An Easy Way to Think of a Cool Chord
In a major key, combine the ii chord with the key’s leading tone. Voila!
Category: Tips from Mark
Tip From Mark: Dealing with Sore Fingertips!
Dealing with Sore Fingertips!
Timeline For ‘Music Theory for Guitarists’ Video
Timeline/Contents for “Music Theory for Guitarists” video.
Unable to Memorize Your Guitar Pieces?
Memorize your guitar pieces more effectively!
Successfully Move a “C”-Shape Up the Neck!
You can very successfully move a “C”-shape up the neck! For fingerstyle guitar one of my favorite chord shapes in standard tuning is “C.”
“A” Shape – Mark’s 6-Chord Method
Mark Hanson’s Six-Shape Neck Visualization Method – the “A” shape.
Chords With Root on the Fourth String
Earlier I wrote about my “six-chord” neck visualization method, with two chord shapes anchored on each of the three bass strings. The advantage of knowing this is to gain access to a different range of melody notes on the treble strings while fretting the root note in the bass. Let’s start with the fourth string. You all know the first-position, end-of-the neck D shape, with the root note as the open fourth string. This fingering is “in front” of the root note – meaning the fretted notes are at a higher fret position. This shape, of course, can slide all […]
Tip From Mark – Should I Learn to Read Music?
This question came to me from an adult client. My reply follows it: Q: Do you think it’s beneficial for guitarists to learn to read standard notation and, if so, what method do you recommend for doing so? A: I think music, because it is a language I learned when I was in second and third grade and have used all of my life. That said: Sure, learn to read music and learn to understand how music “theory” works, even at an advancing age! It provides a way of thinking that tab-only guitarists generally don’t possess. But, be aware that […]
A Suggested Low-Stress Practice Routine
Maybe sitting in front of an interactive computer screen is part of your practice regimen (that’s yours truly in the photo jamming with BB King’s band at his museum in Indianola, Miss.). But if not, here are some thoughts I recently offered to a student. To avoid the Yngwie Malmsteen-like physical maladies caused at least partly by shredding without warming up, I suggest starting your sessions with major scales at the end of the neck, using open strings. You’ll fret about two-thirds of the notes, so your fretting hand relaxes continually. Play the scales relatively slowly and softly to avoid […]
Modulate the B String to Help Make the Melody Stand Out
The B-string on a steel-string guitar can be loud – it is the thickest wire on the guitar, even thicker than the wire inside the wound sixth string. The inherent volume of the second string can produce unbalanced melody notes compared to notes played on the first string. Your ear is your guide in determining how hard to pick each string to balance the melody. However, when you pick the first and second strings simultaneously, it’s not easy to make one louder than the other. The volume differential between the first and second strings may obscure the actual first-string melody […]