@Katieoasis - OK, strap in, here we go.....
I'll explain what I do and don't understand - I've learnt some basic chords C G Em E D Dm A Am which is something I suppose and I have started to learn something about the fretboard and octaves by watching various you tube clips
This is great that you have learnt some chords - we will learn later on how you can piece these together to create songs
I know there are 12 notes A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#- B E don't have flats
There is some misunderstanding here...
Your notes are correct but I think you have made a typo - there is a B flat and E flat note (which are the same as A# and D# respectively) - but there is not a B# or E# (well, technically there can be - but for now there is not
)
The important thing to remember is that each of the 12 notes you listed are a SEMI-TONE apart (which on a guitar means one fret and on a keyboard it means adjacent keys including the black notes)
This is why the piano black keys are grouped as they are - ie there is no black note between the B & C and between the E & F notes, which is what gives the black notes their 2 and 3 grouping - this is why this is easier to explain using a keyboard/piano - if you don't have access to one it would be useful to look at the picture at this link:
( is a flat the same as a minor .
No, A FLAT is a note a Semi-Tone lower than a white note on a keyboard (which is exactly that same not as the previous white note raised a Semi-Tone)
So if we look at the keyboard image C# and Db are exactly the same note
When we talk about "flattening" a note we mean drop it by one Semi-Tone, which is 1 fret towards the headstock on a guitar and on a piano it is the key DIRECTLY to the left of the note, whether it is a black or white note)
When we talk about "sharpening" a note we mean raising it by one Semi-Tone, which is 1 fret towards the body on a guitar and on a piano it is the key DIRECTLY to the right of the note, whether it is a black or white note)
And I think that they're are 8 notes in a scale
There are 8 notes in the Major scale - which is the most important scale in western music and most things can be understood by relating them to this scale
There are different types of scales with different numbers of notes - eg a Chromatic Scale would include all 12 notes played one after the other and a Pentatonic Scale contains 5 notes - but for now we will stick to the 8 notes of the Major scale
( I think a key is basically the same thing )
No, - a "Key" is best described as the "tonal centre" of a piece of music
What on Earth does that mean!!!! - well, it means that in western music certain scales and chords sound "right" together - so you can learn the scales and chords that fit together, which helps you write songs using chords and melodies that will "work" together
I have some very basic questions - I know that the 3rd fret on both the top and bottom E string is a G - if I hold down the E string on the 3rd fret and play just that string am I playing a G note and if so what is the difference between that and when I play a G chord with 3 fingers - is it not the same ?
Now we are getting to the interesting bit!
If we stick to the key of C Major for a minute...
You can play the note of C by playing the 8th fret of both the top and bottom E strings - this is playing a NOTE
A chord is playing more than one note at a time - and a Major chord contains 3 separate notes (sometimes referred to as a "Triad", which is not to be confused with Chinese gangsters!!!!)
We are using the key of C Major in this example - as it does not contain any Sharps (#) or Flats (b)
So, the notes of the C Major scale are: C D E F G A B C
The "formula" for a Major chord NEVER changes, which is the 1st note - known as the ROOT (C), Third degree of the scale (remembering in music you always start the count on the note you are on, which gives us the note of E) and the 5th (you start counting again from the C, which gives us G)
So the CHORD of C Major contains the notes C, E, and G (known as the Major Triad)
A guitar has 6 strings and a pianist has 10 fingers - so the notes can be repeated any number of times and they do not have to be in that order because they are played at the same time so there is no "order" - but the overall sound will vary depending on which notes are lower and higher, which can lead to playing "Chord Inversions", where a note other than the root note is the lowest note - but for now we just want to understand the Major chord
You mentioned early you can play the C Major chord on guitar - if you do this you will notice you are playing C, E, and G
So - let's work out that G Major chord
The G Major scale contains the following notes: G A B C D E F# G (Notice how similar it is to the C Major scale - there is only one note different, the G Major scale contains an F# rather than an F)
So to play a G Major chord the FORMULA is consistent: ROOT (1), 3rd and 5th - which gives us G, B & D
Also If I hold down say the the 5th fret on both the top and bottom E this is an A - if I strum all 6 strings is this still an A or something else or nothing - silly questions I know but they are confusing me
For fun let's try and work out the Chord you describe...
The A Major scale contains the notes: A B C# D E F# G# A
You are playing the 5th fret on the 6th string giving the note of A
If you play the 5th string "open" (with no fingers) you are also playing the note of A
If you play the 4th string "open" (with no fingers) you are playing the note of D
If you play the 3rd string "open" (with no fingers) you are playing the note of G
If you play the 2nd string "open" (with no fingers) you are playing the note of B
If you play the 1st string at the 5th fret you are playing the note of A
So if we put the notes in alphabetical order, and ignore duplicates, you are playing the following notes: A B D G, which is ROOT, 2nd, 4th and Flattened 7th
This is clearly not a "simple" chord and if you play it on guitar it does not sound like a "normal" chord - the following might get a bit confusing but to name the chord we could approach it as: A9sus4 (A is the root, B is the 9, D is the sus4 and G is the Dominant 7th) - although this chord should really also include the 5th (E)
Interestingly - if you just change the ROOT note from A (5th Fret of the low E) to B (7th fret of the low E) and keep all of the other notes the same you would be playing all of the notes of Bm7#5
This was just a bit of a diversion to explore what you came up with - I do not expect you to understand this last bit at all. It was simply to show that anything can be worked out using theory and chords can be very similar to each other
So lets get back to helping you understand the basics....
