Welcome to the fascinating world of guitar chords! While this report is not meant to replace any of the fine harmony/theory books available that elaborate in greater detail, I think you will find it contains information that you can quickly and easily use to enhance and expand your own guitar playing – regardless of what style of music you play. So let’s get right into it!

A two octave C major scale would contain the following notes going from low to high:

C1 – D2 – E3 – F4 – G5 – A6 – B7 – C8 – D9 – E10 – F11 – G12 – A13 – B14 – C15. Notice that there is a number following each of the notes. These are the scale degrees that will be used to explain the spelling of the various chords.

A C major chord would consist of the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of the major scale or C, E and G. Instead of just playing a C major chord you could embellish the song by using any of the following chords which will sound richer and fuller:

*C major6th – which contains the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th degrees or C, E, G and A

*C major7th – which contains the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th degrees or C, E, G and B

*C major6/9 – which contains the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 9th degrees or C, E, G, A and D

*C major9th – which contains the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th degrees or C, E, G, B and D

*C major13th – which contains the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 13th degrees or C, E, G, B, D and A

Hopefully, this report has helped clarify some of the confusion and mystery surrounding major chords and harmony in general. I hope you’ll start having some real fun experimenting with all the new possibilities that you’ve just learned in this report!

Never B#, Never Bb, Just B Natural,

Steven Herron

Peabody Conservatory trained guitarist Steven Herron is the owner of Chord Melody Guitar Music which specializes in fingerstyle and pickstyle guitar sheet music, tab books with CDs, instruction videos and DVDs for all styles of guitar – including jazz, classical, flamenco, rock, blues, country and acoustic. He also teaches a Free monthly internet guitar lesson complete with audio sound clips that you can easily sign up for at the Chord Melody Guitar Music website – http://www.chordmelody.com

Step 1: Warm Up Your Hands and Fingers

Your hands will get a good workout when you play and practice the guitar. Just as a typist whose hands perform repetitive motion for a significant number of hours can develop carpel tunnel syndrome, so can you too injure the delicate tendons in your hand. You can experience very painful cramps and in extreme cases could lead to loss of ability to play the guitar at all. You should spend at least 5 minutes warming up your fingers and hands before you perform either of these activities. One of the most important guitar playing/practicing tips for newbies is to take a break if you play or practice for longer than an hour. The following exercises are ideal for warming up your hands and fingers:

* Use each hand to gently massage the other one; concentrate on the base of the area located at the base of the thumb
* Place your hands against one another, pressing your fingertips together
* Stretch your fingers out as far as you can and then curl them inward; repeat twice

Step 2: Practice Chromatic Scale

While playing either major or minor chords is a traditional method that guitarists use when they start practicing, this feature of guitar playing/practicing tips for newbies would be remiss if it did not recommend that students of the guitar practice the chromatic as often as they can. The chromatic scale is among the guitar playing/practicing tips for newbies because you play all 12 notes on the guitar in half steps. This scale is contrary to a whole note scale, which consists of playing the notes in whole steps.

Step 3: Get Down to Playing

You have looked forward to another opportunity to play your guitar and here you are. If you haven’t prepared for your practice session by choosing your lesson beforehand, the guitar playing/practicing tips for newbies for this step include suggestions for what you could practice/play during your session.

* Learn a new chord
* Choose to learn one section of a new song
* Practice picking, strumming, plucking, or all three

Step 4: Cooling Down

The cooling down phase is a time to bring your session to a close. Instead of abruptly stopping and putting your guitar away, this is the time to sort of reward yourself by leaving the session on a positive note. Whether you are practicing or playing the guitar, you are probably challenging your skills. In the cool down you ease out of the challenging phase.

The following are the best guitar practicing/playing tips for newbies for cooling down:

* Play a short, familiar piece that is comfortable for you
* Don’t focus on playing your finale piece with perfection; just play it
* Closing your eyes while you play the finale can help to calm you if the practice session was difficult or frustrating

For more more information about guitar practicing please visit http://www.guitar-directory.net

There are musicians who are more than comfortable remaining anonymous. You know, happy to hide behind their guitars or keyboards and be sidemen to the stars of today or tomorrow. Then there are those that have grandiose aspirations of stardom, adoration and limelight. And then there are those who have a driving desire and need to say something original artistically, to express themselves and to communicate that expression to an audience, be it a small niche market or wider demographic.

