Understanding Guitar

One Beginners’ Efforts

As a follow up post to “Create your Own Custom, Unique, Unscripted Guitar Solo!“, I wanted to post the next box to learn — oh, yes — there are more boxes.  There are a total of five Pentatonic Minor scales (in the key of A). The post mentioned above introduced you to the first two - Box 1 and Box 2.

This post will introduce you to what is referred to as Box 3. The music below is Box 3 in A (Making this [also] A Pentatonic Minor). Keep in mind, for this previous series with the 3 boxes (so far) they have all been a A Pentatonic Minor scale, only on different positions on the neck of the Guitar.

A Pentatonic Minor - Box 3

You can download the TuxGuitar file here: TuxGuitar file - A Pentatonic Minor - Box 3

Remember to first memorize and practice the scale. Afterwards you can set yourself free with the scale; you can play around and improvise within the scale. Enjoy!

Bonus: Following is me practicing this scale with effects from my Pod v2. I’m posting it to illustrate how I sound when first learning a scale. I figure that it might make readers more comfortable with their practice to know that my material is full of mistakes also (it would for me). Note: The following is full of mistakes.

As I announced…

…a while back (see blog post), I decided to “start over” as it were. I felt that my practice wasn’t going anywhere and that I needed to reestablish my learning pattern. In my “re-effort” (is that a word?) I eventually stumbled upon (and blogged several times) about GuitarCardio.com.

This site eventually lead me to start researching scales and that presented the question “what was the most effective scale or group of scales to learn”. I eventually came upon something called “the box position.”

What I learned about the box position, to my surprise, is that it was not a set of scale patterns that one learns. It appears to be a description of playing within a single position. That single position doesn’t necessarily need to be the same pattern nor the same type of scale.

For example, the A Pentatonic Major scale in three different positions would be playing in the box position. Additionally, so would playing the A Pentatonic Major scale in 5th position and then the A Pentatonic Minor scale in 5th position.

The Box Position

I spent time researching and trying to understand what exactly is meant by “The Box Position” (a.k.a “The Box Pattern”). My conclusions is rather simple and straight forward.

There is not a fixed set of scales that make up the box pattern; every source or book can (and will) have their own method and scales. Take, for example, the link I’ve provided before on this topic previously: http://www.myguitarsolo.com/sc_box.htm

Their method of presenting the box position includes learning six scales in a specific order (I’m not yet sure if there is significance to the order); while another source, a book this time, shows the box pattern in all Pentatonic scales in different positions on the neck.

Both seem valid, and I have no reason to believe otherwise. That plus in all my research, I’ve not found consistent presentations of the box pattern. This lead me to the conclusion that there is no fix set of scales to make up the box pattern.

The Box Position using The Pentatonic Scale

I was in a bookstore looking to pick up a reference book on guitar scales. I stumbled upon a book titled “Practical Pentatonics” by Askold Buk. It is a small 44 page book about how flexible the Pentatonic scales can be and what can be done if applied, umm, creatively.

Now, obviously, due to copyright laws ( ) I can’t give away or post any of the examples they have in the book. That isn’t the point of the post, anyway. I want to share, in my own words, what I’ve learned and discovered from this book. Of course, if you become interested in this topic, I’d encourage you to purchase this book or a book like it (though, I’ve not found others like it).

Examples

Below are some basic examples. First, I’m going to start out with a basic Pentatonic Minor Scale in the key of A. [If you can not see the rest of the post, please view the post on UnderstandingGuitar.org. Most RSS readers will not display the following content properly.]

Read the rest of this entry »

During my time with a guitar, I’ve occasionally (who am I kidding, more then occasionally) ran in to music or practice pieces that have frustrated the living heck out of me.

I really not kidding, there are times where I just about threw my guitar because I just couldn’t take it. (Luckily, I never actually did that; but I have felt like it before.)

While you are learning something new, especially something as complicated as learning to play a musical instrument, you can will become frustrated. It is just a matter of time.

