If your’e in the key of C for example, any one of these following minor sixth chords built off of a D, F, G#/Ab, or B will sound very intentional and sophisticated if you’re trying to compose something that’s a bit different than the usual dominant G chord to C move you would commonly hear. (For those who are new to theory and reading anyways, this applies to all of the major keys of music, it’s just easier to use C as the example as there are no sharps or flats normally found within it)

Dm6: based off of the second scale degree, this one is entirely diatonic to the key of C major as it doesn’t include any sharps/flats. Start with this one… the chord tones are D-F-A-B.

Fm6: you’ve heard it in pop songs of the 60’s and 90’s, this one is even more familiar sounding than the previous example. Only adds one “outside” (non-diatonic) chord tone. F-Ab-C-D

G#m6/Abm6: G#-B-D#-F adds the b3 and b6 as “outside” notes. This one is a bit tricker to implement but works nicely if used in a larger cadence- for example Dm7 • G#m6 • C or G7 • G#m6 • C

Bm6: B-D-F#-Ab adds the Tritone as well as the b6 “outside” tones. Again voice leading is your friend here. Play a chord that has an F in it before this one, then this one will have the F#/Gb that leads nicely to the G within your C chord target. A great example of this would be to just run through the gambit of all of these aforementioned chords with the intent of landing on the root chord of C just as you would with the “B.D.F.G#” diminished scale (which these are all simply substitutions of if you haven’t noticed)

Dm6 • Fm6 • G#m6 • Bm6 • C

In conclusion,

The diminished scale trick is to simply build it of the 2, 4, flat 6, or 7th degree of your root. It’s crucial with understanding how a lot of chord substitutions are intentionally implemented in jazz music, and genres outside of jazz as well.

BONUS REMINDER/OBSERVATION:

The G7, Bb7, C#7, & E7 dominant chords are the counterparts to this exercise and work in much the same way, as they too are also simply chord substitutions of that “B diminished to C” concept. You’ll notice these are all a minor third apart from one another due to their diminished framework. Happy playing. Also worth noting they sound really cool as arpeggios and riffs, so it’s not only just for chord substitutions or improvising like I normally write about on here.

Happy playing! If you like any of my insights please let me know, I’ll happily continue sharing my observations… and perhaps create videos in order to efficiently get the information across instead of being bound by the limitations of text-posts. I just think this stuff is cool. ✌🏻

Hey guys,

Longtime reader here and a big fan of the Reddit guitar community. My name is Josh Siegel ("josh siegel guitar" on google and socials) and I recently started a new live online program for adult guitarists called Broadcast Guitar. It's a good fit for adult guitar players that are looking for a bit more than YouTube, plus structure and community while we all spend hours each week in our solo practice efforts! Each class concludes with a 10-min Q&A for those that want to hop on camera.

I've got some seats open and would be happy to chat more about it with any interested folks! I do a 5-min intro Zoom with all new prospective Broadcast Guitar members so that I can get a feel for where you're at on the instrument before jumping in. I've met a lot of super cool and supportive musicians through Reddit! Let's chat! -Josh

Live lesson examples at: https://www.youtube.com/@broadcastguitar

Full schedule and info at: https://www.patreon.com/broadcastguitar/collections

email: joshsiegelguitar@gmail.com

https://www.guitar-chords.org.uk/

I USE THIS EVERY DAY.

I was looking for a good tool to practice ear-training more complex things than just major/minor chords or individual notes. I couldn't find any I liked, so I built one!

jamdashboard.com is a free and open-source tool for visualizing the guitar fretboard, as well as practicing ear-training for notes and complex chords

If you try it, please let me know what I could change to make it better!

I fret too hard ie too firm . I need to lighten up . Any advice please?

As I understand it a leading tone is a note , usually the 3rd , in a chord that leads you to the next chord possibly the tonic? Eg in the key of C there is the fifth chord , G , which contains B and is a semitone before the tonic of the C. Verdad?

Between "E" and "C" how many semitones are there between them and why? It would also be very helpful if you could tell me how much difference in semitones there is between "D" and "G".

Could someone explain to me what the diatonic and chromatic chart is based on? I'm new to music theory and I don't have anyone to teach me :(

I cant figure out what chords/variations he’s playing

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFKgzGfRkpi/?igsh=MTF0Y3pvZ3RqdWZsYw==

Hi everyone! 🎸
My name is Lisa, and I work for a publishing house.

We’re looking for early readers for our latest book: Guitar Book for Adult Beginners.

Have you always wanted to play guitar but didn’t know where to start? Or maybe you’ve tried before and given up?

