Music theory for guitar

Music theory for guitar (folk and rock). We explain the tablature, chord diagrams, note and rest values and all the theory you had to learn to play the guitar.

This article is about basic notions of music theory for guitar

7 letters, 7 music note names

In music theory, the first notion is the naming convention of music notes, and the beginning of the alphabet is used:



And below are music notes on the fretboard and on the lowest string:

And below are music notes on a piano keyboard (you can see that the alphabet is repeating):




Read more: Note names

Whole steps & half steps (tones & semitones ) on a guitar

Another essential point in music theory is the notion of whole steps & half steps (tones & semitones ):

Theoretically:

one whole step = two half steps
one tones = two semitones ).

And the distance between two frets is one half steps (semitones )



Below is a example written in treble clef, on a piano keyboard:



In other words, there is only one half steps (semitones ) between E and F, and only one half steps between B and C

Read more: Whole steps & half steps (Tones & semitones)

Tablature, the pitch Notation

Folk and rock guitars use a tablature to indicate which string will be played. Each line of the tablature (TAB) is a string of the guitar:



And here is an example of tablature:

The lines of the TAB correspond to the lines of the guitar, and the numbers indicates which fret to press. 0 (zero) means that no fret is pressed, it is an open string. 1 mean you had to press the first fret, and so on...

And below, the same tablature with the classic guitar notation:

With the classic pitch notation (5 lines) you notice that there is a clef, and in this case it is a treble clef.

Read more: The staff (stave), Treble clef (G-clef)

Accidentals: Sharps, Flats, and Naturals

Music theory says this:

An accidental is a sign to raise or to lower the pitch of a note, and they are always written before the note.

A sharp (♯) is an accidental that raises the note by a half step (semitone ).

A flat (♭) is an accidental that lowers the note by a half step (semitone ).

A natural (♮) is an accidental that cancels the previous accidentals.

Sharp

Flat

Natural

Below is a A natural (natural because without accidental)

Below is a A sharp (A♯)

Below is a A flat (A♭)

And below are a A flat (A♭) and a A natural (A♮). The natural symbol (♮) cancel the flat symbol (♭)

Remember that there is only one half steps (semitones ) between E and F, and only one half steps between B and C, so:

E♯ is played with the same fret as F
F♭ is played with the same fret as E
B♯ is played with the same fret as C
C♭ is played with the same fret as B

Guitar chords and music theory

Music theory for guitar provides us chords diagrams, and bellow is a very common diagram chord:

- The vertical line on the left is the biggest string of the guitar (low E string)
- The vertical line on the right is the smallest string (high E string)
- 0 (zeros) mean empty strings (no finger pressed on it)
- The numbers 1 and 2 indicate the fingers of the left hand (from 1 for the index to 4 for the little finger)
- Em means E minor in Anglo-Saxon notation

so here is to play this chord:



Another example with the chord Am (A minor):

- The X symbolizes a string that should not be played by the rigth hand
- The O means empty strings (no finger pressed on it)
- The numbers 1, 2, and 3 indicate the fingers of the left hand (from 1 for the index up to 4 for the little finger)

And her is how to play the chord diagram (Am = A minor)



And one last example with th Cm chord (C minor):


- The number 8 indicates the eighth fret of the neck (always starting from the head of the guitar)
- The bar with the number 1 indicates that your first finger (index) covers all the strings
- The number 3 indicates the position of your 3rd finger
- The number 4 indicates the position of your 4th finger

Note and rest values

In music theory, notes have a pitch but also a duration in order to play rhythms.

Signs	Names
	Double-whole note Breve
	Whole note Semibreve
	Half note Minim
	Quarter note Crotchet
	Eighth note Quaver
	Sixteenth note Semiquaver
	Thirty-second note Demisemiquaver
	Sixty-fourth note Hemidemisemiquaver
	One hundred and twenty-eighth note Semihemidemisemiquaver

And below are note signs equivalences

And when music use silences, weuse rest value:

Signs	Names
	Double-whole rest Breve rest
	Whole rest Semibreve rest
	Half rest Minim rest
or	Quarter rest Crotchet rest
	Eighth rest Quaver rest
	Sixteenth rest Semiquaver rest
	Thirty-second rest Demisemiquaver rest
	Sixty-fourth rest Hemidemisemiquaver rest
	One hundred and twenty-eighth rest Semihemidemisemiquaver rest

Read more about: Note values, Rest values, Relations between note and rest values

Increase the duration of a note

In music theory, the ways to increase the duration of a sound or of a rest are: Dots, ties and fermata:

Dots (augmentation dost)

A dot placed to the right of the note-head or to the right of a rest, increases its time-value by half.

Examples:

A dotted whole note is equivalent to a whole note and a half note.
A dotted semibreve is equivalent to a semibreve and a minim.

A dotted eighth rest is equivalent to a eighth rest and a sixteenth rest.
A dotted quaver rest is equivalent to a quaver rest and a semiquaver rest.

Ties

Ties merge multiple notes of the same pitch:



Ties can be used across bars (barlines ) :

Fermata

The fermata, also called hold or bird's eye, is a semicircle containing a dot which may lie above or below a note or rest or over a bar (barline ). The fermata indicates that the note (or rest) should be prolonged beyond the normal duration.

Examples:

Read more: Dots and Ties

Tempo

Tempo refers to the speed at which a piece of music will be played.

The tempo is always perfectly regular like a clock, and a beat is a regular pulse which can be dictated by a metronome.

Measure (bar )

Below is an example of empty measures (bars )

Time signatures

Bellow are some common time signatures:

means that there are 4 beats per measure and that one beat has for value (quarter note / crotchet )

means that there are 3 beats per measure and that one beat has for value (quarter note / crotchet )

means that there are 2 beats per measure and that one beat has for value (quarter note / crotchet )

is the is the abbreviation of

is the is the abbreviation of and means that there are 2 beats per measure and that one beat has for value (half note / minim )

Read more: Time signature

Repeat bars (Repeat barlines )

Repeat bars are used to repeat a segment of the score:

On this staff (stave ), there are two repeat signs, it works like mirrors. The first measure (bar ) is played, nothing special.

The 2^nd measure is played normally, but you will have to memorize the location of the repeat sign, here it is simple because the staff has only one line.

The 3^rd measure is played normally.

The 4^th measure is played normally.

After you have fully played the 4^th measure, the repeat sign indicates that you should go back to the previous repeat sign.

The 2^nd measure is played again.

The 3^rd measure is played again.

The 4^th measure is played again.

Mission accomplished! We played the passage between the two repet signs, we can continue our way.

Repeat signs with first and second endings:

On this staff (stave), there are two repeat signs and measures with numbered brackets. Measure with first bracket (1.) is called first-time bar (or first ending) and the second bracket (2.) is called second-time bar (or second ending).

The 1^st measure is played.

The 2^nd measure is played normally, but you will have to memorize the location of the repeat sign.

The 3^rd measure is played.

At the end of this measure called first-time bar (or first ending), there is a repeat sign, so we go back to the previous repeat sign.

We play one more time this measure.

And we jump to the second-time bar (or second ending), because we have already played the first-time bar.

- First ending is used the first time
- Second ending is used the second time (after you go back to the start repeat)

Read more: Measure (Bar), Repeat signs

A famous example to recap all this

Because you came here as you were, here is an example to recap all music theory needed to play guitar: