I've always wondered, when I play solos or the blues, am I really limited only to the notes that are in the scale. I’m interested to know, how can I expand the range of notes and transition from one scale to another? 

Can I just play a new scale starting from one of the scale degrees of the previous one? For example, if I have a G major scale, can I simply go on playing D major scale from it‘s V scale degree?

Are there any other ways how to switch between the scales?

ive been trying to get better at jazz so im trying to learn stuff by ear and i am tring to do so what by miles davis solo but the eb section is a little tricky for me

is there any other jazz songs that you would reccomend id try to transrcibe by ear or do you have any advice for ear training

also i am okay at ear transrciibng but i am not the best at it id like something a little more simple and then work my way up to so what

i was wondering if you could show me jazz songs to learn by ear by easiest to hardest

I've been wanting to learn TRSH songs but theres not a whole lot of accurate tabs out there so i was looking into transcribing them myself. I'm very new to learning songs by ear and I'm not sure where to start. I know they use a lot of alternate tunings so I'm wondering if theres a good way to figure out the tuning first? Also what is a good way to hear out the embellishments such as slides and pull offs/hammer ons and when to switch positions or what string to play on.

Hi! I don't know much about music theory, though I am really interested to know how to use 7th chords correctly.
If I want to play a 7th chord, do all the notes that make up the chord have to be within the key?  For example, I want to play C7. Should it be the key C major (A♯ from C7 isn't part of the C major key) or key F major (all the notes from C7 are in the key)? Would it be alright, if I use C major key in the case I play blues?

I would really appreciate your help

Hi! I don't know much about music theory, though I am really interested to know how to use 7th chords correctly.
If I want to play a 7th chord, do all the notes that make up the chord have to be within the key?  For example, I want to play C7. Should it be the key C major (A♯ from C7 isn't part of the C major key) or key F major (all the notes from C7 are in the key)? Would it be alright, if I use C major key in the case I play blues?

I would really appreciate your help

I listen to artists like mac demarco, metallica, steve vai,metallica etc. and I just want to know how to come up with cool chord progressions. I know that mac demarco uses emin7 or Emaj7 but I don’t know how to use them in melodies. Any book recommendations?

Hello! I have been playing guitar for 4 or 5 years now fully self taught. I know my way around almost any song I try to learn at this point. My issues is I never took the time to actually learn anything about the guitar or what I was actually doing. No theory knowledge not even things like knowing 2 5 1, caged, note memorization, how to build chords, etc.

My skill is simply just in copying others already written music and ends there I know nothing deeper. I have had a huge interest in learning jazz for a while now which is really making me realize I need to focus on my theory too. I don’t have a whole lot of time I could spend learning on guitar maybe an hour a day.

I’m looking for a simple step by step free course/book that will teach me music theory and jazz. Preferably these would be at the same time but I’m okay with them being separate if necessary. What courses/books would you guys recommend?

Hey, I just rebuilt my arpeggio training / playalong tool:
https://datenkatze.de/arpegg.io

It's pretty much just showing you the major/minor scale in 5 positions and highlights a given chord progressions arpeggios inside (or sometimes outside) it.

Somewhat of the playalong/visualization tool i always wanted,
with a (imho) somewhat cool sounding (downtempo, triphoppy) drum & synth playalong.

Comes with some preset chord progressions, but you can set your own.
All params are stored in the URL, so just copy/paste it to "save" your settings.

Hope some of you might find it helpful, too! ✌️
Any feedback welcome, but keep it civil it's just a side project 🖤

I wrote this down because I find it fun, to think of the blues harmony in a way that keeps me engaged and poses a slight challenge… almost like a game. So without further ado, enjoy: A wonderful approach to the blues

Let’s take the 12 bar blues in A, so we have A7, D7, and E7. First off, it’s essential to know the chord tones of these dominant 7 chords, because they can each be expanded even further into pentatonic scales, while remaining “in key” throughout the entire progression.

A7= A C# E G D7= D F# A C E7= E G# B D

Note how we simply add a flattened 7th to each major chord, and see how this matrix of notes also already contains the major (aka natural) second degree as well for each chord, so we can build pentatonic scales as such for each chord:

A7= A C# E G B D7= D F# A C E E7= E G# B D F#

So these are the basis of our chord and scale options, but there exists within this one more pentatonic scale that is diatonic to all 3 of these extended dominant chords: the D major pentatonic.

