An Easy Way to Remember Key Signatures
Major Key Signatures With Sharps
Starting with C Major, notice the fifth note, G:
C – D – E – F – G – A – B
So now for the next key, you start with G, but to get G Major you have to sharpen the seventh note in the new key, so F becomes F#:
G – A – B – C – D – E – F#
Continuing the same pattern, the next key is D, but to get D Major, the last note in the new key will need to be sharpened (C becomes C#):
D – E – F# – G – A – B - C#
Just remember to start with the fifth of the previous key, and sharpen the last note. It’s that easy. So continuing the pattern we have A Major:
A – B – C# – D – E – F# - G#
And then E Major:
E – F# – G# – A – B – C# – D#
And then B Major:
B – C# – D# – E – F# – G# – A#
And then F# Major:
F# – G# – A# – B – C# – D# - E#
And finally C# Major (every note is sharpened):
C# – D# – E# – F# – G# – A# – B#
Major Key Signatures With Flats
This works similarly with flats, but now we use the fourth note both times. The next key starts with the fourth of the previous, but to get the new key, you must flatten its fourth.
So starting with C Major, we notice the fourth note is F:
C – D – E – F – G – A – B
So now for the next key, you start with F, but to get F Major you have to flatten the fourth note in the new key. B becomes Bb, and we have F Major:
F – G – A – Bb – C – D – E
Continuing the same pattern, the next key is Bb, but to get Bb Major, the fourth note in the new key will need to be sharpened (E becomes Eb):
Bb – C – D – Eb – F – G – A
Just remember to start with the fourth of the previous key, and sharpen the fourth note. It’s that easy. So continuing the pattern we have Eb Major:
Eb – F – G – Ab – Bb – C – D
And then Ab Major:
Ab – Bb – C – Db – Eb – F – G
And then Db Major:
Db – Eb – F – Gb – Ab – Bb – C
And then Gb Major:
Gb – Ab – Bb – Cb – Db – Eb – F
And finally Cb Major (every note is flattened):
Cb – Db – Eb – Fb – Gb – Ab – Bb
Minor Key Signatures
If you know the notes for the major keys, then the minor keys are exactly the same, but you have to start on the sixth degree of the scale (which then becomes the tonic).
For example, we said that C Major was:
C – D – E – F – G – A – B
So to get what is known as the relative minor key, we simply start on the sixth degree of the scale, which in this case is A, which gives us A minor:
A – B – C – D – E – F – G
This works exactly the same for key signatures with flats. To prove this I’ll select Ab Major, which we said was:
Ab – Bb – C – Db – Eb – F – G
So now to get Ab Major’s parallel minor key we start on the sixth degree, which gives us F minor:
F – G – Ab – Bb – C – Db – Eb
Major Arpeggios
In this article I will present three arpeggio shapes based on the Major triad.
Below is an outline of the three shapes that will be covered–the root position, first inversion and second inversion. Note that the bottom numbers denote recommended fingerings (1- index, 2- middle, 3- ring, and 4- little). This article will use the F Major triad as an example:
The first inversion’s recommended fingering can get tricky at lower frets, so you could use a fingering like this:
After the fourth note, you would simply slide your index finger down one fret to sound the last 2 notes.
Seeing the overall “shape” of each arpeggio will help you memorize them. In each of the following sections, the numbers still denote recommended fingerings. Blue notes refer to root notes. Also, remember that these “shapes” can be moved anywhere along the fretboard.
Root Position
In the root position our first note will have to be the root note, or an F note (13th fret on the low e-string). Since an F Major triad is F-A-C, the next five notes of this arpeggio are A-C-F-A-C.
First Inversion
In the first inversion, the third of the triad becomes the bass note. Since we’re using an F Major triad (F-A-C) — the third is an A, which will be the first note of the arpeggio. We will play this using the 5th fret of the low e-string. The next five notes are simply C-F-A-C-F.
Second Inversion
Lastly, in the second inversion, the fifth of the triad becomes the bass note. Since we’re using an F Major triad (F-A-C) — the fifth is a C, which will be the first note of the arpeggio. We will play this using the 8th fret on the low e-string. The next five notes are simply F-A-C-F-A.
Sweeping
Now, If you’re interested in sweeping, it’ll make more sense to take the high e-string, and play it on the b-string as shown below:
The first bar shows a technique that uses all pick-strokes. However, if you prefer, you could play 10-13-10 on the b-string using a legato technique as shown in the second bar.
