If you’re looking to reduce the cost of your guitar strings then I recommend having a look at a new online guitar string store http://sunburymusicshop.com By taking advantage of the high Australian dollar Sunbury Music Shop can offer Rotosound, Elixer, D’Addario, Ernie Ball, and more at up to 50% off retail prices. For too long we in Australia have had to put up with ugly profiteering of importers jacking up our retail prices. Well no more. Sunbury Music Shop is an online alternative giving the best prices on strings in Australia and all with free postage.

Ernie Ball Regular Slinky 10-46 only $8.70 per pack

D’Addario EXL110 ProPack only $62 (10 packs)

All this and free postage Australia wide. Stop getting ripped off on your strings.

If you’re in the Sunbury area and looking for Guitar lessons, you’ve found the right place. Whatever style path you want to go down - blues, rock, funk, metal. Come and have a free lesson. First lesson free! casual lessons $26, permanent term lessons $21. Beginner through to Advanced, I’ve got something for you.

Call Neil on 0438356229 to book a lesson. Currently booking Tuesdays. But I’ll work something out for you if need be.

Here is a link to the Manual for the Roland GP-16 Guitar Effects Processor (PDF)

The Roland GP-16 Digital Guitar Effects Processor has some great features, they include:

• 24 bit internal and 16bit AD - DA
• 16 Built in stereo effect units with 12 available at one time
• midi connectivity
• With use of the FC 100 mkII footcontroller you can access a constant instrument signal for a guitar tuner.
• Optional Expression pedal that can be connected to the footcontroller to control Volume, Wah etc
• 2 groups x 8 banks x 8 Patches (128 presets)

List of Effects:

• Compressor
• Overdrive/Distortion
• Picking Filter
• Phaser
• Parametric EQ
• Noise Suppressor
• Short Delay
• Chorus
• Flanger
• Pitch Shifter
• Space-D
• Auto Panpot
• Tap Delay
• Reverb
• LineOut Filter

Satch is one of my favourites so, I just had to add this YouTube Video to the site. With a lot of the ‘great’ guitarists like steve vai and joe satriani, their experience, technique and knowledge is so far out of reach of the average student. Guys like Joe Satriani have incredible speed and accuracy, that I and many other just can’t get close to.

Anyway I found this movie tutorial on YouTube and thought it would be great to share because the skill level sits where an intermediate guitarist can get something from it.

MSWORD - chordchart

I thought I’d put together a guitar chord chart for all to take home with them from the site. I’ve put enough chords on the sheet to get you into trouble. I’ve gone through minor, major, 7th, minor 7th, major 7th, sus2 and sus 4 in the open position for A B C D E and G. I left out F and sharps as you would probably prefer to use barre chords also know as movable chord patterns. I’ve added these patterns to the chart as well. These Barre chords are listed for the E string and for the A string. The root note of the chord will indicate what the chord is. So, if you were to play the major movable chord at the third fret it would be a G major, at the fourth it would be a G# etc.

At the bottom of the chart there is a c add9 and then some blank guitar frames for you to add other if need be.

Understanding the natural progression of scales in contemporary Jazz and Classical styles is a key to song writing and can also be used in practice.

This image of the circle of fifths / cycle of fourths is reversed to most you will see. The Cycle of Fourths runs clockwise and the Cycle of Fifths runs anti-clockwise. It still all means the same this and is created in the same way. Notice as we cycle through the fourths that a flat is added on that side of the image. When practicing or writing in a contemporary or Jazz style it can be handy to cycle your chord progression around in the fashion of the cycle of fourths. Alternatively, you can go the other way for a more classical style. How many songs have been written with a chord progression that goes C - G - D and then the occasional A. You’re probably doing it and don’t even know why.

When you circle through the fifths what you are doing is starting the next Major Triad or scale on the Fifth increment of the previous. If you want a Jazz feel go the other way and play the fourth increment.

An easy way to remember the cycle or the circle is to know that the keys (without incidentals) are C at the top, F then BEAD G BEAD G in the direction of the cycle of fourths. The first BEAD G is all flat and the second is all natural.

Modes are produced by displacing the starting point of the scale without changing it’s the interval formula.
What this means is that depending on where you start a scale depends on it’s mode. During the process the notes of the original scale stay the same. It’s alway simple to use the C Major scale to give examples. It has no Sharps or Flats (accidentals).

The first model name we’ll look at is the IONIAN. This is the natural Major scale
C-D-E-F-G-A-B

Now, for example, If this scale is started on the D then the interval patten will change and give a different ‘flavour’. It is still a C Major pattern but it now starts on the second degree. Starting on the second degree will create D DORIAN.
D-E-F-G-A-B-C

Here is a complete list of MODES as taken from ‘The Original Guitar Case Scale Book’ By Peter Pickow

The seventh mode, Locrian, was avoided for centuries due to it’s truly weird flavor. The scale outlines a diminished chord, melodies written in Locrian never seem to come to rest. This is commonly used in jazz for soloing over half diminished chords.

As a bass player you’ll find that you may not use every note in these scales. One needs to be wary that their phrasing doesn’t create the tonal qualities of a chord other then the one that is suppose to be being outline. I recommend alway spending as much time as possible working around the notes of the chord that is being played, or that is trying to be expressed. Tonic notes will almost always produce consistency with a song or piece of music.

As guitarist, there is always some room for movement but in the same way a bass guitar will move around the tonic notes it is also advisable for a 6 string guitarist or pianist etc. to consider the same.

You really need to start this exercise by reading the post about Major Scales, that post gives a Scale Theory foundation and will help you understand what I am writing about here.

You can create a Minor scale by having a flat 3rd, 6th and 7th. This is a cumbersome approach and understanding the relative Minors is a simpler way to continue.

Every Major Scale has a corresponding ‘relative minor scale’ that shares the same key signature. It has a ‘modal’ name which is ‘Aeolian’. I’ll write a complete post about Modes and you’ll find that also under scale theory. Anyway, you can find the relative minor by starting your scale at the sixth degree. So, for a C Major you will have an A minor. By starting the C Major scale on the sixth degree (which is the 3rd down) you will have played an A Minor. Remember only plat the notes from the original Major scale.

Here is a chart showing relative minors:

Having an understanding of Major Scale Theory and Major Triads will make this formation a simple execution. In fact, you would have probably come across this type of triad a long time before seeing it explained here.

Minor Triad: ROOT, m3, P5

So as for most chords we start with the root, then by playing the third of the major scale flat and the perfect 5th we have a minor triad.

As for any chord formation where the minor third shows in a pattern is irrelevant, as long as the bass or a chordal or melodic instrument does present it. If the minor third is not presented at any stage then there is nothing to indicate you have been on a minor triad. If you have played the the Major Third during the passage then you would have indicated it to be of the major variety.

Another way to look at this triad is too consider the minor scale being played from the root. You’ll find that the third is the naturally occurring one in that scale.

You see, a minor scale is created by having a Flat 3rd, 6th and 7th. You can also create a minor scale by considering the relative Minor scale mode to the Major.

This is the most simple triad to create. It is a Major Chord. You can use this triad as the basis of creating other chords by altering it on the fly.

Major Triad: ROOT, M3, P5

This is the 1st, 3rd and 5th of the major scale. It is a simple as that. On keyboard you may invert the chord to M3, P5, ROOT or P5,ROOT,M3 - these would be known as inversions. On guitar you may omit the 3rd in the first octave and play it in the second octave, it is also likely that you will repeat the ROOT and P5 an octave higher.

Things to know:
You will not always represent M3 in the first octave, and with ‘heavy distortion’ you will almost never use the 3rd in any octave.