Ever looked at a page of guitar tab and thought What do all those numbers and letters mean? If you're new to tablature, or if you've never quite understood what all the different tablature symbols mean, all the answers are given in my guide to guitar tablature notation.
If you're not sure what a B7sus4 or a D/G chord is, or you want to understand what triads, major 7ths and suspended 4ths are, you should learn a little guitar chord theory. Chord theory isn't as difficult as most people imagine, and it can really improve your playing and your understanding of music. It only takes a couple of hours to learn the basic rules of chord theory - honest! My introduction to guitar chord theory explains all you need to know about chord names, chord construction, intervals and triads.
To get to grips with chord theory it's useful to know a little about key signatures (what sharps and flats to use). This makes it easy to work out the notes used in common triads and the major and minor scales. My keys, scales and triads page summarises all you need to know in a simple reference table.
If you're a beginner on the guitar, and are not sure how to play things like bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs and vibrato, this page gives an explanation of these fretting hand techniques. It also has a few practise exercises for you to try out.
Problems finding a good chord dictionary or a decent on-line reference for guitar chords? Having trouble finding shapes for the more unusual chords? My big list of guitar chords lists over 42,000 guitar chord shapes and should include just about any chord you might be interested in.
Oh, I nearly forgot, the wise man (remember, top of the page?) went on to say that:
Wisdom is the domain of the Wis
... which is extinct.
Beauty is a French phonetic corruption
of a short, cloth neck ornament, currently in resurgence
..... yes, quite.
Last updated September 2013
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