WelcometoBaseCampWhenyouclimbamountainforthefirsttime,youbringaguide.

Thesameruleappliestoanyjourneyyouareunfamiliarwith:

Bringsomeonewhohasmadethejourneybefore.

Itmakesthewholeprocesseasier,smoother,andmoreenjoyable.

Learningtoplaytheguitarisajourney…

…letmebeyourguide.

Thisbookcontainsimportantinformationthatwillimproveyourplaying,butyou’llneedmoreifyouwanttobecomeakillerguitarist.

Fortunately,I’vegotyoucovered.

IputtogetheranUltimateBeginnersGuitarGuide.Itcontains21beginnerguitarlessonsdesignedtogetyouplayingfullsongsontheguitarquickly.

ItalsohasaPDFfullofscalepositionsandfretboardpatternsthatanyguitaristwillbenefitfromlearning.

Bestpart:it’s100%FREE.

Todownloadyourcopyoftheguide,visitthislink,thenenteryournameandemail.

http://yourfreeguitargift.gr8.com

Ipromiseyouwillneverreceivespam.Iamincompletecontrolofthemessagesthatgetsentout,andtheyareallusefulandguitarrelated.

IspendalotoftimepracticingtheguitarwithmybestfriendCharlie.You’llonlyeverreceivemessagesIwouldfeelcomfortablesendingtoCharlie,orthatIwouldwantinmyowninbox.

Youcanalwaysunsubscribefrommylistafteryou’vedownloadedtheguitarguidetoo–nohardfeelings.

Allthebest,

Scott

TableofContentsIntroduction

MusicalLanguage

TheStringsandtheFretboard

IntroductiontotheCircleof5ths

NotesandtheCircleof5ths

MusicalKeysandtheCircleof5ths

ChordsandtheCircleof5ths

SharpsandFlats

Circleof5thsforMinorKeys

Conclusion

OtherBooksI’veWritten

IntroductionIneverconsideredmyselftobeamusicianwhenIwasgrowingup.Infact,IwasthoroughlyconvincedIdidnothavewhatittakestobeabletoplaymusic.Itookcellolessonsandfailedmiserable.Itookpianolessonswithoutmakingmuchprogress.Isortoflearnedtoplaytherecorderinschool,ifyoucancallplayinghotcrossbunsplaying.

WhatI’mgettingatisthatIwasaterriblemusician.Icouldn’tsing,Icouldn’tkeeptime,Icouldn’tplayaninstrument,thelistofthingsIcouldn’tdowithrespecttomusicislong.Ifoundthisparticularlyfrustratingbecausemyfatherisanabsolutelyfantasticprofessionalsaxophoneplayer.Ifiguredsomewhereinmetherehadtobeaninherenttalentformusic.

Iwasverywrong.

WhatIrealizedasIgrewolderwasthatmyfatherdidn’thaveaninherentmusicaltalenteither.Whathedidhavewasanunstoppabledrivetosucceed.

IttookmeafewyearstogetovermyfalseideathatIcouldneverbeagoodmusician.MyfatherhadboughtmeaguitaryearsbeforeasaChristmaspresent.Itwassittinginadustycaseinmyroom,neglected.IhadrecentlymetamannamedJacob,anotheramazingmusician.Jacob’stalentwaswithstringinstruments,particularlythebass.IaskedhisadviceaboutwhatIshouldlearnfirst.

Hetoldmetolearnmusictheory,soIwentonlineandbegantoread.Ireadalotandstartedtoteachmyselfscales.Iwasstillreallyterribleattheguitarforawhile,butIkeptatit,andslowlyIimproved.

Istressthewordslowly.

IaskedJacobtoteachmeguitar,andhesaidhewould.IquicklyfoundoutthatJacob–despitebeingawonderfulplayer–isahorribleteacher.Hisproblemisthathecannotthinklikeabeginner,hecannotbreakdowntheknowledgeandpresentitinbitesizedpiecesthatareeasytoswallowanddigest.

Iwrotethisbookwiththatinmind.

Duringtheprocessofteachingmyselftheguitar,Ilearnedalotabouthowtoteachguitar.IappliedwhatIlearnedtowritethisbook,whichisintendedtohelpyouunderstandthe

circleoffifths,andlearntouseitpractically.Thisbookisdesignedtobethethirdstepontheroadofmusic.Thefirsttwostepsarethebooksthatcomesbeforethisinmyguitarseries.

Youcanfindthefirstbookhere.

Youcanfindthesecondbookhere.

IbeginwithashortexplanationofMusicalLanguage,thenIexplaintheStringsandFretboard.Thisinformationisidenticaltothefirsttwochaptersinthefirstandsecondbooksoftheseries,becausethisbookisdesignedtostandalone–Idon’twantsomeonewhodoesn’tdesiretopurchasemyotherbookstobeinthedarkaboutsomething.Ifyou’vealreadyreadthosesections,Isuggestyourereadthemasarecap,butitisn’tstrictlynecessary.

I’mstilllearningtoday.Musicisextremelycomplicatedandeclectic.IknowforafactthatIwillnevermastermusic,butthat’snotmygoal.Mygoalistobeabletoplaywithotherpeopleandenjoydoingit.Icandothatnow,andifyouworkhard,youtoowillbeabletohavefunwithmusic.

Iwishyouthebest,

MusicalLanguageIhighlyrecommendyoureadthisbookwithpaperandpencil.Writeoutthecircleof5ths,musicalnotes,patterns,andanythingelseyouarelearning.

Thefirststeptotrulyunderstandingscalesistounderstandtheguitarfretboard.Iwouldrecommendmemorizingthefretboardtoanyonewhoisseriousaboutlearningguitar.But,onceyouunderstandthebasicstructureyou’llseepatternseverywhere.

Musicismadeupofnotesthatfollowapattern.Youcanthinkofthesenotesinalotofways,butmostofthemwon’thelpyoutocommunicatewithothermusiciansorusethehugeamountofthematerialalreadyavailable.Thereisamusicallanguagethathasbecomestandard:everyoneusesitsoeveryonecancommunicate,strangerornot.

