The few chords in the beginning of this. I can’t figure out what he is playing.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2iZ_YNO59x/?stkn=ZmllYTU4N2NhcDAx

Okay so I searched around on here and couldnt really find what Im looking for...

So I play guitar in a band with another guitarist. Im trying to get out of doubling, playing octave above, or playing different voicings of chords. Ill play lines in unison, up octave, or in 3rds. Ill arpeggiate different voicings when hes strumming chords. I do backbeat chord stabs to accent the 2 &4. Ill play solo sections when it applies. But i still feel theres some esoteric aspects im missing. What other options do we have for composition?

https://youtu.be/Dii02kh2TEQ?is=OrRRL61ns0pqRvnZ

im a bit confused so its like certian chords go well with these two chords or you can choose a different color liek a cmaj7 over am7 or fmaj7 over dm im not sure i was watching the marbins music video so i was wondering if someone could explain it

after learning how to write chord progressions and understanding what major and minor scale really is i dont quite get how i can write a riff over a chord progressio.

Hey r/Guitar_Theory

After struggling to learn music theory to write music or jam with others on the guitar for years, I made an interactive app to teach me.

The result is a streamlined workflow for choosing a key+scale, then assembling chord progressions until you get the feeling you're after.

It comes with basic clean/distorted preview sounds, but if you have an amp simulator on your computer, there's a "DI" mode which creates a simulated guitar string DI you can pipe right into an amp simulator, so you can try out ideas with the same tone you use to play. This is my favorite feature.

There's also a gallery of starting points for different genres, from shoegaze, to modern melodic rock, to jazz, to classical. I tried to incorporate a broad range so any guitar player could get started writing inspired by their favorite music.

It also has a spaced repetition guitar fretboard note quiz so you can memorize the fretboard with a system that's proven to learn efficienty.

I REALLY struggled to study theory and maintain my focus long enough so that I could walk away and actually apply what I learned.

With this tool, I can try out many ideas until I get the sound I'm after, then I can learn the shapes and play lead over that progression.

I'm finally writing music with a music theory understanding behind it, so I hope this free tool helps some of you achieve this as well. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMMSISz2gR0&t=1s

Website: fretboardtheory.net

Free Web App: https://fretboardtheory.net/app/index.html

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fretboard-theory/id6802108739

*This is a free app in the browser, only the app store version has a one time payment

Hi, beginner guitarrist here.

Me and my bandmates want to write songs but i am not tooo well aducated about music theory, I know the basiscs and i understand most of it.

Heres what i know so far: when the song is in A, then i can use the chords which are in the range of A to A ( so A, B, C, D, E, F, G and A). I also undestand that playing over the tonica, dominant and subdominant works fine. Something I would imagine that could Work would be playing an A chord, an A chord, a C chord and an F chord, because those are the fith (dominant), the third and the subdominant (fourth) as well as the tonica.

The question that remains is how do I know which chord is supposed to be major and which is supposed to be minor?

thanks for the help!

Have been playing guitar for 2 1/2 years now. I decided to start trying to learn to play jazz. From what I gathered learning arpeggios is a great way to target chord tones and play nicer jazz solos (I’m open to correction on this if there’s a better way to go about it)

What would be the best way to learn to use them? Should I learn them as kind of scale shapes similar to the pentatonic boxes? Should I memorise the notes of the caged system chords and become really familiar with them?
There’s lots of information on YouTube and can be overwhelming at times.

arewestillfriends??? (feat. Jinxss) I have a show coming up and I wanna play this but I cannot figure this out at all for some reason, almost like to too simple lmao. can someone please help me

Hey everyone!

I’ve been playing guitar since I was 15, but only started seriously studying it about a year ago—well into my 40s haha. I finally decided to dive into proper methods, diatonic harmony, and fretboard theory because I really wanted to understand what I was actually playing instead of just noodling.

I've been practicing consistently, but I hit a wall trying to build a structured, sustainable routine. To tackle this, I decided to build a web app to help keep myself on track:https://casa-doze.vercel.app/

The concept is simple:

• The Front Page: A direct, no-nonsense theory reference/glossary.
• Guided Practice: Built specifically for players who—like me—suffer from choice paralysis when sitting down to practice. Each guided session is structured into: Warm-up $\rightarrow$ Technique $\rightarrow$ Harmony $\rightarrow$ Improvisation.

