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RIGHT HAND /LEFT HAND NOMENCLATURE, GUITAR MUSIC SYMBOLS pg.1

TUNING THE GUITAR pg.2

ABOUT THE 'GUITAR' CLEF pg.3

SIMPLE SCALES pg.4

SIMPLE 2-FINGER CHORDS AND HOW TO READ CHORD DIAGRAMS pg.5

STANDARD OPEN POSITION CHORDS pg.6

BARRE CHORDS & NOTES ON THE 6TH AND 5TH STRINGS (BASS E & A) pg.7

SCALES, TETRACHORDS, MODES pg.8

USS MUSIC & GUITAR PRIMER

SYMBOLS IN GUITAR MUSIC

from UNIVERSAL STRUMMING STUDIO Jay Gordon ©2012 page 1

Below you'll find how the fingers of both hands are identified for playing plucked string instruments (for the right-handed), how the six strings of the guitar are identified in standard notation and position markers. An example of usage is at the bottom of page.

1 2

3

4

a m

i

p

Right Left

letters are from the Spanish:

p = thumb (pulgar)

i = index finger (indicio)

m = middle finger (medio)

a = ring finger (anular)

the 'pinkie' is not used

The thumb of the left hand is used behind the neck.

STRING DESIGNATIONS:

1 = first string

2 = second string

3 = third string

4 = fourth string

5 = fifth string

6 = sixth string

VI III cII

POSITION MARKERS: Capitalized roman numerals are used to show what fret the left hand index finger is positioned on.

I = first fret II = second fret III = third fret

and so on, continuing for all frets.

There are also position markers indicating a barre that look like this cVII. It means that the index finger flattens and plays two or more strings at once. In the example below, the cII barres all six strings.

Tuning the Guitar


Below you'll find how to tune the guitar in a variety of ways.

ABOUT THE 'GUITAR' CLEF


The clef that guitar music is written on is a tenor clef (though it looks like a treble clef). It sounds an octave lower than written.

the guitar /tenor clef properly expressed

most notated guitar music uses a clef that excludes the '8', but it's understood that it sounds an octave lower.

SIMPLE SCALES


C major and G major scales in multiple octaves. Follow the left hand fingerings and string designations.

SIMPLE 2-FINGER CHORDS


These chords are a great way to begin the playing of chords after learning to play melody. First, there's a description on how to read chord diagrams.

6 5 4 3 2 1

3 2 1

strings

frets

what left-hand fingers to use (not always present) to use

'0'=open strings, 'X'=don't play

where to put left-hand fingers

THE OPEN CHORDS


The open chords are part of guitar basics. All guitarists learn these at some point. Notice not all chords are available in an open form (C minor is missing). These are commomly played as barre chords. See next page.

Memorizing the notes on the 5th & 6th strings is useful for barre chords. Eventually the goal is to know all the notes on the fret board.

BARRE CHORDS


Barre chords are also part of guitar basics, but more challenging to learn.

THE CHURCH MODES


The church modes have Greek names, but are not of Greek origin. The Ionian and Aeolian are the two modes we use most today in tonal music. They are our Major and Natural Minor scales. Tetrachords are not chords, but 4-note scales. It's very useful to know half and whole-step patterns. For instance, compare the lower tetrachords of the Ionian and Mixolydian. They're the same. The upper are different. It comes down to the 7th scale degree. One is raised, the other is lowered.

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