Transcripts
1. Introduction: The best way to learn is to do. My name is Taylor G, and I'm a professional guitarist indoors with vendor musical instruments. My lover guitar
began at the age of 11 and has brought
me to stages in screen to live performing
with artists such as Stevie Wonder or a Linux
Victoria Monet and more. If you've ever been curious
and wanted to quickly learn the most foundational skills and concepts for quality
guitar playing. This is the class for you. I will show you all what I consider the most
foundational concepts on the guitar to help
you quickly and efficiently sound for
efficient on your instrument. In this course, we will address all the most essential
chords and skills needed to confidently
begins with a guitar. We will begin by learning the seven most
important chord shapes needed to begin to
competently play the guitar. We will familiarize ourselves
with reading chord charts, will also learn
guitar tablature. This class is designed for beginner to
intermediate players. You'll need an electric
guitar and amp, a pig, the tuner, and a quarter-inch cable. If you've ever felt like
guitars too confusing, I will give you a shortcuts of great sounding guitar
and debunk your doubts. By the end of this class, you'll be able to fluidly
play open ports as well as core charts
and tablature. Let's begin.
2. Getting Started: And class one, we learned
what chords were, as well as the
difference between a major and minor chord. Now I know it can be
difficult knowing which notes to pick when
you're playing a chord. I'm here to show you the most essential
core is you'll ever need to know and a way to be able to memorize
those cores and never second guess
yourself, ever again. Grab your guitar and
a quarter-inch cable, as well as your pick, tune up. And let's get into it.
3. Reading Chord Charts: One of the most difficult things about being a guitarist is remembering exactly where to put your fingers when you
want to play a chord. I have a tool for that, and it's called Guitar charts. Guitar charts are
there to help you whenever you're in doubt of
what a core it looks like. Over here is a blank core chart. It has six lines
going vertically, which represent the strings. And then it also has
a couple of lines going horizontally which
represent the frets. This case we'll be using
Fred's one to four. Now in these charts, there'll be color
codes that represent exactly what finger to use
and where to place them. Let's use E major
for an example. On our E string, we don't have any circles, so we're going to
play that open. The next string is a string, and we have a yellow circle which represents
our middle finger. And it's placed on the
second fret right here. Next, we have a blue circle, represents our ring finger, and we're going to place that on the D string, second fret. Then we have a red circle, which represents
our index finger. And we're going to take
that and place that on the first fret of the G string. We have an open,
be, an open high E. And again, we're strumming
from the low E string on down. Let's try another one. This one is E minor. So we have an open low E. We've got a yellow circle on the second fret
of the a string. We've got a blue circle on the second fret of the D string. We have an open G and
open be an open high E. And we're stemming from the
low E all the way down. Your core charts
are going to come in handy because there are millions of chords
that you can play. However, there are seven
very essential core shapes that I'm going to
need for you to know. And you're going to need
your core charts in order to be able to recall how they look. These chords are referred
to as the k scores. K scores are the seven most
essential chord shapes that every guitarist must know. So let's go through
what they are. We have our C, we have an a, G, E, and D. Now that's five chords and
there's two more left. All you have to know to remember what these
chords are is to make the vowels minor as right, so we have a minor and E minor. The best way to
familiarize yourself with these core shapes is to continue to study
the core charts. I've provided you with
PDF attachments in class resources for you to be able to get used to
playing these shapes. For now, I want you to study up because in the next couple
of lessons we're gonna be learning two
chords at a time and how to transition
fluidly between them.
