Subject: RE: absolutely beautiful guitar work
From: Pistachio - PM
Date: 11 Mar 10 - 06:09 PM

"I wish I could understand a word of Piers' post! It is interesting to read but not(for me) to follow, but thanks. I may take a bit more time and get a friend to explain it differently for me."

If you have any questions, I'll be very glad to try to answer them and/or try to explain things in a different way.

It does take time to absorb this, but I think it's worth it. It's music theory for practical use (all good stuff, no rubbish).

Just at a guess, a few terms that might be confusing could be:

root: This just means the main note of a chord or scale. For example, in C maj., C is the root, in D min., D is the root, etc.

interval: The difference in steps between two notes. For example, a major third is two steps above the root, so E is the major third of C (C -> C#/Db (1/2 step) -> D (1 whole step) -> D#/Eb (1 1/2 steps) -> E (2 steps). All of the intervals have names, sometimes more than one.

Circle of fifths: A fifth is 3 1/2 steps above the root. If you take the fifth of a note (the root), then the fifth of that note, then the fifth of that one, you eventually "touch" all of the notes. For example, G is the fifth of C, D is the fifth of G, A is the fifth of D, so the circle of fifths, starting at C is this:

C - G - D - A - E - B - F# - C# - etc.

The circle of fourths can be found in the same way:

C - F - Bb - Eb - Ab - Db - etc.