Music theory is a subject that still intimidates even the best players, but it shouldn’t. I used to reckon that if I wanted to be a professional player, then I would have to learn how to sight-read sheet music.

Well I establish out that’s not the truth.

Now it is vital to have a vital music theory knowledge, but you can make a full time living being a highly paid musician, without knowing how to read a single note.

The reason why is that most major producers and studios don’t use sheet music.

They use the number system (Nashville System).

Music theory comes down to number not notes. To this day, I still can’t tell you what note I’m hitting right on the spot. All though if I look I can tell you quick, but I by no means reckon that I’m playing a C, D, E, I only reckon about the facts that I’m playing.

The reason why the number system is so well loved, is that you can promptly transpose music on the glide. Instead of costs hours re-charting out the notes in conventional sheet music.

The number system adds for quick interaction among musicians in live playing situations, which breeds on the glide, creative compositions.

So what is the number system, and how do you use it?

Well the number system is based off the major scale.

If we go to the key of C Major, the we have the notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C

This is how you should play it on the guitar:

E|————————————————–|
B|————————————————–|
G|————————————————–|
D|——————-9-10—————————|
A|———-8-10-12———————————|
E|-8-10-12——————————————|

So not remember about what the notes are for a second, just play the notes in the order higher than, and count to 8.

So instead of saying, C, D, E, F,:

Place a number to the notes, only refer to the notes as their number. I.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (octave)

All you need to know is the key, and you’re able to improvise on the glide.

Learn the major scale, because no matter what key you’re in the 2 chord is always in the same position, the 4 chord, is always in the same position. So you can play and transpose the music on the glide.

So instead of saying, play C-F-G, I just tell you; “Hey we’re in the key of C, and we’re doing a 1-4-5 advance”.

But if at the last minute I say switch the keys to Eb. Then you don’t have to try to run around figuring out what chords to play. You know where the 1 chord is, the 4 chord, and then the 5 chord.

Let’s say spontaneously I want to go to the 6 chord to take the music into a different direction. All I have to do if we were in the key of G is say the number 6 vs. trying to mouth go to E minor.

By studying the number system youÆll be able to increase your interaction to any musician, and augmented interaction equals better music hands down.

The pentatonic is THE scale when it comes down to soloing. 90% of the lick you here are based off the pentatonic and it’s the simplest scale to learn.

The pentatonic scale consist of only five core notes, and the best part is you don’t even have to know what the notes are.

It’s a scale that can straightforwardly be stirred all over the fretboard, used in any key, in any situation, but there’s so much more to it than that.

All knows the vital “box” shape of the pentatonic, but I want to introduce you to the pentatonic modes.

All that means is that where on earth you are on the fretboard, you’ll be able to rip into a solo. As you start to learn these different shapes of the pentatonic your soloing is going to take off, and the fretboard is going to open up.

Practice these shapes every day, and at the end of 7 days I guarantee that you’ll be a better guitarist.

If you don’t know how to read tabs, the simplest way to clarify it is to pretend that the guitar is laying on your lap face up. So you’re looking at a birds eye view of the fretboard, and the facts on the strings point headed for which fret you need to play.

Let’s start.

If we were in the key of G, the standard box shape of the minor pentatonic would look like this:

E|———————3-6—————————————–|
B|—————–3-6———————————————|
G|————-3-5————————————————-|
D|———3-5—————————————————–|
A|—–3-5———————————————————|
E|-3-6————————————————————-|

Now expand your practice, by culture each of these modes of the G minor pentatonic, remember once you have the fingerings then you can straightforwardly transpose these modes to use in any key.

E|———————6-8—————————————–|
B|—————–6-8———————————————|
G|————-5-7————————————————-|
D|———5-8—————————————————–|
A|—–5-8———————————————————|
E|-6-8————————————————————-|

E|—————————–8-10——————————–|
B|————————8-11————————————-|
G|——————7-10——————————————-|
D|————8-10————————————————-|
A|——8-10——————————————————-|
E|-8-10————————————————————|

E|——————————-10-13—————————–|
B|————————-11-13———————————–|
G|——————-10-12—————————————–|
D|————-10-12———————————————–|
A|——-10-13—————————————————–|
E|-10-13———————————————————–|

E|——————————-13-15—————————–|
B|————————-13-15———————————–|
G|——————-12-15—————————————–|
D|————-12-15———————————————–|
A|——-13-15—————————————————–|
E|-13-15———————————————————–|

And then that will lead you right back up to the octave of the first “box” shape starting at the 15 fret.

Learn these patterns, and you’ll be playing quicker, and better than you’ve ever had before.

If you’ve been playing solos for any amount of time you know how simple it is to get stuck in the pentatonic rut. They call it a box scale for a reason.

You take five core notes, and decades of guitarist playing every combination of those notes doable, and you can see why coming up with fresh solo thoughts can be challenging.

This is what often leads people to explore other scales or modes in search of finding fresh thoughts. The problem is with guitarist, it really is hard to teach and ancient dog new tricks.

I don’t reckon that there has been a class of people who were more dedicated, and yet suffered from severe A.D.D.

When you already reckon you know how to play, it’s hard going back to the basics. Culture knew scales, and culture new theory.

That’s why I’ve assembled the rigorous way that I like to play.

If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, you’ll learn more in one hour jamming then you ever will in isolated practice.