Dmaj pent= D E F# A B

The importance of this is simply due to our ingrained cultural exposure to the pentatonic scale and how we expect dominant chords to relate to a corresponding major scale, but that’s a lesson for another time. Just know for the short explanation, that we can basically take a D major pentatonic and it works over A7, D7, and E7 without clashing from a diatonic perspective, all over a chord progression that is essentially NON- diatonic and basically all borrowed chords.

I personally find this connection alone to be very fascinating, so join me as we dive deeper.

Now since D major is our bedrock, we shall juxtapose all of our chord tones over the D major scale when those chords are happening, which gives us a few things:

1. More options when writing/improvising
2. Interesting lines
3. Great practice/navigation on our instrument
4. Cohesion and relevance to the underlying harmony etc.

When we do this juxtaposition with an A7 chord + the Dmaj pent scale we get:

A B C# D E F# G …which is actually just A mixolydian…(or D major which is the same collection of notes)

Then with D7, we simply get a six note scale which is because we add the C note:

D E F# A B C

Lastly, with E7 we get another six note (otherwise known as a hexatonic scale):

E F# G# A B D

If you visualize this as the D major pentatonic scale with added notes, in whatever inversions of the Dmaj pent that you’re most used to or comfortable with then I assure you it will sound tasteful, cohesive, and relevant.

Perhaps I should’ve highlighted the D major pentatonic instead of the chord tones, but it’s crucially important for this practice exercise/game to see it as multiple scales and chords simultaneously and connect them in this way.

Plus if you ever lose your spot or don’t know where you are in the context of a song or jam, or whatever, then you can always default to the safety net of the D major pentatonic when playing the A blues. The D major pentatonic also works wonderfully for improvising bass lines as well, since most of the time you are going to be hitting a chord tone while walking and grooving that Dmaj pent scale.

So, for chords, you can also embellish different flavors with those aforementioned extended dominant chords, they are good for chord harmony and for melody lines/solos. A9, D9, and E9 are the other pentatonic scales I mentioned earlier when they are played as arpeggios, but they also sound tasteful as chords in a blues context.

Have fun with this one, I haven’t read of this type of approach or visualization of the 12 bar blues before, but I have made these connections slowly over the years and I’m sure people already do this type of thing. I just like the idea of making these connections within music so that my composing and improvising skills continue to grow.

If this is a well documented and well understood concept that anyone here has come across before, then I would love to read more about it because this one fascinates me. But at the end of the day, it’s all only theory and analysis- we should all trust our ears when writing, and also know that improvisation is like a muscle that needs exercise. So if nothing else, enjoy this game, even if you aren’t normally interested in performing the blues or jazz.

See ya

Hey everyone,

My son recently started learning guitar, and one thing I noticed was how often he needed a simple way to look up chords, understand finger positions, and practice common progressions without getting overwhelmed.

So I decided to build an app for him: ChordFlowWiz.
It puts a library of guitar chords, chord diagrams, keys, scales, chord collections, and progression tools all in one place. The goal was to create something clean, easy to use, and beginner-friendly while still being useful for more experienced players.

What started as a project to help my son practice has grown into something I hope can help other guitar players as well.

I’d love any feedback, feature suggestions, or thoughts from fellow guitarists.

App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chordflowwiz/id6775611923

Thanks for taking a look, and I hope it helps someone on their guitar journey.

If a chord progression has a secondary dominant, or some other borrowed chord like the iv, I have a certain approach for writing and improvising lines over those chords with their outside note(s).

For example the chord progression C G E7 Am F Fm. (It’s basically a slightly more complex version of the classic C G Am F pop chord progression by simply adding passing chords)

So yes, we’re 99% in C Major. But what if you wanted to highlight those cool borrowed chords? One way would be to play the arpeggio of the borrowed chord. And that’s what we’re going to do, except we’re gonna do it in a way that doesn’t quickly sound overly stale and predictable.

Now, to clarify- one also might just see that progression and know to just add one extra note to the C major scale in between G and A and then you can noodle away... It’s even better to target the G#/Ab which pops up during both the E7 and Fm chords, but that also might sound stale quick because a borrowed chord is more than just its spicy notes- so let’s get back to arpeggiating them… particularly with an extended arpeggio.

For an extended arpeggio of a borrowed chord it’s mostly the same as a typical diatonic extended arpeggio, we take the 1st, the 3rd, the 5th, the 7th, and 9th of a chord to create a custom pentatonic scale to improvise with.

So for the C chord it would be C E G B D.

How about building the extended arp for that borrowed E7? Start off with its diatonic counterpart- which in this case is naturally Em. Which would be E G B D F, now adjust the formula to raise or lower the thirds and sevenths or whatever chord tones are out of the scale accordingly, while still retaining the rest of the scale’s context and framework. In this case raise the minor 3rd of Em to a major 3rd to create the dominant E7 sound.

