By Zack Roberts

It is crucial to learn this scale in all 5 patterns, thereby bringing about the ability to play the scale in all areas of the guitar neck rather than just one. The first scale is master is the G Minor Pentatonic. After discovering the five patterns of this scale in G Minor Pentatonic , it becomes conceivable then to improvise lead anyplace on the neck over any rock tunes in the key of G Minor (such as the famous riff from "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple). The Minor Pentatonic scale is the 1st and most critical scale to learn, especially for blues and rock n' roll. This scale is indeed utilised by blues guitar players as well, though far less often compared to rock and jazz players.

The 2d scale to learn and take control of is the Major Pentatonic scale. The difference between the use of the two scales plainly is that guitar players broadly speaking tend to play Minor Pentatonic when the tune is in a minor key, and Major Pentatonic when the tune is in a major key. In explaining this scale, I'm going to attempt to clear up by introducing a music theory subject, specifically the subject of minor and relative major, in a fashion apprehensible to most anybody. To begin, let's start with A Minor Pentatonic; in essence, taking the G Minor Pentatonic scale patterns diagrammed on the Cyberfret website and moving each pattern two frets up. In spelling out the notes of the A Minor Pentatonic scale, we have:

A C D E G

By learning the Minor Pentatonic scale, in reality we also learn the Major Pentatonic scale as well. This is because the Minor Pentatonic scale and the Major Pentatonic scale have the same notes when separated by a minor third (i.e. three frets), with the major higher by a minor third in relation to its minor. So for example, A Minor Pentatonic and C Major Pentatonic (the relative major, up a minor third from A Minor) have the same notes, only different roots. The notes for C Major Pentatonic then are:

C D E G A

Thus, A Minor Pentatonic in Pattern 4 is going to have the exact same fingering as C Major Pentatonic in Pattern 3; this duplication occurs with respect to the other patterns as well.

Lastly with reference to the Pentatonic scales, rock guitar players on occasion will apply these two scales interchangeably: that is, they will play both the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales with the song remaining in the same key throughout the solo section. An example is Jimmy Page's solo on "Nobody's Fault But Mine", where he begins the solo in E Minor Pentatonic, switches to E Major Pentatonic, back to E Minor Pentatonic, and concludes the solo in E Major Pentatonic. The use of the two pentatonic scales interchangeably is another beneficial rock and blues guitar lead technique to know and be aware of.

The next scale of importance to learn is the MAJOR SCALE. Of all the scales in existence that a guitar player should have comfortably in hand(s), this is THE ONE. True, the Minor and Major Pentatonic scales come first with respect to rock n' roll, but the Major scale is used in all types of Western music: rock, jazz, country, classical, just about everything in between. In fact, the Major scale is the foundation for our entire system of Western music: chords, scales, keys, modes, all of these derive their basis from the Major scale. Knowing this scale on the guitar in the five patterns is indispensable. Incidentally, the web site http://www.theguitarfiles.com/scale.php is another good (and free) online source for building both the Major and the Major Pentatonic scales (and many other scales as well).

The Major scale is the same as the Major Pentatonic scale, with two extra notes. Thus, in the key of C we have:

C D E F G A B

This scale can make any rock or blues guitar solo more interesting. Let's say we have a simple rock power chord progression that's in the key of A Minor, going from A to C to D to C then back to A. Of course, we could play A Minor Pentatonic over this progression and it would sound fine. Still, playing only one scale over a rock progression becomes dull and tiresome in a hurry. Luckily, there are other alternatives. The better choice that will work and sound great every time over a minor chord progression that isn't too exotic is to play the major scale relative to the song's minor key. So, over the above chord progression, we would play A Minor Pentatonic (with bends) and as well as adding in notes from its relative major, the C Major scale. To turn back slightly, if we wanted to make our solo for "Smoke On The Water" more fascinating, we would play B Flat Major. Again, Jimmy Page allows for another good solo example, this time with reference to the major scale. On "Achilles Last Stand", even although the underlying bass riff during the solo section is in E Minor, every note that Page plays in the solo is a note discovered in the G Major scale, the relative major of E Minor. In short, understanding and being able to improvise using this scale opens up a much wider range of possibilities in rock n' roll than just using the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales alone.

I like to contrast the deviations between rock and jazz guitar lead playing when bringing in the subject of arpeggios because playing arpeggios is broadly more challenging than playing scales, just as jazz is generally more difficult to improvise than rock music (a point that could potentially stir some debate). Lead guitar for rock and roll and jazz is essentially dissimilar from each other in three aspects that come to mind offhand:

(1) Jazz guitarists seldom bend strings on the guitar when playing lead, whereas rock guitar players bend strings frequently:

(2) Jazz guitar lead is more "straight-ahead"; that is, it tends to consist of eighth notes, sixteenth notes and triplets that fall on the beat; rock and blues guitar lead, on the other hand, is much more syncopated, with triplets and eighth and sixteenth notes falling on the off beat or sustaining over the beat, which makes writing the lead out on tablature and/or notation quite a bit more difficult, and:

(3) Jazz guitarists make frequent use of chromatic ideas and octaves in their lead playing; rock guitarists typically don't.

