How Music Work s

By Donnie Walker Musician/Guitarist/Educator

Donniewalker4042@yahoo.com

Introduction
In this booklet, there is everything you need to play every song on this earth. Most books jump right in to reading music. Music and language use the same part of your brain, and you probably didnt learn to talk by reading. Most people learned the other way around. That is why it is usually easier to learn your first language rather than the second or third. You were immersed in your language since the day you were born, and you learned it aurally (by ear). Therefore, you can learn music the same way. Since you may not have gotten such a head start the same way you learned your language, this booklet was made to help develop your understanding of music in the same manner. It will take practice, and it is much easier to practice talking because it is much more necessary. This will take discipline, and this booklet could and probably should take years to master. The concept of this material is very simple, however getting it under your fingers is not. We will not cover very much in the way of technique. This is how music works, and the last page is the only page that is specifically applied to guitar. Once you have an understanding of the material covered here, it applies to all instruments. This is why most good musicians can play more than one instrument. Music is music and ANY song can be played on the guitar. In the lessons and in my other booklet Major Scales/Chord Concepts for Guitar is where we cover the physical playing aspect of the guitar. Instead of grabbing a chord book with thousands of chords, it is better to understand how chords work, and once you learn that there are only 9 different kinds of chords, you can take any chord that you already know and turn it into what ever chord you need. You should never have to look at a chord book again after having a good understanding of this material. I personally have never used a chord book. While grasping this material, keep in mind it is extremely important to hear what you are learning. This is how you train your ears. Remember, that we are learning music aurally. What you are reading is only explaining what you are hearing. This booklet may only be eight pages long, but dont let it be deceiving or intimidating. It literally has everything you need to know. Period. It is important to not let these concepts get in the way youre your playing. Use these concepts when practicing, and when playing just think of how the song sounds. It should come naturally in your playing if you are
practicing the correctly. Alright, relax and pick up your guitar and a pencil.

Contents Page 1. Page 2. Page 3. Page 4. Page 5. Page 6. Page 7. Page 8. Page 9. Lets Get Started The Major Scale Circle of Fifths Intervals Intervals cont Harmony How Chords Work Every Chord on the Planet!! Now What?

Lets get started

On this page we will build a basic understanding for how the system of letters in music works, and also how it relates to what it sounds like. Everything is basically is divided in to steps, and those steps are how your ear can determine how far two notes are apart from each other. Refer Diagram 1 below (#) Sharp -- (b) Flat --- A# is the same as Bb, and C#/Db etc. Sharps and Flats are the black keys on the piano. Each dash represents a half step. One half step is one fret on the guitar or one key on the piano. (ex. A A#) Two halves make a whole, so a whole step is A to B. So a whole step is two frets on the guitar (1st fret to 3rd fret) The thing to remember is that B and E have no sharps so those are your natural half steps. That is where there is no black key on the piano. Diagram 1 There are only twelve notes from A to G#, then they start over - A#- - -C#- -D#- -F#- -G#- -A#- A B C D E F G A B C -Bb- - -Db- -Eb- - -Gb- -Ab- -Bb- -

Now apply this to the guitar. Start on the second largest string, the 5th string. In standard tuning it is an A. The first fret would be A# or Bb. Second would be B. Third would be C. Fourth would be C# or Db, and so on and so on. Once you reach the twelfth fret you should be back to A, which we call one octave up. Oct- stands for eight though right? Well find out why we call that an octave on the next page. Now try this on each string. Top string is E, so just climb up step by step.

The Major Scale

The major scale is the basis for all music. It is how you will learn to train your ear, and you will find that all songs you will learn can be related back to the major scale. Remember music is like a language and first comes the sound of music then theory. You first learn how to talk then write. The same is for music. First people started singing and then started to try to explain it. Here is the step formula that they found (climbing up in sound ex. Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do): W=whole step and h=half step Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do W- - W- - hW- - W - - W - - hThis can be played/sung starting on any letter. Which ever letter you call Do, that is the key that you are in. When you start on a letter and climb up using this step pattern, you will find that there are 8 notes (octave) when you get back to the note you started on. Try filling in the blanks. You should have one of each letter no matter what key you are in. You just have to find out which ones are sharp. A key either has sharps, or flats. You cant have both. Key of C: C -- __ -- __ - __ -- __ -- __ -- __ - C Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do Key of C has no sharps or flats. It is all white keys on the piano. If you start on the fifth note from C, and use the same pattern you will find one sharp.
Key of G has 1# which one is it?:

G -- __ -- __ - __ -- __ -- __ -- __ - G D 2#s: D -- __ -- __ - __ -- __ -- __ -- __ -D A 3#s: A -- __ -- __ - __ -- __ -- __ -- __ -A E 4#s: E -- __ -- __ - __ -- __ -- __ -- __ -E B 5#s: B -- __ -- __ - __ -- __ -- __ -- __ -B F# 6#s: F# -- __ -- __ - __ -- __ -- __ -- __ -F# C# all sharps Notice the pattern you find when start on the fifth note of each scale and find the major scale of that note. If you take note of this pattern, it makes it easier to memorize which key has which sharps. Look at the Circle of 5ths next page. 2