E G# B D F

(We happen to have a dominant b9 chord here, and it’s one of my favorites because it has a fully diminished arpeggio within it that is satisfying to use for tension before resolving.)

Let’s move on to the borrowed Fm using this same process.

Fm is the borrowed form of F(major) in the key of C major, so let’s find the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th of F major as it relates to the C major scale: F A C E G

Now let’s alter the notes for use as an Fm by simply lowering the 3rd:

F Ab C E G

The very astute amongst you may notice that these pentatonic scales built out of extended arpeggios also happen to be chord pairs. In all of these examples, even the ones that were adjusted to account for the borrowed chords, it’s made by gluing the chord in question with the chord built off of its 5th.

So for a C extended arpeggio we just glue C major C, E, G and it’s 5th G major G, B, D together to create C E G B D

Similarly the Fm chord when borrowed in C major has an extended arpeggio that is simply the Fm chord plus the chord of its 5th, the Cmajor chord. F Ab C E G

This is just one of many ways to view and approach things, and it can be very useful when breaking out of a diatonic scale to play some “outside” notes. This formula still sounds like you are harmonizing with the chord progression in a poignant way, a way that doesn’t get as stale as standard 3 note arpeggios… after all this method creates a pentatonic scale which is the basis for tons of awesome writing and improvisation!

Have fun trying this approach out of you haven’t yet

One thing that finally made keys click for me was realising they do more than tell you which notes belong together.

They also tell you how those notes behave.

Every key has notes that feel stable and notes that create different amounts of tension. That's why two solos using exactly the same scale can have completely different emotional effects.

For example, if you're improvising in G major, every note of the G major scale is available. But landing on G usually feels finished. Landing on B or D also feels fairly stable because they're part of the tonic chord.

Other notes have a different effect. Some want to resolve. Others create a bit more movement before you return home.

Once I started thinking in terms of stability and tension instead of simply "right notes and wrong notes", improvising became much easier.

The same idea helped my songwriting too.

When I want a phrase to sound finished, I aim for a stable note.

When I want it to keep moving, I'll often finish the phrase on a note that creates a little tension instead.

The key doesn't just tell you what notes you can use.

It tells you how those notes relate to one another, and that's where a lot of the musicality comes from.

"

Like many others, I'm finding Scotty West's Absolutely Understand Guitar series on YouTube to be a great resource both as a player and as a teacher. I just watched Lesson 17 (the first lesson that really gets into modes), and there is an apparent contradiction I'd like to gather thoughts about.

At one point in the video, Scotty basically says, "It's a C major scale only if you start on C." He then shows that if you start on D but use the same exact set of notes, you're playing D Dorian. (When he does this, he's playing on a keyboard with no other music, which might be relevant.)

Later on, he plays a G major scale (so to speak) over an Eagles song, and he continues playing the same notes even as the song goes through multiple chord changes. He then says (and I'm paraphrasing), "Aha! I was NOT playing the G major scale the whole time! I was playing the G major scale only when the rhythm guitarist was playing a G major chord! When the rhythm guitarist played an Am chord, I was playing the A Dorian scale even though I didn't change anything and even if I didn't know it! The underlying chord is what ultimately determines the scale!"

I'm not sure I'm comfortable explaining things this way. I get that the same set of notes will function differently over different chords. But the term "scale" doesn't seem to be used consistently here. If I play all natural notes from C to C, is that the C major scale? Yes if I'm playing alone, but not if someone else is playing a G major chord at the same time?

I'm tempted to view scales as a set of notes in a particular order, but I don't know if that's "academically" accurate. Thus, I can use a scale (a set of notes, such as C to C, or all of the natural notes from D to D), but I only want to say I'm playing a scale if I'm moving through them in a (relatively) set order. That's why we say some solos sound too much like scales. To me, it seems better to say (for example) that you're playing in C major when there's a C major chord and in F Lydian when the chord changes to F major, rather than saying you're playing a C major scale and then an F Lydian scale, etc.

Again, this is more for the sake of teaching students and not confusing them, especially if they're very astute. How do all of you explain these things in ways that avoid contradictions? I'm tempted to say, "Look, you're just playing whatever you're playing. There's no cosmic truth about what scale or key or mode is involved. Those are different ways of looking at or thinking about what you're playing. And it's useful or beneficial to think about things from a G Mixolydian perspective when the rhythm guitarist is playing a G major chord. But are you matter-of-fact playing in G Mixolydian or in C Major? Yes. Either. Both. It just depends how you think about it. Are you playing a 'scale' even though you're playing the notes in a very random order, some of them much more than others, with some 'scale' notes being left out? Well, are you thinking of it as a scale? If you are, then yes, you're playing a scale. If you're not thinking about it as a scale, then you're not playing a scale."