Simply defined, arpeggios are chords, played one note at a time. The reason arpeggios are more difficult to play on the guitar (perhaps more so than on any other instrument) when compared to scales is because string skipping and sweep picking techniques need to be used to play them effectively. Arpeggios that are played cleanly, however, sound very melodic and add dimension and power to any given solo. In my view, it is definitely worthwhile to learn arpeggios and eventually be able to play them well.

There are five types of arpeggios that are commonly considered the basic arpeggios; the major, minor, major seventh, minor seventh, and dominant seventh. The major and minor arpeggios (also called "triads" because they are composed of three notes) are important to know primarily for rock guitar lead playing. The major seventh and minor seventh arpeggios are indispensable for jazz guitar improvisation, mainly because it's difficult, if not impossible, to find a jazz standard that doesn't have a major seventh or minor seventh chord in it. The dominant seventh arpeggio is important to know for jazz and particularly blues because the twelve bar blues is composed entirely of dominant seventh chords.

Diminished arpeggios ought also be regarded among the basic arpeggios but are somewhat difficult and require more attention. There is the diminished triad, the diminished seventh arpeggio, and the half diminished seventh arpeggio. The diminished triad is the identical as the other two, only without the seventh; the diminished seventh arpeggio is proportionate because it ascends in minor thirds ad infinitum; the half diminished seventh arpeggio is constructed from the seventh degree of the major scale (commonly known as the "minor seventh flat five" among jazz musicians) and has a minor seventh rather than a diminished seventh. The diminished seventh arpeggio is common among many rock guitarists (probably because it can be played extremely fast with practice); the half diminished seventh arpeggio (along with the jazz melodic minor scale) tends to be popular with jazz players; the diminished triad is used by both rock and jazz guitarists, but to a lesser degree than their diminished and half diminished seventh counterparts.

This easy approach defined here is conceptually simple, but not easy. My hope is that the information in this report will help make your musical experience less mystifying and more pleasurable

About the Author:

By Higgins Martinez

On the forums, the most discussion able subject is Modes. The oftentimes asked question is "What is a mode?" and , "What benefit they give?" We'll take a look at both questions in some detail in this article

There are seven modes of the major scale, and they are identified as:

* Ionian * Dorian * Phrygian * Lydian * Mixolydian * Aeolian * Locrian

A variation of a scale is commonly known as a mode. Each scale whether it be major, or lower-ranking, is characterized by a peculiar pattern of tones and semi-tones. For example, according to our old friend the major scale is built from the formula 2 2 1 2 2 2 1, which depicts the gaps between each of the 8 notes.

A mode of a scale is merely a magnetic variation of that certain scale in which the pattern of Tones and Semitones in its formula is altered. For example, a scale can be built like this: 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 (this in reality hands us the Dorian Mode). The particular rules for the creation of the modes of a scalell be discussed later, but the description mentioned above is the gist of what modes are.

What benefit they render?

The modes can be employed to change the whole feel of a song just like we employ the major and minor scales to create extraordinary effects within a song. Some modes are very slightly different to scales we are already familiar with, others are quite strange sounding, but all can be used to remarkable effect to alter the underlying way a song sounds, just by practicing notes from a particular mode to compose your melody from. A song composed by applying the Phrygian, or Dorian modes will sound very unique. Each mode lends a different character to the song and has a distinctive feel.

Now, the great news is that you have by all odds used a couple of modes already, and there is a very great chance that you have used a couple of others without really thinking about it. That's the particular thing about musical theory - a good percentage of it is devoted to reporting stuff that you really experienced already.

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Creating Your Own Guitar Playing Style

By Eugene Walker

Learn how to manipulate and mold your sound into something that will set you apart from the rest of the crowd. We'll reveal some great ideas on how you can make some simple changes that will give you a very unique style.

Being Yourself. Who are you?

We all remember a point in time where we wished we had the talent and the sound of another guitarist. For many of us, this comparison takes place on a daily basis and can either drive us to work harder or bruise our self-confidence. Unfortunately, the end result usually concludes with us feeling slightly depressed and envious. We fail to realize our own potential and ability to create our own sound.

The harsh reality is that 95% of us will never sound like our heroes. Why? Simply because we don't have the time, the money, or their brains. That may sound cruel, but it's actually a good thing when put into the context of our own playing. Anyone can pick up a tab book and play a song but it takes a true guitarist to make it their own.

If you take a moment to examine some of your guitar heroes now, you'll find that they created their own style that made them famous by integrating various techniques from other guitarists and fusing them together. Many also took the core idea of a few different genres and combined them to create what would then become a new style.