The Circle of Fifths

Each Key also has a minor key that has the same exact notes in it. The Minor Keys have a sad sound. You can find it by counting six notes up from Do ie La. The relative minor of C is A minor (Am). (GEm). I like to think of the Flat keys as going backwards in fourths. If you write out the scale of F, you will find the fourth note to be a Bb. If you start on Bb you will add a flat to the fourth note Eb. Starting on Eb you will have Ab. Take a Look

Intervals
An interval is the distance between two notes. When they are played together it is called harmonically, and when played one after the other it is called melodically. This is how to train your ear to identify how far apart two notes are. And that is how you learn to play by ear. Everyone that can hear music can learn how to identify what they are hearing. So, essentially everyone can learn to play by ear. After reviewing this page you can test yourself on the guitar or go to this website (http://www.good-ear.com/servlet/EarTrainer) as well as many others to practice. The best way to practice is to play it on the guitar and then to sing the notes. Singing is the absolute best way to train your ear. It doesnt matter what key you are in, but we will use C for example. The best way to remember what it sounds like is to relate it to a song that you recognize. I will show you some examples Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do C D E F G A B C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 First learn the Diatonic Intervals (notes with-in the major scale) Called a Major 2nd Sounds like first notes Do to Re 1 whole step of happy birthday C to D C-C----D--C Do to Me 2 whole steps C to E Do to Fa C to F Do to So C to G Do to La C to A Do to Ti C to B Do to Do C to C Major 3rd
First notes of Blister in the Sun by Violent Femmes (or a triad) Here Comes the Bride by Richard Wagner Star Wars by John Williams NBC (1-6-4) the TV network
No song comes to mind, but it sounds dissonant and almost but not quite an octave

2 whole steps + 1 half Perfect 4th 3 whole steps + 1 half Perfect 5th 4 whole steps + 1 half Major 6th 5 whole steps + 1 half Major 7th 6 whole steps Perfect 8th (octave)

Money by Pink Floyd

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The non-diatonic or notes out of Key are on the next page.

Intervals Continued.
Once you can identify the diatonic intervals, the non-diatonic comes pretty easy. For example: If I played a whole step you would identify it as a major 2nd and it would sound like happy birthday. If I played one step short of that (the note between Do and Re) which would be one half step, you would probably say that sounds like a major 2nd, but not quite far enough. It would sound like a flatted major second. That is called a minor second. I will still list some songs as examples. Sounds like Jaws C to Db 1 half step Minor 2nd C to Eb C to F# C to Gb C to G# C to Ab C to Bb 1 whole step + 1 half 3 whole steps 4 whole steps 5 whole steps Minor 3
rd

shark movie Lullaby cradle song by Brahms Beginning of Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix The Entertainer piano rag by Scott Joplin Again no song comes to mind

Augmented 4th Diminished 5th Augmented 5th Minor 6th Minor 7th

For both Diatonic and non-Diatonic, you will begin to notice a particular quality of the 2nd s and 7th s, the 3rd s and 6th s, and the perfect intervals (4th, 5th, and octave). They each have a particular vibration. We could get very scientific here, and actually there are scientists who study only what were are talking about here. A good place to visually see these vibrations is on good old-fashioned YouTube. There is a video of an experiment called Webs of Maya. Or just type in resonance. Each note vibrates at its own frequency. Its sound wave is like its finger print. When you play two or more notes, those frequencies start to interact with each other. The perfect intervals sound perfect because the two frequencies line up nicely. However, the dissonant intervals (2nd and 7th especially non-diatonic) sound crunchy. Consonant intervals (3rd and 6th) generally sound nice together. The way in which all of these notes interact with each other brings us to harmony.

Harmony
Melody- two or more notes played separately Harmony-two or more notes played together Harmony is basically another word for chord. A typical way to build a chord is to play every other note of a scale together. Example again using the Key of C: Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do C D E F G A B C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 This makes your basic triad. The first 3 notes of your open C chord on the guitar is as follows: C E G C E ***Notice the notes can be in any order as long as it contains the right notes Fingers: 3 2 0 1 0

Here is what you get when you build chords from each note in the scale: Starting Note Triads Number Chord Do C-E-G I C chord Re D-F-A ii Dm Me E-G-B iii Em Fa F-A-C IV F So G-B-D V G La A-C-E vi Am Ti B-D-F vii B(diminished) So there are all of the chords you would play in the Key of C. If you have already played some music before, you probably noticed that certain chords are always played together. You will notice patterns called chord progressions. If you pick a scale, major or minor, and pick note in that scale to build every-other note on top you have a chord. Remember, for the major scale the ii, iii, and vi are minor (sad sounding). The seven is diminished (scary sounding) and is usually used only in classical, jazz, latin, gospel, and blues. Try finding chords of another key. (ie. G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, Fdim) Now we will find out what makes a chord major, minor, diminished, etc. 6