ThebackboneofthismusicallanguageisthefirstsevenlettersoftheEnglishalphabet,generallybeginningwithC.Youshouldknowthatthisisanarbitrarystartingpoint,thereisno“first”noteor“last”note.

C•D•E•F•G•A•B

Certainnoteshavein-betweennotes,thesearecalledsharpsandflats.

Inthisbook,I’mgoingtousea#signtoindicatethatanoteissharp,andalowercasebtoindicatethatanoteisflat.

Forexample,thenotebetweenAandBisAsharp(A#)orBflat(Bb).AsharpandBflataredifferentnamesforthesamenote.Whenyou’regoingupthenotes,oftenyouusesharps(C•C#•D)andyouuseflatswhengoingdown(D•Db•C)Allofthesharpsandflatswrittenoutinorderlooklikethis:

NoticethatbetweenBandC,andbetweenEandFtherearenosharpsorflats.ThisdoesnotmeanthereisnoEsharp.WhatitmeansisthatEsharpisF.

Youcanthinkofasharp(♯)asanoteplus1/2,andaflat(♭)asanoteminus1/2.Aplus1/2(A♯)isthesameasBminus1/2(B♭).

Thefretboardofaguitar(andeveryotherstringinstrument)canbedescribedentirelywiththesenotes.

TableofContents

TheStringsandtheFretboardTheguitarhassixstrings.Theletterassociatedwitheachstringdecideswhereintheseriesofnotesyoubegin.Onaguitarinstandardtuning,thesixstringsare:

e(thineststring,highpitch,knownasthehighEstring)

B

G

D

A

E(thickeststring,lowpitch,knownasthelowEstring)

NOTE:lowandhighrefertothepitchofanote,NOTthepositionofthestringontheguitar.Lowisdeep,highishigh.

Aneasywaytorememberwhichstringiswhichisbyassociation.Iliketolinkstringstogether.Thetwostringsontheoutside(thethickestandthinneststrings)arebothE.OnestringinfrombothEstringsareAandB.Ifyougoup(inpitch)fromthelowEstring,theyareinalphabeticalorder(AthenB).Theinsidetwostringsarealsoinalphabeticalorder(DthenG).

Youcanalsouseamnemonicsuchas:

EddieAteDynamite,GoodByeEddie

ForboththelowEstringandhighEstring,thenotesare:

IfyouplaythelowEstringopen,itwillbethenoteE.IfyouplaythehighEstringopen,itwillbeadifferentEnote.IfyouputafingeronthefirstfretoftheEstringthenotewillbeF.IfyouputafingeronthefifthfretoftheEstringthenotewillbeA.

NOTE:Afretisaraisedelementontheneckoftheguitar,usuallyasmallmetalbarinsertedintothefretboard.Whenastringinstrumentdoesnothavefrets,thefretboardiscalledafingerboardinstead.

ThingscangetREALLYcomplicatedhere,I’lltrytokeepitassimpleaspossible.

Ontheguitar,eachfretrepresentsonesemitone.Asemitoneisalsocalledahalfsteporahalftone.Twelvesemitonesmakeoneoctave.Anoctaveistheintervalbetweenonemusicalpitchandanotherwithhalfordoubleitsfrequency.

Insimpleterms,anoctaveisthedistancebetweentwoofthesamenotes.CtoCforexample:

TheContheleftisanoctaveawayfromtheContheright.

Everytimeyougofromonenotetothenextnote,yougouponesemitoneoronehalfstep.CtoD♭isonesemitone,oronehalfstep.D♭toDisalsoonesemitone,oronehalfstep.CtoDisawholestep.

Let’sreturntothestringsontheguitar.Hereisadiagramthatshowsafretboarduptothe12thfret:

NoticethatthelowEstringisatthebottom.Whenyouholdtheguitar,thelowEstringwillbethestringclosesttoyou.

Imagineyouhaveafewrulers.Ifyoulaythemallnexttoeachother,thenumberslineup:

Butifyouslideoneoftherulersover,thenumbersdon’tmatchupanymore.

BUT…thedistancebetweeneachnumberisstillthesame.1isstill1awayfrom2.2isstill1awayfrom3,andsoon.

Thisisexactlyhowstringsaresetup.IfyouhadaguitarwithsixEstrings,itwouldlooklikethis:

Ifwedowhatwedidfortherulerexampleand‘slide’onestringover,theseriesofnotesstaysthesame,butthepositionsofthenotesrelativetoeachotherchanges.Thisiswhattuningastringdoes,withoutmovingthestringitself.Ifwetuneeachstringsotheguitarisinstandardtuning(EADGBe),thefretboardlookslikethis:

Thisbringsupanimportantpoint.Whatisthedistancebetweenstrings?Whatisthedistanceonthe‘musicalruler’betweenthelowEstringandtheAstring?Whatabouttheotherstrings?

Thisdistanceismeasuredwiththenumberofsemitonesittakestogetfromonenoteto

another.

Eachnumberofsemitoneshasaname,shownbelow:

0semitones-Unison(example:CtoC)

1semitones-Minor2nd(example:CtoC#)

2semitones-Major2nd(example:CtoD)

3semitones-Minor3rd(example:CtoD#)

4semitones-Major3rd(example:CtoE)

5semitones-Perfect4th(example:CtoF)

6semitones-Augmented4th/Diminished5th(example:CtoF#)

7semitones-Perfect5th(example:CtoG)

8semitones-Augmented5th/Minor6th(example:CtoG#)

9semitones-Diminished7th(example:CtoA)

10semitones-Minor7th(example:CtoA#)

11semitones-Major7th(example:CtoB)

12semitones-Octave(example:CtoC)

Tofigureoutthedistancebetweenstrings,allyouneedtodoiscountthenumberofsemitones.

