My Backstory, Reading Music, & More

Question 1: Ray wanted to know a little about my backstory

Question 2: Ray also wanted to know if you're playing in the key of A, can you play also in the key of the IV and V chord, which would be the Key of D and the key of E. The answer is basically no, but kind of, but because of the hierarchy of important considerations when soloing.

Question 3: Richard wanted to know how guitarists tune so quickly on stage. I mentioned this cool PolyTune pedal

Question 4: Noah asked if I recommend any good books for theory and playing. I don't usually think about books, but I learned how to read music from this Mel Bay book and I would recommend it to anyone learning to read music.

Question 5: Josh was wondering if it's ok to use Dsus4 shape instead of a D shape. I referred specifically to the D CHORD in this explanation, but it applies anywhere you're talking about the D shape as well. I would not recommend it, but art is art.

Question 6: David was wondering how long to spend on the first MTFG lesson - I'd say move on once you get it mostly playable. No need to do full speed. But even more importantly, check out Practice Thoughts on The Jump, Scott's Practice Method, and Doing vs Thinking.

Question 7: Julian wanted a bit of advise on creating interesting drum tracks. I forgot to answer your bass line question! Check out my bass line lesson here and see if you can use an octave effect on your guitar or buy an octave down pedal for your guitar to write basslines.

Soloing Over Chords & Finding Notes

This weeks questions were:

Question 1: Prahanien was wondering about soloing over the specific chords in a chord progression. I went into some detail, but mainly focused on concepts laid out in CAGED Soloing.

Question 2: Ahmed was wondering how to find the same note somewhere else on the fingerboard. I went into a few ideas and recommended checking out Unison Note Finder.

Question 3: William was also trying to get a feel for CAGED soloing. Not only do I recommend the same series from question 1 above, but I think it's important to really understand how melodies work, as in MTM 17 18 19. It's also important to switch between very deliberate careful soloing and just exploring without thinking too hard.

Question 4: Mateus was wondering if there is some kind of sheet to say every chord you can play as an alternative, like in a I vi ii V progression. I gave a really fun shortcut, but I'm planning on doing a slightly more formal version for MTM soon.

Song Structure & Soling Over Minor Keys

Question 1: Hal was curious about my Fender Musicmaster - why do I like it?

Question 2: Mark-R was wondering about song structure, specifically how to write a second part once you have a good first part. While each song is different and requires a different approach, I think my "descriptive" method is a nice tool.

Question 3: Jonathan was curious about how to solo over minor keys. I couldn't quite understand the specifics of the question, but I think CAGED Soloing and MTM 17, 18, and 19 will help you understand melodies,

Question 4: Fred asked what kind of progress to expect as an older learner, practicing every day. Always set goals.

Question 5: ConvexFX wanted to know how I learned guitar? Who were my idols? Did I start with CAGED?

Question 6: Mathias Horn had questions about thumb placement - Where is it supposed to be when you're playing?

Question 7: Tropf was wondering if I play in a band (I do, called Hot Bodies in Motion) and why I don't post more on YouTube!

Question 8: Ahmed was looking for tips on recording voice and guitar simultaneously.

Question 9: Kaj just finished MTFG Minor Scales and was trying to make sense of my CAGED labels for each scale. I gave some explanation, but CAGED Basics I and IIwill start making more sense.

Making Beats & Learning The Fingerboard

Question 1: Sean was curious about building out a song with drums and bassline. I gave a thought about the distinct difference between playing live with a band vs making a beat in recording software. I suggested GarageBand basics for more details on making beats, and my Bass Crash Course for learning to write basslines.

Question 2: Brett was wondering if we're limited to only 7 notes when playing a solo. It took a sec for my software to boot, so I started Guitar Camera stuff around here. Brett also wanted to know the best method for learning the fingerboard. But I forgot to answer that question! Fortunately someone else asked the same question later. Scroll down to question 2! I recommend learning Octave Shapes. Unison Shapes is a pretty cool lesson too.

Question 3: Josh was wondering if I could explain the e minor pentatonic scale used in blues music. I gave a brief idea, but I dig in a little deeper in MTM 12 and MTM 13. If those are a little heavy, start MTM from the beginning. If that's too heavy, start with Music Theory Monday.

Question 4: Hal was wondering if I plan to make any technique videos again like Playing Mechanics. I suppose I could! Is anyone else interested?

Question 5: Graeme, who made this AMAZING ONLINE SCRATCH PAPER for everyone to use, was wondering about dom7 chords. Specifically, does the VII7 in a minor key resolve to III? We get philosophical because yes, but no, but kinda.

Question 6: Dr. Algenpfleger wanted to know the best way to learn the fingerboard. This is where I answer the other question I forgot from Brett in question 2. Definitely check out Octave Shapes.

Question 7: Mark-R wanted to know how much time to spend on each lesson. Generally, spend enough to understand and play around with the concept, but not enough to master. Context in a series is more important than complete mastery of each lesson before moving on.

Question 8: Roscopico was curious about the ideal approach for those with arthritis or other arm and hand issues. My suggestion is not as much physical, but emotional - ALWAYS warm up with the same thing so you have the opportunity to learn how your hand feels and reacts differently day to day.

Question 9: MJ was wondering my go-to ways to make a simple chord progression more interesting. Adding 6ths/7ths/9ths as you see fit can do a LONG way along with playing different voicings. I get into it.

Question 10: Daniel asks how to get out of the repetitiveness of playing open chords and pentatonic scales. I recommended CAGED Basics.

Have follow up questions? Bring the discussion to the community forum.

REMEMBER, THERE ARE NO DUMB QUESTIONS! EVER!

Pentatonic & Moving Though Scales

Question 1: Ray struggles with making chords and scales musical and wants help. Also, whats the deal with Hendrix's double stops and stuff.

Question 2: Josh wanted to know who made the pentatonic scale the norm for solos ion modern music. I don't know! Here is a fun article to read.

Question 3: J.T. had questions about moving through a scale vs jumping, which I talk about in detail on my Melody Making Lessons in Music Theory Monday and after that, CAGED soloing lessons.

Question 4: Dede wants me to make a video kind of like my Rubik's Cube system but for sus2 and add9 chords.

Question 5: Dorothy was wondering why I teach the pentatonic scale as a sort of extended triad with extra notes.

Question 6: Rick had a question about closed position vs 3 note per string

Come further the discussion on any one of these questions below or on the community forum.

Phrasing and Low Tunings

Here are the questions for this stream:

Question 1: Mr K was wondering how to set up a guitar for drop C tuning with heavier strings.

Question 2: Adam wanted a better sense of what the word "resolve" means in music.

Question 3: Ahmed had a question about phrasing

Question 4: Ahmed was ALSO wondering if you have to THINK about the name of each note you're playing. No, but I go into more detail!

Question 5: Graham asked if watching and learning famous solos and phrases is a good way to learn good phrasing. Yes, BUT

Question 6: Mojo Jeff asked if I have plans to teach any funk guitar rhythm. I already have to some degree in my Strumming Patterns series on 16th note patterns.

Question 7: Zoe had a question about thirds - I went into a pretty fun example of how thirds can be so fun! I played along to this jam track from my SPJ Jam trackschannel.

Office Hours, Q&A

Please remember: THERE ARE NO DUMB QUESTIONS WHATSOEVER! I believe that every question has wonderful secrets to reveal about the world. This is a place to ask even the simplest of questions.

These were the questions for this week:

Question 1: Stevie was wondering where to start with Melody Writing. I gave examples of my guidelines from Music Theory Monday lessons 17, 18, and 19 and talked about how the theory is one thing, but how to do it on guitar is another thing, which is why my CAGED Soloing Series is really about making melodies on the guitar.

Question 2: Max was wondering if there were any free sites that map out modes, scales, etc. My answer is to use this awesome interactive scratch paper that a Patron named Graeme coded: The interactive note name scratch paper. This combined with learning music theory around here will go a LONG way.

Question 3: Magela asked how to keep modes in mind while writing melodies, as a follow up to question 1.

Question 4: Ahmed was wondering if I intend to do more videos on melodies and riffing. I recommended the above melody lessons again. What would you like, Patrons? What interests you? More melody lessons?

Question 5: Magela was wondering if I know anything about the "drop 2" system. I don't, but I guess I'll have to look into it now!

Question 6: Jason wanted some tips on staying motivated. I had a LOT of ideas!

Question 7: Graeme was curious about the tonal differences between tonewoods, specifically rosewood vs maple fingerboard. I forgot to mention that while the sound difference might be subtle, I MUCH prefer the rosewood fingerboard for ease of maintenance. Maple has to be refinished after a refret, but rosewood and ebony just need some lemon oil.

Question 8: Georgiy has been playing for a while and trying to figure out how to bridge the gap between theory and application. I recommended participation in the weekly community challenges and some structured ways to go about writing. The things I recommended should lead toward being able to solo, jam, write, etc.

I started talking about Get Lucky and general right hand strumming techniques.

Office Hours, Q&A

Question 1 from Mateus was about bending up to a note, then doing vibrato while staying bent, though it took me a minute to fully understand the question, I gave some good general pinky tips on the way there.

Question 2 from Ethan was pretty straightforward: "Are there more CAGED Basics II lessons coming?" And the answer is yes. Very soon.

Question 3 from Monster Zit was about how much time to spend on lessons: commit everything perfectly to memory or get the concept?

Question 4 from Ronnie was about the CAGED system. I launched into a mini lesson about one of my favorite CAGED concepts laid out in CAGED Soloing and the improved NEW CAGED Soloing, found here.

Question 5 was from Brock, who wanted some tips on how to get cleaner sounding notes from the guitar.

I explained a fun little mode exercise that I like