Guitar Keys, Scales and Chords – Learn the Relationship! Though chords are different, most people interchangeably use the word Keys and Scales to refer to the same thing. So for instance, a Key of C basically means one is referring to the C scale.
Is it Only for Beginners
S is it that only beginners need to learn about guitar fretboard scales and keys?
These are the building blocks of all music so learning guitar keys adds the much needed structure to a beginner’s music understanding. Musical scales are used by all musicians, and with practice it becomes second nature.
Why Guitar Keys?
And why is it important to learn about Guitar Key Signatures?
Guitar scales are a group of related notes that are used to create chords & melody such as the lead guitar riffs or the lead guitar solos.
Scales are used to create chords & melody in every piece of music. Hence, it is even more reason for you to learn what they are, how they are formed, & how to use them.
Guitar Keys Structure
You will see that guitar keys / scales are all based on one master scale known as the chromatic scale.
They are formed using scale templates and are used to create the feel of the music. So a particular genre or style of music will be closely linked to particular scales & the chords drawn from scales. So the greater is your understanding of guitar scales, the better are your chances of creating an excellent piece of music.
Read: all about Key signatures / scales in music
Why Bother About Root Notes
Root note of the key means the main note on which the key is built. So for the F key the root note would always be F, for the A scale it would be the note A and so on.
As you’re going to learn different scales it’s also important to try and memorize where the root notes are for every scale since this will greatly aid you at a later stage when you start to improvise with scales. The scale above thus starts and ends on the root note. Although this will not always be the case with different kind of scales!
The fret that your root note is played on determines what key you are playing in. So if you play this scale so that the first root note falls on the fifth fret you’re playing the A major scale.
Study Tips
Get to grips with all of the chords & make use of the backing tracks & you too will be creating & playing some excellent sounding music…
It is important that you learn and understand the relationship between guitar keys, scales and Chords. The sooner you understand how to use Guitar Keys and chords, the sooner you will start creating & playing some excellent sounding music.
There are many who have learnt to play the guitar on their own and can play chords at will, but don’t understand the concept of key signatures.
Here’s a nice video in case you need further explanation on Guitar Keys.
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