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15 Easy Beginner Jazz Guitar Chords

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So why do you want to learn jazz chords? Well, jazz chords will spice up and enrich your playing. It doesn’t even matter if you want to play jazz or not, the chords are perfectly suited for/and regularly used in pop, blues, country, flamenco, and other styles of music.

It’s a good collection of chord types and flavors to add to your chord vocabulary, and expand your skill set. You will come across these chords one way or another in the songs you always wanted to learn. So, if you don’t have these chords under your belt yet, now is the time.

If you do want to step up your playing and learn jazz, these chords are a great start and a solid foundation. There are an endless amount of chords used in jazz, but you can already come a long way with just these 15 easy and popular beginner jazz chords.

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How to Play The Major Scale Guitar Guide for Beginners and Intermediate

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The major scale is often called the MOTHER OF ALL SCALES, because all other scales, modes, intervals, chords and harmony in western music can be derived from it. It’s your main reference for all things making music.

If you want to makes sense of what you are actually playing and learn to understand, analyze, create, and be able to play any chord, progression, solo, song or anything else that involves your guitar playing you need to know the major scale. It’s equally valuable for the rhythm guitar player and lead guitar player.

The major scale is also a perfect warming up and dexterity exercise to start your guitar practice with. Two for the price of one.

MAJOR SCALE SOUND
We all know the famous “Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do” melody you learned in preschool. This is the actually the major scale we are talking about here. And it’s important that you know what it sounds like, recognize it, and know how to sing it along.

MAJOR SCALE CONSTRUCTION
The major scale contains 7 notes starting with the root note (1) and the scale is followed by the octave of the root note: 1(root) 2 3 4 5 6 7 + 8 (8 is the octave and is the same note as the root, only an octave higher, so 8 equals 1). Every other western scale, chord or progression formula is compared to and can be derived from the numbering system of the major scale: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

WHOLE HALF NOTE SCALE FORMULA
To form a major scale on a single string we use the Whole-Half step formula: “W-W-H-W-W-W-H”, where “W” = Whole step (2 frets) and “H” = Half step (1 fret). So going one fret up the neck is a half step, and going up two frets equals a whole step. You can construct a major scale on any note, and on any string using this formula.

For example: Let’s start on a G-note (Low E-string/6th string, 3rd fret), now go up a whole step to an A (note), then up a whole step to B, up a half step to C, up a whole step to D, a whole step to E, a whole step to F# and finally up a half step to G. So the notes of the G major scale are: G A B C D E F# G ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8/1).

If you want to know how to find any note on the fretboard check out
Learn the Guitar Fingerboard Thoroughly in 16 Days

OPEN G MAJOR SCALE
An open major scale means you are playing a major scale that also uses open strings. It’s the perfect scale for beginners, but also the intermediate player has to have this one memorized. See TABS below.

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Top 30 Best Intermediate Guitar Fingerpicking Songs

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There’s something hypnotic and soothing about playing fingerpicking songs. Beautiful melodies and harmonies are all integrated in fingerstyle arrangements. Once you’re in the flow of fingerpicking you can play on and on and on. A perfect moment to forget about everything and just be one with your guitar.

Of course, in order to get there you first have to practice. But also practicing in itself is a joy. Overcoming the obstacles and challenges in a fingerpicking song can be really exhilarating. The hard work pays off and gives you a song to play for the rest of your life.

Guitar playing is a win-win situation. You play for yourself but you also make other people happy if you play for them. Fingerpicking is just magical.

If you’re a beginner, here’s a Top 20 Easy Guitar Fingerpicking Songs For Beginners.

But today we have 30 beautiful fingerpicking songs for the intermediate guitar player. From pop fingerpicking hits to classics and golden oldies.

Each song title contains a YouTube link to the original song. The “TABS” and “ORIGINAL TABS” will give you the tablature notation for the song.

Pick one and start your practice session now :)

Enjoy!

1 – Blackbird – Paul McCartney – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

2 – The boxer – Simon and Garfunkel – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

3 – Tears in heaven – Eric Clapton – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

4 – Every breath you take – The Police – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

5 – Never going back again – Fleetwoodmac – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

6 – Dust in the wind – Kansas – TABS

7 – More than words – Extreme – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

8 – Landslide – Fleetwoodmac – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

9 – Good Riddance – Greenday – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

10 – Fire and rain – James Taylor – TABS – ORIGINAL TAB

11 – Let it go – James Bay – TABS

12 – Stop this train – John Mayer – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

13 – Leaving on a jet plane – John Denver – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

14 – Stairway to heaven – Led Zeppelin – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

15 – Bloom – The Paperkites – TABS

16 – Nothing else matters – Metallica TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

17 – Just Breathe – Pearl Jam – TABS

18 – Safe and sound – Taylor Swift ftr. The Civil Wars – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

19 – Tenerife sea – Ed Sheeran – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

20 – Street spirit – Radiohead – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

21 – Road trippin’ – Red hot chili peppers – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

22 – Homeward bound – Simon and Garfunkel – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

23 – Shape of my heart – Sting – TABS

24 – Yesterday – The Beatles – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

25 – I won’t give up – Jason Mraz – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

26 – Let her go – Passenger – TABS

27 – Classical Gas – Mason William – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

28 – Silent Lucidity – Queensryche TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

29 – You’ve got a friend – James Taylor – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

30 – I see fire – Ed Sheeran – TABS – ORIGINAL TABS

The Intermediate Path to Learning Guitar

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The-Intermediate-Path-to-Learning-GuitarAfter a considerable period of time and regular guitar practice you will pass the stage of the beginner and move up to a more intermediate guitar level. You’ve acquired all the basic skills and you’re looking forward to take things to the next step. But what does that actually mean, intermediate level? What should you be practicing now to take it even further?

A lot of guitar players start out all excited in the beginning. They learn how to play songs, fingerstyle, some riffs and solos, but then lack the persistence to follow through. They lean back in their comfort zone, practice less and improvement becomes meager. The basics are solid, but it becomes difficult to maintain the same eagerness and passion to grow into an even better guitar player.

So how do you go from the beginner path to the intermediate path and keep walking? How do you keep that same spirit and pace of improvement to get to the next level? Well today, we’re showing you the intermediate path of learning guitar. The path of progress and becoming the guitar player you set out to be.

Here are the keys:

Level up your chords
Work on learning, memorizing and applying new chords. Learn slash chords to create smooth transitions between chords. Work on a vocabulary of jazz chords that are also often used in pop, rock and blues music like Maj7, Maj6, mMaj7, Min6, m7b5, augmented and dim7 chords.

Apply the chords to songs and keep using them so they are fully integrated into your playing. Learn the chords you already know and new chord types in different positions on the neck to become more versatile and free in your playing.
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