I stumbled upon this great blog post about frustrations, specifically aimed at learning to play guitar. I liked the article and I think it is very worth while to read (regardless whether your instrument guitar).

http://blog.littlerockjams.com/2008/01/21/everyone-that-has-been-frustrated-during-guitar-practice-raise-your-hand.aspx

And the following YouTube video was mentioned in the article above. I thought that the video was funny…

As I said in one of my later posts, I’ve taken a new direction - a new focus if you will. I’ve been following along with the book “Mel Bay’s Modern Guitar Method Grade 1,” playing the pieces and learning things in the order the book suggests.

Currently, I’m practicing on the the E note, F note and G note on the first string and the B note, C note, D note on the second string. I’m playing a few pieces from the book trying to practice my accuracy as well as my ability to read music (which, to me, is one key in this new quest).

As I was playing the first couple of songs (if I can call them that) from the book, I wasn’t sure if they were sounding like the should. I know that I was following the metronome properly, but I wasn’t sure if I was always hitting the right note at the right time. When you are first learning, so much is going on that it can be hard to ensure it sounds right… How can you tell [if sounds right] when the music is on paper?!

I remembered that I have a tabbing / music notation software called TuxGuitar (The team recently released version 1.0) which will actually play what I tab out. Now, at first, this might seem kind of stupid, but I swear it is working — it is helping.

The computer will always hit the right note at the right time. It is almost liking playing with another guitarist, but one that will never come out of time or make a mistake. Basically, like it is politely correcting you. Furthermore, as I’m playing along with the software I can listen to the notes that are played, and I instantly know via comparison if I’ve just played the correct note or not. When I play the wrong note, I can stop and figure out what the correct note is and work through the mistake.

Below are a couple of the songs that I’ve been playing in the TuxGuitar 1.0 format. You can give it a try.

Frolic - TuxGuitar 1.0 File

E - B - TuxGuitar 1.0 File

Check out this article: http://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=542

The article covers things like Scales, Power Chords and Double stops.

I recently decided to subscribe to Acoustic Guitar magazine. And yesterday, I received my very first issue.

I was incredibility pleased with the issue as they had a wonderful article titled: “Tackling Difficult Chords.” I quickly read the article and I felt that it had some very wonderful tips on how to learn to imprint difficult barre chords in to your memory and fretting hand.

The article uses the F chord and the Bm chord as their example chords. Which is perfect because I’ve been working on the Bm chord. (I recently blogged about it.)

After I read the article I immediately began to apply what it had suggested. I worked with the F chord, the Bm chord and for good measure I threw in the (open) C chord. I’ve been having difficultly with that chord because it is awkward to my hand.

I drilled, and drilled the chords and have done the same thing since I read the article. That was about two days ago. It is probably too early to tell, but I do believe that it has improved my ability to play all three chords. As well as I want? Not quite yet, but it is a work in progress and I’m getting closer.

It is possible that the article just gave me the fuel to drill the chords again… I’m not sure. To any account, I loved the article and it would be worth a read to any one who is still working on memorizing barred chords.

What does the article suggest? I don’t want to give away too much (because I don’t want to plagiarize), but for those who might be interested…

The article starts out by telling you to fret the problem chord.  Play the chord arpeggiated - that is one string at a time. Play the chord twice (I suggest using alternate picking) once going down; from low E to high E then going up, from high E to the low E string.

Once you get to the low E string, release the strings but don’t remove your hand from the current position. Reapply pressure with your fretting hand with the same chord shape and do the arpeggiation again. Repeat until your hand can’t take it (actually, just repeat it a lot). You should pay special attention to whether the strings are ringing clearly or not. Don’t proceed until the strings all ring clearly - consistently.

The article then suggests you strum the chord, doing the same fretting hand pressure release as before. Repeat this a lot.

The article then suggests that you do a two-chord chord progression. One chord is the one you are learning, the other chord being a chord that you are very comfortable with. Repeat that progression. (yes, a lot.)

You may not get to this last step on your first or second day. I think that is fine. Take your time and be patient.

Buy the magazine and read the article. It has a lot more important information than what I’ve just given you.

You may also be able to read the article here: http://www.acousticguitar.com/article/default.aspx?articleid=22034

For more information Check Out: http://igblog.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/free-elixir-electric-guitar-strings/

Update: You can find information here, also: http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2008/Elixir-Strings-Electric-String-Trial-Promotion.html

So, I wrote a very simple chord progression. It is the “start” of a song that I’ve been wanting to write for my wife. Points! Anyway, it is a simple 12 bar blues progression in the Key of G.

