Piano and Guitar Theory

By Andrew Klee

NOTES ON THE PIANO

When learning about music theory, even on the guitar, it helps to be familiar with a piano keyboard. The white notes are called natural notes. They span from A to G, then repeat. The black keys are called accidentals and are named with respect to the key directly to the right or left. For instance, the black key to the right of C is called C sharp (C#). That key can also be called D flat (Db), since it's one note lower than D. As you can see from the picture, each accidental note has two names.

NOTES ON THE STAFF

Here is a diagram of a music staff that would be used with piano. In music written for guitar, only the top clef, known as the treble clef would be used. The lower clef, or bass clef, is used for bass guitar.

MAJOR SCALES

On a piano, going from one key the next adjacent key is known as a half step. Two half steps make a whole step. On a guitar, moving one fret is a half step and moving two frets is a whole step.

A major scale is made up of 7 of the 12 possible notes. To determine the notes in a major scale, find the root note (that the key is named for) and use this pattern of whole steps and half steps: W - W - H - W - W - W - H. Below you can see how the keys of C and A are formed.

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A

INTERVALS

The distance from one note to another is called an interval. An interval of one half step is called a minor 2^nd. Two half steps make a Major 2^nd. Three half steps make a minor 3^rd and so on, up to an Octave, which is 12 half steps. All the intervals are shown in the table below. In pictures throughout this tutorial, intervals will be represented by their color in the table.

	Half steps	Symbol	Name	Example
	0	I	Unison	C
	1	ii	minor 2^nd	C to C#
	2	II	Major 2^nd	C to D
	3	iii	minor 3rd	C to D#
	4	III	Major 3^rd	C to E
	5	IV	4^th	C to F
	6	v °	diminished 5^th	C to F#
	7	V	5^th	C to G
	8	vi	minor 6^th	C to G#
	9	VI	Major 6^th	C to A
	10	vii	minor 7^th	C to A#
	11	VII	Major 7th	C to B
	12	I	Octave	C to C

MAJOR TRIADS

A chord is a group of notes played together. A triad is a very common type of chord made up of three notes put together in a certain pattern. To form a major triad, start with the root note. The second note is a Major 3^rd (4 half steps) higher than the root note. The third note is a minor 3^rd (3 half steps) higher than the second note, and a 5^th (7 half steps) above the root.

MINOR TRIADS

A minor triad is very similar to a major triad. You start with the root note. This time the second note is a minor 3^rd (3 half steps) above the root. The third note is still a 5^th (7 half steps) above the root, but now it's a Major 3^rd (4 half steps) higher than the second note. Essentially, to make a major triad into a minor triad, you just drop the middle note one half step. Shown below are C minor and D minor.

As you go CLOCKWISE in 5^ths, each new key will have an extra SHARP(#). The new sharp will be the 7^th note of that scale (1 half step below the root). For example, when going from the key of A to the key of E, the new sharp is D#, the 7^th note in the key of E and one half step below E.

As you go COUNTER-CLOCK-WISE in 4^ths, each new key will have an extra FLAT(b). The new flat will be the 4^th note of that scale (5 half steps above the root) For example, when going from the key of F to the key of Bb, the new flat is Eb, the 4^th note in the key of Bb.

Note that the 3 keys at the bottom of the circle can be thought of as sharp or flat.

CIRCLE OF FIFTHS

(CIRCLE OF FOURTHS)

MAJOR KEYS

The tables below show each key and the notes that comprise them.

