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You are more than happy playing guitar and rocking out to your favorite songs. How do dotted eighth notes fit together? Is guitar theory difficult? Let us know what you think.
Is Guitar Theory Hard?
You most likely learned a song called Smoke on The Water from the first time you learned guitar. Is it all you need to progress on your guitar playing journey? Is it a good time to learn guitar theory? Is guitar theory difficult?
Rhythm
I can hear you saying, “George, I’m a guitarist, not a drummer!” It’s equally important to understand rhythm as it is to break out the master of puppets. Understanding the basic terminology and theory of Rhythm is important.
The majority of music in the Western world is in the time signature of 4 beats per minute. A time signature lets you know how many notes are in a bar of music. You can find all of the notes within that bar.
The quarter note is a straight line with a circle below it. A quaver is half a quarter note. There are semi-quavers. The full four beats of the bar are the full note divisions of half notes or minims.
The music theory behind the understanding of rhythm is easy to understand if you can do basic math.
Values are noted as they appear. The farthest right is the shortest note value that can be represented.
Melody
What is the difference between a song and a dance? Music can be defined as the succession of pitches. The melody is the most memorable part of a song because it gets the audience hooked. The succession of pitches is the most memorable of the classic riffs.
Learning melody is one of the easiest parts of guitar theory. Most guitarists know to start from F, F# and work their way up to the twelfth fret returning to an E note.
You have to be aware of the relationships between major and minor keys in order to comprehend melody. The relationship of the notes in a melody is referred to as harmony.
Scales
There is a collection of notes that are played in a set order. No thanks, that’s right. That doesn’t sound like a band. Scales were used to map out some of the most famous musical phrases. If you’re a soloist, gaining a solid grasp of scales will help open up the fretboard.
Major and minor scales are defined by having flattened and sharp notes along the way. Get Back by The Beatles is a good example of a major key that sounds brighter. Think of A Forest by The Cure when thinking of minor keys. Both songs are in the key of A but have different meanings.
We have different positions for the major and minor scales. Getting a good grasp on scales will help you learn how to play the guitar.
It’s a good way to improve your soloing skills.
Modes
Let’s take a look at the world of modes: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, mixolydian, Aeolian and Lochrian. Do modes matter for you or me to play some cool riffs?
Modes are a collection of musical scales taken from the diatonic scale. They have seven notes and two of them are semitones and five of them are tones. It can be difficult to find and identify all seven modes, but they are related to our scales.
Each mode has a different sound depending on where it began. Modes allow for a new musical which enhances our experience.
Is Guitar Theory Hard?
Is it true? The difficulty of music theory and guitar theory is dependent on how far you are prepared to go. How hard guitar theory is depends on what theory you can use to play the guitar.
Theory is something to think about later on in your journey as a musician if you just want to play some sweet riffs and jam with friends. The basics of modes, scales, melodies and rhythms can be used in everyday playing. brushing up on different positions is a good way to improve your skills. Do you have trouble with strumming? Re-visit those basic rhythms.
I wonder if guitar theory is hard. In your own way, you need to find out.
- Note Values: Peter Hermes Furian
- Unlocking and understanding scales is a great way to improve you soloing skills!: Ground Picture
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