Some great examples of such players include the likes of Santana, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Kurt Cobain, Pete Townshead and many more. You may be asking yourself why I mentioned money as one of the reasons that the majority of us will never sound like the players I have pointed out.

While you can emulate many of those tones, it's hard to duplicate them perfectly because they own thousands of dollars worth of gear.

However, don't be discouraged. With some simple fixes and a few innovative ideas, you'll be well on your way to creating a new style and tone that will make you shine.

Listen.

Before you embark on your journey to creating your own unique style, I highly recommend you look through our past articles and do some research. Don't be afraid to try new styles and genres to see which ones you enjoy the most.

Do some searches for diverse styles of music on Google. Another great resource is billboard.com. They have charts of the latest top songs that will give you an idea of what's available to you in modern terms. A trip to your local music store will also help you out immensely.

From that point, make a list of your favorite artists from these various genres. Try to seek out the similarities and differences. Ideally, you should listen for the little things that you like most. That could range from a certain way an artist strums, to how they move their fingers across the fretboard to create a certain effect.

Take the traits that you really like from these artists and combine them. Everyone has their own touches that they add and how you use them is up to you. It won't happen overnight but with practice and patience, you will find your groove. The end result will produce a style that reflects you and the music you love.

Look at the pros.

Taking the above tip to a higher level, let's look at some professional guitarists and the music that they play. Many come from varied backgrounds, which is what makes them unique. Perhaps seeing some genres that these familiar names are associated with will assist you in choosing some different styles.

David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)- Gilmour has been viewed as one of the most unique guitarists of the 20th century. Originally, Gilmour was a backup guitarist for the band until Syd Barret left due to personal issues. From there, Gilmour started to mould his sound into a piece of art via the use of a Strat, HiWatt amps, and a barrage of effects pedals.

How he used those effects pedals is what put his name into the forefront of style. He performs tricks that many have yet to emulate. He is truly a great guitarist to look up to.

Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple) - If you aspire to incorporate a nice variety of diametrically opposed styles, then Ritchie Blackmore is the man to aspire to be like. Blackmore had the ability to incorporate country and classical music into rock guitar. This is very suiting considering he started on a classical guitar and then made the switch to electric later on.

Who inspired him? His main influences were players such as Hank Marvin and Duane Eddy, amongst many others. Perhaps you haven't heard of them but Hank Marvin was the front man for the 60's group, The Shadows.

Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) - Jimmy is an extremely versatile guitarist that combines numerous techniques from various aspects of playing to form his own material. He is the master of experimentation, using everything from violin bows to acoustic playing styles on an electric guitar. He has a history of using some very cool effects pedals as well, although he doesn't need them to sound good.

In fact, one of his earlier custom effects units happened to be one of the first fuzz boxes introduced to the world. It spread like wild fire amongst the world's most popular guitarists. Unfortunately, not even the likes of Jeff Beck could truly bring out its sound quite like Jimmy could.

Django Reinhardt (Quintet of The Hot Club of France) - Anyone who knows jazz knows this name. While Django was considered a gypsy guitarist, he primarily played the role of the mentor, not the one who was taking ideas from others. Over the years few have managed to replicate his lightning fast riffs and intuitive phrasing style. To top all of that off, his strumming patterns were insane!

Another neat fact about this brilliant musician is that he started his musical life by playing other instruments such as the violin and banjo. This explains a lot about the music he produced. Notes that are close together on a violin tend to be far apart on a guitar but Django broke that barrier and carried over many of those techniques. I believe his strumming style was adapted from the banjo.

I highly recommend you look into some of his masterpieces in order to test your technical ability and to grow as a guitarist. He used only two fingers to play guitar seeing as his first two were mangled in a fire.

Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley) - Moore transformed the guitar world by introducing driving rhythms and interesting chord progressions. He kept things basic and that's what made him famous. His music was compatible with Elvis because it didn't dominate the vocals and he didn't strive to be in the spotlight.

The coolest piece of gear that set Moore apart was his Echosonic amp. Only 68 were ever made in the world and he still has his to this very day. It featured an impressive built in delay system that gave him his characteristic sound. No one can beat these amps that were made by hand. Truly a rare, once in a lifetime find. Without it, Elvis wouldn't have the same sound on his records that revolutionized music history.

It's all in the fingers.

When I first started my journey in the musical world, I heard a saying that goes something like this: FIND SAYING. What allows us to have the ability to sound decent on virtually any guitar is our technique. What allows us to have great technique? That's right, our fingers!

Our fingers can be compared to soldiers on a battlefield. They are our first line of defense and set the tempo for things to come. Training them to be the best that they can be is an essential step to creating your own style. Sloppy fingers will get you no where fast in the guitar world.