SHARP KEYS

Unison	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th	6^th	7^th	Octave
C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
G	A	B	C	D	E	F#	G
D	E	F#	G	A	B	C#	D
A	B	C#	D	E	F#	G#	A
E	F#	G#	A	B	C#	D#	E
B	C#	D#	E	F#	G#	A#	B
F#	G#	A#	B	C#	D#	E#	F#
C#	D#	E#	F#	G#	A#	B#	C#

FLAT KEYS

Unison	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th	6^th	7^th	Octave
C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
F	G	A	Bb	C	D	E	F
Bb	C	D	Eb	F	G	A	Bb
Eb	F	G	Ab	Bb	C	D	Eb
Ab	Bb	C	Db	Eb	F	G	Ab
Db	Eb	F	Gb	Ab	Bb	C	Db
Gb	Ab	Bb	Cb	Db	Eb	F	Gb
Cb	Db	Eb	Fb	Gb	Ab	Bb	Cb

The 1^st, 3^rd, and 5^th notes of each key make up the major chord with the same name as that key. For example, if you want to know which notes a D major chord consists of, look up the key of D. You can see the 1^st, 3^rd, and 5^th notes are D, F#, and A. If you look at the 7^th column in the table of sharp keys, you can see the order of increasing sharps as you go around the circle clockwise.
The 4^th column in the table of flat keys shows you the order of increasing flats as you go around the circle counterclockwise.

Scale Degrees

In each major key, there are seven chords called scale degrees. They are triads that consist of only notes in that key. There's one chord for each note in the scale. Each triad is either major (Root, Maj 3^rd, 5^th), minor (Root, min 3^rd, 5^th), or diminished (Root, min 3^rd, dim 5^th). The order is the same for each key and is shown in the table at right. You can refer to the chords in a key by their associated roman numerals. A I-vi-ii-V progression in the key of C is C – A min – D min – G. In the key of D, I-vi-ii-V is D – B min – E min – A. Below are the degrees of the keys of C and D. Degree	Type
I	MAJOR
ii	minor
iii	minor
IV	MAJOR
V	MAJOR
vi	minor
viiº	diminished
VIII	MAJOR

Degrees of Key of C

C

D

E

F

G

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

I

C

C

E

G

ii

D min

D

F

A

iii

E min

E

G

B

IV

F

F

A

C

V

G

G

B

D

vi

A min

A

C

E

viiº

B dim

B

D

F

VIII

C

C

E

G

Degrees of Key of D

D

E

F#

G

A

B

C#

D

E

F#

G

A

I

D

D

F#

A

ii

E min

E

G

B

iii

F# min

F#

A

C#

IV

G

G

B

D

V

A

A

C#

E

vi

B min

B

D

F#

viiº

C# dim

C#

E

G

VIII

D

D

F#

A

NOTES ON THE GUITAR

Throughout this tutorial, guitar diagrams are drawn with the headstock on the left side and the body of the guitar to the right. First, you’ll want to memorize the name of each open string. Then, get comfortable with the notes in the diagram above at left. They correspond to the notes on the staff above. The colors of notes in these diagrams don't have to do with interval colors, but show groupings of 3 or 4 notes. A convention I like to use is to split the natural notes into two groups: C – D – E and F – G – A – B

Locate a note on the fretboard and then try and find that same note somewhere else. If you move to a higher string, then you must move 4 or 5 frets toward the headstock to compensate. If you move to a lower string, then you should fret the note 4 or 5 frets closer to the body of the guitar.

It’s not necessary to memorize every note on the fretboard. If you learn the natural notes, you can figure out the accidentals. Once you’ve gotten the notes in the first three frets from before, you can start to learn the notes along the low E string. Remember to think of the seven natural notes as two groups (C-D-E and F-G-A-B).

On the low E string, notice that three of the four notes in the F-G-A-B group fall on dots. Once you learn the notes on the low E string, you know the notes on the high E string too. Now you can move on to the A string. Notice that the C-D-E group falls on 3 dots. Once you’ve learned the E and A strings, you will be able to play lots of barre chords and power chords.

On the D string, notice that the four dots represent the F-G-A-B group. You can learn each string in this manner. And remember, beyond the 12^th fret, the notes repeat themselves, only an octave higher. There is no need to memorize any of the notes beyond the first twelve.

