Learn To Read Sheet Music

A guitar is a fantastic instrument to play. It is easy to play and very difficult depending on what you play. Let's take a look at learning to play guitar sheet music!
I have found in my teaching experiences that many pupils find reading sheet music on guitar to be very difficult.
Admittedly there are a lot of factors that make reading guitar sheet music notation more of a challenge than on other instruments in certain aspects.
However, the most important factor is in my opinion that many guitarists never decide to learn to find the notes on the guitar. Instead they cultivate the habit of listening, playing and calculating where the specific note probably is to be played on the guitar.
Such a strategy is too slow to make it possible to sight read sheet music on guitar. A wish and then a decision to really start learning the notes on the guitar is much better than to use the before mentioned method to find the notes.
You have to start from where you are if you want to progress and become a good sight reader on guitar.
In my teaching experiences I have found that many people that play guitar wants to be somewhere else than where they ought to be.
The problem with playing too difficult guitar pieces is that it's difficult to develop note reading skills, learning to sight read and of course to learn the guitar pieces properly.
We will start this little tutorial on reading guitar sheet music by finding a few notes on the guitar fretboard.
You will find the note E on the first open string if your guitar is tuned with the most conventional tuning. This note can also be found on the second string and the fifth fret.
E on the third string is on the ninth fret. I would suggest that you practice playing the note E in these positions back and forth until you can find the note E without effort.
You will also find the note E in a lower octave on the fourth string and the second fret. On the fifth string you will find the same note on the seventh fret.
The sixth string is an E one octave lower. Let's invent an exercise to help you find the E notes on the guitar fretboard:
The task is to play the strings on the guitar in this order:
6 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 6
As you play the strings the notes you play shall be the note E. This means that the sixth string and the first string are open strings and on the other strings you have to find the right fret.
Try to play slowly in an even tempo until you don't have to think about where to place you fingers. When you find this easy to do you can proceed by choosing another note, for example G and use the same method.
Knowing the notes on the guitar fingerboard is important in many ways.
To find your way around on your guitar will be a great help for you, not only when you play guitar sheet music but also when you are playing by ear or try to figure out the name of a chord or are playing by ear!For more information visit here.

How To Master Guitar Chords Easy And Quick.

Most people often have less patience when it comes learning any instrument but of course if you are willing to learn and you are resourceful enough, you can actually learn the guitar fast if you also learn some tips and techniques on how to do it.
If you also have the determination to really learn the instrument, you will also find yourself playing the guitar in just a short time and not in years. If you are interested to learn to play the guitar easy and quick, here are a few tips that you might find useful.
- Learn, memorize and master the chords. You don't have to master them all at once though. Start with the simplest and the most basic. From there, you can also learn the other complex chords easily. Get yourself a copy of the chord chart. This will be your guide in knowing the placement of your fingers in every chord.
- Start with the simple basic chords such as G, A, C, D or the simple minor chords such as Em, which you can often see in simple songs. Keep in mind also that mastering the sharps and flats only entails you to move a fret up or down in the fret board, so if you know the basic chords that would be a lot easier to master.
- Learn the basic strumming patterns. Yes, you may be too impatient that you may want to play like Santana or get to play your favorite song, but always remember that learning overnight is next to impossible, and you have to keep in mind that those master guitarist today also started from the very beginning. Thus, you have to start with the very basics and that includes the basic guitar strumming patterns. You can learn the guitar picking later if you are done with the basics.
- Find a simple song that only has the basic chords you have mastered and play it again and again until you get to move your fingers on the fret board easily up to the point that you can move them up and down without even looking at your hand.
- Practice everyday. Indeed, practice makes perfect and if want to learn to play guitar easy and fast, then you also have to practice everyday. Set aside a few minutes each day to learn something new and practice. However, it is important to learn the basics correctly as well. It is also a wise move to practice with an expert so that you will be guided accordingly. It is important to practice the correct technique as developing bad habits with your playing can be a little difficult to correct later. Get a good resource, or have someone who is an expert in guitar playing to help you with your practice.
With the convenience of the internet these days, you can actually find video tutorials as well as online tutors that will teach you the basics up to the advance levels of guitar playing. You can also get a software that will also help you master the instrument as well.This link may help you to learn about it using good technique.