Ideally, your fingers should be strong enough to handle bar chords with ease and have enough agility to navigate the fretboard with little to no difficulty. Agility and strength are key and often overlooked by guitarists because we treat fingers as muscles that are already developed.

False! Just because you may have larger fingers, it doesn't mean that they can stand up to hours on the fretboard. Not unlike an army, you must train each one individually to achieve maximum success.

About the Author:

By William Jones

A couple of strategies are there to build various patterns:

1. Start on the E string on any note of the musical scale. Keep this fret in your mind . Move up that string playing notes from the scale until the next note would be more than 4 frets from home position (count the home position as fret 1), and set that next note on a higher string. Continue it until you move out of strings.

With this approach you can find regular scale boxes - boxes are great because they help you to hold your hand in the same position throughout the scale.

2. Start on the E string on any note of the scale. For each string, add notes until you have played precisely 3 notes on that string and after that change strings.

You can develop 3 notes per string scales with the help of this approach - this is great because they have an even number of notes on each string which actually helps with speed runs.

You can get 2 note per string scales by altering the number from 3 to 2 or 4, or even 4 notes per string scales (possible, but really difficult to play, a favorite of Alan Holdsworth I believe). 2 notes per string are especially suitable for pentatonic.

3. Whole neck approach - in this approach we play entire number of scales by moving up 1 string and handle every string in isolation. Understand that there will be great overlap between strings, and figure out all the practicable means of playing an individual note or run on all strings (very challenging to do in practice but this is how actually top notch performers find out things)

That's all what the patterns actually are - and as far as a point of terminology is concerned, I would call boxes a particular case of patterns that are created by using rule 1, patterns is a more standard term that relates to all feasible means to map a scale to the guitar neck.

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By Eugene Walker

Life couldn't be easier than this: You get guitar backing tracks for almost all the top rock, metal, blues and progressive music tracks. All you need to do is learn to focus and learn to play along with the guitar backing tracks.The guitar backing tracks are essential because you can play just about anything or any type of lead. You can even conjure your own piece of work.

For example: if you have guitar backing tracks for the Blood and tears by Steve Vai then you don't have to necessarily play the same lead that Vai has played. You can use all the different advanced guitar techniques using the tremolo and do your original stuff. It's much more fun that way.

The tremolo technique for playing the lead guitar comes in handy especially when you're practicing for a live gig. Of course the guitar backing tracks have to be there but then you need to understand how to play around and improvise with the tremolo. While playing a tremolo all you have to do is play the string with an up and down motion with the help of your pick. It is something that was made famous by the legendary guitarist Pete Townshend.

You can use a tremolo on guitar backing tracks at very high speeds as well as slow speeds. More often than not, a tremolo is played rapidly. If this is your first time then all you need to do is get the right guitar backing tracks and start playing the tremolo at a slow speed and then proceed a step ahead and try to play it faster. The firmer your grip on the tremolo, the faster you should play it. The truth is that there is no fun playing the tremolo slow. Here is a tip: try to play thin picks on the tremolos as they are easier to play. Here is an example of a basic tremolo track:

E|--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--| B|-----------------------| G|-----------------------| D|-----------------------| A|-----------------------| E|-----------------------| |--d-u-d-u-d-u-d-u-d-u--|

Always remember that when you're playing the tremolo with guitar backing tracks, you need to pick down on whatever string you are playing and then immediately pick up that particular string. It should never be two motions - it should always look like just one motion. Here is another example of a simple tremolo that you'll be able to practice with guitar backing tracks:

E|--0-0-2-2-4-4-2-2-0-0--| B|-----------------------| G|-----------------------| D|-----------------------| A|-----------------------| E|-----------------------| |--d-u-d-u-d-u-d-u-d-u--|

About the Author:

By Eugene Walker

Guitar backing tracks are essential armory that every lead guitarist should have. Without it, it would be extremely difficult to play solos or lead guitar.If you have moved from the basic stage into the advanced stage then it doesn't mean that you are ready to play the solo or lead live on stage. There are many more aspects to playing a guitar solo and one of them is learning to play with guitar backing tracks.

The good thing is that you can purchase some of best professionally recorded guitar backing tracks from companies such as Planet of Rock. It will come for a cost depending on the track and the band. These guitar backing tracks are a must for all those who are dreaming of playing their own solo someday in the near future.

What it actually does is that it substitutes the need for a band playing the background. For example: if you want to practice your solo with a Eddie Van Halen or a Jimi Hendrix number, you do not really require a bassist, drummer and rhythm guitarist. All you need is the guitar backing track for that specific number and you will be good to go. These tracks are perfect for a nice jam session when you are practicing without a band.

The reason why every guitarist should use guitar backing tracks is because there are options you can have for practicing advanced lead guitar techniques. This is a type of product that will help you especially when you want to work on new licks or practice different type of scales like the blues scale, the pentatonic scales etc. You can even use guitar backing tracks for rhythm guitar.

