First, we need to prepare the soil as a frame of reference. Just so you know where we’re going with all the following lessons.
Think of it as ’tilling the soil of your mind’ – preparing it to plant new ideas so they will flourish and grow to their full potential. (Without being swallowed up with weeds and negative thinking.)
The concept is one of building.
Like building a house… you could think of it as the FFD of playing guitar – Foundation – Framing – Decorating.
- You start with the Foundation, drainage etc…
- then erect the Framing timbers… with roof, wiring, insulation, cladding, doors etc…
- then you Decorate the interior & exterior – this is where your own personal tastes and creativity come into play.
Things must be built in the right order for it all to stand firm and not come crashing down.
So how does this relate to learning and playing guitar?
- The ‘Foundation’ of music is SCALES – everything comes from scales. Understanding what a scale is and how it’s made is basic foundation knowledge on which everything else is built.
- The ‘Framing’ are those things that we use to arrange the notes (in the scale) to produce chords, arpeggios and triads. And the different scale fingering patterns… including pentatonic and ‘blues’ scale patterns.
- The ‘Decorating’ is the application of the above to songs… lots of songs. With a healthy dose of your own ‘creativity’ and ‘inspiration’ thrown in for the ‘magic’ to happen.
Without understanding scales and chords, and how they are inextricably linked to one another, you won’t have anything to decorate.
The Foundation is more about what you ‘know’ in your head. It’s the knowledge you have about what music is and how it works on the guitar.
The Framing is more to do with the physical skills you develop to play chords, scales, licks, solos etc.
Just as there is a ‘pattern‘ to the way framing is erected when building a house, there are fingering ‘patterns‘ for chords, scales, arpeggios, triads, chord sequences etc. These can range from very simple to very complex.
However, the complex variations are ALL based on the simple versions. HINT: Learn the basic patterns first and you’ll have something to build on.
Once you understand how this works, you will know how to learn to play anything… and better than that, you will know exactly what you need to do to move the the next level any time you choose. You’ll find yourself spending more time practicing these ideas instead of searching YouTube and tab sites for the answer. You’ll be spending your time building real playing skills rather than “spinning your wheels” going nowhere.
Attitude, Focus & Direction… (pep talk)
At the heart of everything is your mind. The way you think, what you know, and how you ‘apply’ what you know… your ‘mind’ represents the ‘tools’ you’ll use to build.
All it takes is a slight shift in attitude….
Instead of thinking there has to be an easy way to get good fast, and instead of trying to ‘cheat’ the system, realize that you have to pay your dues! You have to do the groundwork. You have to build the foundation and erect the framing. All hard, and sometimes boring, work. But all very necessary none the less. That’s if you’re serious about being as good as you can be, that is. If not, get another hobby!
So instead of being in a big rush to get to the ‘fancy’ stuff, work steadily on the basics. Take your time with them because this is where you set yourself up for your entire guitar playing future.
If you cock it up, you’ll find it’s almost impossible to go back later and try to correct all the bad habits that have crept into your attitude and playing. I have some tips about this under guitar practice tips.
Now that doesn’t mean you can’t learn songs and have some fun trying something new which may be beyond you. It just means that you should have a plan to do daily practice on the core Framing skills. 20-30mins minimum per day learning fingering patterns. Repetition is important so you get some momentum and internalize them. So they become automatic and you can play them perfectly in your sleep.
The rewards from approaching it this way, slow and steady like a Tortoise, far exceeds any temporary boredom or struggles/plateaus you will experience. Be persistent and patient. Give your nervous system (and muscles) time to adapt to these new tasks you are asking them to do. Send them consistent, accurate information repetitively (daily) over a period of time and you’ll be amazed at the results.
You WILL break through. Then you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about. You’ll wonder why you thought it was all so hard!!
I gotta tell ya, that is such a buzz when that happens.
Takeaway:
- Take your time. Don’t try to rush. It takes time to internalize playing skills and train your muscles.
- Focus on one step at a time.And especially focus on playing as ‘accurately’ and perfectly as you can when you practice. Don’t practice for mistakes. Practice for perfection. Program your muscle-memory to play perfectly, fluently, effortlessly. Stay relaxed at all times during your practice sessions. Tension is the biggest technique killer. If you practice with tension in your body and make mistakes, that’s how you will play. You’ll develop bad habits that are almost impossible to correct at a later date.
- Start at the beginning and work through everything. That way, your direction will always be up. So long as you do daily practice to keep building momentum and success.
What’s coming up…
- First we’ll look at the Foundation… the ‘theory’ of scale and chord construction.
- Then we’ll look at the Frames – the fingering patterns for chords and scales. And we’ll look at chord sequence patterns too.
- Then we’ll dive in and look at some practical examples of Decorating… how to use and apply these patterns for songs and for improvising.