The Seven Musical Modes
The musical modes are based on the diatonic scale–a seven note scale containing five whole steps and two half steps. The modes add a twist to music. They can induce unique moods, and add interesting textures to a song’s tonality. If you’re familiar with the Major and minor scales, then you already know two modes. Ionian and Aeolian are the same as Major and minor. While major and minor have become a standard–there are still five other modes to explore.
In this article I will present to you each of the seven modes. Each section will contain a movable guitar scale diagram that repeats twice for a total of 24 frets. This will help in visualizing how the scale interacts with the entire fretboard. While it is essential to know different “positions” of scales, the ultimate goal is to blend that into one continuous flow that utilizes the entire fretboard. That’s why I’ve chosen to show the entire pattern.
Finally, towards the end of this article, I will discuss how to implement the modes into your own playing.
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With that said, let us begin…
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Same Intervals, Different Starting Point
As I mentioned in my introduction, each of the seven musical modes are based on the diatonic scale, which is:
W-W-H-W-W-W-H (W = whole step, H = half step)
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Now, the only difference between the seven modes (on a strictly fundamental basis) is that each starts at a different point in the sequence. Here is an easy way to visualize this:
Ionian (Major) W W H W W W H
Dorian W H W W W H W
Phrygian H W W W H W W
Lydian W W W H W W H
Mixolydian W W H W W H W
Aeolian (Minor) W H W W H W W
Locrian H W W H W W W
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So for example, C Ionian (C-D-E-F-G-A-B) contains the same notes as A Aeolian (A-B-C-D-E-F-G). Now, you might be wondering how I knew which notes were in each of those modes. It’s really simple — you just need to apply the intervals to the chromatic scale:
| C | C♯/D♭ | D | D♯/E♭ | E | F | F♯/G♭ | G | G♯/A♭ | A | A♯/B♭ | B | C |
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So starting with C Ionian, we know the intervals are:
W W H W W W H
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We start with C, then go a whole step and the next note is D, another whole step and we get E, and then a half step gives us F, and so on to get:
C D E F G A B
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Each of the modes borrows its notes from a parent tonality. For example, C Ionian, D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian, and B Locrian all contain the same exact notes (C-D-E-F-G-A-B), but the difference is that each mode starts on it’s respective root note.
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In the next few sections I will introduce each of the seven modes, and their unique tonal properties.
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Ionian Mode
Formula: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
Intervals: W-W-H-W-W-W-H
The Ionian mode is also the same as the Major scale. It has a very bright and happy sound to it.
Notable using the Ionian mode:
- Happy Birthday To You
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
24-Fret Scale Diagram
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Dorian Mode
Formula: 1-2-♭3-4-5-6-♭7
Intervals: W-H-W-W-W-H-W
The Dorian mode can sound soulful and bluesy depending on how it’s used.
Notable songs that employ Dorian are:
- Light My Fire – The Doors
- Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf
- Theme from Halo
24-Fret Scale Diagram
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Phrygian Mode
Formula: 1-♭2-♭3-4-5-♭6-♭7
Intervals: H-W-W-W-H-W-W
The Phrygian mode has a Middle-Eastern or Spanish sound. This mode is common in flamenco music, and is sometimes referred to as the “Spanish” mode.
Notable songs that employ Phrygian are:
- White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
- Not to Touch the Earth – The Doors
24-Fret Scale Diagram
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Lydian Mode
Formula: 1-2-3-♯4-5-6-7
Intervals: W-W-W-H-W-W-H
The Lydian mode is similar to Ionian, but the sharpened fourth gives it a very dreamy and spaced out feel.
Notable songs that employ Dorian are:
- Flying In A Blue Dream – Joe Satriani
- Theme From The Simpsons
24-Fret Scale Diagram
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Mixolydian Mode
Formula: 1-2-3-4-5-6-♭7
Intervals: W-W-H-W-W-H-W
The Mixolydian mode can either sound funky or folky, and has been used on a lot of ’60s and ’70s songs.
Notable songs that employ Mixolydian are:
- Dear Prudence – The Beatles
- Norwegian Wood – The Beatles
- The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald – G0ordon Lightfoot
- Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones
24-Fret Scale Diagram
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Aeolian Mode
Formula: 1-2-♭3-4-5-♭6-♭7
Intervals: W-H-W-W-H-W-W
Aeolian is the same as the natural minor scale, and has a dark and sad sound to it. It can also sound tough and mean when used in heavy rock songs.
Notable songs that employ Aeolian are:
- Achilles Last Stand (Guitar Solo) – Led Zeppelin
- The Ants Go Marching In
24-Fret Scale Diagram
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Locrian Mode
Formula: 1-♭2-♭3-4-♭5-♭6-♭7
Intervals: H-W-W-H-W-W-W
The Locrian mode is probably the strangest of the seven modes. Similar to Phrygian, it can have a spanish feel to it, but much more unresolved and darker.