Online Guitar Lessons For Beginners

Are you interested in taking up basic guitar lessons? Not sure where to start? Stick around, because I would like to share with you why you can benefit from online guitar lessons for beginners. By the end of this article you should be better prepared to decide on which guitar course to sign up for, so without further ado, let me get started!
Online Guitar Lessons For Beginners - Learn From Home
The biggest advantage of signing up for guitar classes online is that you get to learn the lessons from the comfort of your own home! This eliminates the need to travel to the music school for your lessons. All you need is a computer with internet access. It is that simple. Isn't this convenient? What's more, these lessons usually come in the form of videos, so instead of watching TV and being a couch potato, you could actually watch these training videos. It would be even better if a download link was provided to allow you to download the videos to your computer. That way, you can watch the videos even if your internet is down! That also means that your course is now portable and you can bring them out of the house if you store the videos in an external hard disk or even your mobile device!
Online Guitar Lessons For Beginners - Learn At Your Own Pace
As mentioned before, most of these online classes come in the form of videos. Hence you can pause the videos if you feel like you want to practice on the guitar without having to interrupt the flow of the lesson. This definitely benefits those who are not so quick to grasp new skills, or those who simply want to take the time to digest what was taught. With that said, you can also review the course as many times as you want. Some people watch the videos over and over again until they can master the techniques that were taught. Talk about being perfectionists!
Online Guitar Lessons For Beginners - You Can Become A Pro
You may be surprised to know that many famous guitarists were self-taught. You having access to these guitar classes online will mean that you are somewhat self-taught as well, because you are relying on the training videos and you do not have a human being to coach you. However, I want to add that with practice and patience, you can become a pro like many of today's famous guitarist. In fact, they probably did not have the luxury of training videos like you do. I encourage you to follow the teaching plan and spend time practicing on your guitar every day.
With that, we have come to the end of this article. I hope you have a better understanding of why you can benefit from online guitar lessons for beginners.For me you can benefit more as a beginners to this link.

Rocket Piano - Learning the Piano Can Be Easy, Fun, and Fast

By Remy Moz

Have you ever had that feeling where you see a person playing the piano and you wish you could play it too? I've been there and I would always end up thinking that I'm too old to learn the piano, It is just too difficult, a piano tutor is expensive and, lastly, I just don't have the time. Thankfully Rocket Piano came into the picture, carrying with it a beacon of hope. It's priced far more affordably compared to hiring a piano teacher, it's backed by a reliable and highly-trusted learn from home company, it is created for all ages and, lastly, it has gotten rave reviews. In this review, we'll find out what the rave is all about and, more importantly, you can evaluate if it is the right piano program for you.
Rocket Piano is created by a team of musicians that have played and performed and, more importantly, taught the piano to thousands of students for a combined experience of 30 years. It is spearheaded by Ruth Searle who is classically trained but has extensive experience in jazz, pop, blues, rock, and gospel. She demonstrates techniques in the videos. It is no question then the creators' claim of knowing the frustrations of trying to learn an instrument is real. They've addressed all of these in the Rocket Piano through fun and interactive tools that serve to make learning easy, rewarding and, importantly, effective.
In the Rocket Piano package are books, DVDs and CDs that go alongside each other. It dishes out beginners, intermediate and advanced courses covering piano history, finger placement, playing chords, playing with rhythm, reading music, sight reading, transposing (or switching keys to fit your voice) and a whole lot more. I would also recommend checking out another program for comparison, like Learn and Master Piano, to see what this other program has to offer.
Bonus materials are also included in the Rocket Piano package. The Chordinator, Jayde Musica and Perfect Your Pitch are just some of the fun learning tools you will get. Know more about these tools. Learn, compare and save by checking out the Rocket Piano Review, Learn & Master Piano Review, PIANO FOR ALL Review and others at a leading product review website.

