any "seconds" available for the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" or the "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One". Usually these "seconds" books are almost in perfect condition but may have some abrasion on the cover, or an ink smudge or the likes somewhere in the book which make them unsellable but are just fine and contain everything you need |
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| Q | Your book (Music Theory Vol. 2) arrived today and I must say that I am very impressed with it. That 100+ pages of exercises puts a smile on my face (for some reason...). I'm looking forward to getting into it.
I, however, have a question. I have been using the scale forms that Bill Edwards uses in his Fretboard Logic series. These forms make sense to me because of their simplicity and symmetry. I noticed that the answers in the back present different scale forms than the ones I have learned. I don't think it would be much of a problem for me to re-learn new forms, but is there any advantage to learning the forms presented in your book over another? Musically, they are the same, of course -- guitaristically, they are just played in a different manner. The only problem I can see coming up is doing the worksheets and then finding different answers in the back, which would be do-able, but more time-consuming, and I could make mistakes. Here's an example of what I mean: This is how you would play a C Major scale: e|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| B|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| G|-|-|-|b|c|-|-| D|-|-|f|-|g|-|a| A|-|-|c|-|d|-|e| E|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| And this is how I have been learning it: e|-|-|-|-|-| B|-|-|-|-|-| G|-|a|-|b|c| D|-|e|f|-|g| A|-|-|c|-|d| E|-|-|-|-|-| Same scale, different form. Any advantage over using yours, other than my answers would match the answers found in the back of the book? Can't wait to dig into this! Thanks for any help. |
| A | The short answer to your scale delemma is that you should know how to play a scale using any form, which is pretty easily done once you know the notes in the scale and the notes on the guitar fretboard.
Bill Edwards' forms are basically the forms used at the Berklee College of Music. These forms are good for keeping you in one position on the guitar and they work really well for example, when you are playing something which is very diatonic. Bill's/Berklee's forms are also a little easier to play because you are not going out of position, as you do with the "3 notes on every string" forms. I use the "3 notes on every string" forms for two main reasons. One, they pull you out of that one position, so you get used to moving in a more linear manner on the fretboard which will be necessary if you play non-diatonic music. Two, you can play 6 notes on any string and this will pull you up the neck linearly into a different position on the neck without changing your picking. Of course you could work out systems where the Bill/Berklee scales do the same thing but it would be a lot more involved and wouldn't be the same for each scale position. You can use either system with the book. Once you know the notes of the scales and the notes of the fretboard it shouldn't be too difficult to make sure you are correct. I personally would recommend doing both, which is one of the reasons I've included an extra worksheet in the back of your book. But really, the most important thing is that you use the audio files on the muse-eek.com website to improvise with these scales, because you to need to hear and develop your own way of using the scales. Let me know if you need any more help. |
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| Q | I've been playing for 2 years, have never taken lessons, which I
now regret. I figured things out the real hard way. I'm realizing I need to know more about the structure and formation of root notes and their relationship to chords. I understand the part about notes in a chords scale, but I have yet to grasp how the notes of a chord are related to the root. I was told it was the 1-3-5 notes from the scale. If thats the case then a (D major chord) would be d,e,and f#. Instead a (D major chord) has a d, f# and a. I'm quite confused and need some help. |
| A | I think you have having a little problem with how to figure out the notes of chords. Just to give you a quick background. The major scale is derived from the chromatic scale. The chromatic scale is
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C The distance between each of these notes is called a half step. So the distance between C and C# is one half step. (also going up each fret on the guitar is a half step.) The major scale pulls 7 notes from this chromatic scale to complete itself. Those notes are: C D E F G A B As you can see some of these notes are half steps and some are whole steps (a whole step equals two half steps.) So, here is how the major scale is built by looking at it as half and whole steps. C-D = whole step D-E = whole step E-F = half step F-G = whole step G-A = whole step A-B = whole step B-C = half step To figure out chord tones (notes) of chords you can use the major scale or you can use the chromatic scale. If you use the major scale a C major chord formula is 1st 3rd 5th notes of the scale. So the notes would be C E and G. If you use the chromatic scale the formula is 4 half steps (also called a major third) between the bottom notes and 3 half steps (also called a minor third) between the upper notes. So if we look at our chromatic scale: "C" C# D D# "E" F F# "G" G# A A# B C you can see you get the same answer: C E and G but you have figured it out using two different scales. There are of course many different types of scales and chords that you need to know in order to play music and understand what you are playing. Therefore you need to work with both the chromatic scale and the major scales in order to learn all the chords you need to know. I have written a book called Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. This book gives you the theory behind each chord and then has you write out many different chords on the music staff and the guitar fretboard until you memorize all this information. I think this book would be an excellent resource for you. You don't need a teacher to go through this book because the answers are in the back of the book. After purchasing the book you can also find alternate answers in the "members section" of the www.muse-eek.com website. The members section is open to anyone who purchases a muse-eek book. It has many other educational files you can down load for free so it's a great resource to help you educate yourself about music. Hope this helps you understand the process a little better. Remember, you can always contact me when you have questions. |
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| Q | I bought your book, Music Theory Vol 1, and have started to work on the basic intervals. On some of the exercises I came put with some answers I thought were sharps and while you gave flats. My question is: When are notes sharp or flat. Also, how much time should be spent on a section? Is it necessary to memorize the names of the intervals and their distance between notes? I also find myself counting my fingers during these exercises to find the next note, is that improper? |
| A | If you have the note "C" and you need to write any augmented or "sharped" interval i.e. augmented 5th or sharped 4th you would use a sharp sign. If you have the note "C" and you need to write any diminished, minor or "flatted" interval i.e. diminished 5th, minor 3 or flatted 5 you would use a flat sign.