So the first thing is to get an understanding of what a scale is. (We’ll talk more about focus and direction a little later.)
Please leave a comment below… I’d love to hear your thoughts…
I think this is very wonderfull advice, and it’s a path i’m actually going to dedicate myself to, to learn and improve guitar playing as a beginner
its my first time learning the guitar after seeing your site i think its the right place to start. would like to thank you very much for giving me the time and effort to help me get on my way to learning to play the guitar properly. thank you
I am excited to get started. I still wonder, how the course will fit to my limited knowledge that I received 30 years ago. And I am German and not that good in English, thus having to translate some specific terms and words every now and than. But as your site was highly recommended to me by a colleague I am really looking forward to get into guitar plaing again.
I have just started on this … But looks very promising
Thanks a lot for your time and work 
Great Intro. I’m excited to get started. Thanks for offering this to us.
Just wanted to let you know that I so appreciate the site and the lessons. I can see my improvement, slow but sure. I’m in no rush because I know it takes, time, coupled with desire and knowledge to get there. I’m on this path until I get it right…
This framework is good and makes sense. I get the concept of theory and it’s importance but seem to struggle with the application. Like one of the comments above my rote memory skills are not that good. I am always amazed with some people and how easily they can determine scales, keys, intervals etc. I will be interested in the visual method that will simplify some of that. Of course the biggest thing you could do to help me is add about another hour a day to my clock
Kidding of course……
As a member of FD for some time, I only managed to get Half way through the program before it all got too much. The theory, and awareness of potential chord derivations that were possible overloaded my desire to play more comprehensively. Couple that with I don’t duplicate very well from youtube videos. My problem not yours.
Now with your toolbox program my interest has been rekindled. I think your approach is now going to suit me more as it seems to be on a more gentle gradient and your explanations of the need to construct from the foundations up already make more sense. I can see that from one development others will fill in.
Thanks for trying again, I appreciate it and have realised for a long time that you very genuinely want others to learn.
I have one positive suggestion. I often get the bulk of a video content but need to go back over again several times at least, to really duplicate some portion. When you start your videos could you not briefly play a demonstration of the whole instruction at full speed with no comment. This would be of enormous value to me as working my way through your complete explanation every time really labours the point. When I only need to see it done as it’s intended.
without the trimmings and explanation. Nothing to do with the accent lol.
go well Keith
Hi Keith. Yeah, FD is a lot to consume. But it is intended that you work through it at your own pace. Use what you can and move it up a notch when you’re ready.
The videos: You mean where I actually play an example on guitar? Just play and no talk… to cut down the length. Is that what you mean?
I think that would have to be a balancing act because most people like some reiteration/explanation.
I’ll look at it. Perhaps do one as a test. So that would mean an extra video with just the playing example.
Have I got that right?
P.S. My accent? I thought it was you that had the accent!!
I think what Keith was asking about was to have you go through the demonstration, then go into the explanation, so that those who need to see it over again can just go back through the music part. Then, have the explanation after that on the same video.
Glad to find this teaching to learn why things are done, not just doing them.
Good point. I’m looking at a way to make future videos have a menu with the different points available at a click. I’ll see if I can incorporate a demo first, then do the explanation.
The analogies are good and I can see the real task it to get all these numbers and sequencies off pat. No doubt I am not on my own but I still have to count up the letter from the root to arrive at the 5th or sixth on sme keys, I realise I really should know all the scales and intervals by heart and get to know thefret board so I don’t have to spend minutes looking for notes . Otherwise the course you are teaching is near perfect. I do notice however some songs such as a lot of Bob Dylan songs do not have a obviious 1,4,5 sequence in fact very little meloody or progression. I am still at a loss to follow what sort of chord structure he uses in songs like Mississipi, Girld from the red river shore.
john
Hi John,
Once we get into exploring chords I’ll show you how ‘visualizing’ the intervals and chord movements can help to remember where things are. It’s a lot easier than trying to remember all the note names and specific intervals etc.
Remember, that’s just the theory. Knowing it is useful for mapping things out and in some cases ‘analyzing’ what’s happening in a piece of music.
The Framing patterns I’ll show you will make it all a lot easier.
It’s all about being confident on the fretboard. Playing is the most important part of all. The theory is 2ndary. But it can help to know it so you can, eventually, work out your own path to achieving what you want with guitar.
Mississippi is mostly a 1 to IV. With some harmonized scale runs. There’s also a V chord with an ascending bass line and a few other things like that. It’s not too hard.
Just had a listen to Red River Shore. First couple of verses. That’s definitely using I, IV, V chords for sure.
When I have all the basic stuff completed, I’ll start a section to look at songs. Show how everything works and applies to practical stuff… like songs!!