Guitar Lessons On A Daily Basis

I would like you to begin your practice with understanding that the question of how long this will take in your case cannot be answered by anyone for you, when you buy your first PRS guitar. Your situation reminds me the Chinese story of a foal once needing to measure the depth of a stream. Asked first, Aunt Squirrel replied that the stream was deep because it had swallowed some of her kin. After her, Uncle Bull replied the stream was shallow because he barely got water over his knee whenever he crossed it. After finding a stick and measuring himself against it, the foal uses the same stick to measure Aunt Squirrel and Uncle Bull and the answer can be approximated thus.

There are people born with total hearing and a rare inner inclination towards music who play many instruments and who don’t want to become musicians. I have met such a person, and he was an accomplished and well-respected village teacher, who could decipher complicated musical notes with uncanny ease without being specifically taught to do so.

Another situation that I know of is an experiment performed by a singing teacher upon a grown-up who had no musical hearing. Thrice a week for several months, this person would perform several basic level drills, which in the beginning he did by producing mostly random sounds. Nevertheless, the gap between his capacity to produce and to assess sounds has undoubtedly diminished in two months’ time.

Just like most of the great performers, including your favorites, you must be somewhere in between these extreme cases and you had better not count the years it will take you to practice. That is if you really like music, enjoying your practice in a large formula is a better way. Don’t skip any concert where your favorite band plays and don’t go there without your friends. Keep a curious eye on your idols. Consider this as being your extended practice. Criteria like “I want to play this or that song” will give way to larger and more technical ones if you love every moment that you spend with a guitar in your hands.

If you can live without the daily practice of your instrument, than this is what you have to do. I am not advising you to take it easy; quite the opposite. But you cannot fake your love for the instrument you want to play and it is this love that directly expresses in your routine practice. This directness of musical practice in this respect is one of the hardships connected with playing an instrument. Whatever you do without faith and enthusiasm will not really be of use to you. Routine practice, far from being the reversed measure of your talent, is like the found stick in my story, the most accurate personal instrument to measure the depth of this bond.

Practice involves several other forms besides individual practice as your daily routine. Peers who are more advanced than you are will teach you many things if you don’t have a teacher, and so will playing in one or more bands and accepting public performances as soon as there is opportunity for that. Your hearing and your understanding will change miraculously on the way with your music pals and your instruments of choice changing along. The only witness to your evolution would be the good old shop where your quality PRS guitar, amplifiers and guitar effects pedals all keep coming from.To begin, here is the simple ways for beginners.