And probably now the thing that is confusing me most is the major scale - there's this thing about 1, 3 5 and , 2,4 , 6
If we go back to the picture of the Keyboard - I have already said that the C Major scale does not have any Sharps (#) or Flats (b) - so if you played all of the white notes from C to C you would play the C Major scale
The key part is not necessarily the NOTES you are playing but the pattern of SEMI-TONES and TONES (which is 2 Semi-Tones, which is the same as 2 frets, which is the same as 2 keys on a keyboard)
So we can see that pattern of TONES and SEMI-TONES that fall between the white notes, which I will walk you through below:
C to D is a TONE (because there are 2 semi-tones - a semi-tone between C and C# and then another Semi-Tone between C# and D)
D to E is a TONE (because there are 2 semi-tones - a semi-tone between D and D# and then another Semi-Tone between D# and E)
E to F is a SEMI-TONE (because there is only a semi-tone between E and F)
F to G is a TONE (because there are 2 semi-tones - a semi-tone between F and F# and then another Semi-Tone between F# and G)
G to A is a TONE (because there are 2 semi-tones - a semi-tone between G and G# and then another Semi-Tone between G# and A)
A to B is a TONE (because there are 2 semi-tones - a semi-tone between A and A# and then another Semi-Tone between A# and B)
B to C is a SEMI-TONE (because there is only a semi-tone between B and C)
So - we now have a FORMULA for creating a Major Scale, starting on any ROOT note the pattern is: TONE, TONE, SEMI-TONE, TONE, TONE, TONE, SEMI-TONE
This pattern NEVER changes - but if you start on a different note then all of the notes of the Major scale change accordingly, and the jump between TONES and SEMI-TONES could land on a "black note" - giving us Sharps and Flats
So for giggles, let's work out the notes of the G Major Scale using this pattern - remembering the PATTERN doesn't change:
We are starting on the note of G - so a TONE up from G is A (ie a Semi-Tone from G to G# and then another Semi-Tone from G# to A)
A TONE up from A is B
A SEMI-TONE up from B is C
A TONE up from C is D
A TONE up from D is E
Now here is where you need to keep faith with the PATTERN...
A TONE up from E is F# (a Semi-Tone from E to F and then another Semi-Tone from F to F#)
A SEMI-TONE from F# brings us back to G
I don't have a keyboard sorry -
Hopefully the image of a keyboard I posted will help you understand - a guitar is the same but there is no indication of the sharps and flats (black notes) - each fret is a semi-tone apart (which is why it is easier to think of TONES as 2 semi-tones)
this is how I am thinking but it's probably wrong - with the C MAJOR scale do I have to know where the C is on the fretboard and then then put my other fingers on the E and G positions on the fretboard because these are the 3 and 5 notes of the scale
No - Playing the notes of C, E and G at the same time will play a C Major CHORD
To play a C Major SCALE you would need to find a C note on the fretboard (eg at the 3rd fret on the 5th (A) string and then use the PATTERN of TONES and SEMI-TONES described above, where a TONE = 2 frets and a SEMI-TONE = 1 fret
So if we just stick to the 5th string and start at the C on the 3rd fret our Major scale would look like this:
Root - C @ 3rd Fret
Up a TONE (2 frets) D @ 5th fret
Up a TONE (2 frets) E @ 7th fret
Up a SEMI-TONE (1 fret) F @ 8th fret
Up a TONE (2 frets) G @ 10th fret
Up a TONE (2 frets) A @ 12th fret
Up a TONE (2 frets) B @ 14th fret
Up a SEMI-TONE (1 fret) C @15th fret
There are obviously easier ways to play the Major scale by going across the strings (rather than up the fretboard on one string) - but the good news is that because the PATTERNS are the same you can learn patterns and shapes on the guitar for CHORDS and SCALES that can be moved around, there is no short cut to this - you just gotta learn them, but you are already off to a good start with the chords you have already learnt
And if I wanted D major would that be D F G and find the notes on the fretboard as these are the 1, 3, 5 notes on the D scale
No - but nearly...
You could use everything I have said so far in this thread to work this out
Here are the steps (and I will give you the answers as we go along but please use this last question to work out the notes as it uses everything I have posted so if you understand how we get to the following answer you will be well on your way...)
We first need to work out the notes of the D Major scale
If you find D on the picture of the keyboard and apply the PATTERN of TONE, TONE, SEMI-TONE, TONE, TONE, TONE, SEMI-TONE you will get the following notes:
D E F# G A B C# D
To work out the notes of the D Major CHORD we need the ROOT (1), 3rd and 5th, which are D (Root) F# (3rd), and A (5th)
Now play D on your guitar and you are probably playing it this way:
Not playing the low E and A strings and starting your chord with the open 4th string - which is the D note (the Root note)
You will have a finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string - which is an A note (the 5th)
You will have a finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string - which is another D note (another Root note)
You will have a finger on the 2nd fret of the 1st (high E) string - which is an F# note (the 3rd)
I've either got a bit of an understanding or I'm barking completely up teg wrong tree thanks Katie
You had a bit of confusion and I am NOT expecting you to understand everything I have said in one sitting!!!
Take it slowly and work through each bit (ignoring the bit where we go a bit "off piste" with the A9sus4 and Bm7#5 chords for now!!!!)
The whole discussion is wrapped up nicely with the identification of the notes of the D Major chord
It is obviously very difficult to teach this stuff just through the written word - it would be much quicker playing examples etc. but hopefully this will set you off on the right track
In reality you will simple learn and memorise the common chord and scale shapes - the theory can help understanding but it is certainly not vital at this stage
When you have had a read please feel free to post any questions
Happy reading!
Boydie