It gets a little more complicated when you have any note besides "C" because all other notes have sharps or flats as part of their key signature. For example for the note D if you needed a minor 7th the note would be "C" natural because C# is the major 7th and you need to flat it to get the minor 7th. I recommend in the book that you start using the scales/key signature to help you find the answers to the exercises. This will also help you to decide what accidental to use for each problem. Basically if you are in a sharped key you would use sharps or natural signs for your note names if you are in a flatted key you would use flats or naturals signs for your note names. It's good to memorize the names of the intervals and the distance between notes. But, if you start using the scale/key signature method you really just need to memorize each scale degree of every key and you will quickly be able to find the note you need. Counting on your finger is OK to begin with, I would recommend counting on your fingers and imagining the guitar fretboard in your mind and a good second step. Moving over to thinking the scales and or scale degrees as the next step and finally thinking the scales and seeing them on your guitar and the best and finally step. |
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| Q | I just checked out your web site and I thought you might be able to help me ... I just started taking guitar lessons (I'm 35 years old, but hey, better late than never!) and I'm having a lot of trouble understanding how to read the music and find the notes on the guitar. It doesn't make any sense to me ... I took piano for 7 years as a kid so I do know how to read music even though I'm rusty. When I look at the music, I keep seeing a keyboard in my head ... I look at the guitar and I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out where the note is on the guitar. I know this is a strange question, but I thought you may have come across someone else with a similar problem. What I'm trying to understand is where the open strings are on a keyboard ... I thought that might help me understand the whole & half steps using the frets ... thought you might have another suggestion as well. I've only had 2 lessons and I know I should probably be more patient, but I'm one of those people who! has to understand 'the big picture' if you know what I mean ... I'm not sure if I made myself clear, but I'd appreciate any insight or suggestions you might have ... my goal is to be able to look at a piece of music and to be able to play it on the guitar and at least recognize the tune ... that shouldn't be too much to expect, is it? Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide. Hope to hear from you soon. |
| A | You aren't alone. Many students have problems figuring out where the notes are on the guitar. Unfortunately it's much more complicated than the piano so memorizing all the notes on the fretboard is an inescapable but necessary hurdle.
As far as where the open strings of the guitar are on the piano keyboard the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" will tell you where the open strings are in comparison to the piano keyboard and will also talk about the guitar as a transposing instrument (the guitar sounds an octave below where written) You will find reading music on the guitar to be much more challenging initially than on the piano. The guitar has many repeated notes. (For example it has 5 middle C's) This makes it quite difficult to decide where to play a given melody on the guitar. I suggest that you get the "Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" because it will help you to learn to notes on the guitar along with learning music theory. Although your piano background may have already given you an understanding of some of the theory presented in this book, the fact that all the exercises are geared to the guitar will re-orient you to your new instrument and how it works. Also if you really want to torture yourself you could get the book "Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One" This book forces you to read notes on only one string which really helps you learn where all the notes are. Neither of these books are particularly fun but they do the job and if you are serious about learning the guitar they will be a great help. In any event I wish you good luck with your guitar studies and if you have any other questions let me know. |
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| Q | Thank you for your unselfish willingness to share your knowledge and expertise, as a novice newbie your site provides a wealth of information, anyway just had to say your efforts are truly appreciated.
In your "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" you make reference to the fact that the 2 e's are located on the 2nd fret D and 5th fret E,when refering back to the previous treble clef, this may well be one of my finest moments of stupidity but why are they not located on the open E, A or G. |
| A | I'm glad you have found the site useful. As far as the "E" question goes, first some background: There are fortunately or unfortunately depending on your mindset 6 places you could play an E which is the 4th space of the treble clef.
open string on high E string 5th fret on the B string (this is the note I give in Music Theory Workbook) 9th fret on the G string 14th fret on the D string 19th fret on the A string 24 fret on the low E string The example I gave in Music Theory Workbook for Guitar shows two E's an octave apart. Once again there are a few places that these notes could exist on the guitar. You could also get the same pitches at 7th fret on the A string and 9th fret on the G string 12th fret on the E string and 14th fret on the D string Working through both music theory workbooks will really help you to see these relationships on the guitar but will also help you to understand how to build chords (Vol 1) and how to build scales (Vol 2) Hope this helps. Let me know if you need any more assistance. Also remember there are no stupid questions. All it takes is one missing bit of information and something will seem incomprehensable. |
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| Q | I 'll try to be short. I am caught between buying your course of study ("Chord/Theory Workbooks") and one other course "Fretboard Logic" by Bill Edwards that has gotten a lot of attention. I would ask if you have any idea of the fretboard logic series compared to the info your course contains. |
| A | Bill Edwards book "Fretboard Logic SE Special Edition Volumes 1 and 2 combined" ISBN 09624770 is pretty much a completely different approach to learning guitar-and music for that matter than the Music Theory Workbooks.