At this point, the chords involved (I’ve yet to dress it up at all) include G Major, C Major and D Major. However, I’m experiencing a problem that I think most beginners have or will experience… I’m having trouble switching between the chords quickly enough for the pace I’ve set the progression at – that is, I’m not switching between the chords fast enough.

I’ve been practicing the progression with little improvement and keep in mind that I’ve been playing these chords for at least the last 4 months — almost daily!

To be honest, it started to aggravate and frustrate me… I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. But I’m also very analytical, so I decided to do some research via Google search to find some tips.

I found two tips; the first one more helpful than the second one but the second one is worth looking at.

The first tip to change chords quickly: http://www.cyberfret.com/chords/changing/index.php

What the above article explains is an exercise to learn how to form the chord before you actually place your fingers down. The exercise is basically to form the chord and raise your hand off of the fretboard a 1/4 of an inch or so… Then, put it back (you’d stay on the same chord)… Repeat this process and your hand should (theoretically) learn the new chord’s form.

The article explains that putting the entire chord shape down at once is much quicker than individually positioning your fingers. (That, obviously, makes sense.. In practice, however, it is a lot easier said that done…)

The second tip comes via YouTube:

Update: [5/1/2008]: Acoustic Guitar Magazine published a great article along the same lines as this topic. Check it out!

Recently I decided to disband from my guitar teacher and go back to self-study for now. When I originally picked up a guitar, I thought that I’d learn how to play myself.  Over time, though I realized that I’d be better and would get further with an instructor.

My search for an instructor begins… I found two instructors. The first one was not a good teacher at all. That instructor was a good player and could sight-read music, but didn’t have the ability (and perhaps the patients) to teach others. I think the instructor was doing it for money while in college. That ended after the first session.

Very shortly later, I found the second teacher. I continued with the teacher for the last 5 months. And I must say my playing did vastly improve as a result of working with the instructor. We went over everything, form Chord Theory to proper technique. It was all helpful!

So, you might ask why I decided to discontinue working with the instructor.  I think the answer is quite simple. While the instructor wasn’t bad, I didn’t feel they were that good either. Sometimes the pace was too fast and at other times the material didn’t seem to “flow” and furthermore, sometimes when I didn’t understand certain material the instructor could not explain it so it made sense. So, I worked with the instructor for a time and got out of it what I needed.

I now plan on taking what the instructor taught me and continuing to build my skills. I’ve also planned on utilizing books to aid in my learning. (If anyone can suggest good books or training material, I’d love to hear it!)

I do plan on eventually going back to using an instructor but I think I need some time to absorb and practice what I’ve learned.

Yep, Still around. Got back from Atlanta just fine. I’ve just been busy with things.

Anyway, I have a post. I’ve been trying to study Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb. The song is in the key of Bm (from what I understand, I’m still not sure what that actually means) and because it is in Bm, the first chord is the Bm chord (Again, this is just what I’ve been told).

If you are unfamiliar with the chord, it is one of though dreaded barred chords. And it has literally been hurting my hand every time I try to play (usually it takes 15 to 20 minutes before notice). Below is a Chord Chart I threw together in case you are unfamiliar with the chord.

I still have a lot of trouble forming the chord quickly. (This is basically the first time I had a reason to play it so much. Needless to say, I should have practiced it more than I did…. But that is another post). In addition to having trouble forming the chord, it doesn’t always come out cleanly. I’d like to improve both aspects of this and I’ve been attempting to do that by following the advice I’ve been given on my previous post: “Call for Public Opinion - Mistakes”

I am trying to take it slow and I’m trying to get used to it. I’ve come to the conclusion that part of the problem that I’m having with the chord is not one that I can correct right away. I believe that the strength of my hand simply needs to be built up. Over time, after playing this chord (and other barred chords) it will become easier and will overall take less effort. I just need to be patient.

If any experienced players have advice for novice players on chords like this, please share. As I’m sure you remember from your early years, barred chords are a real pain for beginners.

Update: [5/1/2008]: Acoustic Guitar Magazine published a great article on playing difficult chords — it specificity includes the Bm chord! Check it out!