I have been playing guitar for about 9 months and for the first 7 months all I did was print out tabs for my favorite songs (haven't we all been there?). Needless to say I didn't get to far and when I wanted more freedom and ability to create my own music but I had no idea or concept of how to play, so I rarely enjoyed it going off and on frequently.
For the past two months I have grown enormously as a guitar player basically just learning new chords, and using scales to create solos. I also do a lot of psychedelic noodleing and "going with the flow", but when I can come up with anything good it is really hard to play without getting stuck in a boring rut. So as you can still I am still in need of major improvement, but atleast I am happy with my playing level and enjoy playing.
I keep hearing, "Practice you major and minor scales".
What exactly should I be focusing on when I am practicing these scales? (Any good exercises would be greatly appreciated!)
After I am confortable with the basic major and minor scales what are the next best things to practice?
P.S. I also see people talking about major 7th and minor 7th, what exactly are these?
Thanks a million, I know this was a long and tedious question of extreme basics, but I wanted to actually talk to somebody because I usually don't learn well from pre-written lessons.
Any advice, comments, encouragement, exercise suggestions, etc... are greatly appreciated!
"That’s what takes place when a song is written: You see something that isn’t there. Then you use your instrument to find it."
- John Frusciante
Be sure you can play the scales up and down the neck and work at reciting the names of the notes as you do so. It helps immensely to be able to name the notes as you play.
Since you're working on scales, you can learn more about chord construction as well. Take a look at Howard's Introduction to Guitar Chord Theory.
Well we all shine on--like the moon and the stars and the sun.
-- John Lennon
P.S. I also see people talking about major 7th and minor 7th, what exactly are these?
I believe they are cords.
And, if I am correct you take a major cord then and the 7th degree for a maj7..which is the 1 3 5 7 degrees from a scale....
Same sort of thing goes for a minor 7th...however the scale degrees are 1 b3 5 b7...you start with a minor cord then add a minor 7th....
I may grow old, but I'll never grow up.
P.S. I also see people talking about major 7th and minor 7th, what exactly are these?
Major 7th and minor 7th can mean:
1. Intervals: A measure of the pitch difference between two notes spanning 7 scale degrees. A major seventh interval is 11 half steps and a minor seventh is 10 half steps.
For example, the notes C to B form the interval of a major seventh; C to Bb form a minor seventh.
2. Chords: A major seventh chord is a chord consists of notes 1, 3, 5 & 7 in relation to the major scale starting on that root. A minor seventh consists of notes 1, b3, 5 & b7 in relation to the major scale.
For example: C major 7 = C E G B; C minor 7 = C Eb G Bb
3. Arpeggios: Major and minor seventh arpeggios are those same chords but played with their notes spread out (as in fingerstyle patterns) rather than all at the same time. They are often practised in a similar way to scales over several octaves in ascending and descending order of pitch.
There is more to playing the major scale than just knowing the notes up and down the scale though. You need to learn about harmony and chord theory which describes how to build chords using the major scale. Once you know how to build each chord you can look at the chords of the song and describe each chord the perfect way with your lead because you know exactly how to make the chord.
http://www.marktiarra.com/music/guitar_lessons.html
This site has all the info, or buy a book/ask a teacher
And I found it very helpful to go through the major scale and hum the intervals out loud. This will create a mental connection between the sound of each step of the scale in your head and the sounds you can make with your guitar. Most melodies come from the notes of the major scale in one way or another. If you do this you will be able to write the music in your head and then play it on your guitar.
"And above all, respond to all questions regarding a given song's tonal orientation in the following manner: Hell, it don't matter just kick it off!"
-Chris Thile
Thanks for all the great advice (special thanks to Musenfruend for the great link)!
This was really helping me play the Star Spangled Banner in my own way, just by ear and the knowledge I got from memorizng the scales.
"That’s what takes place when a song is written: You see something that isn’t there. Then you use your instrument to find it."
- John Frusciante