Guitar Chords: Play Better by Learning Them Well

Fingering and playing chords on the guitar enriches the music that you play greatly compared to playing single-line melodies. To play guitar chords better, you must learn them well.
Learn Chord Formulas
Guitar chords are formed by playing at least two strings at the same time, and usually three or more. To play a chord well, you must learn its formula. The formula tells you what strings you will strum or fingerpick to sound the chord. When looking at the neck of the guitar from its front, from left to right, the strings are numbered VI - V - IV - III - II - I.
For each string that you play, you also need to know whether you are to put a finger on that string to press it down against the fingerboard or not and what finger to use and on what fret to place it. The fingers on the left hand are normally numbered, but in this article, letters in chord formulas show what fingers to use (i=index; m=middle; r=ring; p=pinky). To indicate the fret where you are to place each finger, a number will follow the string number and finger letter.
For example, one formula for a G chord is VI.m.3; V.i.2; (IV); (III); (II); I.r.3. To play the G, you would put your middle finger on the third fret of the sixth string, your index finger on the second fret of the fifth string, and your ring finger on the third fret of the first string. A string number in parentheses means that you play that string open (no fingers down on that string). In the G chord, you would strum across all six strings, including strings IV, III, and II open.
By learning the formulas for guitar chords well, you will play better.
Learn Different Fingerings
To learn and play guitar chords well, you should also know and practice fingering each chord using different fingerings based on the different possible formulas for the chord. For the G chord, this would mean learning each of the following fingerings:
VI.m.3 - V.i.2 - (IV) - (III) - (II) - I.r.3 - uses middle, index, and ring fingers
VI.m.3; V.i.2; (IV); (III); (II); I.p.3 - uses middle, index, and pinky fingers
VI.r.3; V.m.2; (IV); (III); (II); I.p.3 - uses ring, middle, and pinky fingers
Depending on what chord comes after the G chord in a song, try using each of these formulas to see which one makes the change to the next chord the smoothest. For example, suppose a G7 chord comes next in a song. The formula for a G7 chord is VI.r.3; V.m.2; (IV); (III); (II); I.i.1. By using the last fingering for a G chord that is listed above, VI.r.3; V.m.2; (IV); (III); (II); I.p.3, changing from a G to a G7 becomes as simple as lifting the pinky off the first string at the third fret and putting down the index finger on the first fret of the first string.
By knowing how to play guitar chords in different fingerings well and using different fingerings depending on what chords come next in a song, you will play better.
Learn Chord Shapes
To learn and play guitar chords well, you should also learn the shape of each chord because doing so will help you to remember how to finger the chord. To do so, think of having some white ink on the tips of your fingers that you use to make the chord. After making the chord on the guitar, think of white dots being left on the various strings at the frets where you placed your fingers. Now mentally connect the dots and see what shape they form. For example, the G chord forms a triangle (on the second and the third frets) that points toward the head of the guitar.
Learn well the shape of other chords so that you will also play them better. Here are some examples of other chords, their formulas, and the shapes that they form:
A chord - (V); IV.m.2; III.r.2; II.p.2; (I) - horizontal line
C chord - V.r.3; IV.m.2; (III); II.i.1; (I) - diagonal going up to the right
D chord - (IV); III.i.2; II.r.3; I.m.2 - triangle pointing to the body
D7 chord - (IV); III.m.2; II.i.1; I.r.2 - triangle pointing to the head
By learning well the chord formulas, fingerings, and shapes for as many guitar chords as you can, you will play better!
Enjoy…

Learn The Secrets Of Guitar Tuning

There is actually more involved in tuning a guitar, especially an electric, then one might think. Besides getting each string to register a green light on a tuner, there are some additional factors that influence tuning that I'd like to point out. (I could have called this write-up "Hidden Difficulties of Tuning your Guitar".)
First off, each string needs to be in tune to the guitar itself. This is called "intonation". (Intonation means the accuracy of a pitch.) You intonate a guitar by adjusting the saddles on the bridge. On an electric, the saddles are the small pieces of metal that the strings lay on. On an acoustic, the saddle (the little light-colored piece of material) needs to be filed in a certain way. This is usually done in a "set-up" by a good repair person. How and why this works is a topic of another article, but you should know that a guitar needs to be intonated in order to be in tune.
An often missed point about tuning, is that your right arm influences how difficult or easy it is to tune your instrument. If your right arm is putting any pressure on the instrument that pulls it in towards your body: 1. your body acts as a pivot point, 2. the pressure from your right arm pulling back combined with your left arm turning the tuning keys and applying a little pressure at the head of the instrument causes the neck to bend slightly, resulting in 3. the pitch of the string changing. You can easily demonstrate this phenomenon by strumming the open strings and letting them ring, placing your left hand on the head of the guitar, your right arm on the body of the guitar and gently pulling towards you with both limbs. You will hear the pitches go sharp. This is a cool effect to use when playing, but not when tuning. When you do this, you are trying to stabilize the pitch while it's moving, which is impossible! (And often a hidden source of frustration.)
This is an often hidden element that creates difficulty and frustration when tuning. You can let your right arm rest on TOP of the guitar body with a slight downward pressure, just don't let that arm pull back. Acoustic guitars are not quite as sensitive, but this applies as well to a greater or lesser degree.
In unison tuning, another "hidden" action that creates difficulties is the left hand slightly bending the string when playing a note. When you bend a string, the pitch changes -- even a tiny bit. When playing, this might not matter. When tuning, it makes things difficult because, again, you are constantly changing the pitch while trying to stabilize it! This doesn't work. Make sure the direction your fingers are going is straight into the neck to play the note, not at an angle causing the string to bend slightly.
The last tuning element I'll mention is about the size of the frets. Frets come in various thicknesses: small, medium and jumbo. (There are probably more technical names for this factor.) The fatter the fret, the further the string will be from the fingerboard. When playing an electric guitar with fat frets, pushing your fingers down too hard causes the string to bend slightly thereby changing the pitch. This might sound a little subtle, and it is. When tuning, make sure to only press hard enough to get a good sound from the note, if using fretted notes, without over-pressing; causing the string to bend, changing its pitch.
Wow! Who would have guessed tuning a guitar could get so involved. But it is. It's taken many of my beginning guitar students up to two months to get used to tuning their instruments correctly. If you want to play in-tune, this is time well spent and a valuable skill to learn.
Poor intonation, right-arm pressure, left-hand string bending and too much finger pressure all make tuning more difficult than it needs to be.
If tuning is difficult for you, check out these points and see if it gets any easier!