E…F…F#…G…G#…A

Fisone.F#istwo.Gisthree.G#isfour.Aisfive.SoEandAareaPerfect4thaway.Let’sdothesameforAtoD.

A…A#…B…C…C#…D

A#isone.Bistwo.Cisthree.C#isfour.Disfive.SoAandDareaPerfect4thaway.

DtoGisalsoa4th.

GtoBisaMajor3rdaway.

G…G#…A…A#…B

Last,BandEarea4thaway.

Youdon’tneedtomemorizealloftheintervalsbeforemovingon.Eventually,itwillhelpyoutoknowthemall.I’llcoverthisinformationingreaterdetailinafuturebook.

Fornow,Isuggestyouremember:

3semitones-Minor3rd

4semitones-Major3rd

5semitones-Perfect4th

7semitones-Perfect5th

12semitones-Octave

TableofContents

IntroductiontotheCircleof5thsThecircleof5thsisanextremelypowerfulmusicaltool–ifyouknowhowtouseit.

Thecircleof5thsisavisualtool,awayofarrangingnotesinthepatternof5ths.

Thisbookismoreadvancedthanthefirsttwointheseries.Youneedsomebasicmusictheoryknowledgetoreallyunderstandwhatisgoingon.Ifyou’vereadthefirsttwobooksinmyStraightforwardGuitarLessonsseries,you’reperfectlypreparedforthelessonsinthisbook.

Ifyouhaven’t,youcanstilllearnthecircleof5thsandgetsomethingfromthisbook.

First,let’slearnhowtobuildthecircleof5ths:

BeginwithacircleseparatedintotwelvesectionsthathasaCatthetop.ManymusicalthingsbeginwithC.

Tofigureoutwhatthenextnoteis,weneedtodosomecounting.

Recallthatthedistancebetweennotesiscalledaninterval.Tofindthenextnoteinthe

circleof5ths,weneedtofindthenotethatisa5thawayfromC.

A5thissevensemitones,sowecancountfromC:

C…C#…D…D#…E…F…F#…G

C#is1.Dis2.D#is3.Eis4.Fis5.F#is6.Gis7.

SoGisa5thawayfromC,andthenextnoteonthecircleof5ths.

Wecancontinueinthismanner,countingtofindthefifths.

FromGwecancountupanothersevensemitones:

G…G#…A…A#…B…C…C#…D

Disthenextnoteonthecircleoffifths.

Trycountingouttheremainingnotesyourself.Stopwhenyougettothebottomofthecircle.ThatnoteshouldbeF#,andthecirclewilllooklikethis:

Youcancontinuearoundthecircle,countingforwardsevensemitoneslikeyou’vebeen.Ithinkit’seasiertogobacktothetopandcountbackwardfromCaroundtheleftsideofthecircle.

FromCwecountbackward7semitones:

C…B…Bb…A…Ab…G…Gb…F

Recallthatwhenyoucountbackward,youuseflats(b)insteadofsharps(#).BbisthesamenoteasA#,justwithadifferentname.

Continuecountingbackwarduntilyou’vefilledtheentirecircle.

Ifyouwanttofigureoutthecircleof5thsinthefuture,youcanalwayscountitoutagain.

Ifinditusefultousemnemonics,patternsoflettersthathelpyouremembertheorderofnotes.

Youcanremembertherightsideofthecirclewiththismnemonic:

CarolineGetsDrunkAndEatsButterFlies

Theleftsidecanberememberedwiththismnemonic:

CarolineFondlesBEADs

TheBEADnotesaretheflats.

Nowthatyoucanbuildthecircleof5thsandhaveawaytorememberit,let’sgetintowhyitsuseful.

Hereisthemostimportantideaintheentirebook:

Thelettersaroundthecircle(C,G,D,etc)canrepresentmorethanjustnotes.Theycanrepresentnotes,keys,orchords.

I’mgoingtodiscussallthreeuses,sodon’tworryifthisimportantideadoesn’tmakesenseyet.Itwill.

TableofContents

NotesandtheCircleof5thsIhighlyrecommendyoureadthisbookwithpaperandpencil.Writeoutthecircleof5ths,musicalnotes,patterns,andanythingelseyouarelearning.

FirstIwanttotalkaboutnotesandtheirusewiththecircleof5ths.

Let’ssayyouwanttoknowwhatnotesareinaCmajorchord.

YouknowthefirstnoteisaCbecausethefirstnoteofaCchordisalwaysC.

Cmajorisa3notechord:

C??

Thesecondnoteinamajorchordisalwaysamajorthirdawayfromthefirstnote.

Amajorthirdisfoursemitones(ortwowholesteps)sowecancountfromCtofindthemiddlenote.

C…C#…D…D#…E

NowourCmajorchordlookslikethis:

CE?

Thethirdnoteinamajorchordisalwaysa5thawayfromthefirstnote.Youcouldcountsevensemitonestofindthatfifth,oryoucouldrefertoyourcircleoffifthsandseethatGisa5thawayfromC.SothenotesofaCmajorchordare:

CEG

Youcanalsousethecircleof5thstonavigateyourfretboard.

Mostguitarplayersknowstandardtuning,meaningtheycanidentifythestringsbynotename:thelowEstring,A,D,G,B,andhighEstring.

ForarefresherrefertothesectionTheStringsandtheFretboard.

Eachofthesestringsgetsitsnamefromthenotethatsoundswhenitisplayedopen.

Let’ssayyouwanttoknowwhatthenotesofthe7thfretareforallsixstrings.Youcouldcountallsevensemitonesforeachnotetofigureitout…butthatwouldtakeforever!

Instead,youcanrefertoyourcircleoffifths.

Thenoteatthe7thfretofthelowEstringisa5thawayfromtheEnotethatsoundswhenyouplaythelowEstringopen.

Thiscomesfromthedefinitionofa5th,whichyoualreadyknowis7semitones.

