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The Awesome Harmonic Minor Scale

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The harmonic minor scale is often used in neo-classical, gypsy and jazz music.

But also rock guitar players like to step outside of the pentatonic or minor scale now and then and add this kind of middle eastern sound to their solos to keep things interesting.

It really catches the ear of the listener because something different and exciting is happening. John Petrucci, Joe Satriani and Marty Friedman are good examples of guitar players who incorporate the harmonic minor tastefully into their solos.

If you’re ready to add some cool flavor to play over a minor chord or dominant seventh chord then let’s dive into it:

Formulas
The harmonic minor scale contains 7 notes. The scale formula = 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7. So compared to the major scale (1 2 3 4 5 6 7) it’s got a minor third and a minor sixth.

The harmonic minor scale and the natural minor scale (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7) are pretty much the same expect the harmonic minor has raised it’s 7th by one semitone.

If you play an harmonic minor scale on a single string the pattern of whole and half steps are:
“whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole & a half, half”.
(half step = 1 fret, whole step = 2 frets, whole & a half = 3 frets)
So the formula in semitones = 2 1 2 2 1 3 1

Here’s how you play an A harmonic minor scale. The root note starting on the 6th string (Low E-string)

Here’s the harmonic minor scale starting on the 5th string (A-string): D harmonic minor scale.Continue Reading

A Beginners Path to Learning Guitar

By Klaus Crow 13 Comments

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You want to learn to play guitar but you’re having trouble finding which way to go next. Well, don’t worry, today we have a roadmap or beginners path to learning guitar that will show you where to start and how to continue on your journey.

The learning path to guitar playing will not be the same for everyone. It depends on what style or genre you want to learn and your ultimate goal.

Do you want to become a shredding guitar virtuoso or are you more a singer songwriter type? Do you want to become a solid blues guitar lead player or work your way to an acoustic fingerstyle wizz or a hybrid picking country cowboy?

Whatever your choice is, if you want to start learning popular music, folk music and work your way towards blues, rock, alternative, metal, country or jazz this beginners path is a good starting point.

You don’t necessarily have to stick to the order of this list, there is more than one way to skin a cat. There are always side roads and other things you can learn besides this list. But this beginners path is a good indication to create the solid building blocks you need to becoming a pretty decent guitar player.

Somewhere down to road you got to choose which way to go next, but you’ll figure out when the time is right.

Notes:
– If you want to learn to play classical guitar this is probably not the beginners path you want to follow.
– Take your time. Learn each aspect thoroughly. Even though learning basic chords and an easy song can be mastered in days, this path is not a plan for days or weeks but more for months, years and even a lifetime.

Don’t forget: “It’s about the journey, not about the destination.”

Exploring The Natural Minor Scale

By Klaus Crow 13 Comments

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Whenever you want to solo over a song in a minor key you can safely use the minor pentatonic or blues scale. However it will always sound rock or bluesy one way or another.

Sometimes the melody of a song asks for something else than just that rock/bluesy feel. A diatonic melody approach might then be more suitable. Here is where minor scales come in.

There are a 3 types of minor scales. The natural, harmonic and melodic minor scale. In this post we’ll discuss the natural minor scale.

Formulas

The natural minor scale contains 7 notes. The scale formula is 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. So compared to the major scale (1 2 3 4 5 6 7) it’s got a minor third, a minor sixth and a minor seventh.

If you start on a random note to build a natural minor scale the pattern of whole and half steps would be: “whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole”. (a whole step = 2 frets, a half step = 1 fret)
So the formula in semitones = 2 1 2 2 1 2 2

Relative minor scale

The natural minor scale is also known as the Aeolian mode or relative minor.

Every major scale has a corresponding natural minor scale, also called the relative minor. If you play a major scale and go up to the 6th degree of the scale, then that note will be it’s relative minor. From that 6th note you can play seven notes ascending (going up) in the scale and that will be it’s relative minor scale.

Reward and Celebrate Your Guitar Efforts!

By Klaus Crow 3 Comments

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We all want to practice at a regular basis. If only we could stick to it.

Sometimes we succeed in practicing on a daily basis for a few weeks or even months in a row and then life takes over and we move on to busier and seemingly more important things.

But don’t worry, it’s okay to pause once in a while, reflect on it and just let it be.

And then suddenly that moment comes again when we fuel ourself with inspiration and we get back to the game. Now this time you want to hang in there as long as possible. To do that you need to keep motivating yourself. Motivation is the key to success! One of the ways to motivate yourself is to celebrate your successes and reward yourself.

Let’s say you want to learn a particular song. Depending on the difficulty of the song you can attach an appropriate reward to it.

Or reward yourself for 10 daily practice sessions of 30 minutes in a row and another one for 30 daily practice sessions in a row. Reward yourself for building a 10 song repertoire and playing it in front of people, for writing or recording your song.

Keep the celebrations alive and make it fun!Continue Reading

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