r/Guitar_Theory

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!

Introduction

Hey guys, here I'll share some reflections of 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 a apply them on a textbook(piano).

While if you learn a new language and talk to people who speak the language some of them might not understand you. Since how language is written is different to how people speak in their every day lives. Likewise it seems to me when you learn music theory there's a few more extra knowledge that you need as to how the guitar works as an instrument in order 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 in 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. Afterward, 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.

Guitar

Meanwhile in Guitar its not as easy or "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 in guitar I looked up some guitar diagrams and notice that in those diagrams they write C-E-C for the major C chord triad. It took me a long time to realize(through asking reddit groups and reflecting) that actually 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 to 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 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 G. While B flat(Bb) might seem intimidating at first. I realized 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 chords( 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 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 difficulty 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 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 in guitar. I would like some clarification on this topic. A musician online said that that barre chords are a "umbrella term" that talks about how to play some notes in guitar but it doesn't have a meaning in music theory. So its not a music theory concept but perhaps a guitar theory concept.

In the key of C, I am able to play all notes in Piano but not in guitar since in guitar it seems you do need to know how to play F major as a barre chord. In Piano F major you would play F-A-C. With F being the root, then you go up four half steps and arrive 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 its 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). Its not that hard to understand but I guess I don't know why its called "perfect."

Guitar

This is where its 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 in both keyboard and guitar. However, when it comes to F major guitar that's where I'm bit stuck. So far this is what I've gathered.

The purpose of barre chords is to be able to play chords easier down the guitar fretboard as opposed to up the fretboard where its 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 its 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 of the F major chords. I saw the guitarist play F-A-C. He started with muting 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 supposed another chord voicing, when pressing the third fret of the D string. Also in this example you are 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 two 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.

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

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

In the lesson below, I'll walk you through a simple 5-step approach that you can use over any chord progression.

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

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?

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?

Yeah as the title says..

I just played C, then E, yes E major, followed it up with a G, then Dm and back to C. I was expecting it to fail miserably, but what the hell happened? Why does it sound good/acceptable?

I already know E isn't a chord in "key" of C [there's Em], but looking at E chord grip, I thought well rest of the notes are in key of C, the only "clash note" here is G# (in place of G i.e. a #5 in key of C). Let's give it a try, rest other notes are in Key anyway.

My question is, why does this chord progression sound good? like I could easily use to create impact/emphasis either in bridge or in outro section of a song.

Please Educate me. ChatGPT says something about E being V chord in Am harmonic minor, and obviously Am is relative minor of C. Is this correct?

I have no trouble at all with Major and Minor barre chords on guitar. Major 7th barre chords are confusing me. I have looked online and I see about 4 or 5 different fingering positions all called "Major 7th barre chord" and they all sound different to me.

Im 15 starting to get serious about guitar. My inspirations are Prince and Jimi Hendrix. So neo soul, funk, and r&b. I know a lot of guitarists who like to learn by playing their favorite songs and like playing others’ songs. For me, i want to get really really good at playing what i hear in my head. So if i have a cool idea for a funky melody i can hear it and just play it on the fretboard. This also is the same for solos and learning songs by Prince or other stuff. I want to be able to hear a song and find the chord on the fretboard. I want to be a musician, not just a guitarist, if you get what im saying. I plan to release music in the future probably in my early 20’s but this time is best for me to learn instruments and singing. I have a lot of free time, up to 6 hours a day of pure practice if i wanted to. And i am willing to pit in that amount of time as long as it helps me get better. I honestly have nothing better to do, besides working out and stuff. But yeah if theres things that someone can recommend that would be awesome. Please, if you can, tell me what i should work on every day to specifically improve on this. Thank you.

Hello Ive been trying to learn scales, music theory, fretboard memorization etc, I play guitar and bass but I have a short term memory loss and I’m lost on learning right now. I’m a intermediate player but struggling to learn these does anyone have any tips or anything.

I wrote up a blog post about what I'll refer to as "pattern sequences" like CAGED, pentatonic boxes, etc. I wanted to give an overview and provide some context on what these approaches are good for, and how they can help you reach your goals, as well as their limitations.

I think these approaches are somehow overhyped and also overly vilified at the same time. With this article I wanted to find some middle ground and try to be fairly objective about what they are and what they aren't !

i’ve been playing guitar since i was a kid but never learned theory until recently. i just write music and tab it and whatever sounds fine sounds fine but i’m trying to learn theory now and i’d really like to be able to name a chord i’m playing in something i wrote, but i’m so confused lol

the tuning is DADF#AD and it’s F# on the 3rd fret, A (lower A) on the 4th fret and D (low E) on the 4th fret and the rest of the strings open if that makes any sense at all. all i can come up with is D flat add11 but god knows. i would appreciate it so much if anyone could give me a name or way to write it in words if one exists

​

Hey — I’m the solo maker of The Guitar Workbench.

I got tired of bouncing between separate apps mid-practice, so I put everything in one offline toolkit. No account, no subscription for the core tools.

What’s in it:

• 3D chord finder (spin the neck 360°)

• Fretboard trainer

• Scales, arpeggios, and theory

• Multi-track tab editor (write/play back tabs; also mic → editable tab)

• Tuner and metronome

• Guided course and practice journal

The part I’m most curious about is the 3D chord finder — you can spin the neck and check fingerings from different angles.

Happy to take brutal feedback on what’s confusing, what’s missing, or what feels unnecessary. Android + iOS (IOS will be available in some days) if anyone wants to poke at it.

So, quick background info, I've been playing guitar for decades but only ever read tab, played sax in the highschool band so I understand the notes on the staff and all the notation that goes along with it. My son is getting ready to start playing guitar in his school jazz band and they dont have anyone that knows anything about guitar at his school so I've taken it on myself to teach him (and myself) how to read guitar sheet music since he's only used tab as well up to this point.

Figuring out where the notes in the staff land on the neck of the guitar was easy enough and I thought chords would be the same way and many of them are except for a handful that confuse me so I'd hope I could get an explanation here. In one piece, it calls for a C minor 7th chord that is noted 2 different ways, one (the 2nd one in the link) makes sense. The 1st one, not so much.

It calls for a Eb, C, Bb, and G. When locating these notes it seems literally impossible to fret all 4 at the same time (specifically the C). I tried finding as many possible locations to play the same tones so I wasn't keeping myself stuck to just the 1st 3 frets of the neck but still no luck so I turned to Google and found the chord block below which sounds great but the first thing I noticed is that the C that is being played there is an octave below what is noted on the music.

So 1) Can someone tell me if this chord is the correct one to use and (if so) 2) Can someone explain to me or point me at a resource to read that explains how how the 1st noted version of Cmi7 becomes the chord block I've attached? By this it seems that I'm allowed to use octaves of the same note in a chord?

Thanks

Sheet Music

C minor 7th Chord Block

so ive already got songs in mind that i can do 100 percent my only issue is i find it very annoying having to reverse the video back over and over till i get the part down is there like any websites that could fix this problem

or even a way you guys know how