Locrian isn’t a very practical mode, and has been called a “theoretical mode” by some experts.
24-Fret Scale Diagram
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How To Use the Modes
When using modes, a parallel approach usually works better. That means that a different mode is used for each chord in the progression. Take a look at the following example:
C Lydian C Ionian C Aeolian
CMaj7(♯11) CMaj7 Cm11
C Dorian C Phrygian C Phrygian
Cm7 Cmin11(♭9) Cmin9(♭9)
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The above progression is an example of using pitch-axis theory. I will discuss this in more detail in a later article, but essentially what that means is that the root note (C) stays the same for every chord in the progression.
Take a look at the table at the end of this article to understand why certain modes were used over certain chord types.
Also, If you wanted to stay in one mode for the entire progression, you could do something like this:
C Lydian
CMaj7(#11) Amin Dmaj7 GMaj9
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And to really reinforce that this is a Lydian progression, you could stress the tonic (aka root note) note. For this progression, C is the tonic note, so we could play a C note in the bass of each chord voicing:
C Lydian
CMaj7(#11) Amin/C Dmaj7/C GMaj9/C
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Useful Tables
The table below shows which types of chords can be made from the notes of each mode. This is very useful if you’re trying to write a progression that stresses a certain mode, or figure out which mode is appropriate for a certain chord.
| Mode | Triad | 7th | 9th |
11th |
13th |
| Ionian | Maj | Maj7 | Maj9 | Maj11 | Maj13 |
| Dorian | min | min7 | min9 | min11 | min13 |
| Phrygian | min | min7 | min9(♭9) | min11(♭9) | min11(♭9♭13) |
| Lydian | Maj | Maj7 | Maj9 | Maj7(♯11) | Maj13(♯11) |
| Mixolydian | Maj | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 |
| Aeolian | min | min7 | min9 | min11 | min11(♭13) |
| Locrian | dim | min7(♭5) | min7(♭5♭9) | min11(♭5♭9) | min11(♭5♭9♭13) |
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This next table shows a list of characteristic chords associated with each degree for every mode. Note that this is just one possibility–chord substitutes can be made. For example, Majors can be interchanged with Major 7ths, minors can be interchanged with minor 7ths and so on. Just remember to keep the Major/minor type the same. For ease of viewing, I’ve color coded the chart. Red chord names are Major types, and blue chord names are minor types.
| Mode | I |
II | III | IV | V | VI | VII |
| Ionian | Maj (I) |
min (ii) |
min (iii) |
Maj (IV) |
Maj (V) |
min (vi) |
dim (vii°) |
| Dorian | min (i) |
min (ii) |
Maj (III) |
Maj (IV) |
min (v) |
dim (vi°) | Maj (VII) |
| Phrygian | min (i) |
Maj (II) |
Maj (III) |
min (iv) |
dim (v°) | Maj (VI) |
min (vii) |
| Lydian | Maj (I) |
Maj (II) |
min (iii) |
dim (iv°) | Maj (V) |
min (vi) |
min (vii) |
| Mixolydian | Maj (I) |
min (ii) |
dim (iii°) | Maj (IV) |
min (v) |
min (vi) |
Maj (VII) |
| Aeolian | min (i) |
dim (ii°) | Maj (III) |
min (iv) |
min (v) |
Maj (VI) |
Maj (VII) |
| Locrian | dim (i°) | Maj (II) |
min (III) |
min (iv) |
Maj (V) |
Maj (VI) |
min (vii) |
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The Maj7(♯11) Chord
Formula: 1-3-5-7-♯11
Notations: Major7(♯11), Maj7(♯11), M7(♯11), 7M(♯11), Δ7(♯11)
The major7♯11 chord is the same thing as a major 7 chord, with the only difference being that a sharpened 11th is added to the top of the chord.
Movable Guitar Chord Shapes
Scales/Modes To Use:
| Scale | Formula | First Position Scale Shape |
| Lydian | 1-2-3-♯4-5-6-7 |  |
| Lydian Bebop | 1-2-3-♯4-5-♭6-6-7 |  |
Also Try:
- Playing leads based on the maj7 arpeggio (1-3-5-7)
- Use the minor pentatonic built on the note a semitone below the root of the chord — this is really cool sounding.
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Fretboard Exercises, Part 2
In my first article on fretboard exercises, I spoke about the benefits of fretboard exercises. In this second article article I will present additional exercises that will build upon the first article.