How To Improve Guitar Tone

     A key element that distinguishes various guitarists from one another is the tone that they produce when they play. With some of the best players you can tell who it is by hearing just a few, or even one note (Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson and Wes Montgomery come to mind). Initially, new guitar players try to emulate the sound of their favorite players by focusing on what kind of guitar, amp, pedals, or pickups they use. These are all important but I am here to tell you, after years of experience, that the simplest and arguably best way to improve guitar tone is through your choice of a pick or the decision to not even use a pick at all.
I heard it once said that the "artist is in the right hand". What this means is that the right hand is primarily responsible for setting the string into motion; bringing it to life. The texture, weight, and flexibility of the material that comes into contact with the string to make this happen are all critical to the sound that is produced. Of course what "good tone" sounds like is subjective and depends on the context of the music you are playing.
In the context of rock, metal, jazz and blues what I have found is:

• Heavier picks sound better than thin picks. Thin picks tend to flex too much. This extra motion slows you down as the pick must bend back into place after each hit to a string. A heavy pick does not give way to the string as you pick hard or fast. Thin picks also seem to produce a clicking sound as the pick strikes the strings and generally produce a "thinner" tone.


• The tip of the pick should be pointed but not too sharp. If it is too round it is difficult to get a clean articulation of the notes. If it is too sharp then the tone produced tends to have too much high-end and not enough mid-low frequencies, producing a thin brittle sound. I often fine tune the tip of my picks with grade #0000 steel wool.


• The material matters. Picks are made from a variety of materials including: celluloid, nylon, acrylic, metal and stone. This is an area for experimentation. Compare the sounds of similar shaped picks made from different materials. You will be surprised at the results. For example some materials work better on a clean versus distorted sound.


• Shape is a matter of personal preference and comfort and does not affect tone as much as the other aspects of the pick.


• Many times the best tone is achieved using your finger or thumb.

Relative to other musical gear purchases picks are cheap so experiment and try out a bunch of them. A good place to start is the basic Fender heavy pick. My current favorite is the Dunlop Ultex Jazz III.

How To Learn Guitar Faster.