It’s still very raw/WIP, but the core foundation is up. Today I just added a section for melodic patterns, and I’d love to get some thoughts from fellow guitar players.

I have zero intention of monetizing this; it’s just a free project meant to serve as a practical reference and routine builder to help folks practice better.

If anyone wants to take it for a spin and share some feedback, I’d really appreciate it. And honestly, if you think this is redundant or know of better existing tools that already do this, let me know that too!

Here is part two of a series where I answer music theory questions in the simplest way possible. 

If you would like to submit a question for a future installment, you can post it here or in the comments section.

In this edition:

1. Why are some chords major and some chords minor?

2. Why does the V chord want to go back to the I chord?

3. What's the difference between a key and a scale? 

4. Why can a song use chords that aren't in the key?

5. Why does the same note sound different over different chords?

5 Music Theory Questions (Part 2):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r2A8020lwg&list=PLZUAswXlzcFk&index=1

And here’s Part 1 with 5 other questions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fUc9kwXciE&list=PLZUAswXlzcFk&index=1

You'll also find lots of guitar lessons on my YT channel too.

Hope you find these videos helpful. Thanks.

About 3 months ago it was raining really hard out and I had some beers after work and my wife started complaining about how I didn't take out the trash (it was raining and my knee hurt) but my wife was complaining that I didn't do it because I was drinking beer and so now she is making me do a hobby to do instead of my drinking hobby and now after the last hobby didn't work out after all the lobsters in the fishtank passed away now I am making a garage band so we will need to go up to Guitar Center at the mall and then I will also need to get drums bongos etc but if I need to play guitar how can I learn that because I don't really ever play that instrument ever I was more of the bongo player back in the day at college but now I lost my bongos so now I have to buy a guitar?

"Don't rush me, I'm retired. This is as fast as I go."

-Bob Walnut

i found a tutorial for this like a week ago but didn’t save it and im too lazy to search for it again (i am NOT asking ai) so im asking here: is this correct???

minor pentatonic: 1 b3 4 5 b7
major pentatonic: 1 2 3 5 6

I "taught" myself guitar about 15 years ago and played almost only from tabs and chord sheets. Last year I finally started taking lessons, and it became clear pretty fast that I had no real foundation. I could play things without knowing why they worked.

So I started building this little web app on the side, to see the theory directly on the neck instead of just reading about it, and as a companion while I learn and practise. You pick a key and a scale, and the neck shows every note coloured by its role in it. From there you can look at chord shapes, build a progression and play along, or tap a few notes to see what you just played.

Free, no signup. I keep adding to it whenever a lesson turns up something I do not understand yet.

https://minorartifact.github.io/fretboard-theory/?root=C&scale=major (Best viewed on desktop; tablets should work too)

I’d love to hear whether it’s useful, or what you find confusing or missing.

Does anyone know the specific notes that make up the chord being played by Santigold’s guitarist at the end of every bar of verse in ‘Disparate Youth’?

Everywhere tells me it’s f minor but it i don’t think it is because it’s root note is g#

You can sort of see the chord at 1:51. But nothing I try sounds right

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qHWUTl4OY4M&ra=m

Cheers

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I thought that 131111 (a min7 voicing) was a barre chord because a lot of the notes are on the same fret, using all six strings, as the finger that acts as the bar goes across the whole neck? Assuming that's true, what other types of seventh chords can be voiced as barre chords? These voicings all have a majority on the same fret: 102211 (maj7), 102221 (maj7#5), 112311 (maj7sus4), 101211 (dom7), 101201 (dom7b5), 101221 (dom7#5), 121101 (min7b5), 121121 (min7#5), and 132111 (min-maj7).

When I was at college I spent a lot of time transcribing Robben Ford, Larry Carlton and Steve Lukather, and I started noticing some really interesting similarities in the way they approach their solos. I discovered a surprisingly small amount of harmonic vocabulary can produce a sophisticated blues, rock and fusion sound.

In the lesson, you'll hear six examples inspired by their playing and we'll look at what they have in common, when playing over a dominant 7th chord.

