Analyzing What You Play

Lesson 2/194 | Study Time: 5 Min

Course: Complete Rock Guitar

Analyzing What You Play

With any scale you learn, it is important to know how each note of the scale relates to the root note or key note, in order to make sense of licks within the key you are in. This can be achieved by learning to identify scale degrees by ear, and analyzing them. It is worth comparing the notes of the minor pentatonic scale with those of the major scale. Shown below are the note names and the scale degrees of both scales in the key of C.

Notice that the minor pentatonic scale does not contain the degrees 2 or 6, and that the 3rd and 7th degrees are flattened. Play through the C minor pentatonic scale several times, naming the scale degrees as you play each one. When you can do this from memory, transpose it to other keys by moving it up or down the fretboard. Notice that the scale degrees remain the same regardless of what key you are playing in.

Here is a lick created from the C minor pentatonic scale. The scale degrees are written above the notes. This is a useful way of analyzing a lick to see what notes were used to create it.

It is a good idea to analyze many licks using a particular scale. This will help you become thoroughly familiar with the sounds available from that scale so you can re-create those sounds at will. Let’s look at the example from the previous page. It begins with the b7 degree being bent up to the root note (1). The root note is then played again, followed by the b7. A pull-off is then used to get to the 5th degree, which is then followed by the 4th degree being bent up to the 5th degree. This is followed by the 4th and b3rd degrees, and in the last bar the 4th degree is followed by the root (1) an octave lower than at the beginning of the lick.

Analyzing licks in this manner may seem dull at first, but the more you know about exactly what you are playing, the more control you have over what you play, and the more you can interact with other musicians. Stick with it, in time you will instantly know what you or anyone else is playing as soon as you hear it. In fact, to be a good player it is important to be able to hear in your head what you want to play and then produce that sound with your hands. A good way to practice this is to sing a lick and then play what you sang. Below is another example derived from the minor pentatonic scale, this time in the key of G. Learn to play it and then analyze it using the method shown above.