4. E Major and A Major: Let's start learning some of the chord shapes that
you're going to need to know in order for you to
progress as a guitarist. First, we're gonna
do E major again, just to review and make sure
that you're caught up on how to form these chords
and what you're doing when you're reading
these core charts. So again, we have open ie. We're going to place
our middle finger on the second fret
of the a string. We've got a blue circle, so we're going to
place our ring finger on the second fret
of the D string. We've got a red circle
and we're gonna place it on the first fret
of the G string. We're playing an open
B and an open high E. Strumming from the low E
string all the way down. Next we're going to
do the a major shape. Notice that there is an
X over the low E string. What does that mean? That means do not play that
string when you strum. So we're going to omit
the low E string. We're going straight
to an open a. We've got a yellow circle, which means we're taking
our middle finger and placing it on the second
fret of the D string. We've got a blue circle, will be taking our ring
finger and placing it on the second fret
of the G string. Then we also have a green
circle, which is our pinky, and we're going to replace
that also on the second fret, but this time the B string. And then we have an open high E, where strumming from
the a string on down. So just a quick recap. Whenever you see an
x over a string, that means we are omitting that string as that note
is not going to sound good or it's going to defeat the purpose of an a major chord. A quick tip to be able to play
these chords more fluidly is to actually pay attention to what it is that your
fingers are doing. You don't always
have to reset all of your fingers in order
to play another Court, in the case of transitioning
from E major to a major, I'm simply lifting
my index finger up. And I'm shifting my
middle finger and my ring finger down. One string. After that, all that's
left is my pinky, which I'll be adding
write-up under my ring finger on the second
fret of the B string. So let's try that
transition one more time. We've got our E major. Remove our first finger, shift down one string
with our middle and ring, and then add our pinky to the second fret
of the B string. So let's play that. Here we go. Lift up, shift down.
At the pinkie. A major. You see how easy that was? Let's try it in reverse. This time we're
starting from a major. We're going to remove
our pinky this time. Shift up one string with
our middle and ring. Then we're going to add our index finger right on that first fret of the D string. So let's play. We've got a major. Remove the pinging,
shift up at the index. E-major. Very nice,
very easy, very fluid. I want you to practice transitioning between
those two chords using a metronome at 50
beats per minute or 50 BPM. Keep practicing and join
me in the next lesson. We'll continue
learning arcane scores and how to transition
between them.
5. G Major and C Major: In our last lesson, we learned our E major shape
as well as our major shape. Now in this class
we're going to learn our G major shape and
our C major shape. They're a little bit more
difficult to achieve. However, again,
follow along with me and practice and you'll
have it in no time. So let's get into it. First we have our G major shape. We have a yellow circle, which means we're
going to take our middle finger and place it on the third fret
of the low E string. Then we have a red circle
and which will take our index finger and place it on the second fret of the a string. We're going to play an open
D. In open G. And open be. Last we have a blue circle, which means we're going
to place our ring finger on the third fret of
the high E string. This time we're streaming
all the strings. So from the low E
string on down, next is our C major shape. We noticed right away there is an x over our low E string. Which means again, we will
omit our low E string. We have a blue circle, which means our ring
finger will go on the third fret of the a string. We have a yellow circle, which means our middle
finger will go on the second fret of the D string. We have an open G, and then we have a red circle, which means we're going
to place our index finger on the first fret
of the B string. And then we're playing an open high strumming from the a
string all the way down. Now, we're going to implement the technique that we
learned in the last lesson. What nodes do you notice
that are either similar to the other chord or not that far and distance from
the other chord. We're going to look
at the shapes again. We have our g, and
then we have our C. Our first two notes in the G major chord are the same two nodes
in our C major chord. Now the only difference is
our fingering is different. We have our middle and index. This time we're going
to switch it for our ring and middle. Now that might be a
little bit of a jump coming from here to here. But at least we know exactly where it is
that we're going. So we're able to better
guide ourselves in the process of achieving a
successful core transition. So here we go. We're
starting from G. Right? Now we're going to
lift our fingers up, bring it down to the
first two notes of C. We're going to add
our index finger, so the first fret
of the B string. Now let's do that in reverse. We've got our C major. We are lifting our index and
all the rest of our fingers, and we're bringing them to
form our G major shape. Okay? So we're literally taking this
finger and bringing it up. Taking this finger
and bringing it up. And we're bringing
this ring finger down. That's another thing
that we notice. Literally, our ring
finger is going straight down when we're
doing it in reverse. Noticing these changes as imperative as sometimes
when you're playing, you won't have enough
time to really think. These are great
ways to be able to fluidly transition
from core to core. These courts may take some more time than the
other cores to get down. But I have so much faith in you that you'll
be able to get it, keep practicing and join
me in the next lesson as we continue our
case core journey.