As I stated in my first article, I highly recommend that you use a metronome when you go through these exercises. This will help you to synchronize the timing between your left and right hands. This is very important. Start with a slow tempo, like say 100bpm, and then gradually increase it as you master each exercise.
Exercise Five — Simple Warm Up (Variation A)
This exercise is a variation of the “simple warm up” exercise from my first article. The only difference is that each of the four left hand notes are played on a different string.
Repeat the same pattern, this time starting at fret 2.
Again, repeat the same pattern, but this time start at the third fret. Continue this all the way up the fretboard.
Exercise Six — Simple Warm Up (Variation B)
This is another warm up on the “simple warm up” exercise. Bars 4-6 are where it gets interesting. The downward movement and string changes will help improve your muscle memory of the fretboard.
Exercise Seven — String Skipping
This exercise will help with string skipping. You could also use this to practice your economy picking by ignoring the picking notation.
In bars 5-8 you start to move up one string.
Again, in bars 9-12 you move up another string.
Bars 13-24 are an inverse version of bars 1-12.
After bar 24, repeat the entire exercise starting one fret higher. Continue this all the way up the fretboard.
Tab Legend
Pick Strokes:
∩ = downstroke V = upstroke
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Left Hand Fingerings:
I = index M = middle R = ring L = little
The Minor Scale
In this article we will look at the minor scale. The minor scale is the same as the Aeolian mode, which is a diatonic scale made from the following intervals:
W-H-W-W-H-W-W
So if we wanted to figure out the notes in say A minor, we would apply the above intervals and obtain:
A-B-C-D-E-F-G
Try it out for yourself. Here is a chromatic list of the notes:
| C | C♯/D♭ | D | D♯/E♭ | E | F | F♯/G♭ | G | G♯/A♭ | A | A♯/B♭ | B | C |
Minor Guitar Scale Positions
The guitar scale diagrams below show A minor. Root notes are shown in black. Notes that are below the root note, and still within the scale are shown in light blue. Numbers denote recommended left hand fingerings (1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=little).
Fretboard Exercises, Part 1
While fretboard exercises are great for warming up, they are also one of the best ways to improve your accuracy, speed, economy and overall technique on the guitar. In this article I will present to you four different exercises that I find especially helpful for those purposes.
I highly recommend that you use a metronome when you go through these exercises. This will help you to synchronize the timing between your left and right hands. This is very important. Start with a slow tempo, like say 100bpm, and then gradually increase it as you master each exercise.
Exercise One — Simple Warm Up
This exercise is probably the most common one out there. I find that this works best as a quick warm up before playing.
In bars 7-12 the pattern repeats one fret higher. After bar 12, continue this pattern all the way up the fretboard.
Exercise Two — Warm Up Variation
This is a variation on the first exercise. Repeat this exercise one fret higher each time working your way up the fretboard.
Exercise Three — The Finger Twister
This exercise is a sort of tongue twister for the fingers. The aim here is to get the fingers moving in ways they would probably not move naturally. Once these “unnatural” finger movements sink into your muscle memory they will greatly improve the economy and improvisational quality of your playing.
Exercise Four — Wide Stretches
The purpose of this exercise is to get the fingers used to making wide stretches. Notice how the second note is played with the middle finger to achieve this. Also, pay close attention to the left hand fingerings of the notes in bold–they alternate from the little to ring finger. Finally, when the pattern repeats in the first bar, there is another wide stretch using the ring finger.
When you move up to around the fifth fret, you could do something like this:
…and of course repeat with the same pattern as before.
Tab Legend
Pick Strokes:
∩ = downstroke V = upstroke
Left Hand Fingerings:
I = index M = middle R = ring L = little
The Major Scale
In this article we will look at the major scale. The major scale is the same as the Ionian mode, which is a diatonic scale made of the following intervals:
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
So if we wanted to figure out the notes in say G Major, we would apply the above intervals and obtain:
G-A-B-C-D-E-F♯
Try it out for yourself. Here is a chromatic list of the notes:
| C | C♯/D♭ | D | D♯/E♭ | E | F | F♯/G♭ | G | G♯/A♭ | A | A♯/B♭ | B | C |
Major Guitar Scale Positions
The guitar scale diagrams below show G Major. Root notes are shown in black. Notes that are below the root note, and still within the scale are shown in light blue. Numbers denote recommended left hand fingerings (1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=little).
Moveable Guitar Chord Shapes
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http://www.synesthesiac.org/2010/02/movable-guitar-chord-shapes/
Chord Progression Theory
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