Essential Theory For Guitarists

That’s why I’ve created “Essential Theory For Guitarists”, based on the knowledge that I once lacked as a result of confusion and naiveness, in hope that I can help a similar audience today.

This Masterclass is best suited for guitar players who are somewhat familiar with some basic principles of music theory, but sense many gaps amongst their understanding. The class has been designed to accommodate for both semi-experienced music theorists, and also complete noobs to the topic. I’ll be starting from the fundamentals, before gradually working through three core topics and how they all interlink: Scales, Chords, and Arpeggios.

Whilst the primary focus of this class is to provide you with the knowledge, I’ll also demonstrate and teach you how to apply these topics throughout your own music practice.

You’ll learn all of the essential music theory concepts in a musical setting, so that you’ll be able to understand them and quickly apply them into your playing. For each lesson, I will first explain the topic clearly, and then demonstrate the concept for you to follow along.

The course is organised into five sections. Click through the section names below to learn more about what each section entails…

• Section 1: Theory Primer

  As the name suggests, this section will prime you for the entire course and your entire outlook on music theory. If you want the maximum benefits from music theory then it’s very important that you have a solid understanding of intervals, which is the primary subject within this section of the course. I will give you a thorough understanding of intervals, as well as show you my methods of interval visualisation across the neck.

• Section 2: Scales & Scale/Chord Relationships

  In this section you will acquire a thorough understanding of Pentatonics, The Major Scale, The Minor Scale, Modes, as well as the ability to Understand Keys, Diatonic Chord Sequences, Modal Chord Progressions. Most importantly, I will teach you how to apply all of these topics in your Songwriting, Musical Understanding, Visualisation, and Improvisation. All music theory is developed from scale knowledge, so I’ve taken extra care to make sure that this section of the course is very thorough, easy to follow, well annotated, and relevant.

• Section 3: Chord Construction & Application

  You will learn all of the essential theory and practical applications of chords. After following the lessons throughout this section you will be able to confidently; build the 4 primary chord types in all areas of the neck, invert triads, visualise and play diatonic chord progressions in any key and area of the neck, and understand roman numerals in relevance to music theory. You will also be able to construct extended chord voicings such as seventh chords, suspended chords, slash chords, add chords, and more!

• Section 4: Arpeggios

  This section will combine much of the previously learned topics to help us understand and create Arpeggios. I will show you how to build your own arpeggios across the neck, as well as share some of the more common shapes that you will be able to use immediately. By the end of this section you will be able to confidently use Arpeggios in your Lead and Rhythm playing, in both Composition and Improvisation, whilst also aiding your Creativity and Visualisation of the neck.

• Section 5: Summary

  You guessed it! This section will be a short overview and summary of the course and what you’ve learned, where to go from here, and I have also included a list of examples where I have applied some of these theory concepts to help inspire you further.