Deciding on the educational path you want to take with guitar is probably the most important decision you will make in your musical career so you should think about a few things: 1. Your goals with music 2. Your internal ability to hear/process/understand music 3. Your attitude towards learning music. 4. What you want from music. Take a few moments and think about these four things. Maybe even write down 3 or 4 answers per question. Because so many guitarists start out wanting to play rock guitar, most guitar book authors first and foremost figure that you really just want to get to play the guitar as fast as possible. Guitarists more than any other instrumentalist are very concerned about speed. Many types of books have been created to accommodate this rather large group of students who think they don't need ear training, music theory, note names etc. Usually the rationale students give behind these beliefs is that "so and so" from this "famous rock band" doesn't know any music theory or maybe even the notes on the guitar, so why should I have to know these things. There are a couple of points that these students don't realize. 1. Many of these musicians have exceptionally good ears but very little musical knowledge. But an exceptional ear is very rare. The ability to hear what you want to play or write can go a long way towards sidestepping the handicaps created by lack of formal musical knowledge, but most students are not gifted in this way and need to develop better aural skills. 2. There is also the category of musicians that are for instance, singer songwriters who just use the guitar as a vehicle to express their lyrics and basic song forms, and therefore need only a limited amount of information usually just chord voicings. Then they use their "ear" to guide them. As a result of these demographic most guitar and music books rather than spending time helping a student develop their aural comprehension just give students a visual reference to music through tablature and diagrams. (Note: Teaching with diagrams is not within itself a bad thing. You just have to have excellent ears and the ability to internalize (audiate) the sounds you see on a page or on the guitar fretboard. So the problem here is that 99.9 percent of every student I have taught has had very weak ears. When I taught at Berklee College of Music they would say "That student can't even hear a door slam." This is really the main problem I have with alot of the books that are available for guitarists. They make no mention of developing your ear, which is a key component of musicianship; particularly if you are going to rely only on tablature and diagrams to play your instrument. To make matters worse most ear training books teach you the wrong concepts for learning how to hear. Therefore even if you realize you have an "ear" problem, you will be directed toward learning intervals, and that will not get you to the point you want to be at. Many students commonly tell me that they have this friend who: never practices, can play anything they hear really quickly and when they play, it just sounds so good. The student also feels because of this that there is something wrong with them because they don't play as well even though they practice a lot more. Again, 99.9 percent of the time it's the student's aural comprehension that is holding them back. If this all makes sense to you and you feel like you should give some attention to developing your aural comprehension check out the "Ear Training: One Note Method" and the "Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training." To Sum up: It must be kept in mind that everyone has different priorities and tastes, therefore a student may get much more from "Fretboard Logic" than from the Music Theory Workbooks or even the ear training books. When Mr. Edwards states on page ix of his book that he feels that "Fretboard Logic SE Part 1 will teach you a great deal about just one thing: how the tuning works out on the fretboard in terms of patterns," he is summing up the first half of his book very well. It basically comes down to a student realizing through time and experience which system of education best fits their needs and goals. |
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| Q | I purchased your Chord Workbook for Guitar: Volume One a few months ago and am a little frustrated at my slow progress. I am a beginning guitarist and I have been trying to gain some understanding of the guitar because I am upset with the "random" feeling in my playing. I have no teacher and my friends seem satisfied with the predictable sound of power chords.
1) "Stacking up 3rds" to build diatonic chords seems only to work in the key of C. I know this isn't right but when I stacked 3rds above the D scale to form the chords in its key it begins with a D-. This seems odd to me especially because it is a rotated form of chords in the key of C. What am I doing wrong? |
| A | When you figure out the diatonic chords for the key of D major you need to start on a D major chord. A D major chord contains the notes D, F#, A (and C# if you add in the 7th).
In half steps that would be: D to F# = 4 half steps F# to A = 3 half steps A to C# = 4 half steps So then if we continue up the D major scale (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#) the diatonic chords would be: D major7, E minor7, F# minor7, G major 7, A dominant7, B minor 7, C# minor 7 b5 So you can see by comparing the diatonic chords from C major: C major7, D minor7, E minor7, F major 7, G dominant7, A minor 7, B minor 7 b5 that they all are the same type of chords for each scale degree but different letter names because you are starting on a different note The diatonic chords you were building starting on D- (minor) are the diatonic chords of a D Dorian scale which are the same as C major. D minor7, E minor7, F major 7, G dominant7, A minor 7, B minor 7 b5, C major7 It is important to realize that even though they are the same diatonic chords you will need to sooner or later learn the diatonic chords of the other modes too. Many songs are not in a major key; you will find songs in such keys as Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.. |
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| Q | 2) I am also having trouble understanding how to use tensions/chord tones for each chord. Does it only explain the structure of the chord; is that its intention? Are they only used to determine appropriate substitutions? This is a little vague but I hope you can help me. |
| A | There are many ways to use tensions. Let's look at two to start with.
