The Guitar
An iconic instrument!
The acoustic guitar has been around for several centuries, however it was not until the 1920's guitarist's first began to experiment with electrifying their instrument in search of a loader sound. And it was not until 1950 that Leo Fender first successfully mass-produced and sold electric guitars followed by Gibson in 1952. Today there are a wide range of guitar styles, however the orignal guitar designs from the fifties still have a strange hold on this retro driven industry, as do some of the early guitar icons.
What's new
In recent years technology has been been taking giant steps in certain areas, for example mobile phones, but the guitar manages to maintain its aloofness to change. Presently there seems to be a sign of some technological advancements, most significantly with virtual sound modeling and self tuning systems. Virtual sound modeling is digital replication of sound and may not be to everyones taste. However if a guitar can tune itself in seconds, not only does this make being in tune a foregone conclusion it creates the ability to quickly and easily change tunings. To access alternate and open tunings in seconds has the potential to address a new dimension of creativity for guitarists. Many great guitarists have looked into this area and produced some unique sounding material. With different tunings comes a different set of voicings with their own expression. Making use of this requires some basic music theory, a look at other artists work, some luck and even a little knowledge of how to implement the circle of notes.
The Circle of Notes
| Chord | Abreviation | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| Major | (Maj) | 0,4,7 |
| Minor | (Min) | 0,3,7 |
| Major Seventh | (Maj7) | 0,4,7,11 |
| Dominant Seventh | (7th) | 0,4,7,10 |
| Minor Seventh | (min7) | 0,3,7,10 |
| Major Sixth | (maj6) | 0,4,7,9 |
| Major Ninth | (maj9) | 0,4,7,11,14 |
| Dominant Ninth | (9) | 0,4,7,10,14 |
| Sixth add ninth | (6+9) | 0,4,7,9,14 |
| Minor Sixth | (min6) | 0,3,7,9 |
| Minor Ninth | (Min9) | 0,3,7,10,14 |
| Minor 7 Flat Five | (m7b5) | 0,3,6,10 |
| Seven Flat Nine | (7b9) | 0,4,7,10,13 |
| Seven Sharp Nine | (7#9) | 0,4,7,10,15 |
| Diminished | (dim) | 0,3,6 |
| Diminished Seventh | (dim7) | 0,3,6,9 |
| Augmented | (aug) | 0,4,8 |
| Augmented Seventh | (aug7) | 0,4,8,10 |
| Suspended Forth | (sus4) | 0,5,7 |
| 7 Suspended Forth | (7sus4) | 0,5,7,10 |
| Suspended Second | (sus2) | 0,2,7 |
Circle of Notes
Find Chords and Scales!
| Scale | Interval |
|---|---|
| Major | 0,2,4,5,7,9,11 |
| Minor | 0,2,3,5,7,8,10 |
| Harmonic Minor | 0,2,3,5,7,8,11 |
| Pentatonic Major | 0,2,4,7,9 |
| Pentatonic Minor | 0,3,5,7,10 |
By applying the right intervals - find chords and scale notes in any tuning
To find notes for a chord or scale in a particular tuning is all about knowing the right intervals to apply!
The circle of notes gives the order of notes on the fretboard of a guitar. This order will stay consistent though the position on the fretboard may move depending on the tuning.
Using the Circle of Notes
By firstly applying the right intereval relationship, for a particular chord or scale, and counting round the circle of notes (where 0, represents the root note). A chord or scales notes can be identified and then found on the guitar neck. Each chord type (major, minor, 7th, ect) is identified by a collection of intervals. In the Chord Intervals chart the most regular chord types and respective intervals are listed. Like chords, scales are defined by their collective intervals, in the Scales Intervals chart some of the more regular scales intervals are shown.
Pure Inspiration - Pure Expression
Find new tunings and create new chord shapes on the fretboard. Sometimes you'll be rewarded when you hit that magic set of notes creating a completely new sounding chord. Who knows where that might take your creativity? There are no limits in the tuning zone.
Many great guitarists' have looked at open or alternate tunings to get a fresh sound. Different tunings can stimulate different tonal charactoristics and expressions.