     Learning should be fun. Don't you think? Oh yes, it should be, especially when it comes to educating yourself on how to play guitar. You might also notice that there are many steps in learning to play guitar and most of the time they comprise a set of different topics and processes. So here, in a practical manner, are 7 effective strategies on how to learn guitar fast:
1. Set your GOAL/s and decide.
You should know what you want to learn when it comes to guitar playing. It may be guitar fundamentals that comprise musical theories, major and minor chords, scales, triads, tabs and the list just goes on and on. Or you simply want to know how to play popular songs on a guitar. In this way, you can avoid feeling bored as you go through the lessons. Your goals must cover your interest. So determine what exactly you want to happen as you take your course on how to learn guitar fast and easy. After setting your goals then you decide what kind of guitar instrument you want to use. Do you prefer acoustic, classical or electric guitar?
2. Have a BUDGET if it's necessary.
You cannot deny the fact that our world revolves around money and business. Of course, you will encounter FREEBIES and all those kinds of stuff. However, you should also consider the quality of service. Is it worth taking your time to watch? Is it worth listening to? So, if you think that it's not all worth it then you have to stop. You have to choose the best teaching services offered on how to learn guitar fast even if it comes with a fee. In this case, consider to choose a course within your budget so it won't take too much of your money.
3. Choose your professional TEACHER/s and make sure they are an EXPERT.
You have the right to choose your mentor. This applies to any case, whether you are paying for your lessons or it is given for free. You have to at least scrutinize if your instructor is really good or not. Is he an expert? What is his expertise? Is he a professional teacher or just an amateur with some experience?
4. Start with the EASY STUFF.
When you take online guitar lessons on your own, you get to choose where to start. So again, choose the easy ones that usually deal with the basic techniques and chords. From there, you will start learning to play tunes and automatically see your progress. That is one easy trick on how to learn guitar fast.
5. Be Open.
You have to seize the opportunity to learn! Be open to each new learning possibilities and techniques that your instructor gives you. You also have to be open to your instructor. Don't be ashamed of asking questions. Actively participate and interact with your instructor or your fellow students (if you have any).
6. Proper practice makes PERFECT.
They say that "practice makes perfect". But on the contrary, it is much acceptable if you say "proper practice makes perfect". You have to make sure that what you're doing is RIGHT. When you practice correctly, it'll be quick for you to learn your lesson and then proceed to the next. So learn the right technique and practice religiously.
7. Invite your friends.
You may have friends who are also interested in learning to play guitar. So ask your friends to take guitar lessons with you. In that way, it'll be fun and exciting. Together you can share insights as you all go through the lessons. Helping and motivating each other is one fast way of learning.
Ultimately, the objective for these strategies is to remind you on how to learn guitar fast and effectively. But never forget that the key to achieving your goal is the commitment you give to yourself as a student. Keep in mind that your success in learning is directly proportional to the hard work and dedication that you give.One thing for sure about lerning guitar is to play it solo.This you can achive if you can master the scale.

Guitar Lesson: What To Look For

     If you're thinking about learning the guitar, or even if you've been playing for a while, it might be a good idea to get some guitar lessons from a professional guitar teacher. While this will obviously be more expensive than learning from books, it does have some very important advantages. For one thing, it's a lot easier to learn how to do something when you can actually see and hear how it should be done, first hand, than it is to try and learn the same thing from a picture in a book. As such, having guitar lessons can dramatically reduce learning time. It also ensures that you learn the correct techniques, and stops you from forming any bad habits. Plus being able to stop and ask questions, or get more details on a specific area of playing, is a huge advantage, and something you just can't get from a book.
     Guitar lessons come in two types: group lessons, and individual, one to one, lessons. Each type has its advantages and I'll look at them briefly here. Group lessons tend to be cheaper as there are more people paying for the same amount of the teacher's time. They also give you the chance to meet and interact with other guitarists. Members of groups, which can range in size from two to ten or more, can help spur each other on to practice and improve. Some people, however may find this kind of situation intimidating, feeling insecure about playing in front of other people, and so prefer the privacy of one to one lessons. Another advantage of one to one lessons is that the teacher is totally focused on you, rather than a whole group, so can tailor each guitar lesson to your specific needs.
     Another consideration to make when looking for guitar lessons is where they will be held. Some guitar teachers are happy to come to your house to teach you whilst others ask that you go to them. Generally they will charge more if they have to come to you to make up for travel expenses, but this can be weighed up against you not having this hassle or expense yourself. In some respects though, it can be better if your teacher has his or her own teaching venue, whether it's at their home or in a local school or church hall, as they may have equipment such as amps already set up, recording gear to record your progress, or a computer to print out new learning materials as and when you require them.
     As for how much you can expect to pay for guitar lessons, of course it varies from teacher to teacher, and in most cases you get what you pay for. Private lessons with a world renowned guitarist could cost a small fortune, but usually you can find something more affordable with a good local teacher. As mentioned earlier, group lessons tend to be cheaper, and if you are at school or college then you might be able to get subsidised, or even free lessons through them.
     A word on guitar teachers themselves now. When looking for a teacher you should find out how long they've been playing, as well as how long they've been teaching. You should also ask about what, if any, qualifications they may have, although this is less important. It's worth remembering that being a good guitarist doesn't automatically qualify someone as a good guitar teacher, so don't just go for the one who impresses you the most with their guitar playing.
     That's pretty much it on guitar lessons. I hope that's helped you to decide whether you think you need them or not, and if so has given you enough information to start looking and find the right teacher for you. Whatever you decide, good luck, and make sure you enjoy the experience.