One of the important factors of using guitar backing tracks is that it will help you to improve your timing immensely. You will never go out of tune or end up playing the wrong scale. The reason why most guitarists in their advanced learning stage use guitar backing tracks is due to the fact that it helps them to prepare for live gigs.

Playing at a live gig is very different from playing in a studio. You will not have any room for mistakes as you will be playing right in front of an audience. So you will need to perfect your skills and the best way of doing that is by playing with guitar backing tracks. Guitar backing tracks are available for some of the top numbers in rock, metal, blues and alternative.

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What Is Blues Guitar Shuffle Rhythm

By Zack Roberts

So you have understood the 12-bar blues or at least the concept of it and you would like to push your blues playing to higher grounds.

Well your in luck my friend!

The best way to liven up up your playing is to learn the blues shuffle rhythm. I am not sure where the name derives from, but the shuffle is a term used to identify the break down of a beat into 2 components where the first is lengthier than the second.

The blues shuffle rhythm is founded on an eighth note triplet rhythm. A triplet is when you use 3 notes in a given time space instead of two. In a standard 4/4 time signature where there is four quarter notes the eighth notes would be counted as...

1-&-2-&-3-&-4-& ... where the &'s are the eighth notes between each quarter. to fill the same time signature with eighth note triplets we'd count as...

1-trip-let-2-trip-let-3-trip-let-4-trip-let ... where the trip's and let's are eighth notes amounting up to 3 per quarter note. So basically...

1-& = 1-trip-let

The blues shuffle is accomplished by playing the first and third notes in a series of triplets. And so if the count is...

1-trip-let-2-trip-let-3-trip-let-4-trip-let ... then you'll be playing on all the down-beats or numbers and the let's. I've indicated the notes you should be striking to better exemplify.

1-trip-let-2-trip-let-3-trip-let-4-trip-let.

To discover what the shuffle rhythm actually sounds like try hearing to Led Zeppelin's - You Shook Me or Grateful Dead's - Truckin

I hope this has cleared up any confusion you may have been having about the blues shuffle rhythm

About the Author:

By Mike Jones

It's Mike from Killer Guitar Tips with another Mini Guitar Lesson for you.

Hope you've been PRACTISING your guitar. To be a great guitar player it doesn't just happen it evolves with practice, but its not enough just to practice, you need to practice the right things! I know this sounds blatantly obvious but you'll be surprised at how many people simply practise what they like to play even though this could be teaching them BAD habits.

You're now in the select 5% of people who will practice the correct methods and techniques that will help to catapult your guitar playing into hyperspace... CONGRATULATIONS you are in the minority simply because you are talking the time to read this article.

So stay tuned...

Let's get straight on with this mini guitar lesson...

We'll start of with a really cool chord progression that's really cool to play pentatonic riffs over the top of when you're jamming with a friend, with no effort at all it will make you sound like a great player!

So here it is, it's real easy... Play one bar of each chord A, G, D, and A. Now keep on playing these chords over and over while your friend makes up a solo using the Am pentatonic scale at the fifth fret!! It sounds great.

Now try swopping roles. You play the solo in Am and your friend play the chords. Whilst you play, just listen to yourself sounding like a top pro guitarist!

You can now turn up at and jam night or venue with this progression in your bag of tricks and get up with your friend and sound really cool. It just takes a little practice and for best results try it with a friend.

Moving on from this we will take a look at another great little chord progression that is the backbone of many great songs. It is a 4 bar sequence that repeats itself over and over again and is commonly known as the 'turnaround'.

So here goes, let's take a closer look:

1st bar is G, the second bar is Em, 3rd bar is C and the last bar is D.

You need to play this rhythm of 4 beats to a bar. Repeat this turnaround over and over again to your hearts content.

Its a great jam sequence of which you can get your friends to jam along to in the key of G.

Oh, and dont forget that my full guitar audio/video program is loaded with lots of amazing chord sequences that will allow you to lay down great sounding rhythm guitar that will astound your friends and rock your audience.

About the Author:

By Zack Roberts

It is crucial to learn this scale in all 5 patterns, thereby bringing about the ability to play the scale in all areas of the guitar neck rather than just one. The first scale is master is the G Minor Pentatonic. After discovering the five patterns of this scale in G Minor Pentatonic , it becomes conceivable then to improvise lead anyplace on the neck over any rock tunes in the key of G Minor (such as the famous riff from "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple). The Minor Pentatonic scale is the 1st and most critical scale to learn, especially for blues and rock n' roll. This scale is indeed utilised by blues guitar players as well, though far less often compared to rock and jazz players.