We’d love to give you a FREE digital copy of our book in exchange for your honest feedback.

In the book, you’ll find:
✅ Time-saving shortcuts that make learning fast and fun
✅ Engaging video lessons to guide you through techniques step-by-step
✅ Practical exercises that guarantee real progress

📩 If you’re interested, please like this post and send me a chat message.

I’ll send you your free copy right away!

Let’s make your guitar-playing dreams a reality! 🎶

I’m excited to share that my latest article was just featured on Guitar Coach Magazine! 🎸

The piece is all about the 3 key habits that every modern guitarist should adopt to take their playing to the next level: • Mastering the fretboard for ultimate freedom. • Incorporating scales into daily practice to improve creativity and technique. • Building and understanding triads to add depth to your solos and chords.

I wrote this to help guitarists (of all levels) build a strong foundation while unlocking new ways to approach the instrument.

Check it out here: https://guitarcoachmag.com/guitar-theory/3-habits-of-the-modern-guitarist/

I’d love to hear your thoughts—and what habits have had the biggest impact on your guitar journey. Let’s discuss!f

I am 73 , a novice guitarist , 3 years only - with stiff and partly arthritic fingers. So I need ways to make fretting easier. One way is not playing the fifth.

For example G7 = E X

B O

G O

D 3

A 2

E 3

Any other suggestions?

I am a novice guitar player . I usually play a Yamaha FGTA acoustic but recently purchased a Chinese Gibson 335 replica , because it was cheap A$450 and looked gorgeous . But it is not balanced when I am standing. The head stock drops to say 4 o'clock. So I have to fret and support the guitar at the same time. I don't have this problem with the Yamaha.

Is this usual with electric guitars and do I just have to get used to it ?

I posted this in the Guitar Lessons sub Reddit and only have gotten one response, really unrelated to the books.

Looking to see if anyone has any experience with these books. Both volumes look quite “dense” and aren’t the cheapest.

I am a huge Allan Holdsworth fan and an intermediate level guitarist. I would love to gain an understanding of Allan’s thought process and see if I can incorporate some of it in my playing and songwriting.

Curious how the books are laid out. Are they instructional or more of here is all the material figure it out.

Any overall thoughts on the books?

How can I use/access semi tone s in my playing. Is it not by definition going outside the key and or scale?......but carefully?

Hey guys, I'm a Berklee alum that teaches a live theory + improv for guitar class on Zoom. I've got a cool special guest, Emile Mosseri, dropping in after I teach and analyze his amazing song "Jacob and the Stone" from the Oscar nominated soundtrack for "Minari." Should be a cool mix of information and inspiration! Email: joshsiegelguitar@gmail.com for free link. Class is tonight Thurs 1/16 5:45pm to 6:45pm central.

Little bit of my background:

I had been playing guitar for like more than 10 years, i had been performing and joined competition, i had been making covers as well. I do play and perform with acoustic, classical and electric guitar, I do play instrumentally, in a band format, in acoustic format too, even played for performing arts, musical arts or musical act too (not really sure what it's called).

other than that, i also play keyboards, piano, bass, drum and ukulele.

For keyboards, i normally do play chords or simple melodic of songs for band jamming or 2 pieces performance or piano acoustic performance. Never really play for solo performance classical piano.

same goes to bass, drum and ukulele. all are self-taught and learn by ear. i guess it's easier to play chords and some melody by ears since im transitioning from guitar.

well now come to a lot of questions on my minds since i had been thinking of doing solo performance instead of band, nowadays it's very hard to gather a group of people to play unlike during school or uni time or when i was younger, now everyone has family and kids! i want to have a career in music, so it's either being a music teacher, solo performer, write music, or be a session player of big bands or artists.

let's go to the questions:

1. Does all of the musical instruments that i mentioned above share the same music sheets? or is it uniquely designed for each instrument? i mean if i know how to read piano sheet, will i understand or will it be the same with guitar sheets? bcoz as far as i know, there are been sprout type of music sheet and guitar tab for guitar. i can read tab (even tab is differently written by different people, but i understand it) there are drum notes or drum sheets too, bcoz my housemates and classmates took drum, so i saw their drum notes and yeah i know how to translate it to playing, however due to all of these differences, i want to know whether it's unique or universal for all instruments.
2. Yamaha, ABSRM and RSL (Rock School)?

which one should i go for? i saw some of the music places in my country are offering Yamaha + ABSRM, Yamaha + RSL, etc. Does that mean i can get 2 or 3 in 1 kinda thing? what really matters or different?