FindtheEnoteonthecircleof5ths.NowlookatthenotesnexttotheE:thereisaBnoteandanAnote.Bothofthesenotesarea5thawayfromE,justindifferentdirections.Sinceweareascendinginpitchonthefretboard,wemustgoclockwisearoundthecircleof5ths.

TIP:Ifyouareascendinginpitch,goaroundthecircleclockwise.Ifyouaredescendinginpitch,goaroundthecirclecounterclockwise.Thiscanbeconfusing,sotakeaminutetothinkaboutitsoyoudon’taccidentallygothewrongway!

Youcanfigureouttheothernotesonthe7thfretjustaseasilyusingthecircleof5ths.

FortheAstring,the7thnoteisE.

FortheDstring,the7thnoteisA

FortheGstring,the7thnoteisD.

FortheBstring,the7thnoteisF#.

ForthehighEstring,the7thnoteisthesameasforthelowEstring:B.

Canyouseethepattern?

Youcanusethe7thfretasreferencenotesforotherfrets.Forexample,ifyouwantedtoknowthenoteatthe5thfretofthelowEstring,youcouldjumpa5thupfromEtoB,whichisthe7thfret,thenfallbackawholesteptothe5thfret.AwholestepdownfromBisA.

Itsoundslikealotofstepswhenyouwriteitout,butinyourbrain,thatprocesshappensquickly.Betteryet,afteryou’vedoneitafewtimes,you’llrememberthenoteswithouteventryingbecauseyouunderstandtherelationshipbetweenthenotes.

Eventually,you’llknowtherelationshipsbetweennotessowellthatyoudon’tneedtojumptothe7thfretandfallback.You’llknowimmediatelythatAisaperfect4thofE.

Youcanbuildacircleof4ths,major3rds,minor3rds,etc.Afteryou’vemasteredthecircleof5ths,Isuggestyoumakecirclesfortheotherintervalssoyoucanseethepattern.

Thecircleof5thsisundoubtedlythemostimportant,butyouwillstillbenefitfrommakingcirclesbasedonotherintervals.

TableofContents

MusicalKeysandtheCircleof5thsFirst,let’sdoashortrecap:

Manyscalescanbeputintooneofsevencategories(knownasmodes)basedonthepatternofintervalsbetweenthenotes.

Forexample,beginonthenoteCandincludeonlythenaturalnotes(naturalnotesdon’thavesharpsorflats):

C•D•E•F•G•A•B•C

Ifyoucounttheintervalsbetweenthenotes,yougetthispattern:

W=Wholestep(2semitones)

H=HalfStep(1semitone)

W•W•H•W•W•W•H

Youcanconfirmthisyourselfbycountingwholeandhalfsteps:

CtoDisaWholestep.

DtoEisaWholestep.

EtoFisaHalfstep.

FtoGisaWholestep.

GtoAisaWholestep.

AtoBisaWholestep.

BtoCisaHalfstep.

ThisscaleisintheIonianMode

ScalesbuiltwiththepatternoftheIonianModearecalledMajorScales.

ChordsbuiltfromthenotesofamajorscalearecalledMajorChords.

So,howdoesthishelpusunderstandmusicalkeys?

Well…Amusicalkeyisasetofnotesthatcorrespondstoaparticularscale.

Ifyou’reinthekeyofCmajor,youknowthatallofthenotesintheCmajorscalearepartofthatkey:

C•D•E•F•G•A•B•C

Ifyou’replayingasonginthekeyofC,all(ormost)ofthenotesandchordswillbemadeofthenotesshownabove.Thekeyisyourguide:ittellsyouwhichnotesarelikelytosoundgood,andwhichnotesarelikelytosoundbad.

Whenyouplayusingonlynoteswithinakey,thatmusicissaidtobediatonic.Mostmusictodayusesnotesoutsideofaparticularkey.Whenyouuseanoteoutsideofaparticularkeyitiscalledachromaticalteration.

Whenplayeddiatonically,musictendstosoundvanilla.Therearenoextraorspecialqualitiestothemusic.Inotherwords,it’sboring.Chromaticalterationsmakemusicmoreinterestingwhenusedcorrectly.Thisideaisveryimportantinmusic.Idon’tcoveritinthisbook,butIintendtoinfuturebooks.

Theseterms(diatonicandchromaticalteration)arenotnecessaryforunderstandingthecircleof5ths.ThedifferencebetweenthemwillbeimportantforunderstandingsomeoftheexercisesIdiscussinlatersections.

Here’swhatyoushouldremember:diatonicmeansyouonlyusenotesfoundinakey.Whenyoustayinthatkeybutintroducenewnotes,theyarechromaticalterations.

Let’ssayyou’vebeenplayinginthekeyofCmajor.You’veonlybeenusingthenotesyouknowarepartoftheCmajorscale(diatonic)…butyou’vegottenboredwiththosenotes.Youwanttointroducesomenewnotes(withoutanychromaticalterations,inthiscase)…youwanttochangethekeyofthemusicyouareplaying.

HowdoyouknowwhichkeywillsoundgoodafterCmajor?

Yourefertoyourcircleof5ths.

Youshouldnowthinkaboutthelettersaroundthecircleof5thsasmusicalkeys,NOTnotes.

ThekeysthatwillsoundgoodafterCmajorarenexttoCmajoronthecircleof5ths:

GmajorandFmajor.

NOTE:Otherkeyscanalsosoundgood,notjustonesa5thawayfromthekeyyouarein.

Let’slookatthenotesinGmajorandFmajortoseewhytheyfitwellwithCmajor.

ThenotesofGmajorandFmajorcanbefiguredoutbycountingusingthepatternofamajorscale(Ionian):

W•W•H•W•W•W•H

ForGmajorthenotesare:

G•A•B•C•D•E•F#•G

ForFmajorthenotesare:

F•G•A•Bb•C•D•E•F

NoticehowforbothGmajorandFmajor,sixofthesevennotesarethesameastheyareforCmajor.

ForGmajor,theFbecomesanF#.

ForFmajor,theBbecomesaBb.