How Chords Work

Do C 1 Re D 2 Me E 3 Fa F 4 So G 5 La A 6 Ti B 7 Do C 8

I will now show you in two pages (without a chord book) how to learn EVERY CHORD ON THE PLANET!!!! Seriously. Sticking with a C chord, on this first page you will learn what makes a major chord a major chord and a minor chord a minor chord, as well as every other chord there is, for every style of music. First you have to know how the notes in the chord you are playing relate with each other in terms of numbers because, again, the key doesnt matter. An extension is when you add a note from a higher octave. For example, if you play a Cmajor 7 chord you can add a high D, which is 9 notes away from the root (C or Do). That would be a C major7(9) There are NO RULES, but there are basically 9 kinds of chords so here they are: KIND OF NOTE EXTENTIONS HOW CHORD CHORD RELATIONSHIP IS WRITTEN 135 Add 9 or 6 C Major Suspended 2 Suspended 4 Major 7 Dominant 7 Altered Dominant 7 Minor Minor 7 Minor Major 7 Half diminished Fully diminished
CEG 125 or 145 1357 CEGB 135b7 CEGBb 13b7 with any of CEBb 1b35 CEbG 1b35b7 CEbGBb 1b357 CEbGB 1b3b5b7 CEbGbBb 1b3b5bb7 CEbGbA Add D or A N/A Add 9 or 6 (13) Add D or A Add 9 or 13 Add D or A b5 - #5(b13) - b9 - #9 Gb - G#(Ab) - Db-D# N/A Add 9 or 11 or 13 Add D F A Add 9 or 11 or 13 Add D F A Add 9 Add D N/A Cmin7, Cm9, Cm11, Cm13 Cmin7, CmMaj7 Chalf-dim7, Cmin7b5, C7 Cdim7, C7
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C add 9/6 Csus2 or Csus4 Cmaj7, C7,

CMAJ7,Cmaj9,

Cmaj13 C7, C9, C13 C7b5, C7#9 etc

Every Chord on the Planet

In combination with the chart on the last page and my Major Scale/Chord Concepts for Guitar, you now have every chord there is in standard tuning on the guitar. This is by far the best way to learn chords. It is entirely too difficult to just memorize chord shapes. It is much easier if you under stand how the chords work, and how your fret-board works (which is the purpose of the Major Scale/ Chord concept packet). It is this simple. When you know what notes belong in the chord you are playing, and you know the notes (in terms of numbers) under your fingers, all you have to do is make a slight change up or down a fret and you have a new chord. Examine this diagram of the basic bar chords. These are two C chords. The first to the left is the sixth string root on the eight fret. The other is the fifth string root C chord on the third fret.

4 b7 b3 5 b5 7

4 b7 9 b5 7 5 1

3 #5 b9 6 9

b3 #5 3 6

5 1 4

#5 b9 #4 #4 b7 #9

#5 b9 4 b7

Not only do I know how the notes under my fingers relate to the root, I also know how all of the notes around those notes relate to the root. Remember I am talking about interval numbers, and not the letters. This way you can play in any key. If your finger is on the 5 and you need a flat five you move that note down a fret. If you are on a flat seven and you want major seven, you move that note up. This works for every single chord shape, and on every chord instrument. The only thing you have to do is figure out which fingers to use. You will get faster and faster at figuring that out. That is part of playing guitar. The only rule; is to make it as simple as 8 possible and if you feel serious pain, you are doing it wrong!!

Now What?
The only way any of this material is valid, is if you incorporate into the way you think about music. This is for guitar or any other instrument. For every song you learn, you should apply numbers. Write out the song you are learning in letters, and then underneath add the Roman numerals (I, ii, ii, IV, V, etc) that apply to the chord you are on. If you are in the key of D for example, and you are on a F#m chord then you are on the iii chord. Something we havent discussed that you will come across is borrowed chords. It is really common to borrow from keys that are only one or two notes different. Let me explain: If you are in the Key of G, an F chord would be out of key. You may however see an F chord because it would be borrowed from the key of C. The key of C is only one note different. The song basically switches to the key of C for a bit. It is very subtle, but very effective. Each chord in a key has particular function to the song, and I am referring to the way it sounds. I can not say enough that there are NO RULES. If it sounds good, do it. Another thing to practice is making new chords. If you dont already have them memorized, take all of the chords on the chord page of the Major Scale/Chord Concepts for Guitar book. Take all of the 5 variations of the major chord and make them Major 7. You always want to keep the Lowest Note (the bass/root note), but maybe change one of the other root notes down a half step. You should now have a GMaj7 chord. Take out the Chart on page 7, make some chords. Change them all to minor. You probably would want to make a chord that you need for a song. This is, again, very important so that you can learn to identify that chord by ear. Use the same trick that you use for intervals for chords. Find a song that helps you identify with that chord. It is a fine balance between knowing all of these things, and letting it get in the way with of your playing. That is not a good thing. These are concepts you use when practicing. When playing, you should only be thinking about how the song sounds. Once all of these concepts are understood and applied to the way you think about music and guitar, FORGET EVERYTHING AND JUST PLAY!!!!!!
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