Those falling into the first category can make a living, albeit fairly modest as a general rule. Those falling into the second category often live in a little bit of a dream world and, depending on their tenacity and ’smart’ skills, usually end up disappointed because the focus is set on the destination rather than the journey. The third category usually reap the rewards of the second category gaining all the success and limelight, but as a result of focusing on their art rather than the shallow and flighty end of the musician’s world. These are usually the most fascinating people too, because they generally have a little mystery about them and because they actually possess what most entertainers really want; sincere and dedicated talent!

But there are also those that are in the early stages of artistic development who are still learning their craft, and open to influences. Possibly they will become great artists in the future, possibly not. It will be a question of choices and consequences, and doors opened and opportunities taken advantage of – or not. Life certainly will take you places.

But for those that do have aspirations of artistry and expression, then I firmly believe you must have qualities that others do not have. As an artist I believe one must stand out from the heard in order to be heard. It is so easy to make a record these days. One no longer needs to have the luxury of a recording contract in order to stand on a pedestal and say I am an artist – buy my record! With home studios costing one 16th of the price they did ten years ago and with software programs that do it all, you can churn out albums by the dozen if you put your mind to it. And many do.

However, just because you can, why would you? – is my question. Just for fun? OK, valid I suppose. But Isn’t it better to spend that time and energy searching relentlessly for something unique and different? God knows record companies are releasing enough crap by the hour, even signed artists are now under the impression they have got something to offer. Maybe they have, but for the most part I don’t think so (as public reaction and their soundscans will attest!)

Perhaps I am being extremely unfair, but I think too many artists do not realize that they have a responsibility to say something profoundly unique, certainly if they expect any kind of career longevity. We live in a world where musicians spend their lives emulating their heroes; singers spend their lives emulating Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra and so on. Rock guitarists spend their lives emulating Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Paige, Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen. Jazz guitarists are proud emulators of Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Wes Montgomery. Saxophone players worship Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Michael Brecker. And so on…

Before I go on I have to say that emulating heroes is absolutely imperative in your formative years as musicians. You simply MUST listen to the greats, past and present. One has to have a strong grounding and musical knowledge and one simply cannot get there without listening. However, way too many ‘artists’ cannot get passed this stage. They need to have peer approval, have to know that other respected musicians around them recognize them and applaud their abilities. Often all this takes place subconsciously.

This ‘peer approval’ is a stage of development that is also important. Every musician goes through it at some point. It is absolutely natural, but I firmly believe that to become a great artist, you have to move beyond that stage and look inward. I always liken it those wedding band singers, who despite having an honorable and justifiable (and in some cases envious) career, they are all too often the ‘performing monkeys’. They are often fine vocalists but at the end of the day they are seeking approval and applause and not communicating or expressing anything artistic. They certainly know how to entertain but do they know how to intrigue? It’s a huge gap. Nothing remotely subtle about it as far as I am concerned.

The real communicating artists seek unique expression. They are not interested anymore in sounding like their heroes. They have moved past that, now searching constantly, developing and refining their own unique voice. Look at any of the true giants of yesterday and today. Yes you can hear their references, but they also have their own strong identity. At some point during their development something bigger than them took over. The chances are they knew it at the time and took advantage of it and made an extra effort to really hone that uniqueness.

Finding that unique inner voice might not be as easy for some. I think it starts by recognizing your technical weaknesses. It is often those weaknesses that ultimately end up becoming your artistic strengths. Let’s face it, if you were able to play the guitar technically perfect, at all speeds, meticulously so every note that came out was totally clean and audible, would this be ultimately interesting to an audience? Yes it might be very clever and impressive, but for how long could you listen to an album where every phrase felt like you were having your teeth drilled!!?

Wes Montgomery played with his thumb because he kept dropping his pick, ultimately enabling him to become the greatest and most influential jazz guitarist of all time. BB King has about three licks in his entire blues repertoire. Does anyone NOT know BB King when they hear him? Thelonius Monk refused to conform to traditional piano techniques and musical ideas. He simply HAD to play music the way he heard it in his head. He made such a bold musical statement during his time that he is emulated the world over and revered by the greatest musicians living today.

Technical shortcomings can be the very essence of your unique artistry. Now, should those shortcomings get in the way of what you need to say musically then those weaknesses might need to be turned around so they don’t restrict what you hear in your head.

Remember, the true artist simply communicates from within. All other extraneous thoughts, influences and distractions need to fall by the wayside. The minute a lick or a phrase that your hero played or sung (and made famous) ends up on your record – watch out! You might be in trouble. Absolutely steal from your heroes, but just remember that real artistry is about what YOU have to say, not what your heroes have already said before, and have possibly said better.

Push yourself to the max and search for that truly unique quality within. After all, that next great talent we are all so desperately waiting for might just be you!

