Today is the day you’re going to really understand how chords work! This section covers the basics of guitar theory – hugely important stuff. If you have questions, leave a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll try to help.
Useful Resources:
In this section we’re going to take a look at rhythm and how to use it in our strumming, but then we’re going to look more deeply at how to strum in such a way as to really produce a lot of dynamics in a simple chord progression.
Useful Resources:
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The free rock jam track I promised you can be downloaded by right-clicking on the button below, and clicking "Save As" or "Save Target As" depending on your browser. You can also watch the video, above, as it has a scale pattern on-screen to help you.
Why F# minor? Well... why not? F# minor is the relative minor to A major, which is a very common key, and the free jam track I offer with my blues tracks is in A minor, so I decided to pick a different key this time to explore some other parts of the fretboard, and some new sounds. Your guitar will sound different in F# minor compared to the more common A minor!
This particular jam track is in F# minor, so you can use the F# pentatonic minor scale to solo over it, or if you know your scales, try adding in the A major scale as well. Hit play on the video to hear the same track that you can download above, but with the F# pentatonic minor scale displayed on screen throughout the whole track.
Tip: if you hit the fullscreen button in the bottom right of the player you'll be able to see the notes better.
The free blues jam track I promised you can be downloaded by right-clicking on the button below, and clicking "Save As" or "Save Target As" depending on your browser. You can also watch the video, above, as it has a scale pattern on-screen to help you.
This particular jam track is in A minor, so you can use the A pentatonic minor scale to solo over it. If you like, hit play on the video below to hear the same track, but with the A pentatonic minor scale displayed on screen throughout the whole track.
Tip: if you hit the fullscreen button in the bottom right of the player you'll be able to see the notes better.
Watch your email for more tips on how to use this jam track in your practicing, and have fun with it!
This mini-course “Your First Bar Chord” will give you a brief introduction to the world of bar chords, and although it is quite short, by the time you have gone through it you should be playing your first bar chords.
Tip: I recommend printing off this mini course and keeping it with your guitar for handy reference.
Right click the link below and select Save Target As
Note: You will need Adobe Reader to properly view this PDF file. You can download that for free here, if you don’t have it already.
When you’re ready to learn more bar chords, checkout the Bar Chords Made Simple course.
The Foundation Course on Guitar Theory will give you a brief introduction to the number system and how it is used on the guitar. This number system is the basis for all guitar theory, and understanding it is the key to taking your playing to the next level.
In addition, I've included a handy cheat sheet (it's the last page in the course) which will show you at a glance the chords that are used in the five most common keys you'll run into on the guitar.
Tip: I recommend printing off this page and keeping it with your guitar for handy reference.
Right click the link below and select Save Target As
Note: You will need Adobe Reader to properly view this PDF file. You can download that for free here, if you don't have it already.
This foundation course is intended to be an introduction to some of the concepts that I explain in the Guitar Theory Unlocked course.
The very first bar chord I teach people is always the Root 6 Minor chord pattern, because it is the easiest to get the hang of, and with it you can learn most of the basic principles of how bar chords work.
You’re probably familiar with the basic shape of this chord from the open E minor chord. The fingering for that chord is like this: 022000.
With a bar chord, all you’re doing is moving all those zeros to another place on the fretboard. To keep the pattern intact, you need to add to the 2’s the same number of frets you add to the 0’s. The new letter name for the chord is determined by the first note in that chord, from the 6th string. That’s why we call this a Root 6 chord; the root note is on the 6th string.
So, for example, if we move the open Em chord up to the fifth fret, we find an A there on the 5th fret of the 6th string. If you add five frets to the 022000 pattern, you get 577555 instead. That’s an A minor, root 6!
That’s the general idea behind bar chords, but if you’re still a little confused, hang in there, I explain things from a slightly different angle in the video below, and of course in FAR more detail and from multiple angles in Bar Chords Made Simple.
I’m considering putting together another collection of jam tracks, and if you’ve got ideas, I’d love to hear them!
So here are my three questions for you:
I will take your suggestions to heart, and see what I can do.
Please leave your suggestions in the comments area below.
Thanks in advance!
Many guitar players are intimidated by the prospect of learning bar chords, and I’ve found there are two common reasons for this. Either they’ve tried playing a bar chord before, and found it very difficult, or they just don’t know where to start. How do you get around the neck, so as to put a chord on the fifth fret that has no relation to anything in the open position?
Bar chords present a few challenges, to be sure, but instead of magnifying the challenges today I’m going talk about the benefits of learning bar chords. Once you get a really good reason in you mind of why you would want to learn how to play bar chords, then the challenges will automatically seem less to you.
One of the biggest reasons is versatility. Bar chords give you the ability to create chords in places on the fretboard that you can’t otherwise, and this gives you new sounds and tones to play with. Bar chords played alongside open chords sound absolutely great, so this really helps strengthen you as a rhythm player. A rhythm player who knows his bar chords is able to play the same thing as the rest of the band, and yet in a different position, so instead of just adding to the noise, you’re actually adding a unique part that can shine through a little.
Bar chords open up the rest of the guitar to the rhythm player. Even if you don’t want to get into soloing or anything like that (although especially if you do!) you can become a stronger rhythm player by mastering your bar chords. You won’t be locked into the bottom four frets anymore…
Another reason to learn bar chords is that some chords simply can’t be played open, and they can be played as bar chords. Ever try playing an E flat major chord? It is so much easier if you know how to play it as a bar chord. Sure, that’s an uncommon chord, but there are quite a few others out there in the same boat.
For more reasons why you can benefit by learning bar chords, checkout this article.