If you have a C chord it has the available tensions of 9=D, #11=F# and13 (or 6th)=A If you are playing a chord you can add these notes into the chord to give it more "color." You can see a real easy application of this by playing an open C chord (see diagram A) Diagram A 0 E|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| ...B|-|-|d|-|-|-|-| 0 G|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| ...D|-|e|-|-|-|-|-| ...A|-|-|c|-|-|-|-| X E|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| (X's indicate strings that are not played. 0's indicate strings that are played open.) You can also go back and forth playing the regular C chord then the C add 9 chord. You can also do this with the tension note "A" (see diagram B) diagram B 0 E|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| ...B|c|-|-|-|-|-|-| ...G|-|a|-|-|-|-|-| ...D|-|e|-|-|-|-|-| ...A|-|-|c|-|-|-|-| X E|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Once again switching back and forth between the open G and the A note is a very nice sound. You can of course build up many chords with tensions. These are the chords you are building in the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One." For instance Cmajor 79 or C major 69 etc. Remember that every chord type you build in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" are useful in different styles and different situations. For instance the C major 69 is a cool chord to end a blues on. You can also add tensions in when soloing. Most tensions are already found in the scale-- for instance if you were soloing over a C chord using a C major scale (C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C) or a C pentatonic (C,D,E,G,A,C) you can see that the tension D and A are in these scales. What can make your soloing more interesting is to start and/or stop on these tension notes to end your melody. You will notice that the F# is not in either of these previously mentioned scales. You can add the F# in as you improvise with either of the aforementioned scales and it will add a cool sound. You will commonly hear people like Steve Vai add the #11. In this case F# added into solos and compositions gives the melody a very interesting color. In general you will find many heavy metal compositions and solos adding in this #11. There are many more uses for tensions. You will find them to be the basis for many chord substitutions and new scale possibilities. As you understand tensions and begin to "hear " them you will find them to very valuable for incorporating a contemporary sound into your playing. I hope this helps. I've given you a LOT of information, so don't be afraid to contact me again if you have more questions--I want to be sure you understand everything. |
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| Q | In Major scale intervals, why is it that the 4th and 5th are called perfect? |
| A | The quick answer is that historically this is what people have called these intervals. For a more indepth explanation see below. You might also look into reading Grout's "History of Western Music" which gives a very detailed explanation of many aspects of music and music history.
The longer explanation to why 4th and 5ths are called perfect. I think there are a few ideas on this, but my understanding is that it all began with a little misunderstanding between the Romans and the Greeks... The Greek system of music was based on tetrachords, of which there were three types, diatonic, chromatic, and enharmonic. The outside interval (primary diaphony) of each of these tetrachords had the pitch ration of 4:3 (i.e., the perfect 4th interval). The inner two notes of each of the three tetrachords were different, depending upon which of the three types you were dealing with. If you had the outside P4 interval from C up to F, the diatonic tetrachord would be C, Dd, Eb, F; the chromatic would be C, C#, D, F, and the enharmonic would be C, Dbb, D, F (Dbb is not a typo). Note that the first is diatonic to the modern key of Db, hence diatonic; the second is not diatonic to any modern key, hence chromatic; and the third has an enharmonic relationship between the first two elements, hence enharmonic. You can see how these words changed their meaning over the centuries. In actuality, the enharmonic tetrachord's bottom two pitches were quarter tones apart. Anyway, all of the inner intervals of the tetrachords could be tuned in different ways, and I think this practice has been translated to "shading." The outside interval, the P4, however, was always constant. Next came the combination of two tetrachords, which formed either a septachord (I think the original Latin was heptachord), an octave, or double octave. If the top note of one tetrachord was the same as the bottom note of the other, the two tetrachords were considered to have a conjunct relationship. If the top note of the bottom tetrachord was a whole step away from the bottom note of the top tetrachord, they were in a disjunct relationship. Each of these tetrachords duplicated the top note of the top tetrachord beneath the bottom note of the bottom tetrachord (hence an outside interval of the octave). The added note at the lower octave was, I believe, called the proslambanomenos. This whole thing evolved into what was called the Greater Perfect System, which was a two-octave scale of made up of a two tetrachords in a conjunct relationship, and two tetrachords in a disjunct relationship. In other words, it include both possibilities of these relationships and was therefore complete, or perfect. There were a few variations of this, but I can't remember what they were. I think, although I am not sure, that because the various intervals that could occur between the outsides of the individual tetrachords in the two octave Greater Perfect System were those of a P8, P4, and P5, that this is the reason they were called perfect. In this case, we see a classic Heideggerian example of a mistranslation of Greek thought into Roman language. Perfect, for the Greeks, meant complete. Thus, the Greater Perfect System was really the Greater Complete System. The distinction is more that subtle. Simpler ideas that have been advanced, although I don't think they are as valid, are that the ratios between the perfect intervals are less complex than those between the other intervals. And, it just so happens that the ratios of the P8 (1:1), P4 (4:3), and P5 (3:2) interval are the only ones consistent between the Pythagorean system of intonation and the just system of intonation; every other interval is tuned differently. Also, in well-tempered intonation the P8, P4, and P5 are the only "beatless" intervals. This makes little sense because they were called these names way before the 18th century. I really think that, when considering the true meaning of the ancient Greek word that has been translated into perfect, that the former is more likely. I don't remember the original Greek word, but it was mistranslated into the Roman perfectum. There are probably a few more ideas on this, but my understanding is that it all began with a little misunderstanding between the Romans and the Greeks... |
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| Q | Can a fifth be flat? the book says that a flattened fifth is a diminished fifth, but in the basic interval questions there are flat 5ths. |
| A | You can use a b5 to name a 6 half step interval and it is commonly done in contemporary settings. If you hold strict to the conventions set down in many well respected music theory books they would only call a 6 half step interval a diminished 5th or an augmented 4th. Personally I think you will find any educated musician will have no problem with you calling a 6 half step interval a b5. |
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| Q | Is it possible to use open strings to find the intervals even though the answers don't give them? |
| A | Yes this is fine |
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| Q | If I have an A sharp on the staff and I am looking for a minor seventh, the answer is G sharp, but why do I not write Aflat on the staff? I am having some difficulty figuring out which to write since I write one thing on the staff and then the answer is the same but a different note. Basically I was wondering does it matter if I for example write D sharp or E flat when finding an interval? |
| A | I've given the long explanation below but an easy way to make sure you have the right letter name and then either sharp or flat the note is to first always count up to the interval type. By this I mean if you need a minor seventh above above A sharp then start with A and count up seven A, B, C, D, E, F, G. So now you know the correct answer has to be some sort of "G."