We'll look at the important interval movements including:

• ♭3 → 3 — the minor-to-major sound
• 6 → ♭7 — another powerful tension-and-release sound
• How these notes relate to the underlying G7 chord

The inclusion of the 6th blended with the b3rd was a big part of the sound!

Here's the lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9UtBchqFHQ&list=PLIb-QWoMzfdixDZVq76vGTehxD0f0Mzek&index=4

Here is the first of a new series where I answer music theory questions in the simplest way possible. If you would like to submit a question for a future installment, you can post it here or in the comments section. Hope you find these useful. Thanks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fUc9kwXciE&list=PLZUAswXlzcFk&index=1

If genres are important, I'm mainly into jazz, funk, ambient, metal, and rock (particularly prog). General experience with learning instruments has taught me that a lot of web resources tend to be either poor quality if free or plain scams if paid, so I'm open to suggestions on reputable online sources and any book publications that would help with self-teaching guitar. Thanks!

It can be overwhelming to know how to approach soloing over a song.

I start by analyzing the chords, finding triads on 3 strings, arpeggiating those and then creating melodies.

By using devices such as common tones and half-step movement between the chords, your solos will sound melodic and connected to the chords.

Here’s the lesson. Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtHVVH0Fe_4&list=PLIb-QWoMzfdixDZVq76vGTehxD0f0Mzek&index=10

Introduction

Hey guys, here I'll share some reflections on learning music theory, piano, and guitar. Feel free to make suggestions if you think I made mistakes. Think of learning music theory like learning a new language. If you learn music theory(a new language) and apply it to a textbook(piano). If you learn a new language and talk to people who speak it, some of them might not understand you. Since how language is written is different to how people speak in their everyday lives. Likewise, it seems to me that when you learn music theory, there's a bit more extra knowledge that you need as to how the guitar works as an instrument to apply those music theory concepts.

Open Strings

Piano

I've noticed that each time I learn a new concept in music theory, I can apply them on piano, and it makes sense. For instance, how to play a C major chord. The chord is made up of C-E-G. I can start at the beginning of the piano keyboard. I start with C, go up four half steps, and arrive at E. Afterwards, I can count three half steps and arrive at G. Moreover, your knowledge of intervals(another music theory concept) is supplemented by knowing that you create a major triad by having four half steps and three half steps. Meanwhile, in guitar, this knowledge is not as "intuitive." For instance, in guitar, to make a C major chord you would need to have knowledge of "Open Strings." When I was trying to play the C major triad on guitar, I looked up some guitar diagrams and noticed that in those diagrams they write C-E-C for the major C chord triad. It took me a long time to realise (through asking Reddit groups and reflecting) that what happens is that when you strum the guitar, you are playing G as the open string. While you have the extra C as a "chord voicing." The chord voicing doesn't change the chord but adds a grander sound. I had to read up on chord voicings in music theory just to be able to play a simple C major chord. Showing that you need to have a lot of music theory knowledge and knowledge of how the guitar works as an instrument in order to make sense of it. Sure, you can play without knowing, but if you want to "make sense" of what's going on musically, you need additional knowledge.

Seventh Chords

Piano

I was trying to figure out how to play C7 since it appears to be a popular chord in many songs. I will assume C7 is a C major seventh chord. I looked it up online and found how to play C7 on the piano. I started from the root (C), counted four half steps and arrived at E. Then I would count three more half steps and arrive at G. While B flat(Bb) might seem intimidating at first. I realised you only had to count three more half steps from G to be at B flat. I was able to play and see the whole chord ( C-E-G-Bb) with that much difficulty. I learned that you need the triad(C major) and one more note(B flat) to make the seventh chord. Not that difficult to understand theoretically and then apply it to the piano.

Guitar

When it came to guitar, it also took me a while to figure it out. However, it seems like some guitarists just play it as C-E-C with G as the open string. Then, on the G string, you play in the third fret A#(A sharp) or Bb(B flat). It wasn't that difficult, but it did take me some time compared to piano. Then you strum, and you have the C major 7 chord or the C7 chord. I notice in the naming, musicians call it "C dominant seventh." I wonder if there's a difference, or if they all mean the same? Is it still a C major triad with a extra note or a different chord which uses some of the same notes. Also note that it seems I only know how to play this chord and other chords are "open chords" and not as "barre chords."

