In the last post I explained my systems’ concept of locating
all of the basic elements; scales, key components and of
course, the chords themselves off of the type 1(6th string)
and type 2(5th string) roots. The faster you can find these
notes, the faster you can locate all of the information you
need. In this post I will show the type 2 chord forms, both
major and minor and the notes/roots on the first 12 frets.
Note that the type 1 chart in the last post contained all 12
notes/roots in the chromatic scale, so you can already play
one version of every available major and minor chord! The
type 2 form gives a different way and a different fret to play
these chords. So you are not learning all new chords, just
another way to play the 12 major and 12 minor chords you
learned the last time. The reason you need to play the same
chord in 2 different places is to be able to switch chords
fast enough. If you only know type 1 chords and you have to
switch between a G chord and a C chord, you will have to
jump 5 frets, from fret 3 to fret 8 in the type 1 chart. But
if you know both type 1 and type 2, G and C chords are
next to each other on fret 3!, type 1 G and type 2 C both on
3rd fret. By knowing both types of bar chords you will
never have to jump more than 3 frets to get to another
chord. This is crucial when you’re playing a song and only
have a fraction of a second to get to the next chord. Also
notice that after the 6th or 7th frets, type1 and type 2
chords start duplicating on the lower frets, like I said in
the last post. For instance, a type 1 D on the 10th fret
can be played as a type 2 D on the 5th fret. A type 2 G on
the 10th fret can be played as a Type 1 G on the 3rd fret,
etc. With both types of chords you never have to play
any higher than the 7th fret. The higher notes from fret
8 to fret 12 are mainly used to locate scales and key
components. (You still have to get them down!)

Type 2 chord forms (5th string root)

 

  X  1–3–3–3–1   X  1–3–4–2–1     (fingers)

FRETS    NOTE/ROOT NAMES (5th string)

0                   A

1                    A#/Bb

2                   B

3                   C

4                   C#/Db

5                   D

6                   D#/Eb

7                   E

8                   F

9                   F#/Gb

10                 G

11                  G#/Ab

12                  A

TIPS ON MEMORIZING THE FRETBOARD

Learning the type 1 and 2 note names in sequence doesn’t

work that well. Since you know them in sequence it’s

hard to just jump to a fret and know the name, you have to

count out the sequence to get to the fret. Learning to find

a note quickly takes a little more work.

• First, use those fret markers! Those dots on the fret

board are there for a reason. Learn the names of the notes

on the 3rd,5th, and 7th frets (G,A,B for the 6th string and

C,D,E for the 5th string). This will give you a base to build 

on.

-Next, remember your alphabet! The entire musical scale

only consists of the first 7 letters of the alphabet A thru G.

Higher notes on the higher frets, lower notes on the lower

frets. So the next note above B must be a C and the next

note below G must be an F.

-Finally, know your half steps. B&C and E&F are both one

fret apart (half step), everything else is two frets apart

(whole step). Remember this when locating notes.

Along with understanding sharps and flats (explained in

the previous post) you can work out the location of any

note. Practice naming any note (F,D,Bb, etc.) and see if

you can locate it on both strings. It will take a while at

first but if you keep at it you’ll get faster.

This concludes the first quarter lesson plan; 10 minutes

a day, 5 days a week. 5 minutes of bar chord and note/fret

location and 5 minutes of jamming. Remember this 

quarter is about building a practice habit, so go easy!

 

 

 

In this quarter, the goal is to learn the major and minor forms

of both the Type 1 (6th string root),  and Type 2 (5th string

root) chords. The total practice time allotted for this quarter

is 10 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Remember one of the main

goals is to build in the habit of practicing at the same time daily

we need to make this easy!

Everything I teach is located off of these 2 chord types; scales,

key components as well as chords. The faster you can locate a

chord, the faster you can find a scale or a key. Knowing type 1

and 2 roots is the foundation of my system. Since we have 3

months I’m figuring about 5 minutes of chord review and drill

with the other 5 minutes devoted to just playing; songs, jamming

whatever. You never want to spend 100% of your playing time

working. This is going to take a year, so you need to have a

little fun. This post will show Type 1 chords, major and minor

forms along with a chart of  the note names for the first 12 frets

of the 6th string.

TYPE 1 CHORDS: Are based off the 6th string root. I am only

showing the major and minor forms since about 99% of every-

thing you will play can simplify down to those 2 forms. (the other

1% are diminished and augmented chords) Below the chord

diagrams is a chart of all the note names of the first 12 frets of

the 6th string. This is the entire chromatic scale (everything) &

realistically as much as you can physically play on the 6th string.

You really don’t have to play the chords much beyond the 8th or

9th fret, you can play those chords on lower frets using type 2

chords (next post). The only reason I’m interested in knowing

the notes above the 8th fret is for naming scales and key com-

ponents, which we’ll learn in the 3rd and 4th quarters. If you

need help understanding sharps (#) and flats (b), I will have

a paragraph under the chord and note chart to explain that.