The long explanation The reason that all these notes have such unusual names is because of the system of notation that has been developed over the last three hundred years (or so). Basically it works like this. If you have a C major scale you would have the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. If you have a C# major scale the notes would be C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#, C#. You can see that for each note in the scale we use a different consecutive letter of the alphabet and then apply sharps or flats to make these notes the correct pitch. I have recieved quite a few complaints about this from students asking why I bother to use these unusual spellings of notes, chords and scales. I believe that even though the accepted system of notation is more difficult it is my responsibility as an educator to let you know the correct way music theory is thought of by the established conventions. At the same time I will say that I do often think of a B# as C and an E# as F, but on the other hand I've also spent a lot of time learning keys like G# major (G#, A#, B#, C#, D#, E#, FX, F#) and Cb major Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb because they occasionally show up and you need to be able to read and function in those keys when they do. If you are constructing a G# major triad, a major third on the bottom is made of 4 half steps up from G# so it would be the actual note C but because you need to use a different note name for each degree of the scale you will have to alter the note C and make it a B#. and then add a D# which is another 4 half steps above the B# to complete the triad. Therefore the notes would be G#, B#, D#. There is also a little helpful device you can use when building chords and scales, which is mentioned on page 13 of the "Music Theory for Guitar Volume One". If you have a chord like Fb major triad first you write out an F, an A, and a C because these notes are every other degree of the scale and are some kind of third interval apart. Now you need to use sharps or flats (in this case flats) to make the chord conform to the 4 halfs between the 2 bottom notes and 3 half steps between the two top notes. Therefore you would have Fb, Ab and Cb. |
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| Q | I Recently purchased your workbook "Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One."
So far I love it! Yet, I was unable to locate FAQ@muse-eek.com. I'm working on the Major Triads section and started answering the questions on page 18. On the top row, far right I have the chord E (EG#B) and the answer is perplexing me (see answers on pg.110 top row, far right. You show a 'B' on the G string two frets down, would this be an A...? I'm guessing the right answer would be a B on the 4th fret. Also, is there a site that has revisions on it. If this is a mis-print I'm sure someone else has found it also. |
| A | If you go to:
http://www.muse-eek.com/books/mt/lower.html and look down the left column you will see a link for FAQ. This is were you will find previous FAQs and a link to send an FAQ. You can also send an FAQ by just sending an email to FAQ@muse-eek.com For pages that have been updated or have corrections you can find those at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/books.html You will notice in the left hand column a link for Corrections and Additions. If you want the alternate answers for the music theory book you will find that information in the "member's area." There is a link to join the member's area on http://www.muse-eek.com/books/books.html again in the left column you will see a link for member's area. If you check the example pg. 110 top row, far right you should see a number 7 in a circle. This indicates that the E is located on the 7th fret of the A string. Therefore the B you are seeing on the G sting would be at the 4th fret because it is 3 down from the 7th. If you have problems with reading the diagrams check page 14 for an example of how fret markings are used. Hope that makes sense, if not let me know. Any other problems or questions feel free to contact me. |
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| Q | Hi I was interested in purchasing the Music Theory workbook for guitar: Volume One, but I do not know how to read music, are these books written in tablature form? |
| A | The theory books are written to help you learn both fret board diagrams and how they relate to the notes on the staff. Therefore it will take you step by step through the process and teach you this valuable tool. You do not have to be able to read to start these books. The books will teach you this information. As you probably know tablature is not used by professional musicians because it doesn't give you the rhythm for the notes. Therefore if you continue to just read tablature you stand a very strong chance of being very weak rhythmically. Considering 99.9 percent of contemporary music is rhythm based I think you can see how you will develop a real handicap. Besides the information presented in the music theory books there are lot's of help files in the member's area of the muse eek website. Once you buy a book you get free access to this area which has tons of cool stuff to help you in the music theory area and others.
Hope this answers your questions let me know if you have any others. |
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| Q | I have been working with your books for a short time now. And now I would like to ask you a couple of questions on some of the material.
In Major scale intervals, why is it that the 4th and 5th are called perfect? |
| A | The quick answer is that historically this is what people have called these intervals.
