Scale Theory, Positions, and Patterns
The Ionian mode is a musical mode that is used in Western music. It is also known as the major scale, and it is one of the most commonly used musical scales. The Ionian mode is built on a specific…
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Plain-English guides to scales, modes, tunings and the theory behind them.
255 articles
Chord Progressions
A Chord progression is an arrangement of of two or more chords played in a harmonic sequence. The sequence is typically repeated as a verse, chorus, or bridge. Chords in a chord progression are…
How To Start Soloing
Soloing on the guitar can be a challenging but rewarding experience. Before we get into the details of how to start soloing in any key, here are some key tips to think about before diving in:
Top 10 Tips For Guitar Players
Consistent practice is key to improving your skills on the guitar. Set aside some time each day or week to work on your playing.
Proper Guitar Technique Tips
Proper guitar technique is essential for playing guitar effectively and preventing injury. Here are some tips to help you develop proper technique:
- Modes
The Major Scale (Ionian Mode) Explained
Walk into any church on a Sunday morning and listen to the congregation sing a hymn. Nobody there is thinking about theory, yet hundreds of voices find the same notes, rise together, and land on a…
- Modes
The Dorian Mode: Minor Music with a Brighter Sixth
A funk band settles onto a single minor chord and just stays there. The bass digs in, the keys stab out a rhythm, the horns trade short phrases, and somehow ten minutes on one chord never feels…
- Modes
The Phrygian Mode, Heard Through Its Chords: Cm, Db and That Half Step
C Phrygian, spelled C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, uses exactly the same four flats as Ab major: Bb, Eb, Ab and Db. Not a single note is different. Yet if you sit at a piano and play those notes with C as…
- Modes
The Lydian Mode: The Major Scale With One Note Lifted
What happens to a major scale if you raise just one of its notes by a half step? Do it to the fourth note of C major, turning F into F#, and you get C Lydian: C, D, E, F#, G, A, B. Six notes stay…
- Modes
The Mixolydian Mode: Writing Melodies with a Bluesy Major Sound
Late on a Saturday at a pub session, the fiddles and tin whistles lock into a reel that sounds bright and major, yet something in it is a little rougher than a nursery-rhyme major scale. Across…
- Modes
The Natural Minor Scale, Built One Note at a Time
The natural minor scale is a seven-note scale that gives you the plain, unadorned minor sound: serious, a little sad, and deeply familiar from centuries of music. It's also called the Aeolian mode. In…
- Modes
The Locrian Mode: Harmony Built on an Unstable Root
A heavy band drops into a riff that never seems to land. The low note keeps pounding, but the chord stacked on it sounds bruised and lopsided, and every time the music circles back home it feels…
- Scales
The Major Pentatonic Scale: A Beginner's Guide
If there is one scale that every guitarist, bassist and ukulele player should learn first, it is the major pentatonic. It has only five notes, it fits under your fingers easily, and it sounds good…
- Scales
The Minor Pentatonic Scale: A Beginner's Guide
If there's one scale that has launched more guitar solos than any other, it's the minor pentatonic. It's usually the very first scale guitarists learn, and for good reason: it has only five notes,…
- Scales
The Major Blues Scale: A Beginner's Guide
If the regular blues scale sounds a little moody for what you want to play, the major blues scale is its sunnier cousin. It keeps that unmistakable bluesy edge but leans toward happy, upbeat,…
- Scales
The Blues Scale (Minor Blues): A Beginner's Guide
If there's one scale that sounds like a guitar telling a story, it's the blues scale. It's only six notes long, it fits neatly under your fingers, and it gives you that gritty, crying, slightly…
- Scales
The Chromatic Scale: Every Note in Music
The chromatic scale is the simplest scale in music and, in a way, the biggest. It contains every note there is: all twelve, one after another, with nothing skipped. It isn't a scale you write songs…
- Instruments
The 6-String Guitar: A Beginner's Guide to Strings, Tunings and the Fretboard
The six-string guitar is probably the most popular instrument on the planet, and for good reason. It can strum chords for a campfire singalong, drive a rock band, or carry a delicate solo melody all…
- Instruments
The 4-String Bass: A Beginner's Guide to Strings, Tunings and the Fretboard
The 4-string bass is the instrument you feel as much as you hear. It sits underneath the band, holding the rhythm and the harmony together, and it is one of the most rewarding instruments to learn…
- Instruments
The 5-String Bass: A Beginner's Guide to Strings, Tunings and the Fretboard
The 5-string bass is a regular bass guitar with one extra string: a low B underneath the usual four. That one string gives you deeper notes and more places to play the notes you already know. If you…