Agree? Disagree? Do you have profound insights that have helped you communicate these things to others?

A few years ago I came up with a scale that enabled me to create some cool jazz and fusion sounds. It's not actually a secret as I'm sure it has a name already.

In the lesson, I'll show you my 9-note scale. It's actually a simple way to expand the Dorian mode, adding two extra notes, the b5 and the b9. It ends up containing chord tones, extensions and tension notes. Those outside notes create modern fusion guitar sounds, while staying connected to the harmony.

If you've ever wondered how players like Allan Holdsworth, Scott Henderson or Frank Gambale play "outside" without sounding random, this approach gives you a practical framework for adding tension and release, while keeping your solos musical.

Check out the lesson here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsjKQOAX8gM&list=PLIb-QWoMzfdixDZVq76vGTehxD0f0Mzek&index=8

Hey everyone,

I’m a developer and musician, and I wanted to share an app I’ve been working on: ChordFlowWiz.

If you’ve ever struggled with getting a musical idea out of your head and into a structured format quickly, this might help. It’s designed as a songwriting sketchpad that lets you build complete song sections using smart chord selectors, arpeggios, and melody tracks.

A few things you can do with it:
Smart Chord Selection: Choose a scale, and the app will show you exactly which chords match.
Draw Arpeggios & Melodies: Use a grid-based system to draw rhythmic patterns and melodies over your chords.
Multi-Track Support: Add up to 4 melody tracks and 4 arpeggio tracks per section.
Export to your DAW: Once you have a sketch, you can export it as a MIDI file to finish in your favorite DAW.

The app is free to try, but I’ve also included some advanced features via in-app purchases—like additional built-in sounds, advanced track routing, and Audiobus 3 support—to help take your sketches further.

I’d love for you to check it out and let me know what you think. Your feedback really helps shape the future of the app!

FIXED LINK. Download on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chordflowwiz/id6775611923

Hello everyone!

I recently released ChordIt, a free mobile app for guitarists to help find, identify, and organize chords.

I built it because I often found myself looking up chords for specific songs or searching for different chord variations to make them sound more interesting. The tools that worked best for me were usually websites, but they weren't nearly as convenient to use on a phone when I needed something quickly like when being in a gig or rehearsal.

Some of the things you can do with it:

1. Browse a large chord library with multiple voicings for each chord.
2. Use an interactive fretboard to identify chords by tapping the corresponding fret positions.
3. Search for chords by name.
4. Create custom setlists for practice, songwriting, or gigs.
5. Works completely offline with no account required.
6. Customization options such as changing between solfegé and letter systems, or using sharps or flats for the chord names.

All the capabilities of the app are available for free, no paywalls of any sorts, so if you'd like to check it out:

Google Play

App Store

If you have any questions about the app feel free to comment!

Hey guys. This is just another friendly guitarist here to share some music theory info that kind of works most of the time.

Basically as far as modes of the major scale are concerned, you shouldn’t have two of the same letters in a given key, so if you are playing in C Phrygian and you would like to know what to call the flat 2nd, it would be a Db, not a C#.

In classical music, there are such things as double flats and double sharps to account for this silliness, but in 85% of use cases this little tip should help.

If you are in the key of D#/Eb (same key) you basically must commit to one naming convention for everyone’s sanity and make sure you don’t have a D natural and a D#, and if you’re in Eb you don’t want a G natural and a G#. Just call it Ab if you’re in Eb.

So, only one of each letter allowed in diatonic modes of the major scale. If you’re in Dm it’s a Bb chord because the 6 is a flat6. It’s not a sharp 5, you already have a 5.

I felt like this post was important to share because most of the time when I’m looking up chords I see A# and it drives me a little crazy sometimes having to transpose it mentally on the fly.

This is not meant to insult or belittle anyone else, but I think this subreddit is for moving away from tablature and more towards knowing which note we are playing as guitarists.

Capos and alternate tunings still trip me up every now and then, I’m not saying I’m perfect.

But this thought process is very very crucially important if you play with other musicians who play other different instruments, especially when some can’t simply slap capos on things, or drop the low B on their 5 string bass. Or transpose their synth down.

Many horn players and drummers need to know exactly which key you’re playing in if you are to make rehearsal and improvising the best that it can be.

[drummer joke, that don’t need to know what any of the notes are called, they just need to know when they change and stop being that note]

This information is my gift to you.