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1- INTRODUCTION 2- How to Read Music 3- Getting Your Hands Moving 4- Notes on the First String 5- The Eighth Note 6- Notes on the Fourth String 7- Playing Two Strings Together 8- Chords 9- Rests 10- Identifying Rhythms 11- Using the Guitar Pickups 12- Minor Chords 13- Arpeggios 14- Learning all the Notes 15- Syncopation 16- Using Guitar Effects 17- The Major Scale 18- More About Major Scales 19- How to Learn a New Key 20- Transposing 21- Minor Keys and Scales 22- Relative Keys 23- Intervals 24- Understanding Chords 25- Chord Construction – Triads 26- Scale Tone Chords 27- Minor Key Scale Tone Triads 28- Suspended Chords 29- Bar Chords 30- Learning the Whole Fretboard 31- The Minor Pentatonic Scale 32- The Triplet 33- More About 12 Bar Blues 34- Sixteenth Notes 35- Slurs 36- The Slide 37- Bending Notes 38- Vibrato 39- The Trail-off 40- Moving to Different Keys 41- Analyzing What You Play 42- Five Forms of the Pentatonic Scale 43- Moving Between Forms 44- The Major Pentatonic Scale 45- The Blues Scale 46- Moveable Chord Shapes in Five Forms 47- Moveable Minor Chord Shapes 48- Seventh Chords 49- Major 7th Chords 50- Extended Chords 51- Playing With a Band 52- Playing With a Rhythm Section 53- Moveable Major Scales 54- Using the Natural Minor Scale 55- Modes 56- Using the Harmonic Minor Scale 57- Right Hand Tapping 58- Harmonics 59- GLOSSARY OF MUSICAL TERMS 60- How to Tune Your Guitar 61- Using the Compact Discs 62- Chord Symbols 63- Right Hand Technique 64- Overdrive and Distortion 65- Alternate Picking 66- Notes on the Fifth String 67- Power Chords 68- Strumming 69- Percussive Strumming 70- Pickup Selector Switches 71- Visualizing 72- Playing Two Strings With the First Finger 73- Tones and Semitones 74- The Lead-in 75- The C Major Scale 76- Keys and Key Signatures 77- The Natural Minor Scale 78- Learning Minor Scales in all Keys 79- Interval Qualities 80- Fingering Variations 81- C Major Chord 82- Major Key Triad Pattern 83- Slash Chords 84- Add Nine Chords 85- Changing Between Shapes 86- Note on the Guitar Fretboard 87- Swing Rhythms 88- New Topic 89- Common 16th Note Figures 90- Slurs Using Open Strings 91- Pattern 1 Extension 92- Pick Tremolo 93- The Trill 94- Identifying Scale Patterns 95- Sliding Pattern 2 96- Relative Major and Minor Pentatonics 97- Five Forms of the Blues Scale 98- Three Note Chord Voicings 99- Three and Four Note Minor Chords Voicings 100- Moveable 7th Chord Forms 101- Minor 7th Chords 102- Eleventh Chords 103- The Bass 104- Twelve Eight Time 105- 5 Forms of the Natural Minor 106- Mode Formulas 107- Five Forms of the Harmonic Minor 108- Adding Left Hand Slurs 109- Pick Harmonics 110- Electronic Guitars 111- Picking the Open Strings 112- Notes on the Second String 113- Notes on the Sixth String 114- Moveable Power Chords 115- Major Chord Formations 116- Developing Rhythmic Control 117- Staccato 118- Sharps 119- Riffs 120- The G Major Scale 121- The Key Cycle 122- The Harmonic Minor Scale 123- Table of Minor Scales 124- Interval Distances 125- Arpeggios in all Keys 126- C Minor Chord 127- Primary Chords 128- Bass Runs 129- Adding Scale Tones To Chords 130- Notes in More Than One Place 131- The Shuffle 132- Pentatonic Blues Solo 133- Gaining Control of 16th Notes 134- The Quick Slide 135- Double Note 136- The Symbols 8va and Loco 137- Four Note Chord Voicings 138- Voicings 139- Thirteenth Chords 140- Bass Music Notation 141- Thirty Second Notes 142- Relative Major and Minor Fingerings 143- Modal Tonalities 144- Touch Harmonics 145- Tuning Your Guitar 146- Left Hand Technique 147- Notes on the Third String 148- Right Hand Damping 149- Pivot and Guide Fingers 150- Ties 151- The Chromatic Scale 152- The F Major Scale 153- Major Scales in all Keys 154- The Melodic Minor Scale 155- Finding Intervals on the Fretboard 156- C Augmented Chord 157- Harmonizing Melodies 158- Chords in Other Minor Keys 159- Position Playing 160- Understanding Triplet Rhythms 161- Power Chord Sixteenth Note Rhythm Parts 162- Licks Using the Slide 163- Root 4 and Root 3 Chords 164- Swamp Sounds 165- Memorizing Scale and Chord Degrees 166- The Drums 167- Jam Along Progressions 168- Electric Guitars 169- The Open Position 170- The Octave 171- Rock "n" Roll Chords 172- Flats 173- Identifying Intervals by Ear 174- C Diminished Chord 175- Common Progressions 176- Transposing in Minor Keys 177- Higher and Lower Octaves of Notes 178- Sixteenth Note Triplets 179- Omitting Notes From Chords 180- Drum Notation 181- Listening 182- Electric Guitars Pickups 183- Twelve Bar Blues 184- Augmented and Diminished Chords 185- Chord Shapes 186- Harmonic Minor Scale Tone Chords 187- Sliding Chords 188- Chord Formula Chart 189- Amplifiers 190- Melodic Minor Scale Tone Chords 191- The Seven Sharp Nine Chord 192- Types of Amplifiers 193- Understanding the Control Knobs 194- String

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Analyzing What You Play