Chris Standring is a contemporary jazz recording artist who performs throughout the USA and Europe regularly. He has enjoyed much radio airplay with several albums, opening up a busy touring schedule. His music appears on many compilation CDs also. For more info on Chris’ popular home study jazz guitar course go to http://www.PlayJazzGuitar.com

Visit him on the web at http://www.chrisstandring.com

What is a Power Chord? Power chords are movable chords, meaning we can move their position up or down the neck, to create different power chords. It?s the same shape just starting in a different position. The power chord contains two notes, the root note, and a note called the fifth. Power chords are known as fifth chords (written C5 or E5, etc). Power chord are not a Major or Minor in tonal quality. The sample below is a power chord in TAB Format.

E————-
B————-
G————-
D————-
A—-3——–
E—-1——–

The first fret on the Low E is an F so this is and F5 Power Chord. In this case you want to play only the two notes on the Low E and A strong.

E————-
B————-
G————-
D————-
A—-7——–
E—-5——–

The fifth fret on the Low E is an A so this is and A5 Power Chord. In this case you want to play only the two notes on the Low E and A strong. Notice this is exactly the same shape as the F5 just move up one step or two frets.

In both of these examples we are looking at power chords with the root note (the one that names the chord) on the Low E or sixth string. The same chord shape can be played with the root note on the A or 5th string.

E————-
B————-
G————-
D—-9——–
A—-7——–
E————-

The 7th fret on the A string is an E so this is and E5 Power Chord. In this case you want to play only the two notes on the A and D string, and mute the note on the Low E with the tip of your finger pressing down on the 7th fret of the A string.

The following Power chords are the same chord but played in different positions on the fret board. Confused?

E————-
B————-
G————-
D—-9——–
A—-7——–
E————-

E————-
B————-
G————-
D————-
A—-2——–
E————-

Don?t be. Play around with these cool little chords. Add some distortion to your amp and play the notes with all down strokes while alternating string mutes. This is the basic techniques used in most hard rock, metal and grunge styles of Rock N? Roll.

Bill McRea is the publisher of Guitar Warehouse the best place to Buy Guitar and learn Guitar Playing Techniques. Visit our site for over 60 free guitar lessons and our Free eBook on playing guitar.

Now you would think that Brian should pursue his passion for music, and make a career out of it. You are quite right, of course, and that?s what all his friends and family said too. But there was a catch. Brian knew quite a lot about the music scene, but he had nothing to contribute on the stage. He had never learned to play. Not even basic piano lessons at school. And he was certainly no singer. He couldn?t even read music, so teaching it was out of the question. There was a job going teaching English in Korea. It was a contract for a year. Somebody gave Brian an old guitar and some ?how to learn to play the guitar? book to take with him, and he plucked away in his spare time while he was away. When he came back he knew enough to join in with some band mates in jamming sessions. He wasn?t very good, but the guys were happy to have him along because they liked hearing what he had to say about artists and their music. He is like a music encyclopaedia, you see. Sometimes from his knowledge he could suggest fresh ideas for new songs they were working on. But he simply was not a real guitar player. He had to face up to the harsh truth. He was no more than a likeable hanger-on around the bands. Nobody took him seriously. I?m not sure how it happened, but he then found a guitar-training course on the internet, and started to really focus on using it to learn how to play the guitar.

To be fair, he had made a start while in Korea, but had achieved little. It seemed like just a few weeks after he started with this new course that the results started to come. Somehow he was able to take all that music he had been listening to and play it himself, nearly as well as the real thing. It was as if a connection had been made and everything came together. The secret seemed to be the jamming tracks in the course, music he could play along with as well as following the main written and video lessons. The multimedia and interactive participation approach turned out to be far better for Brian than just learning from a book. Nearly as good as personal tuition, in fact. At last he was becoming a real musician, a real guitar player. Next thing he moved on from the jamming sessions with the band to a few filling-in gigs on the stage, then a permanent place in a band. It was the internet guitar-playing course that made the difference for Brian, and transformed his life. Now he really can live out his passion for music and make a living through playing his guitar. And the rest, as they say, is history. Or maybe we should wait a few years, and history could well have more to say about Brian.

Shelby Wright is in awe of the power of the information available on the internet to change people’s lives. You can read a review here of the multimedia guitar lessons referred to in the article above. Shelby also contributes private label rights articles to PLRWrittenArticles and writes an information products review blog.

This is presented in most TAB format as a ?/? slide up and ?s? slide down. First let?s do a simple slide up. Use your 3rd finger on the A string 7th fret pick the note and slid up to the 9th fret smoothly and without stopping. Don?t pick the note on the 9th fret! The Tab is below