The 2d scale to learn and take control of is the Major Pentatonic scale. The difference between the use of the two scales plainly is that guitar players broadly speaking tend to play Minor Pentatonic when the tune is in a minor key, and Major Pentatonic when the tune is in a major key. In explaining this scale, I'm going to attempt to clear up by introducing a music theory subject, specifically the subject of minor and relative major, in a fashion apprehensible to most anybody. To begin, let's start with A Minor Pentatonic; in essence, taking the G Minor Pentatonic scale patterns diagrammed on the Cyberfret website and moving each pattern two frets up. In spelling out the notes of the A Minor Pentatonic scale, we have:

A C D E G

By learning the Minor Pentatonic scale, in reality we also learn the Major Pentatonic scale as well. This is because the Minor Pentatonic scale and the Major Pentatonic scale have the same notes when separated by a minor third (i.e. three frets), with the major higher by a minor third in relation to its minor. So for example, A Minor Pentatonic and C Major Pentatonic (the relative major, up a minor third from A Minor) have the same notes, only different roots. The notes for C Major Pentatonic then are:

C D E G A

Thus, A Minor Pentatonic in Pattern 4 is going to have the exact same fingering as C Major Pentatonic in Pattern 3; this duplication occurs with respect to the other patterns as well.

Lastly with reference to the Pentatonic scales, rock guitar players on occasion will apply these two scales interchangeably: that is, they will play both the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales with the song remaining in the same key throughout the solo section. An example is Jimmy Page's solo on "Nobody's Fault But Mine", where he begins the solo in E Minor Pentatonic, switches to E Major Pentatonic, back to E Minor Pentatonic, and concludes the solo in E Major Pentatonic. The use of the two pentatonic scales interchangeably is another beneficial rock and blues guitar lead technique to know and be aware of.

The next scale of importance to learn is the MAJOR SCALE. Of all the scales in existence that a guitar player should have comfortably in hand(s), this is THE ONE. True, the Minor and Major Pentatonic scales come first with respect to rock n' roll, but the Major scale is used in all types of Western music: rock, jazz, country, classical, just about everything in between. In fact, the Major scale is the foundation for our entire system of Western music: chords, scales, keys, modes, all of these derive their basis from the Major scale. Knowing this scale on the guitar in the five patterns is indispensable. Incidentally, the web site http://www.theguitarfiles.com/scale.php is another good (and free) online source for building both the Major and the Major Pentatonic scales (and many other scales as well).

The Major scale is the same as the Major Pentatonic scale, with two extra notes. Thus, in the key of C we have:

C D E F G A B

This scale can make any rock guitar solo more interesting. Let's say we have a simple rock power chord progression that's in the key of A Minor, going from A to C to D to C then back to A. Of course, we could play A Minor Pentatonic over this progression and it would sound fine. However, playing only one scale over a rock progression becomes dull and boring in a hurry. Fortunately, there are other options. The best option that will work and sound good every time over a minor chord progression that isn't too exotic is to play the major scale relative to the song's minor key. So, over the above chord progression, we would play A Minor Pentatonic (with bends) and also add in notes from its relative major, the C Major scale. To backtrack slightly, if we wanted to make our solo for "Smoke On The Water" more interesting, we would play B Flat Major. Again, Jimmy Page provides another good solo example, this time with reference to the major scale. On "Achilles Last Stand", even though the underlying bass riff during the solo section is in E Minor, every note that Page plays in the solo is a note found in the G Major scale, the relative major of E Minor. In short, knowing and being able to improvise using this scale opens up a much wider range of possibilities in rock n' roll than just using the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales alone.

I like to contrast the differences between rock and jazz guitar lead playing when introducing the subject of arpeggios because playing arpeggios is generally more difficult than playing scales, just as jazz is generally more difficult to improvise than rock n' roll (a point that could potentially stir some debate). Lead guitar for rock and jazz is fundamentally different from each other in three aspects that come to mind offhand:

(1) Jazz guitarists seldom bend strings on the guitar when playing lead, whereas rock guitar players bend strings frequently:

(2) Jazz guitar lead is more "straight-ahead"; that is, it tends to consist of eighth notes, sixteenth notes and triplets that fall on the beat; rock and blues guitar lead, on the other hand, is much more syncopated, with triplets and eighth and sixteenth notes falling on the off beat or sustaining over the beat, which makes writing the lead out on tablature and/or notation quite a bit more difficult, and:

(3) Jazz guitarists make frequent use of chromatic ideas and octaves in their lead playing; rock guitarists typically do not.

Simply defined, arpeggios are chords, played one note at a time. The reason arpeggios are more difficult to play on the guitar (perhaps more so than on any other instrument) when compared to scales is because string skipping and sweep picking techniques need to be used to play them effectively. Arpeggios that are played cleanly, however, sound very melodic and add dimension and power to any given solo. In my view, it is definitely worthwhile to learn arpeggios and eventually be able to play them well.

