I recently created a few iOS (not Android ) apps for my own use that filled a gap in terms of my having quick access to the tools that I want to use with my own guitar journey.  I liked them so much, that I decided to put them on the Apple App Store:

Guitar Toolkit
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/gtk-guitar-toolkit/id6749509640

A set of tools that I find useful, and still use today:

1. Tuner
2. Metronome
3. Scales - around 100 different scale types together with a visualisation of these on a fretboard
4. Circle of Fifths - interactive CoF tool allowing you to choose your root, and determine your diatonically related chords
5. Position finder - Want to play in a specific key, but in a place on the fretboard that suits you? Want to play without having to slide your hand up and down the fretboard? Use this
6. Mode converter - convert from one musical mode to another in any key
7. Note practice - use this to help you practice and become intimate with where every note is across the entire fretboard.  Hear the note as it sounds on your guitar and choose a speed that suits you
8. Triad practice - some idea as note practice. Pick your string sets, inversions and chords. Practice at a speed and range of chords that suits you.
9. Chord master - work out how to play a specific chord, or find the name of a combination of strings/frets
10. Chord Transposer - take an existing set of chords for a song, and just pick a new key to play it in.  It will transpose every chord. 

A comprehensive song book app:
 

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/gtk-songbook/id6759207277
 

1. Imports ChordPro songs from cloud storage
2. Transpose your songs into different keys.
3. Different views including Nashville Notation
4. Link your chordpro songs with your device music library and play along.
5. Has an autoplay function that allows you to customise speed.
6. Has a visual metronome
7. Has song/genre categories and allows you to create multiple songlists for gigs
8. Export and share your songs with other GTK-Songbook users.
9. A comprehensive chord database (~1200 guitar chords) and ~1200 piano chords.  You can also create your own custom chords.
10. Good backup and restore allowing you to migrate to other devices.
11. Comprehensive help manual.

All offline, not relying on any online services.

 

After a few years of experimenting with fingerstyle guitar and alternative tunings, I remember Open C major tuning (CGCGE) being a bit of an eye-opener. So I made a little video about it - thought a few GC residents might find it interesting!

I've recently decided to start learning how to properly improvise on the guitar. I'm a massive fan of the licks, techniques and melodic sounds from Thin Lizzy (mainly Gary and Scott) and Led Zeppelin. does anyone have and starting point suggestions, I'm not a complete beginner as I have got 95% of crazy train down and a few Thin Lizzy songs like Waiting for an alibi and Dancing in the moonlight etc, I know of a few pentatonic scale shapes and the bare basics of minor third harmonies (I think?). Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

This is my first post here, so please be gentle with me.

OK, so I have been playing on and off for decades (40 years), but I would say I am pretty much still a beginner, at best an intermediate player.  I was originally self-taught and only got to sonngs involving strumming chords, although I longed to be able to improvise like some of my friends could.

So, in these early days (my teens), I knew chords such as A, C, D, E, F, G, Am, Bm, Dm, Em, A7, B7, D7, E7, G7.  Whilst I understood the happy/sad difference between major and minor chords, I had no idea that there was a specific, consistent 'rule' (i.e. in this case 'flatten the third') connecting the major and minor chords.  I didn't even realise that these chords were made up of 3 notes!  It was a total parrot-fashion learning experience for me.

I knew then that the chord 'Cmaj' was often abbreviated to just C.

Now, zoom forward to today, and I know that major triad chords are actually created using notes 1-3-5 of the major scale and notes 1-3-5 of the minor scale are used for the minor scale (moreover, that this is equivalent of the 1-b3-5 notes of the major scale).

However, the terminology used in the naming of these chords now has me utterly confused.  Where Cmaj is the same as C, Cmaj7 is not the same as C7.  Instead, the seventh chord with no major or minor indicated (e,g, C7) is  called the dominant 7th.

So, instead, there are these relationships:

Cmaj :    1 - 3 - 5                  (also known simply as C)

Cm:        1 - b3 - 5

Cmaj7:   1 - 3 - 5 - 7

C7:         1 - 3 - 5 - b7          (also known as C dominant 7th)

Cm7:      1 - b3 - 5 - b7

And this is just the first few chords!!!  I suppose if we never refer to the chord C as just 'C', but always call it 'Cmaj', we could write these out as follows:

Cmaj :   1 - 3 - 5                  (only ever referred to as Cmaj)

Cmaj7:  1 - 3 - 5 - 7

Cm:       1 - b3 - 5

Cm7:     1 - b3 - 5 - b7

C7:        1 - 3 - 5 - b7          (also known as C dominant 7th)

I'm not too sure I'm putting my point across too well here, but I am trying to find a 'system' of my own which gets me out of the confusion in the bold font above.

Now consider the tons of other terms, like diminished, augmented, suspended, never mind the other 'number terms', like 6th, 9th, add9, 11th, 13th, 7th flat 9, 7th sharp 9, etc and it all becomes a minefield!!!

I mean, are we supposed to know what a 'dominant 7th' sounds like and how it differs from a 'major 7th'?

That concludes my question about terminology.

What I meant by formulas is where can I find a complete list of formulas for all these different chord types?  These could be expressed as 1-3-5 (note numbers), C-E-G (key of C. note names), and even as 2W-WH (intervals in terms of Whole and Half Steps).

