- june -
June 2002
Look Sharp!
Getting to know the cycle of fifths.
In my first colum, I began to illustrate the importance of understanding music theory to becoming a great guitarist. Some people might disagree. Infact, many guitar players can shred on their instruments without knowing why certain notes sound good together and why others dont. But to me, this is like playing blindly. By achieving even a basic understanding of what different musical elements are called, what relationships exsist among them and why they evoke the emotional reaction they do, one's eyes can become as open as ones ears. The goal is to achieve awareness-not only as guitar players but as musicians.
"alright enough already stop preaching and start teaching"
Okay i'm sorry! i have a tendency to get a little didactic! Last month we finished constructing major scales in eight differnt keys C,G,D,A,E,B,F# AND C#. Interestingly i pointed out that each one of theses scales had one more modifired ("sharped") note than the one before it. For example, the C major scale has no sharps. all of its notes are natural. the g major scale has one sharp, F#. T D major scale has two sharps (F# and C#) A major had 3 sharps( F# C# and G#). E major has four sharps (F# C# G# D#)
This phenonmenon of increasing sharps occurs as you construct the major scales in a particular order. You can start with C major and proceed to construct the next major scale beginning on the fift degree of each respective scale in the finish. FIGURE 1. illustrates this with the notes of the C major scale. If you count forward from the first noteC, you'll notice that G is the fifth degree note in the sale. Sp tje mext scale you construct is G major, and lo and behold it has one modeified not : f#. We then see that D is the fifth modified of G major so D major is the next scale we construct. It has two modified notes C# and F#.Next we construct the major scale beginning on A which is the fifth of D major, then E the fifth of A mjor, then D the fifth of E major thenF the fifth of B major and last C# the fift of F# major.by the time you reach the C# major on the scale you will have noticed all the notes in the scales have been sharped! in music theory books this sequence of keys is often reffered to as the "cycle of fifths" for fairly obvious reasons.
Fortunetly all this theory does have a real world application: each of these scales can be played on the guitar and their phsyical manifestation comes in the form of diatonica fretboard patterns. Four our purposes we have been learning thses patters in the key of G major. Last month I illustreated the diatonic patterns 2 and 3. Ill give you the beneifit of the doubt that you memorized both of these and can move up and down them fluidly. This month you are to memorize the reamaining four diatonic patterns shows in Figures 2-5. Again make sure to learn them ascending and decending emplying alternate picking and using the appropriate left hand fingers. These are the only four diatonic major patters left so i want you to have mastered them by next month.
In the next column we will begin the move back and forth between patterns and you will see that they are not isolated but are interrelated with one another up and down the entire fretboard. I'll also demonstrate how to move these patterns so you can play them in any major key, In essance by mastering thses seven diatonic major patters you will be on your way to becoming a versatile guitar player and an accomplished musician.
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