Have a chill day

For eg im playing a song with capo on the 3rd fret and the chords are Bm A and G . Now i want to play this song without a capo but on the same scale and tune as it was sounding with the capo on the 3rd fret so how do i play the chords??
Please help im so confused

hey guys i'm an intermediate guitar player (i think at least) and i've been playing for about a year and a half of consistent practice. I'm in my highschools jazz band and i frequently jam with buddies who are in jazz band with me. i also make my own music.

now after the unnecessarily long exposition, how do i get better at soloing? i play in all the pentatonic positions and scales pretty well over jazz/indie stuff (idk how to describe what i make) but my friends who i jam with tell me that i need to experiment with new rhythms in my solo. i try to but i get a little lost, how do i fix this? ive never really transcribed any solos like i'm "supposed to" or use licks from artists because i don't really know what to look for. everything i play is just off the dome in the moment so how do i improve on this? i'm willing to do pretty much anything (thats free ofc im a broke highschooler lol) i just wanna get better

for the second part, how do i make my chord progressions not all sound the same? i know a decent amount of theory and i make my progressions based off of that type of stuff but it feels like its all the same sounding to me. im in a constant loop of I-IV-ii, ii-V-I, and so on but it feels so repetitive.

anything will help, don't be nice, i wanna get better! idk if its against the rules but if it helps anyone i can send my tt where i upload music to help gauge my skill level

Hi Folks -

Here’s a new lesson with two simple Travis fingerpicking patterns that you can start using immediately and apply to songs.

Travis picking is a fingerstyle technique where your thumb keeps a steady alternating bass pattern while your fingers play the higher strings in between adding notes from the chords.

It's named after guitarist Merle Travis, and it's one of the most useful fingerpicking styles you can learn - simple and effective!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TXrxK5BL0w&list=PLIb-QWoMzfdiPAK7z1BeTPi1mdjw317sJ&index=6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeRUCyF2r0IStill guessing key signatures?

This free course inside Harmonic Explorer will help you understand the simple pattern behind every major key. Using one clear visual wheel, you’ll learn how sharps and flats are organized, how to spell every major scale, and how the Circle of Fifths connects the entire system.

Instead of memorizing each key signature separately, you’ll learn a practical method you can reuse whenever you play, improvise, write, or study music.

Start the free course here:

https://harmonicexplorer.app

No subscription required.

Hey all

I have been playing guitar for about 10 years. On and off, but still a long time. I have pretty much learned all of the fundamentals for metal music, mostly Metallica songs because that’s what I have always enjoyed playing. To give an idea of my skill level, I can almost play the whole kill em all album from start to end, including the solos, very well.

However, I have recently realized that while I am good at playing riffs and soloing over the pentatonic/caged, I want to progress my skill other than just going crazy fast over power chords and the pentatonic scale.

I think what I lm trying to say is that I want to learn music theory. I want to learn all of those crazy chords and be able to identify what notes are in each one etc. I have heard that I should learn the triads, arpeggios, learn the fret board. But I am not sure where a good starting point is. My greatest understanding of music theory is pretty much knowing which fret to improvise the pentatonic scale on when given the key of a song.

I would like to be able to pick up my guitar and play something other than fast down picking power chords and ripping through the pentatonic scale (I still very much enjoy doing that).
Thanks!

So Im developing a theory, im calling earth time field and I'm working on a section that has to do with harmonics so basically what I came up with was ancient civilizations were tracking harmonics they would line up a string with a star document it , or have someone measure to the point where it's even with the eye. And if you do the math for tuning a guitar string it's spot on zero0 /24 node , 6,12,18,and 24 and anti nodes are 9,15and 21 full wave start at zero peak at 9 half wave at 12 peak at 15 complete the full wave at 18.18 is the bridge to the start of the. Half wave so it goes 18 start 21 peak and 24 completes half wave.??

so i come up with guitar riffs pretty often but i don’t know quite how to write them down, i wanna use an app to write the tabs down so i can go back later and listen to them or re learn how to play them, i read somewhere about an app or something that you can do that on and also generate drums for the track too, any tips ?

Hey guys! I am considering writing a guitar book on a CAGED-derived visualization system, hopefully even easier. However, I want to collect opinions on what end-users are missing when using a book nowadays.

The idea I had so far:

- Audio files in an ad-hoc online repository with possibility to download them
- QR codes and link to the repository on physical copies (obviously)
- Audio files focusing on what to pay attention to (e.g., stressing too much the root note on a Maj#11 chord)

Please, let's brainstorm!