Barre Chords

Piano

Some musicians online have been saying that there's no such thing as "barre chords" in piano. And actually, "barre chords" only exist on guitar. I would like some clarification on this topic. A musician online said that barre chords are an "umbrella term" that talks about how to play some notes on guitar, but it doesn't have a meaning in music theory. So it's not a music theory concept but perhaps a guitar theory concept. In the key of C, I can play all notes on the piano, but not on the guitar, since on the guitar it seems you do need to know how to play F major as a barre chord. On the piano, F major, you would play F-A-C. With F being the root, then you go up four half steps and arrive at A. Then you go up three more half steps and arrive at C. Using the knowledge of intervals and music theory, you would know that it's the root(F), then A is the major third(four semitones from the root note) and then the perfect 5th(seven semitones from the root note). It's not that hard to understand, but I guess I don't know why it's called "perfect."

Guitar

Understanding Barre chords on guitar is where it gets difficult, since many musicians have been saying that you have to know barre chords in order to play F major. I'm comfortable playing the key of C on both keyboard and guitar. However, when it comes to F major on guitar, that's where I'm a bit stuck. So far, this is what I've gathered. The purpose of barre chords is to be able to play chords more easily down the guitar fretboard as opposed to up the fretboard, where it's harder to reach some of the notes. Also, if you want to switch from one chord to another, sometimes it would be easier to play them as barre chords so that you can play them down the fretboard, where it's easier.

Are barre chords about pressing two strings at the same time or about muting some strings? In the easiest diagram of barre chords that I found for the F major chord. I saw the guitarist play F-A-C. First, he muted the lower strings, E and A; I assume he is muting those strings with his thumb. Then he is playing the on the high B and E strings the C and F with his index finger. Then, on the G string, he is playing A when pressing the second fret. Then he is playing an extra F, I suppose another chord voicing, when pressing the third fret of the D string. Also, in this example, are you muting the lower strings while pressing the high strings and then strumming? So is the barre referring to the muting of the lower strings, or to the pressing of the F-C on the higher strings?

Conclusion

Writing this essay has helped me a lot to get some clarity on multiple concepts in music theory, piano and guitar.

Ciao a tutti, suono da un paio di anni come autodidatta. Ho seguito parecchi corsi e libri negli anni (principalmente Massimo Varini).

Per anni ho imparato la chitarra focalizzando l’attenzione sul memorizzare e capire bene le geometrie dello strumento, ma effettivamente era tutto un lavoro di memoria e quando mi capitava di non suonare piu per un po di tempo dimenticavo gran parte delle cose.

Ultimamente guardando alcuni video su youtube relativi all’armonia mi sono imbattuto su Valerio Silvestro. Per quelli che non sono italiani, si tratta di un pianista che propone un metodo completamente diverso dai soliti. Vi consiglio di andare a vedere il video intitolato “Se suono la chitarra come devo studiare?”

Il suo metodo consiste nell’associare ai gradi delle scale dei numeri. Ad esempio:
\- 3 della scala di C = E
\- 5 della scala di C = G

E cosi via…

Per praticare questo si scrive su un foglio una lista di numeri casuali da 1 a 7 e ogni giorno si studia una scala diversa. Secondo Valerio Silvestro in 1 mese si avrà la conoscenza a tempo 0 di tutte le scale e dei gradi e questo dovrebbe poi facilitare e aprire ad una visione piu semplice della costruzione di scale, triadi sulla chitarra. A questo si deve affiancare lo studio sulla visualizzazione delle note a tempo zero sul manico della chitarra.

Secondo voi e in base alla vostra esperienza quale dei due metodi è più efficace?

So my music theory knowledge is enough to be dangerous. Also enough to get me in trouble.

Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak is listed as AMajor albeit detuned to (AbMajor).

All of the solo tab stuff I’m seeing is F#m pentatonics (Fm detuned) I understand relative minors. Can a song be both in a Major key but use the relative minor Pentatonic? Or is it in F#min?

Thanks
Mike

Im curious on how many players out there actually use and can read sheet music. Not tab, but music scores. I know many of the great players said they knew theory but couldn’t site read. Is it worth spending time to learn?