Channel: New Secret Guitar Teacher

Category: Music

Tags: playscale fret boardguitar music theorytonesemi tonelearnmajor scale formulasecret guitar teacherscale patternchromatic scaleguitarwhole stepmajor scalescale fretboardscalesformulasemitonetutorialhalf stepmajor formula

Description: Learn all about Tones and Semitones in the third part of the Powering Your Way Up the Pyramid series. Known in North America as Whole Steps and Half Steps, these are the measures of intervals on the chromatic scale and are the nuts and bolts of music theory. Catch up with part one here: youtube.com/watch?v=Y857EfuxCyE&t=1s Catch up with part two here: youtube.com/watch?v=k-VP-v6Q4Cc&feature=youtu.be -- For more videos, tutorials and downloadable content visit the Secret Guitar Teacher site and sign up for a free trial: secretguitarteacher.com -- Abridged Script: The next two levels on the Guitar Music Theory Pyramid really both concern the Major Scale. Tones and Semitones are like the real nuts and bolts of music theory. In North America you more commonly call these Whole steps and Half steps… They are words we use to measure intervals on the chromatic scale. A semitone, or half step, describes the interval between any two notes that are next to each other on the scale and two semitones make a tone or whole step. Remember, the chromatic scale is important because the layout of the frets on the guitar follows the chromatic scale. So, on the fret board, we mostly think of a semitone as being the interval between one fret and the next. The Major Scale Formula is: Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone. Let’s look at how we can put that to immediate use. The easiest way is to apply the formula to notes on any single string. For example, if I start at the note G here at fret 3 on the 6th string. Move up another tone then a semitone tone and another semitone… I have played all the notes of a G Major Scale. Or I could start here on the note Bb at fret 1 on the A string and play all the notes of a Major scale in the key of Bb. More commonly though we use scales across the strings. To do this it is important to know that the strings are tuned five semitones apart - except the 2nd and 3rd strings which are tuned 4 semitones apart. So to play a Major scale by applying the formula across the strings I line up my hand one finger per fret like this. Then play the first note with my SECOND finger then I need a note a tone higher which I can reach on the same string with my pinky. I then want a note a tone higher but I want to find it without moving my hand position, so I move across to the next string (up 5 semitones) and subtract 3 by moving down the fret board three frets and this means finding the note under my first finger here. I then move up a semitone using the second finger and another tone using my pinky again. For the next note I again want to move across to the next string (plus 5 semitones) and down three frets (minus three semitones) and that takes me to the first finger note here another tone using the third finger and the final semitone the pinky again on the same string. So that’s T T S T T T S without needing to move the hand or even stretch it. And that’s how we derive a movable pattern that will produce a Major scale of any note starting on the 6th or 5th strings. On the Secret Guitar Teacher site, we develop this trick quite a bit further to help you find Major Scales for all notes in all positions. And, as the Major Scale is the reference point for all chord formulas and for all other types of scale as well, command of this area of applied music theory is a massive breakthrough for anyone wanting to play guitar in an intelligent way.