6. D Major (The String Skipper): In this lesson, we're going
to learn the D major shape. And I loved the D
major shape because it only uses for strings. Beautiful, isn't it? Not really. The major uses for strings, which means when you are coming from other cage chord shapes, you're going to have to be very specific about where
your strumming. Let's jump into how to play the D major shape
right off the bat. We're omitting the E
and the a strings. We're jumping straight
to our open D. We have a red circle in which we'll take our index finger and place it on the second
fret of the G string. We have a blue circle, which means that
we're going to place our ring finger on the
third fret of the B string. And last we have
a yellow circle, which means we're
going to take our middle finger and we're
going to place it on the second fret of
the high E string. We are stemming from
that open D on down. Now I call this core
the string Skipper. Because when we're transitioning between all of our cage chords, we have to be very intentional about where
it is that we're playing. I have a little trick for this that I'm going to give you, and that's simply when
you're transitioning. I just want you to simply stop the cores when
you're feeling unsure of where your pick or
your thumb is going to land. Now, an example, Let's start
off with our E major shape. Okay? Now it's a jump to D major. We're going to
have to of course, lift our fingers up, put it in the D major shape. We're going to have to
make sure that we're only strumming from the
D string on down. Now at the beginning, that
might be a little hard again. So this is what I
want you to do. Play E major. Stop
all the strings, make sure you're on the D. Drum on now. Keep practicing and eventually you'll be able to do it
without even looking.
7. Minor Chords: In this lesson, we're going
to learn about minor chords. Now remember, the
difference between a major and minor chord is
defined by its chord quality. Poor quality is
defined as how a chord resonates functionally
and emotionally when it's being played. Again, for instance,
we have E major, which sounds joyous
and majestic. And then we have E minor. It's a little gloomy,
a little sad, a little somber, right? So we just went over E minor. Now we have another vowel in our case that we're
going to use, which is our a minor chord. We look at our a minor
and right away we noticed that our low E
string again is omitted. So we're jumping
straight to our open a. Now we have a yellow circle, which means we'll take
our middle finger and place it on the second
fret of the D string. We have a blue circle
in which we'll take a ring finger and place it on the second fret of the G string. And then we have our red
circle in which we'll take our index finger and place it on the first fret of the B string. And then we're going to
play an open high E. And remember we're streaming
from the a string on down. The difference between
an a major chord and an a minor chord is
literally OneNote. So we have a major, a minor. The only thing that I did
differently was I lifted up my pinky and put down my index. So that's literally going a half-step down on the B string, the second fret to
the first fret. Now let's look at E minor again. So we have E minor, and let's do it in reverse
and see what E major is. Again, the only difference
is OneNote and E minor. We don't have our
index finger down. And an E major, we place our index finger down on the first
fret of the G string. Now, transitioning
between these two chords. Remember what we talked about as far as looking at
our fingers and really paying attention
to what it is that we're doing before we move to
the next chord, okay? So we have E minor. Now I want you to
picture a minor in your head and try
to execute what an, a minor chord shape
would look like. Now to me right away, I noticed shift down my
middle and ring finger and then just add my index to the first fret of the B string. So we went from E minor
and down, added our index. A minor. Very nice. One little quick
tip is to notice the similarities
between chord shapes. In a minor. Looks exactly the
same as in E Major. Literally same thing. Just up or down. One string.
