The Banbury Road

We can continue on like we did previously in a continuous circle of our fifth notes of each new scale until we find all the major scales. So we started at C Major, went to G Major which had one sharp, then to D Major which had two sharps, A Major, which has three sharps, and so on. Write out all the notes of each of these major scales on a sheet of paper and keep them in front of you to determine a song's key, or to know which notes to use within each key. Now, you can play any note on your guitar, go up two frets to find the next note in that key's major scale, go up another two frets for the next note, then one fret, then two frets, then two frets again, then two frets again, and then one fret, and you will have just found out the major scale for that beginning note. Pretty nifty huh?

Now we will get down a little deeper into the harmonies of each note in our scale, which chords to play, and which chords were used in pretty much every old rock and roll song. We can place a number value on each our C Major scales' notes and learn another new formula that shows each notes' harmony. We will start at C and call it 1, number the next note D as a 2, E as a 3 and so on, from 1 to 8. This is another formula you can just take at face value, memorize, and then apply. Here is the formula and then I will explain after: 1-Major, 2-minor, 3-minor, 4-Major, 5-Major, 6-minor, 7-diminished, 8-Major. Taking our new numbered valued system where 1 is C, 2 are D, 3 is E, 4 is F, and so on, we apply our previous formula to each of those notes. Once applied, we now know the notes in the scales' harmonies by playing the specified chords. This would mean that the chords for the key of C would be as follows: 1-C Major, 2-D minor, 3-E minor, 4-F Major, 5-G Major, 6-A minor, 7-B diminished, and 8-C Major again.

In old rock and roll, the first, fourth, and fifth chords where used as a main chord progression. So play these three major chords in any key, and you will have a basic progression. The 5th chord is known as the "turn around chord" that brings you back to your first chord, or a different chord to lead into another verse, chorus, or bridge. Many old love songs included the 6th chord, known as the relative minor chord into the mix as well. Now this becomes a numbers game. You write out your major scales as we learned before, apply the number value and major and minor chords accordingly, and then mess around with those chords to come up with your own progression.

Jesse Holmes operates http://www.myonlineguitarlessons.com a blog specifically for guitar enthusiasts. He loves giving away free stuff, and is now giving away FREE memberships to his blog. You're not going to believe what you get when you sign up! And it's all free! More information here.

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Let's face it... sight reading is one of the hardest skills to develop on the guitar.

Most of us have too much fun learning music by ear or just use guitar tabs. But learning how to sight read on guitar can lead to getting gigs and open up your ability to expand your repertoire.

So... how do you get started?

Most guitar methods start you off by learning the notes in the open/first position. This is all well and good, but you should also practice reading up and down strings as well as diagonally across the fretboard.

Before you even try to sight read a piece of music on guitar, here's what you need to understand first:

• The note names on the staff. You need to have these down cold. Just practice naming the notes in order until it's effortless.


• The rhythm. Are there any challenging rhythms, or are you already familiar with all of them? Practice "tah-ing" the rhythm with a metronome. This means to vocalize just the rhythm of the music.


• Where the notes are on the fretboard. Go through the notes in order, name them, and play them on the guitar in the position you're working on.

Only after you've mastered the fundamentals (the note names, the rhythm, and where the notes are on the guitar) should you attempt to sight read the music live.

Always practice slow enough that it's easy, and then speed it up.

Once you've got the hang of a piece of music in a give position, try playing it in another position.

Sight reading on guitar takes a lot of time to get used to, but it's worth it.

Scott Anderson likes to write about music and the guitar.

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