The long explanation to why 4th and 5ths are called perfect: I think there are a few ideas on this, but my understanding is that it all began with a little misunderstanding between the Romans and the Greeks... The Greek system of music was based on tetrachords, of which there were three types, diatonic, chromatic, and enharmonic. The outside interval (primary diaphony) of each of these tetrachords had the pitch ration of 4:3 (i.e., the perfect 4th interval). The inner two notes of each of the three tetrachords were different, depending upon which of the three types you were dealing with. If you had the outside P4 interval from C up to F, the diatonic tetrachord would be C, Dd, Eb, F; the chromatic would be C, C#, D, F, and the enharmonic would be C, Dbb, D, F (Dbb is not a typo). Note that the first is diatonic to the modern key of Db, hence diatonic; the second is not diatonic to any modern key, hence chromatic; and the third has an enharmonic relationship between the first two elements, hence enharmonic. You can see how these words changed their meaning over the centuries. In actuality, the enharmonic tetrachord's bottom two pitches were quarter tones apart. Anyway, all of the inner intervals of the tetrachords could be tuned in different ways, and I think this practice has been translated to "shading." The outside interval, the P4, however, was always constant. Next came the combination of two tetrachords, which formed either a septachord (I think the original Latin was heptachord), an octave, or double octave. If the top note of one tetrachord was the same as the bottom note of the other, the two tetrachords were considered to have a conjunct relationship. If the top note of the bottom tetrachord was a whole step away from the bottom note of the top tetrachord, they were in a disjunct relationship. Each of these tetrachords duplicated the top note of the top tetrachord beneath the bottom note of the bottom tetrachord (hence an outside interval of the octave). The added note at the lower octave was, I believe, called the proslambanomenos. This whole thing evolved into what was called the Greater Perfect System, which was a two-octave scale of made up of a two tetrachords in a conjunct relationship, and two tetrachords in a disjunct relationship. In other words, it include both possibilities of these relationships and was therefore complete, or perfect. There were a few variations of this, but I can't remember what they were. I think, although I am not sure, that because the various intervals that could occur between the outsides of the individual tetrachords in the two octave Greater Perfect System were those of a P8, P4, and P5, that this is the reason they were called perfect. In this case, we see a classic Heideggerian example of a mistranslation of Greek thought into Roman language. Perfect, for the Greeks, meant complete. Thus, the Greater Perfect System was really the Greater Complete System. The distinction is more that subtle. Simpler ideas that have been advanced, although I don't think they are as valid, are that the ratios between the perfect intervals are less complex than those between the other intervals. And, it just so happens that the ratios of the P8 (1:1), P4 (4:3), and P5 (3:2) interval are the only ones consistent between the Pythagorean system of intonation and the just system of intonation; every other interval is tuned differently. Also, in well-tempered intonation the P8, P4, and P5 are the only "beatless" intervals. This makes little sense because they were called these names way before the 18th century. I really think that, when considering the true meaning of the ancient Greek word that has been translated into perfect, that the former is more likely. I don't remember the original Greek word, but it was mistranslated into the Roman perfectum. |
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| Q | Can a fifth be flat? the book says that a flattened fifth is a diminished fifth, but in the basic interval questions there are flat 5ths. |
| A | You can use a b5 to name a 6 half step interval and it is commonly done in contemporary settings. If you hold strict to the conventions set down in many well respected music theory books they would only call a 6 half step interval a diminished 5th or an augmented 4th. Personally I think you will find any educated musician will have no problem with you calling a 6 half step interval a b5. |
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| Q | Is it possible to use open strings to find the intervals even though the answers don't give them? |
| A | Yes this is fine |
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| Q | If I have an A sharp on the staff and I am looking for a minor seventh, the answer is G sharp, but why do I not write Aflat on the staff? I am having some difficulty figuring out which to write since I write one thing on the staff and then the answer is the same but a different note. Basically I was wondering does it matter if I for example write D sharp or E flat when finding an interval? |
| A | I've given the long explanation below but an easy way to make sure you have the right letter name and then either sharp or flat the note is to first always count up to the interval type. By this I mean if you need a minor seventh above above A sharp then start with A and count up seven A, B, C, D, E, F, G. So now you know the correct answer has to be some sort of "G."
The long explanation The reason that all these notes have such unusual names is because of the system of notation that has been developed over the last three hundred years (or so). Basically it works like this. If you have a C major scale you would have the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. If you have a C# major scale the notes would be C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#, C#. You can see that for each note in the scale we use a different consecutive letter of the alphabet and then apply sharps or flats to make these notes the correct pitch. I have recieved quite a few complaints about this from students asking why I bother to use these unusual spellings of notes, chords and scales. I believe that even though the accepted system of notation is more difficult it is my responsibility as an educator to let you know the correct way music theory is thought of by the established conventions. At the same time I will say that I do often think of a B# as C and an E# as F, but on the other hand I've also spent a lot of time learning keys like G# major (G#, A#, B#, C#, D#, E#, FX, F#) and Cb major Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb because they occasionally show up and you need to be able to read and function in those keys when they do. If you are constructing a G# major triad, a major third on the bottom is made of 4 half steps up from G# so it would be the actual note C but because you need to use a different note name for each degree of the scale you will have to alter the note C and make it a B#. and then add a D# which is another 4 half steps above the B# to complete the triad. Therefore the notes would be G#, B#, D#. There is also a little helpful device you can use when building chords and scales, which is mentioned on page 13 of the "Music Theory for Guitar Volume One". If you have a chord like Fb major triad first you write out an F, an A, and a C because these notes are every other degree of the scale and are some kind of third interval apart. Now you need to use sharps or flats (in this case flats) to make the chord conform to the 4 halfs between the 2 bottom notes and 3 half steps between the two top notes. Therefore you would have Fb, Ab and Cb. |
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| Q | I am a novice keyboard player and I am wondering if any of your ear training courses could help me find out what chords my left hand should play to harmonize the melody being played by my right hand. I know all about the circle of fifths, but I was hoping I could simply listen to the melody notes and somehow figure out instantly what chord comes next vis-a-vis the melody line.