So when I want to break out the box playing, or learn new styles or techniques:

I go to the masters.

I find someone who already can do what I want to know, and I mimic them. Figure out their solos.

This really serves two purposes. It helps develop a repertoire of songs you can play, and it’s an fun way to expand your musical horizons.

So if you’ve ever establish yourself caught in a pentatonic soloing rut, this is what I recommend:

1. Force yourself to go melodic. Start picking up the melody of your song, and just play that. This will force you to start writing solos geared more towards the piece, instead of relying on your standard back of licks.
2. Listen to something you’ve by no means listened to before. Get music that you’ve by no means listened to before. Maybe a total different stylishness then you’ve even listened before. Browse the world sections of music stores and see if you can find something that forces you to reckon outside your traditional box.

What you listen to really does effect what you play. Each song engraves in the back of your head a musical thought. So I try to force for myself to listen to something new at least once a week.

But don’t stop there, pick up your axe and try to really play it. This is a fantastic technique for interrupting your usual thought process when you are holding your guitar.

If you’re new and want to add a different element to your playing quick, then I would suggest listening to, and culture these two songs.

I always tell people that it is imperative that you learn these two songs if you want to be a fantastic guitarist, because it’ll show you how to use melody, timing, and careful phrasing outside the standard pentatonic scale, while at the same time showing you how to master the pentatonic scale to its fullness.

Those two tracks are:

1. Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd
2. Europa – Santana

If you can play these songs note for note, then youÆre on your way to becoming a fantastic guitarist

In our last post we covered how to add the Aeolian scale to your pentatonic to make for very simple culture and instant application of the new scales. The Aeolian scale is the untreated minor scale. Minor scales and chords have a darker, sadder feel.

Now let’s just into the Dorian scale, which has a more pleased tone. Something you can use in a lot of funk, jazz, major based chord progressions. I like using this over a excellent jump blues jam, as well as adding some spice to some funk licks.

Remember you don’t have to abandon what you already know, use the licks and tricks you already know.

Stick to a pentatonic foundation, just use these new modes to add some flexibility and zing to your playing.

You can find the Dorian in use by listening to greats likes Santana – Black Magic Women, or one of the best examples of how to use this scale in rock is Tony Iommi’s – Planet Caravan.

So let’s go back to the to the key of A.

Here’s the A Minor pentatonic scale –

For the sake of keeping this post small, I’m just going to cover the D, G,B, and high E strings. The rest of the strings just work of the octaves of these notes.

E|——————————-5-8—————————–|
B|————————-5-8———————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|————-5-7———————————————–|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

Now let’s add in the Dorian scale.

All you’re going to do is add 3 additional notes to the pentatonic scale higher than.

E|———————————–5-(7)-8———————|
B|————————-5-(7)-8——————————-|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|———(4)-5-7———————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|
The notes in the brackets mark the added notes.

So if you add all the notes together you will get this scale:

E|——————————– -5-7-8———————–|
B|————————-5-7-8——————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————-|
D|———–4-5-7———————————————|
A|—————————————————————|
E|—————————————————————|

So solo the way you normally would, just add these new notes as passing tones, and now you are jamming with modes that again only took a minute to learn.

When it comes down to contemporary music, there are two “modes” of the major scale that are used the most often. If “modes” have frightened you in the past, or you just really didn’t know them, then you’ve establish the right blog post!

Once you know how to incorporate them into your playing effortlessly, then you’ll really start to have fun with your playing.

All know that the pentatonic is the basis for all soloing. (and for your farthest classical and jazz nuts who beg to differ, get over it. It’s right!)

But once you hit the intermediate level guitar you start to look at other options outside the pentatonic scale to get some licks. This is the incorrect attitude.

All music is interconnected, so don’t reckon that you have to abandon the pentatonic scale to “learn something new”. That’s just not the case.

I’m going to show you how to use the two most commonly used modes, the Aeolian in this post, and the Dorian in pt. 2, WITH the pentatonic that will allocate you to promptly and straightforwardly learn these new scales, but also start using them today in your playing.

If you keep the pentatonic as your core foundation, then moving out into some more progressive fusion based music will be a breeze.

So let’s go to the key of A.

Here’s the A Minor pentatonic scale –

E|——————————-5-8—————————–|
B|————————-5-8———————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|————-5-7———————————————–|
A|——-5-7—————————————————–|
E|-5-8———————————————————–|

For the sake of the this training post, I’m just going to cover the G,B, and high E strings. The rest of the strings just work of the octaves of these notes.

E|——————————-5-8—————————–|
B|————————-5-8———————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|—————————————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

Now let’s start adding modes, the first mode we’re going to work with is the Aeolian. Most people now this as the untreated minor scale, but lets use the pentatonic to make this a real simple culture process.

All you’re going to do is add 3 additional notes to the pentatonic scale higher than.

E|——————————-5-(7)-8————————|
B|————————-5-(6)-8——————————|
G|——————(4)-5-7————————————-|
D|—————————————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

The notes in the brackets mark the added notes.

So if you add all the notes together you will get this scale:

E|———————————–5-7-8———————–|
B|—————————5-6-8——————————-|
G|——————4-5-7—————————————-|
D|—————————————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

So solo the way you normally would, just add these new notes as passing tones, and now you are jamming with modes and it only took a minute to learn.

David Gilmour is the master at using this scale, and it fits perfectly over any minor based rock.