Notation – Scales
Music notation for guitar is a bit confusing honestly. So why bother learning it? You can get by without ever learning even a little bit of notation if you really want. But you will be missing an amazing source of material. If you get stuck learning a piece of music and you go to the net for some tab you will get 500 different versions of the same song with no real idea of what is going on. With notation it will tell you the exact note, which scale to play it in, and how long to play it for as well as any tweaks that the musician does. And it really helps you understand music theory. This is my only real lesson on notation so have a look and then find some other videos, or better yet, fumble through some sheet music and just have a go. And you can get the contrast between Tab and Notation by looking at the lesson on Tab at https://7minutemusic.com/theory/level-2/tablature-scales/. And look, Tab is really good for getting you started but take the plunge and learn the real stuff.
Backing Track – A minor to E minor
Each line and space on a notation stave represents a note from a scale.
The higher the note on the stave the higher the pitch
Sharps and flats can modify notes to move up in pitch (sharp) or down (flat) – this is up or down a fret on the guitar.
Level 2 Progress
Write out the C Major scale in notation
Choose any song and look up its sheet music – see if you can translate a bar
Write the following in notation (quarter notes) – A, D, A, C, G, F, G, E (try playing it too)
Write the notation for the Em, Am and Dm chords
Write out the following scales then try to play them:
D Major – D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#
A Major – A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#
F Major – F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E