There are five types of arpeggios that are commonly considered the basic arpeggios; the major, minor, major seventh, minor seventh, and dominant seventh. The major and minor arpeggios (also called "triads" because they are composed of three notes) are important to know primarily for rock guitar lead playing. The major seventh and minor seventh arpeggios are indispensable for jazz guitar improvisation, mainly because it's difficult, if not impossible, to find a jazz standard that doesn't have a major seventh or minor seventh chord in it. The dominant seventh arpeggio is important to know for jazz and particularly blues because the twelve bar blues is composed entirely of dominant seventh chords.

Diminished arpeggios ought also be regarded among the basic arpeggios but are somewhat difficult and require more attention. There is the diminished triad, the diminished seventh arpeggio, and the half diminished seventh arpeggio. The diminished triad is the identical as the other two, only without the seventh; the diminished seventh arpeggio is proportionate because it ascends in minor thirds ad infinitum; the half diminished seventh arpeggio is constructed from the seventh degree of the major scale (commonly known as the "minor seventh flat five" among jazz musicians) and has a minor seventh rather than a diminished seventh. The diminished seventh arpeggio is common among many rock guitarists (probably because it can be played extremely fast with practice); the half diminished seventh arpeggio (along with the jazz melodic minor scale) tends to be popular with jazz players; the diminished triad is used by both rock and jazz guitarists, but to a lesser degree than their diminished and half diminished seventh counterparts.

This easy approach defined here is conceptually simple, but not easy. My hope is that the information in this report will help make your musical experience less mystifying and more pleasurable

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By Mike Jones

This weeks article is probably the most popular Jammed to chord sequence ever!!! And it is an absolute must know for ALL guitarists. Its called the 12 bar blues and is the foundation of all blues music.

Let's have a look at it in the key of A, in its basic form.

OK, let's take a look :-)

We start by counting 4 beats to a bar like this: 1,2,3,4/1,2,3,4/ etc etc... Now start off by playing 4 bars of the A chord, followed by 2 bars of D, then go back to A for 2 bars then play one bar of E, one bar of D, a bar of A and finally a bar of E to finish the progression off. This sequence is called the 12 bar blues with obviously 12 bars in total.

For a great jam with your friends, simply repeat this sequence over and over again in the key of A. You'll sound GREAT - trust me! From now on when you listen to a blues number you will start to pick out the 12 bar blues as it is extremely popular.

I really hope you are benefiting and enjoying these free mini guitar lessons. Please try not to worry if things seem not to make too much sense at the moment because my full audio video program has everything in chronological order and will become crystal clear very quickly indeed. It follows a secret structured program that will transform students into a great player in no time at all.

Let's now have a look at another variation of this classic sequence, so sticking with the same theme we'll move on.

For this example we'll work in the key of A (major). It incorporates the use of 7th chords which sound cool in this context.

It goes like this: I A I D I A I A7 I D I D I A I A I E7 I D7 I A7 I E7 I

I A I = 1 bar of A (major) - I D I = 1 bar of D (major) etc

The A7 chord is constructed and played like so: the 6th string is not played, the 5th string is played open, the 4th string is played on the 2nd fret, the 3rd string played open, the 2nd string played on the 2nd fret and finally the 1st string is played open.

To play the D7 chord - the 5th and 6th strings are not used, the 4th string is played open, play the 3rd string on the 2nd fret and the 2nd string on the 1st fret. To complete the chord play the 1st string on the 2nd fret.

E7 is played - 6th string open, 5th string 2nd fret, 4th string open, 3rd string 1st fret, 2nd & 1st string open.

This is a great chord sequence to jam with and endlessly practice your soloing over.

Moving on from this is a nice little trick to make your 12 bar blues even more bluesy...

Taking the key of A again we will substitute the D chord shape and the E chord for a D9 (D9th) and E9 (E9th). The D9th chord we will be using is played like this:

6th string not used 5th string 5th fret (second finger) 4th string 4th fret (first finger) Strings 3, 2 and 1 are all played at the 5th fret using your 3rd finger.

Now to play the E9 chord simply slide the chord shape up two frets so the 12 bar blues sequence is played like this:-

lAlAlAlAlD9lD9lAlAlE9lD9lAlE9l

Use this 9th chord to create a real bluesy chord sequence.

Enjoy.

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By Mike Jones

In this article we are going to learn how to play hammer on's and pull off's.

In the last article/mini guitar lesson you learned how to move the pentatonic pattern 1 around the neck. In this lesson we will expand on that to bring a technique called the "hammer on".

For example let's take pattern 1 at the 5th fret (Am).

OK, to play the "hammer on" you need to hold down the 6th string at the 5th fret and then pluck it. Then bring down your 4th finger hard onto the 8th fret with enough force to allow the string to ring out as though you had plucked it!

Practice this on all the strings following the scale pattern... This is known as "hammering on"!!!

