#1 Guitar Lesson - Chords: How is a Chord Made? And Why Should We Care?
- Sam Goffen
- Mar 12, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 29
For many years, I played the guitar without understanding how chords were made, which notes were used, or where they were on the fretboard.
I used scale shapes, fingering patterns and other ways to negotiate the fretboard, which I found easier to understand than music theory, especially as I'm a very visual learner. So for me, YouTube videos, diagrams, scale maps and so on were easier for me to get my head around.
However, I found that although I could play in all the main modes - Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian - and I could play lots of licks I was really happy with, it often felt a bit random when improvising.
Sometimes, when comping, I'd find myself running out of ideas, and when soloing some of my main notes sounded great and other slightly off.
Learning theory helped me lots, and it is something that we as guitarists often avoid, sometimes still becoming very proficient, but still not understanding what we're actually playing.
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