3. University / Degree (there are few universities in my countries that approves joining based on Grade7/8 with performance), im quite confident with the performance or record video of playing.

However there are another things that i am unsure, Shall i take Guitar or Piano?
then Contemporary or Classical. Will it be a good decision to take piano since i have "not bad" guitar skills as performer? or i should just stay with guitar.

Contemporary as far as my understanding is more to improvisation (which means it's not too strict allowing more creativity) and jamming or blending with other instruments, classical is more to playing it as perfect as possible according to the sheet.

4. I had been teaching beginners on my own way since there are some parents who ask for help to teach and some friends who asked me to teach. Well i do share whatever i can but i definitely don't charge them even most of them are insisting to pay, i just feel i don't deserve since i'm not teaching according to the real syllabus or so. However, after sometimes, i found my self enjoy and passionate about it even more, seeing those kids be able to jam and friends to be able to play together made me feel like a proud daddy.hahaha..

5. I have a baby, i want to be able to write and teach her, not only by practicing and playing by ears, but with a proper one. She is just few months old, i'm quite confident that i can do well and maybe even jump level (i heard it's possible)..

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

I got into guitar over the past year and I tend to just play alone, but it is so much more fun to play with a bass and drums behind you. So I made a quick and simple backing track maker to do this and make soloing and playing more enjoyable. Try it out at https://natebtaylor.github.io/backing-track-maker/ and tell me what you think of it. Tell me what features I should add or if it just sucks. I hope you like it.

I am a novice acoustic guitarist essentially playing rhythm guitar. To improve my sound I like to -

1. identify the key and scale
2. then insert walk downs , walk ups and
3. individual notes between some of the chords.

I also try and insert sus , diminished and augmented chords as well - with varying results.

Is this the way to go or am I having a lend of myself? Any comments at all would be appreciated.

I am a novice acoustic guitarist essentially playing rhythm guitar. To improve my sound I like to -

1. identify the key and scale

2. then insert walk downs , walk ups and

3 ie individual notes - between some of the chords.

I also insert sus chords as well to augment the sound.

Is this an acceptable way to go?

What are the best/most useful resources for learning music theory and applying it to guitar playing? I’d like a structured guide that ties everything together. Thanks!

I have difficulty with some chords due to aging arthritic fingers , at 73 years . I have been advised that the 5th can sometimes be omitted which is helpful to me .

Eg C7 and over the first 3 frets and G7 at the same place. Any more please?

Hello, I just finished taking my first semester of music classes (theory1, piano1). We covered scales, triads, circle of fifths etc.

My instrument of choice is electric guitar, however my knowledge of theory in relation to the instrument is little to none. If anyone has any tips on how I can use these basic theory concepts towards playing I would very much appreciate it. Thanks!

I've scoured search engines for books and threads, but most just discuss the engineering of TON albums. Does anyone have a resource that talks about the music and guitar theory behind their albums? For example, the introduction of the Siamese Dream songbook analyzes the types of scales and chord progressions used on many of the songs to give the reader an idea of Billy Corgan's technique.

I made this site (https://www.guitartheory.app/) for chords and scales. I want to add more features that would be helpful resources for learning or teaching guitar. (collections of scale/chord charts or make your own chart)

What features do you want? or any other feedback?

here's some things that I'm planning to add next

• more scales (so far only modes of major scale)
• compare modes in parallel
• scale degrees on chord diagrams
• finger number on chord diagrams

How can the Circle of Fifths help me?

I enjoy guitar/music theory - I find that it provides solutions to assist me in playing. I am 73 retired, playing guitar for 3 years, a very ordinary player of soft rock/folk rock type music. And I am keen to find how the circle of fifths can help me .

So far it helps me to:

1. understand the relevance of the 5ths , the perfect 5th in a chord can be discarded for example C7.

2. understand the close keys eg for C , they are F and G.

3. learn the notes in chords.

What else please?

Is the d note the same sound as the D chord even though the chord is simultaneously a harmonising of the d note with an f# and an a note? Is there a scientific answer.

Or is the answer , no - it just sounds good. Like say a chorus or the harmonising of 2 or more voices.

I knew I should be more proficient in playing scales, especially to insert interest between and in otherwise bland chords. Scales can be boring . What works for me is to use a melody to go over the scales .

It began with Rogers and Hart's My Romance for major scales. Then Michel Legrand's What are you doing the rest of your Life for minor scales.

I am a novice guitarist. None of my guitars were ever set up. Circumstances prompted me to take them to a luthier. The result is astonishing , overnight I play easier and better!!!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HQe1-9sRi18

I use fl studio to get the effect but I do not know which effects to use.