Ifyou’replayinginthekeyofCmajorandyouswitchtothekeyofGmajor(orthekeyofFmajor),onlyonenotechanges.Thatmeansitwillbealoteasierontheearsthanifyouweretoswitchtoakeythatdoesn’tshareasmanynotes.

Forexample,ifyouwereplayinginthekeyofCmajoranddecidedtoswitchtothekeyofF#major,yournoteswouldbe:

F#•G#•A#•B•C#•D#•E#•F#

TheonlynotesharedbythekeysofCmajorandF#majorisB.Thatmeanseveryothernotewillbenew.Allofthenewnoteswillbehardontheearsandmakethetransitionawkward.

Hereinliesthepowerofthecircleof5thswhenappliedtomusicalkeys.

So…whatifyoudidwanttotransitionfromthekeyofCmajortothekeyofF#major.Wealreadyknowyoucannotgothereimmediately,therearetoomanynewnotesforthetransitiontogosmoothly.

Whatyoucandoisworkyourwayaroundthecircleof5ths,usingthekeysin-betweenCmajorandF#major.

Forexample,youcouldbegininthekeyofCmajorandplaysomenotes.ThenyoucouldswitchtoGmajor(introduceonenewnote)andplaythereforashorttimebeforetransitioningagaintoDmajor,ormaybeAmajor.Amajorisn’ttoofarawayfromGmajor,sothetransitionwon’tbeawkwardifdonecorrectly.Youcouldcontinueinthismanner,movingoneortwokeysatatime(introducingthenewnotesontheway)untilyouarriveatF#.

Bydoingthis,youintroducethenewnotesoneortwoatatime.Yougetthelistenercomfortablewiththenewnotesbeforeintroducingsomethingnew.

Youcanthinkaboutthislikewalkingupahill.Ifyouwalkupahillwithagentleslope,it’snotverydifficult.Ifyouinsteadwalkupahillofthesameheightwithaharshslope,itISdifficult.Ittakeslongertowalkupthegentleslope,butit’seasiertodo.Inmusic,youalmostalwayswanttotakethelisteneronthegentlepath.

Asyoubecomeabettermusicianandunderstandmusictheorybetter,youwillbeabletomakedifficulttransitionssoundbetter.Thesedifficulttransitions,whendonecorrectly,makemusicmore‘interesting’forthelistener.

Thinkofitthisway:sayyou’reagoodenoughmusicianthatwhenlisteningtomusic,youcanhearthenotesbeingused.Thisgivesyouagoodideaofthenotesthatarelikelytocomenext,becauseyouknowallofyourscales,yourcircleof5ths,andmore.

Butthenthemusicianplayingusesanoteyouaren’texpectinginawaythatsoundsgood.Youweren’texpectingit,butitwasn’tawkward,sothemusichasbecome‘moreinteresting.’

Spendsometimethinkingaboutthisidea.Moreimportantly,improvisewithyourguitarincertainkeysandpracticingchangingtonewkeys,introducingnotesslowly.

Youshouldalsotrytransitioningtokeysontheothersideofthecircleoffifths.Hearwhatthechangeinnotesislike.Trytounderstandwhysomethingsoundsgoodorbad.IgivemorespecificsaboutthisideainthesectionCircleof5thsforMinorKeys.

Foryourreference,I’veincludedallofthenotesforeachMajorkeybelow.Theyappearintheorderprovidedbythecircleof5thssoyoucanseewhichnoteschangeasyougoaroundthecircleclockwise.

Notes&PatternsofMajorScales

(ScalesintheIonianModes-Pattern:W•W•H•W•W•W•H)

CMajor

Notes:C•D•E•F•G•A•B

GMajor

Notes:G•A•B•C•D•E•F#

DMajor

Notes: D•E•F#•G•A•B•C#

AMajor

Notes: A•B•C#•D•E•F#•G#

EMajor

Notes: E•F#•G#•A•B•C#•D#

BMajor

Notes: B•C#•D#•E•F#•G#•A#

F#Major

Notes: F#•G#•A#•B•C#•D#•E#

DbMajor

Notes: Db•Eb•F•Gb•Ab•Bb•C

AbMajor

Notes: Ab•Bb•C•Db•Eb•F•G

EbMajor

Notes: Eb•F•G•Ab•Bb•C•D

BbMajor

Notes: Bb•C•D•Eb•F•G•A

FMajor

Notes: F•G•A•Bb•C•D•E

TableofContents

ChordsandtheCircleof5thsNowlet’stalkaboutusingthecircleof5thsforchordsinsteadofnotes.

Forthepurposeofourdiscussion,thelettersaroundthecircleof5thsnowrepresentchordsinsteadofnotes.TheCatthetoprepresentsCmajor,theG,Gmajor,andsoon.

Let’ssaywe’reinthekeyofC.Arguably,thetwomostimportantchordsinanykeyarethetonicchord(Cmajor,inthekeyofC)andthedominantchord(alsoknownasthe5chordbecauseitisa5thawayfromthetonicchord).

TIP:Thedominantchordprovidesthetensioninakey.Youcanthinkofitastheoppositeofyourrootchord.It’sthedifferencebetweenthechordsthatprovidesthetension.

BecausetherootchordisCandweknowthecircleof5ths,it’seasytofigureoutwhatthedominantchordrelativetoCis:Gmajor.

This5threlationshipisimportant,andthecircleof5thsgivesyoueasyaccesstotheinformation.

Manychordshaveeithera5chord(7semitones)oradiminished5th(6semitones).

Ifyouknowyourcircleof5ths,buildingthesechordsiseasy.

Thisapplicationofthecircleof5thsmayseemunimportantatthispointinyourstudyofmusictheory,butitwillbecomeimportantwhenyougetintochordconstruction.

TableofContents

SharpsandFlatsThecircleof5thsalsotellsyouifthereareanysharpsorflatsinakey,andevenwhichnotesaresharporflat.

Beginatthetop.ThekeyofChasnosharpsorflats.

