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Easy Beginner Guitar Lessons – How to learn flat key signatures and play 100% correct scale notes
By Mike Hayes | August 14, 2009
Music stores are a great place for guitar players to hang out,
lots of new and exciting equipment to try and heaps of
interesting players to meet; however there is usually a very
scary section also in the store … it’s called the sheet music
section.
Only the brave venture in this remote area, for most guitarists
this area of the music store is ‘off limits’ because it requires
the guitarist to be able to read standard music notation, that
mysterious secret language that all other instrumentalists know
and understand.
Those who have enough courage to venture into the sheet music
department and open a piece of music have other problems to deal
with; most of the music is presented in keys that favor keyboard
players.
Basically, keyboard players prefer to play in the ‘flat’ keys
whereas guitarists learn to read music in the ‘guitar friendly’
sharp keys.
As most newbie guitar players know the easiest chords to play on
guitar are chords such as: G, D, A, E all of which are in keys
containing sharps.
A common problem for guitarists is to be able to learn and recall
the flat keys since we try to avoid them as much as possible they
tend to be harder to get ‘off the paper’ and into our head.
Here’s an easy to learn the flat keys so you won’t have to worry
about them ever again.
We’re going to create a sonic shape on the guitar to help us
remember the names of the flat key signatures.
step 1. starting from string six, first fret = F, next play the
fifth string on the first fret = Bb, now proceed to string four,
first fret = Eb, now move over to the third string, fret one =
Ab, our next move requires a move to string two, second fret =
Db, and lastly play the first string second fret = Gb.
So there you have it, that’s all the flat keys and there
respective names.
Let’s review what we have learnt so far:
Keys of F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb
step 2: We need to know have many flats are in each key.
Let’s use the sonic shape we have just learnt to help lock the
new information clearly into our memory so we can easily recall
it when we need it!
Since the note F was our starting point let’s give it the number
1, i.e., the key of F has one flat.
Moving through the rest of the shape reveals the follow
information … Bb was the second note we played therefore we
will give it the number 2, hence the key of Bb will have 2 flats.
Continuing through our new system the key of Eb would therefore
have three flats and since Ab was the four note we played after
starting on the F note the key of Ab would have four flats!
Review time: the number of flats contained in each key:
F contains one flat, Bb has two, Eb contains three, Ab has four,
Db contains five and Gb contains six flats.
Now all we have to do is remember which notes are flattened in
each key and we’re set like a jelly.
Step 3: To identify which notes are flattened simply look across
to the next note under your fingers in our sonic shape.
For example, starting on the note F on sixth string, first fret
from the information we learnt in step 2 there will be one
flattened note in this key.
Move your finger down to the next flat key (Bb) fifth string,
first fret and there’s your answer.
As you move through the flat keys the flats accumulate
consequently the key of Bb would contain two flats, the note Bb
and the next note across on the fourth string, first fret the
note Eb (the name of the next flat key).
summary …
F (one flat) = Bb
Bb (two flats) = Bb,Eb
Eb (three flats) = Bb,Eb,Ab
Ab (four flats) = Bb,Eb,Ab,Db
Db (five flats) = Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb
Gb (six flats) = Bb,Eb,Ab,D,G,Cb
Ok. I hope these tips help you to get them most from your
practice.
Until next time, have fun playing the guitar.
And now I’d like to invite you to get free access to my “How To
Remember 1,000 Songs” eCourse. You can download the course for
free at: http://www.guitarcoaching.com
From Mike Hayes – The Guitar Coaching Guy & the Express Guitar
System
http://www.GuitarCoaching.com
http://AdvancingGuitaristProgram.com
Topics: Beginner Guitar Lesson, Guitar Fretboard, Learn And Master Guitar | No Comments »
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