Blues Guitar Lesson

     There are over 3,500 different types of scales ... the good news is that most of the best blues guitar players only use a handful of scales.
Blues players draw their melodies primarily from three scale types:
1. minor pentatonic scale
2. blues scale
3. Mixo-Lydian mode
Well over 95% of the licks and riffs blues players create are developed from these three scales.
Where to start:
The best place to start is with the most universal scale the pentatonic scale. This scale is a five note scale (penta = five), technically speaking any group of five notes would qualify to be a pentatonic scale, however the most common pentatonic scales are the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scales. As blues guitarists our primary interest is in the minor version, the major version is featured in country, folk and easy listening top 40 radio songs.
Let's begin with the key of E
The scale consists of the following notes:
E - G - A - B - D - (E)
------------0-
-------0-3----
---0-2--------
-2------------
--------------
--------------
As we said the pentatonic scale is a five note scale, so the first thing to keep in mind when you are playing the scale is that although you end up playing six notes the first and last notes have the same letter name.
... I say this scale is universal because without any formal music education people all over the planet are familiar with the sound of the pentatonic scale; here is an example of a famous worldwide teasing chant (derived from the this scale).
------------
------------
-0---2-0----
---2-----2--
------------
------------
People usually say "I know what I like", when really it's a case of "we like what we know".
To illustrate this point I'm going to re-arrange the note sequence of the "teasing chant" and hey presto... we have Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" riff.
------------
------------
---0---0-2--
-2---2------
------------
------------
No wonder it was popular... we all knew and liked the notes... they were familiar, everyone feels comfortable with these notes and the more familiar you are with their sound and location on the guitar fingerboard the easier it will be to play the riffs you are hearing on the radio and in your head.
Next we will learn the scale on the low strings, these are exactly the same notes only one octave lower.
--------------
--------------
--------------
---------0-2--
-----0-2------
-0-3----------
When you are comfortable with the low version of the scale link the two patterns together.
Review: Everywhere throughout the world... the sound of this scale is familiar to everyone and therefore it should come as no surprise to learn that many of our most famous guitar riffs have their origins in the minor pentatonic scale.
If you have ever heard...
Layla - Eric Clapton
I Shot The Sheriff - Eric Clapton
Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Dark Night - Deep Purple
Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
Voodoo Child - Jimi Hendrix
Good Golly Miss Molly - Creedence
You have heard this scale sound...
In fact it would be much easier to name bands that don't use this scale... it shows up everywhere in rock music. Top Classic songs from bands like Pink Floyd,Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Van Halen and guns N' Roses feature this sound again and again.

Mike Hayes is a guitar teacher, author, performing musician and session guitarist with over 30 years of professional experience. Mike's methods are legendary and have earned the praise of top authorities in guitar instruction. Find out more about how to learn guitar fast with his popular free ecourse.