Ifwegoclockwisearoundthecircle,thenumberofsharpsincreasesbyoneforeverynoteuntilwereachF#…

ThekeyofGhasonesharp.

ThekeyofDhastwosharps.

ThekeyofAhasthreesharps.

ThekeyofEhasfoursharps.

ThekeyofBhasfivesharps.

ThekeyofF#hassixsharps.

Here’showyoutellwhichnotesaresharpinthe6keyslistedabove.

BeginatG.Gocounterclockwisearoundthecircle2letters.YouenduponF.

TheonesharpinthekeyofGmajorisF#.

ForD,dothesame:gocounterclockwisearoundthecircle2letters.YouenduponC.OneofthesharpsforthekeyofDisC#.Theothersharpisonemorelettercounterclockwise:F#.

ForthekeyofA,dothesame:gocounterclockwisearoundthecircle2letters.YouenduponG.OneofthesharpsforthekeyofAisG#.Theothertwosharpsareoneandtwomoreletterscounterclockwise:C#andF#.

ThispatterncontinuesuntilyoureachthekeyofF#.

Herearethesharpsallwrittenoutsoyoucanseethepatternmoreeasily:

KeyofG:F#

KeyofD:F#•C#

KeyofA:F#•C#•G#

KeyofE:F#•C#•G#•D#

KeyofB:F#•C#•G#•D#•A#

KeyofF#: F#•C#•G#•D#•A#•E#

Hereisanotherwaytothinkaboutthispattern.Fromthekeyyouarethinkingabout,skiponelettergoingcounterclockwise.Alloftherestoftheletters–asyoucontinuecounterclockwise–aresharpsofthatkeyuntilyoureachF.

TIP:DonotconfuseFwithF#onthecircleof5ths!Thisproblemcanhappenwiththeflatstoo,don’tconfuseAforAb,DforDb,andsoon.

ForthekeyofA:

GocounterclockwisefromA…skipD…thesharpsareG#•C#•F#…justasshownabove.

Flatshaveasimilartrick.

Ifyougocounterclockwisearoundthecircle,thenumberofflatsincreasesbyoneforeverynoteuntilwereachDb.

ThekeyofFhas1flat.

ThekeyofBbhas2flats.

ThekeyofEbhas3flats.

ThekeyofAbhas4flats.

ThekeyofDbhas5flats.

Here’showyoutellwhichnotesareflatinthe5keyslistedabove.

BeginatF.Gocounterclockwisearoundthecircleoneletter.YouenduponBb.

The1flatofFisBb.

TofindtheflatsinthekeyofBb,youdothesamething.

BeginatBb.Gocounterclockwisearoundthecircleoneletter.YouenduponEb.

OneflatinthekeyBbisEb.TheotherflatinBbisBbitself.

Thepatternis:includeonenotepastthekeyinquestiongoinginacounterclockwisedirection,andallofthenotesbeforethekeyinquestionuptoBb.

Herearetheflatsallwrittenoutsoyoucanseethepatternmoreeasily:

KeyofF:Bb

KeyofBb: Bb•Eb

KeyofEb: Bb•Eb•Ab

KeyofAb: Bb•Eb•Ab•Db

KeyofDb: Bb•Eb•Ab•Db•Gb

NOTE:RecallthatF#andGbarethesamenotewithdifferentnames.ThisisanimportantpieceofinformationrightnowbecausetheF#atthebottomofthecircleof5thsiscalledaGbhere.It’scalledGbbecausewearelookingattheflatsofkeys.

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Circleof5thsforMinorKeysFirstIwanttotalkaboutminorscales.TheinformationI’mabouttoshareisimportanttounderstandthecircleof5thsforminorkeys.

RecallthatamajorscalefollowstheIonianpatternofwholeandhalfsteps:

W•W•H•W•W•W•H

ThiscomesfromthepatternnaturalnotesmakeifwebeginonC(naturalnotesdon’thavesharpsorflats):

C•D•E•F•G•A•B•C

CtoDisaWholestep.

DtoEisaWholestep.

EtoFisaHalfstep.

FtoGisaWholestep.

GtoAisaWholestep.

AtoBisaWholestep.

BtoCisaHalfstep.

TIP:Thewhitekeysonapianoarenaturalnotes,theblackkeysaresharpsandflats.Thepianokeyboardisanexcellentwaytovisualizenotes.

Minorscalesaresimilar,theonlydifferenceisthepatternofnotes.

ThepatternforaminorscalecomesfromtheAeolianmode,thepatternofnaturalnotesifwebeginonA:

A•B•C•D•E•F•G•A

Ifwecounttheintervalsbetweenthenotesweget:

W•H•W•W•H•W•W

AtoBisaWholestep.

BtoCisaHalfstep.

CtoDisaWholestep.

DtoEisaWholestep.

EtoFisaHalfstep.

FtoGisaWholestep.

GtoAisaWholestep.

Atthispoint,youknowhowtousethecircleof5thswithMajorkeys.

Butwhatifyouwanttoapplythecircleof5thstoMinorkeys?

Yourunintotwofundamentalproblems.

Recallthatoneuseofthecircleof5thsistofindoutwhichnotesinakeyaresharporflat.

C,atthetop,haszerosharpsorflats.It’sagreatplacetostartbecausethecircleisseparatedintotwosides:therightsidetellsyousharps,andtheleftsidetellsyouflats.

Ifwetrytobeginonthesamenote(C)forminorsaswedidformajors,werunintoourfirstproblem:

Cminorhasthreeflats,soitisn’tagoodplacetobeginourcircleof5thsforminorkeys.

WecanfindtheflatsinCminorbycountingusingthepatternforaminorscale(theAeolianpatternfromabove)

W•H•W•W•H•W•W

C•D•Eb•F•G•Ab•Bb•C

CtoDisaWholestep.

DtoEbisaHalfstep.

EbtoFisaWholestep.

FtoGisaWholestep.

GtoAbisaHalfstep.

AbtoBbisaWholestep.