TYPE 1 (6th string root)

1  3  4  2  1–1      1  3  4  1–1–1      fingers

FRET #   NOTE

0                E

1                 F

2                F#/Gb

3                 G

4                G#/Ab

5                 A

6                A#/Bb

7                 B

8                 C

9                 C#/Db

10               D

11                D#/Eb

12               E

SHARPS AND FLATS

Those symbols you see on the chart above are called sharps

and flats. Don’t be afraid, they’re just modifiers.

-sharps (#) tell you to raise the chord 1 fret higher. For

example, 3rd fret G to 4th fret G#.

-flats (b) tell you to lower the chord 1 fret. For example,

5th fret A to 4th fret Ab.

The reason you see 2 names on fret 4 in the chart above is

because it takes its’ name from the notes on either side.

G# and Ab are the same note! You can call this note either

name right now either G# or Ab. Once we learn a little

theory it will make a difference but right now who cares?

Also notice there are no sharp and flat notes between

E and F or B and C notes.

This wraps it up for Type 1 chords and their roots. Although

a lot of players know thes chords, I have found most are weak

identifying notes on the upper frets because they don’t

play chords up there. Remember these notes will identify

scale and key components as well, so you need to get all of

the notes down. The next post will be Type 2 chords/roots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When your practice time (and self discipline!) are this limited,

you need to remember 3 things:

-start small

-increase time gradually

-remember to have some fun!

The last point is often overlooked, but you probably didn’t start

playing guitar just to practice scales. Through out this practice

routine I am scheduling about 50% of your time for just playing.

If all you do is work every time you pick up the guitar, it starts

to look like a ball and chain!

BASIC TIME FRAME: Total length; 1 year

First quarter; 10 minutes daily x5 days

Second quarter; 15 minutes daily x 5 days

Third quarter; 20-30 minutes daily x 5 days

Fourth quarter; 20-30 minutes daily x 5 days

The extra 10 minutes a day in the 3rd and 4th quarters is for

jamming/songs to equal 15 minutes, or about half of your

total practice session. You don’t have to do it, but I’d try to

as much as possible, after all playing music is why you’re

doing this! You will notice that progress seems slow,

especially at first. This is because learning in 5 minute

bits is not the most efficient way to learn, it takes longer

to sink in, but this is what we’ve got and something is

better than nothing! And it will all add up, by the end of

a year, you will know 48 chords, play major and minor

scales over half the neck in any key and be able to figure

out the chords and scales for any key, plus you will be

a faster and more accurate guitar player. Pretty good for

such a small investment in time and effort.

FIRST QUARTER (10 MINUTES/5 DAYS A WEEK): I’m

starting with the basics. You need to learn the 2 main types

of bar chords and their root notes on the 5th and 6th strings,

all the way to the 12th fret. Everything else I will teach is

based off of these chords and their root notes. You will spend

5 minutes learning the chords/roots and 5 minutes just

playing. Play anything; old songs, new songs, riffs, whatever

you feel like, it’s your 5 minutes!

SECOND QUARTER(15 MINUTES/5 DAYS A WEEK): For

this quarter we add technique exercises. Most players have

3 main problems; they can’t play fast enough, stretch far

enough, or keep picking the wrong strings. I have an exercise

for each of these problems and you can pick 1 or 2 to work

on for 5 minutes a day. The other 10 minutes are the same as

the 1st quarter; 5 minutes on chord review and 5 minutes

just playing. I’m spending extra time on bar chords mainly

because of the roots. You not only need to know the chord

forms, you have to be able to locate the notes! Quickly!

THIRD QUARTER: (20-30 MINUTES/5 DAYS A WEEK)

This is when we learn pentatonic scales. You really don’t

have to know a lot of scales to get big results; in fact, with

only 2 scale positions you can play both major and minor

scales over half the guitar neck in any key! This adds about

10 minutes to our schedule, the rest is review and jamming.

FOURTH QUARTER: (20-30 MINUTES/5 DAYS A WEEK)

Finally we learn key shapes. Learning to locate the chords

and scales of any key visually on the neck cuts out about 90%

of the memory work (and is how a lot of pro’s do it). With

2 easy pictures of the fret board and the knowledge learned

above you will be able to easily locate the chords for any key,

play the scales for that key over half the neck, be a faster and

more accurate guitar player and even have a whole 5-15 minutes

a day to jam and learn a new song or two. Not bad for such a

small investment of time and energy!

The next post will explain the first quarter in more detail.