8. Transitioning Between Chords: In this lesson,
we're going to be focusing on some tips that will help you in your journey to transitioning between
all of your cords. Let me give you
some quick tips on how to transition fluidly. Number one, pay attention
to your fingering. So many times I run
across guitarist who have a hard time transitioning
from chords and chord. And believe me, it is
not rocket science. All it is is just taking
the time to slow yourself down and really pay attention
to where your fingers are. Remembering to pay attention to your strumming hand
is very important as how you strong
can really make a difference in how
clear your notes sound, as well as how fluid
your transitions are. Another tip is to
think about the shape that you're trying to make
before you get there. When you're driving,
you anticipate the exit that you're
going to take before you actually take it. You give yourself enough time to change lanes before you
actually take the exit. It's the same thing with guitar. We're going to give ourselves
enough time to think about where it is that we want
to go before we get there. As always, practice, practice, practice to a metronome. This will help you
to be able to know exactly how much time you
have between transitions. Let's learn your first song. This time I want
to reintroduce you to guitar tabs in a new way. This time we're not
playing single notes. We're going to play chords. The setup is the same. So the six lines
are your strings. The vertical lines
are your friends, divided into measures or bars. Now, you notice there
are numbers that are stacked on top of one another. These show you where
to place your fingers. It's not going to tell
you what finger to use, just where to place them. Okay, So our first chord
is an E minor chord. Now remember we're
playing an open low. E are open strings are
represented by a zero. So anytime you see a zero, know that that is
just an open string. So we're going to
play an open low E. Then on the a string
or the fifth string, we see a two, which means that we're going
to play the second fret. Looking at our core charts, we know we're going to play
that with our middle finger. Next, we have another
two on the D string. And we're going to place
that on the second fret. We have an open G. And open be an open high strumming from the
low E string on down. Next, we have an a. Now remember, we don't
play the low E string. So you notice you don't
see a number there. That means that we
don't play that string. On top of that string. We have a zero on our a string. We have a two on our D string. We have another two
on our G string, one more to on our B string, and a zero for our open hyphae. And worse, drumming from
the a string on down. Next, we have our D chord. Now we don't see any numbers
on the E and a strings, which means that we're not
playing those strings. We have a zero on our D string. We have a two on our G string. We have a three on our B string. We have another two
on our high E string. Strumming from the
D string on down. Last, we have our G chord, which we see a three
on our low E string. To a string. An open D, open G, open B. We're going to take
our ring finger and place it on that three, which is our third fret
of the high E string. Now, this is a progression, meaning that we're going
to play it in sequence. We have two minors, two a's, two Ds and two Gs. So that's going to
sound like this. We have two minors to a majors to d's, and two Gs. Now, let's add the
rhythmic notation into it. On all of these chords, we see a half-life
under our chords, which means that we're
playing half notes. When we use a metronome, it's going to sound
like this one too. 3 412-341-2341. 234. Now let's go through the next
four cores that we have. We have an E minor, a minor, we have a
dy, then we have a G. So let's walk through the
progression together this time incorporating the
rhythmic notation, which I don't see any lines
under any of these cores, which means they were playing
all whole notes throughout. Remember, a whole note
is held for four counts. Let's try going through
the progression together. I'll be your metronome to
help counts you through. Ready, 12, ready? Play and minor. 234.234. Go to, to think about your next chord. And three, good job. And minor 234 and a minor
three, almost there. We're going to play
it. 234 and g234. Good job. You just played your first song. Wow, that's a lot for
your class assignment. I want you to practice
either this song or another song that I've titled caged in the class resources. Record yourself and then submit it in the
project gallery. As always, practice,
practice, practice. And I cannot wait to hear the recordings that
you submit. Have fun.
9. Final Thoughts: Congratulations, You
have come so far. Oh my goodness. You
learned chords. How to transition between them. You even learned your
very first song. Wow, that is so special. In the next course, we're going to get into
bar chords and scales. But first, you must
know your case chords and be able to transition
fluidly between all of them. For your class assignment, I want you to go
over either the case in PDF or the song title, open the cage located
in the class resources. Please, please, please, please, please remember this takes time, so be patient with yourself. 15 to 20 min a day will do it. But if you can go
longer, go longer. This is Taylor G signing out.
Taylor Gamble, Professional Guitarist
