Feb 21

Guitar Master Chords

Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 in guitar lessons

Guitar Master Chords
How to master guitar?

Ok so basically I had a old guitar and started playing. learned some, then bought a strat and amp, been playing since april 1st. I know a lot of songs and chords but im basically teaching myself by finding songs i like and just jamming and learning them and getting comfortable playing.

so im thinking, shouldn’t i learn the professional music part of it? like reading music for real not tabs, and learning musical technique? how should I do this? basically what im asking is what should i do to fully understand and master playing guitar? cuz i wanna be in a band and write music. (im poor as in no money, 16 years old, no music programs at my crappy school)
i just mean what steps should i take toward learning more? what should i do first?

I think the answer is different for different people, and depends on your style of learning.

For myself, becoming better at the guitar has come mostly from learning the theory behind playing (how do you do this? why do you do that? what’s music theory? how do you build a chord? how do you resolve a major progression? when would I ever use the diminished scale? etc), trying to be detail-oriented and pay attention to what I’m playing and how it interacts with the music (ear-training), and learning how to apply those skills in a way that eventually I can play without thinking about them and have it come back in a natural way.

I tend to learn “organically”, meaning that if I have a question, I’ll try to answer it, and if I get distracted, I’ll investigate that thing too, then jump over to something else completely unrelated. This isn’t always a good thing, because it took me years to get a firm understanding of music theory and how it really applies to the music I was into. In some ways, it’s a lifetime endeavor!

In retrospect, I wish I could have applied some structure to my learning, as I feel that I might have progressed faster, but my motivation tends to be impulsive… like “hey, what’s a 13th chord?” then “hey, how do you do a pinch harmonic?” then “hey, how do I sound like Adam Jones from Tool?”

So framing your journey towards guitar “mastery” in terms of answering a series of questions is one way to learn. Kind of a one-sided Socratic method, if you will. Other people will learn better when given a very structured environment that starts with the basics and moves up. I think most people are somewhere in-between.

Understanding what scales are, what chords are, and how music theory works is essential to becoming a good musician, in my mind. Learning the basics of how to read music helps understand music theory, and opens you up to a vast world of sheet music, which encompasses styles of music that guitarists don’t normally venture in to. Is there tab for Vivaldi’s works? I don’t know… but I know there’s sheet music for it. How about Miles Davis’ work? Again, tab no, sheet yes. Learning at least the basics will make you a better player.

I’d say that’s one of the best ways to go for you, at this point. Once I realized what modes were, how they fit together ie how they were related via the master scale, it kinda clicked… it makes sense now. It seems like its easier to be able to travel all over the fretboard if you “get” how the pentatonics fit together (CAGED system!), and even past that, how the modes fit together.

As far as going beyond the theory and applying it, I have four words: backing tracks and jam buddies. Having someone play a rhythm for you while you practice soloing then turning around and playing rhythm for them is a great way to build your knowledge of pratical guitar playing… of course, you can do it with a drum track or some backing tracks as well, and keeping that perfect time is important, but there’s also something about playing with a human being that really helps develop that musicianship in you.

I’ve always felt that a musician is one who can play well with others. Anything that helps you do that is a good thing. If someone says “hey we’re playing in the key of Bb” and you don’t have to panic… well, that’s a good thing, right?

Good luck!

Saul

Learn Guitar – The Major Scale Master Pattern for Guitar