Same is true with my guitar playing - how do I know what chord comes next, and will your ear training course help me with this? |
| A | In order to develop the ability to harmonize a melody by ear you will find my ear training course to be of great benefit but you will also need a good understanding of harmony and music theory so you know what notes are in each chord in any key. In general many of the notes in a melody are also found in the notes of the chord that is used with the melody. Therefore knowing what notes are in each chord is crucial. Musicians many times use a combination of ear training and music theory to make decisions on which chord to use. By using my ear training method you will develop an ability to recognize the notes you hear which with the addition of some theoretical training you will be able to add in the correct harmony. Keep in mind that this will not happen overnight. Since I don't know your current aural recognition skills nor your music theory understanding it is hard to give you a time frame. I wouldn't be surprised if it took a novice player 2 to 3 years before they could harmonize fairly complicated songs. The main thing to keep in mind is that you need to develop the follow:
1. A firm sense of key 2. Knowing the sound of each note in a key center 3. Theoretical understanding of chord structures You would need to apply yourself everyday to this. I would recommend you use the following books. Ear Training One Note Complete Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One or Music Theory Workbooks for All Instruments Volume One (will work well for piano). |
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| Q | I am a total beginner when it comes to music and guitar-playing. I just recently purchased my first guitar and have invested a lot of time into looking for the best self-instructive material around. When I came across your books, I heard great things about them, and it has really made me interested in the information you have to offer. Just to give you an idea of my limited knowledge when it comes to music, I do not know how to read notes, I don't know music lingo, and embarrassingly, I don't even know what the function of a chord actually is. However, I am very dedicated to learning this instrument properly and effectively. A lot of guitar books I have seen only show you how to read tabs, and those that teach using notes don't actually teach you how to read them because they assume you already know how to. Additionally, most books toss around jargon with the expectation that you already know what the author is talking about. However, I do not enjoy that luxury. What books would you recommend for someone who knows absolutely nothing about music and guitar-playing like myself? What progression of material and books would you suggest I follow in order to maintain steady and effective musical development? |
| A | I would recommend the following books:
1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One Ear Training One Note Complete These books all take a student from the very beginning and don't use any words that you wouldn't understand. The nice thing about my books is you can contact me if you don't understand something and I can further explain it. Also after you receive your books you can join the "member's area" on the muse-eek.com website were you will find a lot of additional free information. |
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| Q | I was just wondering: chords are made up of three notes or more played at the same time, but when doing the exercises for triads in the first theory book some answers are only on two strings. Does this mean that a triad is not a chord but just three notes played to become for example: a minor triad or a diminished triad. |
| A | Triads are chords. You can play (write) three notes (or more) on two strings. In other words the number of strings you are playing doesn't have to equal the number of notes you are playing. This is one of the strange things about a guitar. You have so many places that you can play various notes. If you want to see all the possible combinations download the alternative answers for the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One which can be found in the "member's area" of the muse-eek.com website. |
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| Q | I recently started working on your book 'Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol. 1' and quite frankly, it rocks. I was wondering if there is anything I need to know before starting on the exercises besides the information on the first few pages. I ask this because I find myself counting on my fingers to find notes. Should I first memorize the notes on each string and then do the exercises? I was thinking about purchasing 'Single String Studies' to go along with this. Is this a good idea, or would you recommend another book (I'm a complete and beginner by the way)? |
| A | All the information you need to start on the exercises is contained in the music theory section of the book. It's OK to count on your fingers for awhile. You will see as you continue you will start to remember the notes in each chord type and where they are on the guitar fretboard so you won't need to count of your fingers as much. One of the reasons there are so many exercises in the Music Theory Workbook is to keep you working with this theory knowledge until it becomes second nature to you. You should also check the "member's area" of the muse-eek website for other ways to think about the music theory information you are working with.
Single String Studies would be a good book to do along with the Music Theory book. Keep in mind that this book is hard and will take you some time before you can play any of the exercises completely correct. Most students find they have to work through this book at least two times before things start to click, so be patient. I would also recommend you get started with some ear training. Remember all the information you learn in your head and hands will mean nothing unless you can also hear these notes in the right way in your head. To start the ear training process you should get Ear Training One Note Complete. |
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| Q | I bought an acustic guitar about 2 years ago, and like every beginner I was very frustrated. I stopped playing for a while and picked it back up and have been practicing as much as I can the last few months. I have a couple of beginner books, and they helped some, (with configuration of chords etc.) but I didn't know why. I found your book on amazon (1st steps) and a lot of people who reviewed it said it was great. I bought it and I love it. My problem is, I tend to jump around too much, from reading theory, to chord progressions ,to barre chords, back to theory, etc. I want to be able to play songs on the guitar, so I was wondering if it is ok to try some songs on the guitar before knowing most of the fundamentals from your books? I want to purchase "Music Theory Workbook Volume One" and also "One Note Ear Training," should I wait till I'm knowledgable enough with 1st steps before buying the other two books so I don't jump around and get involved with these books prematurely? |
| A | I think it is fine if you learn other songs while you are studying the 1st Steps book. From your description of your situation though I think what you really need is a regimen of practice so you get to the things you want to do and the things you should do to improve your musicianship. If you could religiously practice one hour a day with some other extra time thrown in while commuting or use anyplace where you have some down time to do some other music work. Here is what I'd do;