GUITAR INTERVALS

On a piano, each note appears in only one spot. This isn't so with the guitar. A single note can be played in as many as 5 different positions. From the diagram at left, you can see that playing the open high E string is the same as playing the B string at the 5^th fret. Between the G and B string is an interval of a Major 3^rd. The interval between any other pair of strings is a 4^th.

The following diagrams show how each interval looks on the guitar. Notice

that between the G and B strings, the interval is different than between the other strings.

Unison (0 half steps)

minor 2^nd (1 half step)

Major 2^nd (2 half steps)

minor 3^rd (3 half steps)

Major 3^rd (4 half steps)

4^th (5 half steps)

diminished 5^th (6 half steps)

5^th (7 half steps)

minor 6^th (8 half steps)

Major 6^th (9 half steps)

minor 7^th (10 half steps)

Major 7^th (11 half steps)

Octave (12 half steps)

SCALES ON GUITAR

Above, a major scale has been constructed along one string. At left, you can see that a scale can be condensed into a span of four frets by spreading out the notes over several strings.

SOME SCALE PATTERNS

Below are three patterns for constructing major scales. For any major scale that you want to play, just start at the root note on the appropriate string and play the pattern. Colors indicate intervals. The numbers indicate fingerings (1 – index, 2 – middle, 3 – ring, 4 – pinkie).

THREE C SCALES

You can find these three C scales on the fretboard above, using the fret numbers as a guide.

OPEN CHORDS

Open chords are chords played on the guitar that involve playing some open strings and are usually played in the first few frets. Here are the degrees of C played as open chords. The numbers in the circles indicate which finger to use. The color of each chord's name shows the interval from C. Each note's color shows the interval from the chord's root. Note that B diminished is not played in the first three frets.

I – C

ii - D minor iii - E minor

IV - F V - G

vi - A minor viiº - B diminished

BARRE SHAPES

A barre chord is formed when you lay your index finger across a fret, covering all the strings, and form the shape of the chord with your other fingers. With open chords, you stay in the first few frets and rearrange your fingers to play different chords. With barre chords, you form the barre shape and move it up and down the fretboard to get different chords.

The most common types of barre chords are the E shaped and A shaped barre chords. To form an E shaped barre chord, find the root of your chord on the low E string. Lay your index finger along that fret and place your other fingers according to the picture. For an A shaped barre chord, you do the same thing, only the root is on the A string and the shape of the chord is a little different. Notice that changing one note can make the chord minor.

It takes a little time to get used to holding all six strings down firmly with your index finger. But once you master it, you can play each major and minor chord in several positions and only have to remember a few chord shapes.

E-SHAPED BARRE CHORDS

These diagrams show several chords and the notes they consist of. Above, there are two chords, E and A, on piano. Those same two chords are shown above that on the guitar. Notice that the three notes that make up the triad are the same notes that appear in the guitar chord. The E chord to the left is an open E chord. The A chord at the right uses the same E shape, and is just played at the fifth fret. The picture below shows an open A chord and an A shaped D chord, along with the two piano chords to show you that the notes match up.

A-SHAPED BARRE CHORDS

POWER CHORDS

A common type of chord used in rock music is a power chord. They're very similar to barre chords, but with a few distinctions. Basically, you only play the lowest three notes of the barre chord. This makes the chord sound less twangy, giving you a harder sound. Because the three notes you play in a power chord are the root, 5^th, and octave, a power chord is neither major or minor. The 3^rd is the note that makes chords major or minor.

When playing a power chord, make sure you mute the strings that you're not trying to play. You can do this by letting your index finger up slightly where it touches the high strings. Another way is to only play the chord with two fingers. Your index finger does the same thing, but you can ignore the shape your other fingers formed before and simply lay your ring finger across the proper fret, as shown in the picture above. This shape is easier to form and lets you muffle the high strings easily with your ring finger.

That's it for now. I'll add more sections as I think of them. Thanks for checking this out.