If you have not already read Chords and Harmony I, I encourage you to do so now.

We are going to use the Minor scale in the key of F as an example. The main idea this lesson is to show you how to keep every note of every chord in scale. If that statement does not make sense to you now, don’t worry, it will by the end of this lesson.

First of all, which notes do we use A, A#, B, C? There are 12 out there, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#. We will only be using 7 of them. The spacing between the notes of a scale stay the same no matter what key they are in. The amount of frets between the 1st note and the 2nd note in the minor scale key of F is exactly the same as the number of frets between the 1st note and the 2nd note in the minor scale key of A. You could say you slid the minor scale pattern from key to key. The minor scale in the key of F has the same exact pattern as the minor scale in the key of A. The difference is that the minor scale in the key of F starts on the 1st fret and the minor scale in the key of A starts on the 5th fret.

We are going to use the key of F as an Example. It contains the notes F, G, G#, A#, C, C# and D#. So guess what chords we can use? We can use the chords: F, G, G#, A#, C, C# and D#. Okay, that explains what chords we can use, but how do we tell which ones are minor, major or diminished.

As we talked about in the first lesson, a chord is made up of the 1st, the 3rd and fifth note away from itself. We figure out what type of chord it is by counting how far away the 3rd and the 5th note are away from the 1st note.

We will start with F, its 3rd note is G# and its 5th note is C. The distance from F to G# is 1 and a half steps or 3 frets (Each step equals 2 frets). That rules out F being a major chord because a major chord has a distance of 2 steps or 4 frets from the 1st note to the 3rd note. That means it is either a minor chord or a diminished chord.

Let’s check the distance from F to C. There is 3 and a half steps or 7 frets from the 1st to the 5th. That rules out it being a diminished chord because a diminished chord has 3 steps or 6 frets from the 1st to the 5th. That means it must be a Minor Chord.

To review, a minor chord has 1 and a half steps or 3 frets from the 1st to the 3rd and 3 and a half steps or 7 frets from the 1st to the 5th.

A major chord has 2 steps or 4 fret from the 1st to the 3rd and 3 and a half steps or 7 frets from the 1st to the 5th.

Last, the diminished chord has 1 and a half steps or 3 frets from the 1st to the 3rd and has 3 steps or 6 frets from the 1st to the 5th.

Fill free to figure the rest of them out on your own or read on to find out what they will be. You will find that in every key of the minor scale the 1st is minor, the 2nd is diminished, the 3rd is major, the 4th is minor, the 5th is minor, the 6th is major and the 7th is major. That means in the minor scale key of F, F is minor, G is diminished, G# is major, A# is minor, C is minor, C# is major and D# is major.

Here is some chords you can use in the minor scale key of F.

Minor F

Diminished G

Minor A#

Minor C

Major C#

Major D#

By doing this you will keep every note of every chord in the same scale. You can use notes that are out of the particular key of a scale you are using, but for the most part is best to use notes and chords that are within the given key.
Next lesson, we will talk about how to harmonize your guitar solos and sing in a harmony.

If you have any questions ask them in a comment below and I will answer them as soon as possible.

In this lesson of Chords and Harmony we will what makes up a chord or a harmony. If you have not already read the lesson What do numbers in a chord or a scale mean? I encourage you to do so now.

Each note in the scale has been given a number so it can be easily referred to. We are going to use the minor scale in the key of F. As you can see from the diagram the 1st note in the scale is know as the 1, 2nd as the 2, 3rd as the 3 and so on. So in the key of F, F is know as 1, G is 2, G# is 3, A# is 4, C is 5, C# is 6, D# is 7 and F an octave higher is 8.

In a standard chord you add the 1st, the 3rd and 5th from the note together in order to create harmony. The 1st from the note is it self. So the 1st note from F is F. The 2nd note from F is G, the 3rd note from F is G# and so on.

We are going to make an F Chord in the key of F.
First find F on the diagram below, it is the first note. In order to make a chord we take the 1st, 3rd and 5th. The 1st from F is F. Next we take the 3rd note from F, this would be G#. Last, we take the 5th from F this would be C. So an F Chord in the key of F uses the notes F, G# and C.

Now, we are going to make a G Chord in the key of F.
First find G on the diagram below, it is the 2nd note. In order to make a chord we take the 1st, 3rd and 5th from the note. The 1st from G is G. Next we take the 3rd note from G, this would be A#. Last, we take the 5th from G this would be C#.

Next, we are going to make an A# Chord in the key of F.
This chord may seem a little tricky at first because there is no note after D#, but in reality it is no more difficult then the rest of them. Follow along as we work it out.
First find A# on the diagram below, it is the 3rd note. In order to make a chord we take the 1st, 3rd and 5th from the note. The 1st from A# is of course A#. Next we take the 3rd note from A#, this would be C#. Now we look for a 5th, but there is nothing after the 4th from A#. What do we do? We start all over again with F, so 5th from A# is F.

Now you have learned the chords F, G, and A# in the minor scale key of F. Next, in Chords and Harmony II, we will learn what chords to use in a particular song, whether it is a minor, major or that pesky diminished chord.

If you have any questions ask them in a comment below and I will answer them as soon as possible.

G / / / | / / / C / / / | / / / D / / / | / / / G / / / | / / /

Each letter or line represents one beat. G, C, D and G each equal one beat. Each / equals one beat and each | equals one beat. There is a letter and 7 lines before from to G to C.
So you would play eight beats (two measures) of G than play two measures of C. After C you would play 2 measures of D then G. Try counting 1, 2, 3, 4, to some songs on the radio you will be surprised to see how many songs use 4/4 time. I have personally found playing my guitar while listening to drum beats has really improved my skill as a guitarist. Now whenever I play my guitar, whether I am playing rhythm or soloing, I always play along with drum beats.

I highly recommend using some of our free 4/4 time drumbeats that are an excellent practice tool for guitarist of any skill level.

If you have any questions ask them in a comment below and I will answer them as soon as possible.

To understand the numbers in a scale you need to understand what scales are made of. We will demonstrate this by using the minor scale in the key of F. This diagram starts on the first fret of your guitar, in the key of F.

As you can see the minor scale in the key of F is made up of seven notes, F, G, G#, A#, C, C# and D#. They are just played over and over again. Once you play them all you start over again with F. The number simply refers to what number in the scale they are. The 1st note is 1, the 2nd not is 2, the 3rd note is 3 and so on. So in the key of F, F is 1, G is 2, G# is 3, A# is 4, C is 5, C# is 6 and D# is 7. That gets us to 7, but what about numbers like 9 and 11. You just start over in the scale again. 8 would be F an octave higher, 9 would be G an octave higher, 10 would be G# an octave higher, and 11 would be A# an octave higher. So a cord like an F#7 is just an F cord with the 7 note on it or a D#.

If you have any questions ask them in a comment below and I will answer them as soon as possible.

Many of the coming articles will have a firm footing in music theory. You may be thinking, O Man! Music theory, that sounds intense. I know that after a long day at school, you don’t want to try fitting one more thing in your brain. But, the term music theory sounds much worst than it actually is to learn. I am going to break it up into short five-minute articles that you can walk away from knowing more and being a much better guitarist.

I will talk about things like what makes that guy’s solo so crazy, besides just speed, what cords to use in a song, where the heck you put chords like B-flat minor, what 4/4 time is and many other things. Many people don’t realize how far a little music theory will go, but I Guarantee the time you spend on music theory will be well worth your time.

If you have any questions ask them in a comment below and I will answer them as soon as possible.