1. For 15 minutes practice the chord progressions from the 1st steps book. Make sure you can play the progression in time and that you get to each chord when you need to. Use the midifiles or audio files to check your progress. You should try to master one progression every other week. 2. Download scales from http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/index.html Download the major scales from the music workshop. I want you to learn the C major scale in 7 positions on the guitar. Make sure you are learning this by either saying the note names or degrees. Do not learn the scales by fingering patterns. I want you to do a new scale position each week. So week one you will learn the C scale starting from F. The next week you will learn the C scale starting from G. When you finish the C major scale you should then learn the C dorian scale then C phrygian etc. Practice this for 15 minutes. 3. Spend the last 1/2 hour learning songs you like or improvising with the scales you have learned. Muse Eek will have a "site license" available to you in a few months. By paying a modest fee you will have access to 100's of mp3 files that I've recorded. You can use these as backing tracks to improvise over. 4. Ear Training One Note Complete. Do 5 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. This is best done while commuting or lunch breaks or before you go to bed. etc.. 5. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Do one page a week so about 3 to 4 exercises a day. You will have to work up to this because the first ones will take you awhile to figure out. Once again this is a excellent book to do if you commute by train or have other times when you are sitting with nothing to do. I should also mention that you should get the e-book Guitar Technique so you learn your scales with the proper technique. Make sure to check out the pictures and videos on the website so you see exactly what you should do. You should take the next couple of months to work into this kind of schedule. It takes time to rearrange your life to include music. So be patient and look at this as a long term process. |
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| Q | I told you in a previous email that I did not know all the notes on my guitar fretboard. I can figure it out, but I don't know all the notes automatically. Anyway, I have been working with the ear training one note beginning cd, and guessing the tones and trying to relate them to the key. Now, my question is, even though I don't know all the notes on my fretboard (I am working on it though), since the name of the tone is called after it is played, I can still use this method to memorize the sounds of the tones against a key, right? My point being that it has nothing to do with my fretboard, I am merely trying to memorize the tones against the key, and if I hear the tones enough and know what the tone names are, I will memorize them and be able to recogonize them. Also, should I be listening to the cd from the beginning, or should I shuffle each track? |
| A | You do not need your guitar or knowledge of the guitar fretboard to master this type of ear training. You will though need to develop good music theory theory skills so when you are in a real musical situation you can apply your ear training skills. The most important thing to learn is the relationship of all notes in every key. For instance if you hear a note and recognize it as the b6th in the key of E you will need to know instantly that this note is a "C." Therefore it is important that you start soon improving your music theory knowledge.
I would use shuffle play whenever possible. You can also fast forward into the CD to help combat the memorization of the 1st exercises on the CD. |
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| Q | Would you tell me if you think your theory books for guitar will be equally effective for a bass player? |
| A | Personally I think the Music Theory Books would be good.
Here are the drawbacks. 1. You are filling in notes on a music staff but it is in treble clef not bass clef. 2. When you get to the chord section and you are filling in the notes on the guitar diagrams. Some of these chords will have notes on the high B and E strings on the guitar which of course the bass doesn't have these strings. The benefits are: 1. You will learn all the notes in every chord type in every key and know this information by looking at your bass. 2.You will learn treble clef which is an important asset to a bass player. 3. You will learn the theory information you need to know to understand the working of contemporary music. |
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| Q | I am very new to music theory so am finding it all a bit hard. Do you know what the difference is between a diatonic and a non-diatonic chord is? |
| A | The notes of a C major scale C, D, E, F, G, A, B are commonly referred to as the diatonic notes of the key of C major. If we had the key of D major the diatonic notes would be D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#. Because many pieces of music are written using only the diatonic chords of a key it is a very common practice among musicians to learn the diatonic chords of every key using numbers and letters to aid in the memorization and quick learning of new songs. So the C scale would be:
C, D, E, F, G, A, B 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 I would recommend if you don't have my Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One or Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments this would be a great source for you to first understand music theory but more importantly give you many many pages of exercises so you can engrain this information into you head and hands so you can effectively use it when you are try to understand music. |
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| Q | Hello. My instructor of 6 whole weeks now has me in Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Grade One. After reading some reviews of your books on Amazon, I became interested. Another fellow told me online about the Berklee series by Leavitt. I dunno. Maybe I should stick to Mel Bay? Anyhow, I am soon to be 41 with no musical understanding at all, but am excited to learn guitar and music theory. |
| A | There are a few books that would be good for you but I'm just going to recommend one. It's called Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. This will compliment your lessons nicely. Basically you go through the book and fill out exercises about where the notes are on the guitar and what notes are in chords and intervals. If you can make it through this book you will have a whole new take on the guitar and music in general. Remember to learn Music Theory you need to get to the point where you can use it as a language. This book will help you raise your ability with music theory so you can use it transparently in your music. Let me know if you get the book and I'll give you some direction on how to work through it. |
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| Q | I have a question about the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol. 1."
Regarding the exercises on page 16, is there a particular method to approach them? Should I try writing or spelling out the scale relative to the tonic of the interval I need to complete for each exercise, and then answer? For example, for the major 7th interval starting at D. Is it ok to just go down 1/2 step to get the answer, or should I spell out all the notes in the key of D up to the interval?
Are there any tricks or shortcuts to memorizing the notes and intervals in each key? |
| A | If you want to write out the scale I think you're better off getting Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two which is where there are already prepared worksheets for you to use in every key and scale.
It is fine to think down a half step to get the major 7th degree of the key. In the long run you just want to visualize the guitar in your mind to figure out any music theory relationship. I think the best way to memorize all these music theory relationships is to use them. That's part of the reason that the Music Theory Workbooks are so large. By filling out every page you will come close to the amount of work a typical college freshmen goes through in one year in order to memorize these relationships. You will also find the ear training exercises found in Fanatic's Guide, Key Note Recognition and 2 note Ear Training to be very useful in exercising your theory knowledge. |
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| Q | Would Guitar Clinic be a good supplement to the following titles: 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist, Music Theory Vol. 1 and Vol. 2? |
| A | Much of the information presented in 1st Steps, Music Theory One and Two is in Guitar Clinic, so I don't think that would be a good choice. Guitar Clinic does contain some advanced techniques for improvisation such as Modal Sequencing, Approach Notes, Superimposition and Hexatonic Scales. All of th |