Learn Acoustic Guitar: Acoustic Guitar Chords - The 3 Key Ingredients

The acoustic guitar is without doubt one of the most popular musical instruments, just about every household has one and many homes have two or three.
When played by an experienced guitarist the acoustic guitar offers a beautiful, almost transparent sonic backdrop to the musicians story.
Did you know there's three key ingredients that the experienced player brings in his or her guitar toolbox to transform average songs into magical soundscape's; let's go backstage and see how it's done.
Tip #1: Open strings - whether it's a steel string, 12 string or nylon strung guitar one of the key ingredients to producing a beautiful sound is the use of open strings. Bar chords may be a popular way of teaching guitar in class but bar chords are definitely not the way to go on acoustic guitar.
The trick is to learn chords in the guitar friendly keys of: G, D, A and E; then use the capo to produce neat sounding guitar sounds in keys that would normally sound dull and lifeless.
Here's how that works... keys like F, Eb Bb and Ab would ordinarily sound flat and be physically difficult to play (this is where the bar chords come in), however by placing the capo at various fret locations you can play easy guitar shapes that sound great; use the chart below to overcome boring sounding chords.
Capo at the first fret transforms...
G to Ab
D to Eb
A to Bb
E to F
Tip #2: Drone strings - you can further enhance you guitar friendly chords by employing "drone strings" these are special notes that are played over all the chords in a particular key, they produce the beautiful seamless quality heard on all professional recordings.
The concept is to play specific notes (the first and fifth notes of a key) over traditional chord shapes; because the chords now have certain notes that are "common" to each chord the changes sound smoother and more coherent to the listener.
Some examples in the key of E...
The key of E produces melodies and harmonies from the E major scale which contains these notes
E major scale: E - F# - G# - A - B - C# - D# - E
Drone notes are the 1 and 5 notes of that scale; therefore the drone notes for the key of E would be the notes "E" and "B"
[E] - F# - G# - A - [B] - C# - D# - E
[1] - 2 - 3 - 4 - [5] - 6 - 7 - 8
Drone notes indicated in brackets...
E
-0--[E]
-0--[B]
-1--
-2--
-2--
-0--
Drone strings create chords that are usually either a suspended 2nd or 4th; in this instance the standard "A" chord
shape has been transformed into an "A sus 2" chord.
A
-0--
-2--
-2--
-2--
-0--
-x--
A sus2
-0--[E]
-0--[B]
-2--
-2--
-0--
-x--
Tip #3: Slash chords - often traditional chord families are modified by way of slash chords.
The most common substitution is the slash chord with the 3rd in the bass.
Here's an example in the key of E...
The traditional chord [triadic - 3 note] family created from the"E" major scale produces these chords.
E - F#m - G#m - A - B - C#m - D#dim - E
Many contemporary songwriters alter the 3, 6 and 7 chords structures in the following manner...
E - F#m - [G#m] - A - B - C#m - D#dim - E
1 - 2 - [3] - 4 - 5 - 6 - [7] - 8
becomes...
E - F#m - [E/G#] - A - B - C#m - D#dim - E
1 - 2 - [3] - 4 - 5 - [A/C#] - [B/D#] - 8
E/G#
-0--
-0--
-4--
-2--
-x--
-4--
A/C#
-0--
-0--
-2--
-2--
-4--
-X--
B/D#
-0--
-0--
-4--
-4--
-6--
-X--
Notice how I have included the drone string in the chord shapes above; therefore their correct names would be...
A sus 2/C#
-0--
-0--
-2--
-2--
-4--
-X--
B sus 4 /D#
-0--
-0--
-4--
-4--
-6--
-X--
Compare the traditional chord family with the updated sounds, mix them up by only introducing one of the slash chord at a time to the standard chord family, that way you will become more aware of the subtle differences of our new chord substitutions.

Mike Hayes develops systems and products to help you succeed in your guitar playing. Find out more about how to learn guitar fast with his popular free ecourse.