BbtoCisaWholestep.

Lookatyourcircleoffifths,ontheleftside.ThethreeflatsforCminorareBb,Eb,andAb.

IfweputCminoratthetop,thereisn’taneasywaytofigureoutthesharpsandflatsforthekeyofCminor.

Thatsumsupthefirstproblem.

Butthereisasecond,BIGGERproblem…

Oneofthemostusefulapplicationsofthecircleof5thsislookingattherelationshipbetweenkeys.

Ifyou’reinthekeyofCmajor,it’sveryeasytochangetothekeyofGmajor,ortothekeyofFmajor,becausethereisonlyonenotedifferent.Wealsoknowthatit’sdifficulttochangetoakeyontheoppositesideofthecircle,likeF#major,becausealmostallofthenotesaredifferent.

Minorchordsworkinthesameway:youcanchangefromCminortoGminoreasilybecausethereisonlyonenewnote,butitwouldbedifficulttochangefromCminortoF#minorbecausealmostallofthenotesaredifferent.

Butwhatifyouwanttochangefromamajorkeytoaminorkey?

Thisisthebiggerproblem:ifwebegintheMinorcircleof5thswithCminor,thereisnowaytoseetherelationshipbetweenmajorandminorkeys.

Transitionsbetweenmajorandminorkeyshappenfrequentlyinmusic.

Tosolvethisproblem,weneedadifferentsetup.Weneedtostarttheminorpartofthecircleof5thsonadifferentnote.

Sohere’showwesolvethisproblem:

We’regoingtomakeacircleof5thsthatalsoappliestominorkeys.Thiscirclewillhaveasecondringofnotesontheinsidededicatedtominorkeys.

Atthetop,underneathC,we’regoingtoputAminor(Am).

Here’swhywechooseAminor:

ThenotesforCmajorare:

C•D•E•F•G•A•B•C

ThenotesforAminorare:

A•B•C•D•E•F•G•A

Noticethatthenotesarethesame,justinadifferentorder.

NOTE:Whentwodifferentkeyshavethesamenotes,theyarecalledrelativekeys.AminoristherelativeminorofCmajor.YoucouldalsosaythatCmajoristherelativemajorofAminor.

Let’smoveoneletterclockwiseonourcircleof5thsforminorkeys.

ThisnotewillbeEminor(Em).EminoristherelativeminorofGmajorbecausetheysharethesamenotes(thoughthenotesareinadifferentorder).

Noticehowonourmajorcircleof5ths,AandEarenexttoeachother.Thesameistrueofourminorcircleoffifths,AmandEmarenexttoeachother.

Wecancontinuethispatternaroundthecircle.

NextweaddBminor,whichcorrespondstoDmajor.BminoristherelativeminorofDmajor.

Forthenextletter,youcouldcalleditDbminor.Itwouldtechnicallybecorrect,butcallingitDbminoractuallymakesyourlifemoredifficult.

Rememberhowforthemajorcircleof5thstherightsideofthecircleisallsharps,andtheleftsideisallflats?

Lifewillbeeasieriftheminorcircleof5thsfollowsthesameconvention.

We’regoingtocallthatnoteC#minorinstead,tomakeitsharp.

We’lldothisforthenextcouplenotes:

ThenotethatcorrespondstoBmajorisG#minor.

ThenotethatcorrespondtoF#majorisD#minor.

Then,becausewe’reontheleftsideofthecirclenow,we’llswitchtoflats.

ThenotethatcorrespondstoDbmajorisBbminor.

ThenotethatcorrespondstoAbmajorisFminor.

ThenotethatcorrespondstoEbmajorisCminor.

ThenotethatcorrespondstoDbmajorisGminor.

ThenotethatcorrespondstoFmajorisDminor.

Nowwehaveourcompletecircleof5ths,withbothmajorandminorkeys:

Nowlet’sreturntotheissueoffindingsharpsandflatsforkeys.

RecallthatCmajor,atthetop,haszerosharpsorflats.

BecauseAminoristherelativekeyofCmajor,theysharethesamenotes,andasaresultAminorhaszerosharpsorflats.

Ifwegooneletterclockwise,wehaveGmajorandEminor.

Gmajorhadonesharp:F#.

BecauseEminorsharesallofitsnoteswithGmajor,weknowthatEminorhasonesharp:F#.

Dmajorhadtwosharps:F#andC#.Bminor,therelativekeytoD,alsohastwosharps:F#andC#.

Flatsalsoworkthesameforminorkeysastheydidformajorkeys:

ThekeyofFmajorhasasingleflat:Bb.BecauseDminoristherelativekeyofFmajor,ittoohasasingleflat:Bb.

Thisistrueforallofthemajor/minornotepairsontheadvancedcircleof5ths.

Sowe’vesolvedthefirstproblem:sharpsandflatsareeasytofindwiththisarrangementofnotesonthecircleof5ths.

Let’slookatthesecondproblem:usingthecircleof5thsasamapofkeys.

WealreadyknowthatatransitionfromCmajortoGmajoriseasy,becauseonlyonenoteisdifferent.

SinceEminorhasallofthesamenotesasGmajor,weknowthatCmajorandEminoronlyhaveonenotedifferent.

ThatmeansitwillbeeasytotransitionfromthekeyofCmajortothekeyofEminor.

WealsoknowitwouldbedifficulttotransitionfromCmajortoD#minorbecausealmostallofthenotesaredifferent.

NowIwanttotalkaboutonelastproblem…whatifyouwanttotransitionfromCmajortoAminor(orbetweenanyotherrelativekeypair).

CmajorandAminorshareallofthesamenotes,sohowcanyouswitchbetweenthem?

Let’ssayyou’rejamminginCmajor.YourtonicnoteisC,sothefirstnoteyouplayisaC.ThenyoupicksomeothernotesfromtheCmajorscale.Afterthesenotes,youplaythetonicnoteagain:C.

Comingbacktothisnoteiscalledresolving.YouresolveonC.