 

 

 

Several years ago (2016), I wrote a post called Practicing with
No Time, part 1. Although I followed up with part 2, I’ve
decided to present a more comprehensive plan, one that draws
on the posts I’ve presented over the years and allows you to
achieve your goals in 20-30 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week.
People are busy! When I first wrote this post I was aiming at
busy adults with jobs, kids,etc. but now even the kids are over
booked! My first instinct is to tell you to stop working so much
(this is why I play music), but this may not be practical for
everyone. For most people the demands of a job, family,
classes,etc. leave them almost no time for a daily practice
routine. That leaves an hour or two on weekends, where it’s
easy to resort to the same old stuff. Although breaking out of
this routine can seem impossible, my years of teaching
stressed out adults have shown me ways to deal with this. It’s
challenging, but not impossible! This post emphasizes the
same 3 points I made in the other one, because the basic
realities haven’t changed. (The next post will outline the
complete plan.)
1-START SMALL: I have no magic bullet; you must lower your
expectations, at least for the short term. If you don’t practice
8 hours a day, 6 days a week you will not be making major
changes any time soon! However if you practice 20-30 minutes
a day, 4-5 days a week (plus that hour jam on weekends) you
can make small changes and small changes add up! You could
be several levels higher in a year or two with a focused
routine. Does that sound too long? How many years have you
already wasted fooling around? Life is a journey, you might as
well relax and enjoy it.
2-MAKE A TIME TO PLAY: This is easier if you start small (10
minutes). If it’s important, you can at least come up with 10
most days at a time when you’re still functional and can
negotiate some peace. Try for the same time every day or
schedule it with an event, like around a meal. It doesn’t have
to be every day; 4-5 days a week is plenty (plus that week
end jam!).
MAKE A PLACE TO PLAY: Most people don’t have separate
music studios. Find the quietest corner of the house, maybe
a bedroom. Get a small headphone practice amp and shut
the door. Keep your guitar on a stand if possible. (If you
have small kids you may need to keep it in a locked case
under the bed). Make it as easy as possible to start playing.
You should be able to start or stop in a couple of minutes.

The reason why I’m starting so small and emphasizing such

basic and obvious points has to do less with becoming an

overnight sensation and a lot more with building a habit. The

first few weeks it doesn’t matter so much what you play, only

that you play. That 10 minutes a day of playing at the same

place and time needs to become a habit, like brushing your

teeth. You probably spend 10 minutes a day brushing your

teeth, but it’s no big deal, you just do it because it’s a habit.

Once a behavior becomes a habit it’s much less of a hassle.

The first few weeks are the hardest and you will probably use

every excuse in the book to quit, but keep at it! Set a timer for

10 minutes and you’re done. It will get easier after a few weeks

and after a few months it will just be something you do, like

brushing your teeth. (If you are not brushing your teeth, get

that down first.)

What can you do in only 10 minutes a day, 4-5 times a week?

Not a lot, but something! And if you can increase the time to

20 minutes (or even 30, gasp!), I’ve developed a core

curriculum that can have you playing; hundreds of chords,

scales over half the neck in any key, taking 6 easy riffs and

turning them into 100’s of solos, all in a year (maybe 2) of

20-30 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week.  Like I said in the

beginning, if a year or two sounds too long, just contemplate

how long you’ve wasted fooling around! The next post will

lay out the syllabus for this.

(Portions of this post are taken from my book “Take Control:for
guitar”, available on Amazon). In the last post, I explained the
basic concept of modal harmony (modes are the same scale/key
but based around different degree roots). Although the concept
of getting 7 different sounds from one key is great, it’s not
very practical in actual use. This is because the song itself needs
to be written in the desired mode to really get the modal sound.
Since most popular songs are written in either major(Ionian),
minor(aeolian), or blues keys, it seems the rest of the modes
are useless, unless you come across the rare popular song
written in a different mode. However it is possible to solo with
exotic sounding modes over “normal” songs by superimposing
them (a fancy term for “dump on top of”). This is because all
modes, even the exotic ones, are considered basically major or
minor in tonality (except Locrian which is diminished). The table
below list the 3 common modal song tonalities; major, minor
and blues followed by the other modes that fit those categories.
I have done this for an E root, since E is a popular key in rock
music. Since modes are just major scales played from a different
root, I put the related major keys in parentheses along with the
scale degree number to play toget the modal sound. In the
table below, “E lydian (B/4)” means you need to play a B major
scale from its’ 4th note (E) to get a Lydian sound. You could
just jam on a B major scale and get decent results, but your
riffs will sound better centered around the E root. Also since
blues harmony contains both major and minor tonality you
get twice the fun! This means you can solo in E mixolydian
(A/5) over a song in E blues like Purple Haze or Pride & Joy!

A word of caution, once you superimpose modes you are

playing a scale that is outside of the original key, whether this

sounds cool or ugly is subjective. Until you do this enough to

get a sense of what will work and what won’t (Lydian is not

good for most country music) I would save this concept for

experimentation.

 

TONALITY                  MODES/KEYS

E Major                E major(E/1) E lydian(B/4) E mixolydian(A/5)

E Minor               E minor(G/6) E dorian(D/2) E phrygian(C/3)*

E Blues                 All of the above, but I have the best luck with

dorian, mixolydian and minor modes.

* Although phrygian is nominally a minor mode, its’ sound is so

distinctive/weird that you can try it over anything, the same with

E Locrian (F/7). Who knows until you try?

 

To sum up the above table, if your song is in E blues tonality,

besides playing an E blues scale, you can also try; D,A, and G

major scales (hopefully centered around the E root). While

none of this is guaranteed, it does open up a lot of possibilities.