Once you are able to play the "hammer on" quickly you will build up your speed over time and find that you will be able to play notes quickly without having to pick the strings individually. This will speed up your overall playing ability...

Try to practice your guitar playing EVERY day, even if you only pick it up for a few minutes, your fingers will become more and more on auto pilot...

Following on from the "hammer on" we are now going to take a look at the "pull off" The "pull off" is another 'must know' technique and runs side by side with the "hammer on". This is a technique you have got to master if you wish to progress to becoming a great player!

We will start off again using pentatonic pattern one at the 5th fret (Am). Hold down the 8th fret with your 4th finger and also the 5th fret with your first finger on the 6th string.

Now pluck the string sounding the note at the 8th fret (C)

Here's the great part: Pluck the string while the note is still ringing with your 4th finger (pull off) to sound the note at the 5th fret (A), do not use your pick at all whilst doing this.

Practice this technique on all the strings up and down the pentatonic pattern 1.

These great and widely used techniques (hammer on's and pull off's) is a regular feature in fantastic sounding solos.

Practice until your fingers bleed! Only joking!!!!

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By Dick Stone

When you first start learning to play the guitar you really want easy to learn guitar tunes to start with. Otherwise it is the equivalent of trying to understand German when you have only learnt the basic words.

By starting with easy to learn guitar tunes you are setting yourself up for a much quicker learning curve and you will discover that you will pick up learning the guitar much faster and easier then without using tunes or songs to base your guitar skills on.

Where to find easy to learn guitar tunes?

There have been many books written on easy to learn guitar tunes, usually the book is written from a guitar teachers perspective so you know you are getting great counsel on how to pick and learn guitar songs.

Can I Just Learn Any Guitar song?

Of course you could start at any guitar song and try to learn it, but why would throw yourself in the deep end? You are much better trying to learn an starter guitar tune then starting off on a more advanced tune.

The entire purpose behind easy to learn guitar tunes is that they focus on the basics of learning guitar which ensures that not only are you having fun learning your guitar tunes but you are also building your core guitar skills at the same time.

This will finally lead to you playing much better guitar and having a better learning experience.

Also when trying to pick an easy to learn guitar tune it is regularly best if you can listen to that tune as well as reading the sheet music. This lets you approach the songs from both angles.

1. You are apprehending the tune through sheet music so you are getting a feel for how to read guitar sheet music. 2. You are developing your play by ear skills which will be enormously helpful for you later when you are trying to learn the more advanced songs.

So just remember, when you are searching for easy to learn guitar tunes dont go for just any old tune, pick a nice simple basic song or riff to start with and build yourself up from there.

If you practice apprehending tunes each day you will be astonished at how quickly you pick it up.

Final tip: Start with stress-free to learn guitar tunes. In case you need help with learning the guitar, visit Guitar Super Stars. Members Get Over 20 Hours Of Step By Step Video Guitar Lessons From 7 Different Guitar Instructors there. You may also find additional information on learning and mastering the guitar on Instructional Guitar Reviews

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By Kyle Hoffman

There are a lot of guitarists out there that want to "make it," but the best ones can really shred. The fans scream in unison as their fingers blaze up and down the frets of their guitar effortlessly.

However, it's not unreachable to become an amazing and fast guitarist like the professionals. With some decent hard work, dedication, and self-confidence, you can be playing fast guitar and difficult riffs like the rest of them.

This short list of guitar tips can start your development of faster guitar-playing.

1. Push yourself to work. Neglecting to sit down and do some real practice is a bad habit to start. By setting up a solid schedule of how often you're going to practice, you'll already be ahead of most of the guitarists in your area.

2. Use a metronome during your personal practice. If you want to play fast guitar and have a really good sense of time simultaneously, then you should get your hands on a metronome. Having a fast guitar speed is good, but being able to play along with band members is golden.

4. Song books are the real deal. If you want to know exactly how a favorite guitarist of yours plays a song or riff, check out their song books. You'll be able to study their style and technique along with the chord progressions and rhythms that made them famous.

4. Get some private lessons. One on one learning is the main appeal when you sign up for private lessons. Online videos and books can take you a long way, but personal interaction with an experienced guitarist is practically priceless.

5. Join a guitar forum. There's a wealth of information on how to play fast guitar that most guitarists are missing out on. You can post your own burning questions that will be answered by other guitarists just like you.

6. Develop an understanding of guitar tablature. For those of you who can't read sheet music, guitar tablature is the short-hand version. By learning to read in this way, you can access thousands of songs hosted on hundreds of free tablature sites.

7. Follow a guitar blog. Guitar blogs are a great way to gain easy and current guitar tips on how to play fast. They usually provide a good amount of information on all guitar subjects besides just increasing your playing speed.

The competition might be tough for guitar players, but the fast ones usually stand out. Push yourself to succeed in this goal and you're guitar speed will improve with time.

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