What I meant by MORE formulas is where can I find a complete list of formulas for all the different scale types and modes?  Again, the Major scale could be writted as 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, for Cmajor scale CDEFGAB(C), and in intervals as W-W-H-W-W-W-H.

Indeed, are there only formulas for chords and scales?  Are there other formula that are important to know?  And no, I don't mean relatively complicated formulae that related string mass thickness and tension to frequency, but rather the stuff we need to know as aspiring guitar players.

I suspect that I am overthinking all this, but I feel that a solid understanding of the underlying theory of music, which I wish I had known years ago, helps with one's own playing.

Recently, I considered buying various wall-charts showing chord diagrams, scales, circle of 5ths, etc, but I was surprised to find comments by buyers claiming that these were erroneous!

So, my question on the formulas is can anyone here please recommend a good (highly regarded and accurate) book which would have all the formulas for chords and scales (and other?) collected in one place?

If you have read all this, thanks for your time.  I appreciate any responses that I might receive.

Cheers,

Simon.

Video

Tabs

Cheers, Mikko

I leave the fingerings up to each person who tries it.

Please, enjoy !!!!

It's fun and actually mind opening to compose without key. This is something I do in many cases. Sometimes for little portions inside the composition and sometimes for whole piece. Check out the video and tabs. Maybe there's something that helps you find new perspective in your composing and playing.

Cheers, Mikko

Video:

Tabs:

Cheers, Mikko

I made two versions of it. First one is kind of a practice for conterpoint and second one is the basic melody+harmony. I will show the later one in close on the video.

If you are interested, PDF & Guitar Pro files for both arrangements from
https://www.patreon.com/landscapeguitar 

Video:

https://youtu.be/iLwNqVeI77k

Have nice waiting of Christmas!

Cheers, Mikko

Hello, everyone.

I've been playing guitar for about four months and recently got myself an Ibanez GRG121DX-BKF guitar and an audio interface.
When I play the same note quickly on any string, I hear a strange “squeaking” noise. Could you tell me if this is a problem with my playing technique or the guitar? How can I get rid of it? I'll attach an audio file for a clearer understanding.
Thank you in advance for your help.
 

While I can take a piece of paper and write down the whole scale and figure out the chord qualities / use a guitar music theory poster / or products like BrizBuddy

Is there a rule of thumb to do this in real-time?

15th fret B string

12th fret B string

14th fret G string

12th fret B string

I've got a little flaw in my playing where I sound the open G when removing my finger off the 14th fret.  I'm not pulling off but I still get the open G sound.

I watched Gary Holt (Exodus/Slayer) playing the lick and he doesn't get much unwanted noise but I couldn't see him muting it in any way, it just didn't sound.

How would you keep it clean?  Also if alternate picking, would you start with an upstroke?

Here are some cool easy arpeggios for you to play!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3qwvDeKXf8/?igsh=MWJmYXd3cmIxZzR1Yw==

If you are interested in TABS just DM me (here or on Instagram)

I couldn t upload them here for some strange reasons

If you are interested in more stuff like this, click the follow button, im gonna do much more!

Wasn't sure where to post this so hopefully in the right place.

This question is purely out of interest and i am not wishing to partake in any exams etc, at 61 I am bit old for going back to school but I would like a bit of appreciation as to where my less formal approach would place me in grading systems.  Any form of grading for me would be pointless for me as I play because I like to and not because I am good, and I want to play what I want to play.

What sort of skills and techniques would be required for each grade and how much practice would be necessary?  I have been learning for about a year now with the aid of an on line group supported by occasional assistance from a local teacher which I feel is complimenting the on line course very well.  I am cracking on with a few scales etc, can move around the fret board, have an understanding of chords and rhythms etc, although my technique still needs a lot of work/practice, and all this is is based around music that I want to play.  I think if I looked at the grading system then I'd probably have bits and pieces from all over the grades.  As i said this is out of interest only and I am aware that i am making progress at a pace I am happy with, although sometimes it does seem that sometimes progress can be particularly slow to come with some techniques etc, which I understand is normal.

Thanks

Alan

now I have a Yamaha pacifica 012 and only at the moment have a gear 4 music 15w all and also have a behringer heavy metal pedal which helps when playing something like holiday by green day with the distortion but doesn’t still give me that nice heavy chug sound on the fast palm mute downstrums on other songs, what sort of low/bass mids and high settings would you be aiming for and what sort of pedals could help me out better with that sound an amp is on the cards in future im currently saving but even a pedal for time being to help with sound or on hints and tips on techniques,

 Kind regards 

I wanted to share with you that I've been working on an Android app to aid in learning guitar and bass scales. You can find it on the Google Play Store under the name "Guitar Scales Patterns Lite", and it's entirely free. I'd greatly appreciate your feedback if you decide to give it a try.

... go to Guitar Scales Patterns Lite on Google Play Store

Additionally, there's a paid version available with more scales (over 140). However, I believe the free version offers a good starting point. If you do decide to explore the extended content, you can find it under the name "Guitar Scales Patterns Plus". I created this version to help cover development costs, but I've yet to achieve the desired success.

... go to Guitar Scales Patterns Plus on Goolge Play Store

Sending my best wishes to all.