TotransitionfromCtoAm,youwouldsetupthemusictoresolveonAinsteadofonC,effectivelyshiftingthetonicnote.

SoyouplayaCnote,thenyouplaysomenotesoftheCmajorscale(thesamenotesthatmakeuptheAminorscale).InsteadofresolvingontheCnoteyouplayedfirst,youendonanAnote.

Thislastpartprobablysoundsprettyconfusing.IsurefounditconfusingwhenIfirstlearnedit.(SUPERconfusing.)

Here’stheexercisesIdesignedformyselfthatmadeitclick:

PlayaCmajorscaleonyourguitar.Usethosenotestojamaround.MakeuprandomstuffusingonlythenotesfromyourCmajorscale(recallthatusingnotesonlyfromaparticularscaleiscalleddiatonic).AlwaysbeginwithaCnote,andendonaCnote.Itdoesn’tneedtobethesameCnote,butinthebeginningIfounditeasiertoalwaysendonthesameCnote.

NOTE:Inthebeginningitwillsoundgoodabout5%ofthetimeifyourexperienceisanythinglikeminewas.You’llhitgoodstringsofnotesonaccident,butmostofthetimeyou’llpickawrongor“sour”note.ThisispartofthelearningprocesssoDON’TWORRYABOUTIT.Eventuallyyou’llgetbetterandmostofyournoteswillsoundsweetinsteadofsour.

PlaybeginningandendingonaCnoteforalittlebit(itcouldbe10minutes,oracoupledays.It’salluptohowcomfortableyoufeelplayingthenotes).

MoveontothisnextpartwhenyouknowallofthenotesoftheCmajorscaleandcanplaythatonyourguitar.

Onceyoucandothat,startendingyourstringsofnotesonanAnoteinsteadofonaCnote.

Itwill(probably)soundawkwardatfirst,buteventuallyyou’llstarttoseewhichstringsof

notesresolvetoAwell.

Youcan(andshould!)dothiswithalloftherelativenotepairsonthecircleof5ths.

Youshouldalsopracticingswitchingbetweenkeysthataren’trelative.

Forexample,youcouldjaminthekeyofGmajor.MakeupstringsofnotesusingonlynotesfromyourGmajorscale.

Then,whenyoufeelready,switchtousingonlynotesfromyourDmajorscale.

Whenyoudothis,beginonaGnote,playsomenotesintheGmajorscale,thenresolveonaDnote.Fromthenon,playnotesintheDmajorscale.

Trythiswithkeysthatarefartheraparttoo.

JamforabitinGmajor,thenswitchtoAmajor.Morenotesarenew,soyouhavetofindcleaverwaystointroducethosenewnotesoryourmusicwillsoundawkward.

Inthebeginning,ITWILLSOUNDAWKWARD.

Don’tworryaboutit.

Justkeepjammingandeventuallyyou’llseeandunderstandtherelationships.Practiceandexperienceareexceptionallyimportantinmusic.

NOTE:Above,inthissection,Isuggestyoudoalloftheseexercisesdiatonically.Isuggestthisbecause,inthebeginning,thinkingaboutnotesoutsideofascaleistoomuch.Yourfocusisn’tonhowtomakechromaticalterationssoundgood,it’sonhowyoutransitionbetweenkeys.Oncekeytransitionsareeasyforyou,youabsolutelyshouldintroducechromaticalterations.Don’tworryaboutthatyet.Focusonthecircleof5thsandwhateverelseyouarelearningrightnow.

NotesofMinorScales(withrelativekeys)

(AeolianModePattern:W•H•W•W•H•W•W)

AMinor(Relativekey:CMajor)

Notes:A•B•C•D•E•F•G

EMinor(Relativekey:GMajor)

Notes:E•F#•G•A•B•C•D

BMinor(Relativekey:DMajor)

Notes:B•C#•D•E•F#•G•A

F#Minor(Relativekey:AMajor)

Notes:F#•G#•A•B•C#•D•E

C#Minor(Relativekey:EMajor)

Notes:C#•D#•E•F#•G#•A•B

G#Minor(Relativekey:BMajor)

Notes:G#•A#•B•C#•D#•E•F#

D#Minor(Relativekey:F#Major)

Notes:D#•E#•F#•G#•A#•B•C#

BbMinor(Relativekey:DbMajor)

Notes:Bb•C•Db•Eb•F•Gb•Ab

FMinor(Relativekey:AbMajor)

Notes:F•G•Ab•Bb•C•Db•Eb

CMinor(Relativekey:EbMajor)

Notes:C•D•Eb•F•G•Ab•Bb

GMinor(Relativekey:BbMajor)

Notes:G•A•Bb•C•D•Eb•F

DMinor(Relativekey:FMajor)

Notes:D•E•F•G•A•Bb•C

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ConclusionSoyou’vefinishedthisbookandyou’rewondering…whatdoIdonext?

Ifyou’veenjoyedthebook,IwouldappreciateitifyouleftmeapositivereviewonAmazon.Itmeansalottometohearaboutyourexperiencelearningmusictheoryfrommybook.

Youcanleaveareviewquicklybyclickinghere.

Inregardstomusic…

…Practice.

Practicetheinformationpresentedinthisbookuntilyouknowitbackwardandforward.Playwiththenotesonpaper.Lookforpatterns.Playyourguitarandlookforpatterns.

Musicispatterns.It’sallabouttherelationshipsbetweennotes.Understandingthoserelationshipswellenoughthatyoucanmakequickdecisionswhileyou’replayingthatsoundgoodtakesaLOTofpractice.

Ifyouhavequestions,comments,suggestionsoranythingelse,shootmeanemail.

Scott.SimpleLessons@gmail.com

Feelfreetosendmeanemailaboutanything!I’mfriendly,Iswear.

Allthebest,

Scott

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OtherBooksI’veWritten

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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZQ4P7A8

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PBSV27Q

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010LP0TTK

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015424XUG

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R2AJH3M

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