Yeah... I guess I'm too dense for music theory. The steps and half-steps I got, but once he threw keys, scales and major/minor sequences into the equation, I just lost it.
@@user-cz6us7ok2j You got this. It's simpler than you think. You just need to write it down while you watch this or other theory related videos and you'll get it. If you understood the whole/half step stuff maybe your brain had it easier because you had a visual reference. So, maybe, writing it down will help your brain to figure it out
In my Fundamentals theory class, one semester, I start with single pitch, and by the end you would know major and minor scales and all the chords in a diatonic key and how they function. That includes inversions, Roman numerals and pop chord symbols. That is, if you actually study and practice, and some don’t and blame me that they didn’t learn anything. Then I say, “did you take notes in class, read the lesson and take it to the piano or some other instrument?” Oh no? Then I don’t think I’m the problem. :)
Solid lesson. I'm fine with all this stuff and more, but I will say that it was layed out really clearly. Knowing music theory and being able to teach it are very different things.
I was so confused at first when you reached out the "circle of fouths". I was thinking "isn't it the Circle of Fifths"? and I even opened my Circle of Fifths app to make see the diference and you were right! Seeing it from the "fourths" perspective and your phrase cues made it all clearer than ever
Thanks for the 18 minutes of music theory in a nut shell for beginner guitarists learning the ropes how to play better music behind every good songs (scale + Melody + Chord + Rhythm lessons).
I like that you use the keyboard to illustrate some of this. I took beginning music theory in school, but we didn't have a piano at home, so that's how I learned theory on guitar by transcribing what I learned on piano that day. I'm convinced that this gave me a big advantage over those who only learned on guitar.
Suddenly wishing I had you teaching me Music Theory in Highschool and College 😂 Every other teacher I had tried making things too complicated. This is clear, concise, and what i would describe as a completely perfect class on Basic Music Theory!
In shcool, obviously multiple classes each day but a total of 3 years in chorus, 6 in concert band, 5 in marching band, 2 in jazz band, and 7 years in music theory. Of course I've learned about the circle of fourth's/fifth's but NEVER once were we taught a mnemonic device to remember the sharps and flats. 23 combined years in music thouhout school and you're still teaching me new things. Thank you 👏👏
Over 50 years of music training - which began with years and years in choir, then seven years in band - which included concert band, pep band and two years in marching band - on multiple instruments - then decades as a singer, performing from England to Hawaii - training under seven opera coaches, with a performance repertoire of over 50 arias composed by Mozart, Bellini, Puccini, Rossini, Verdi, Vivaldi and dozens of other composers * G2 to D6 * and having written over 1,000 songs, over a dozen musicals and now writing my 15th opera - trained in the Circle of 5ths, and various mnemonic devices, and I've created and uploaded educational videos on the principles of music, geometry, chemistry, math, etc., and I am - to this day - learning new things about music.
High quality content. It's wonderful. Please expand these topics in the future videos maybe even make a full series on music theory would love to learn from your sir.
I learned all this in high school, and like a dumb teenager, assumed I'd learned as much as I'd ever need to, and that I totally had music "figured out" at age 15. You probably already know how that went.
I could never wrap my head around the 'circle of fourths/fifths' - to me, it's far easier to learn all the scales by heart than to transpose them out of a circle graph. Took me about a month to learn them and now they live rent-free in my head, whereas even 20+ years later after I was told about those magical 'circles' I still struggle with remembering them and need to construct them from scratch - negating the whole point of them as being a 'shortcut'. YMMV.
I already did the relative major/ minor thing with just going down or up three half steps. For example A minor going up 3 is C Major E minor going up 3 is G major E major going down 3 is C#/Db minor Doing it like this kinda reminds me that the chord shapes are the same between the relative and the only difference is starting point🤷🏻♂️
At 5:10 you play b but it sounds like c. Why? Then at 5:17 the b flat sounds like b. When you play the whole f major scale b flat at 5:24 sounds like b flat. I can't imagine this happened by accident. Or did it? Long time subscriber, I always enjoy your content. The theory is solid.
Damn, Sam…I wouild pounce on your Black Friday deal, but I’ve really tightened my budget belt lately, onna counta I switched my day job to half-time so I’d have more time to get everything packed up and ready for moving my family across the country. But half-time is half pay. But all is cool, because after we move, I won’t need a day job any more, and I can make guitaring my full-time job. At that point, I’ll gladly pay for whatever deal is available, because I know it’ll be worth it. Thanks for you, bro’. 😎
This is really helpful, however it does seem to assume that the player knows the notes on the fretboard. any recommendations on which method or video is most helpful for that?
ARe you going to do a video on the "up-down body" instrument on the background? It sits on the center of the screen over your right shoulder and it drove me crazy when I noticed. Salu2
I've been playing for years. Started around 8 I believe, self taught, very few lessons but zero music theory. I've reached a point where I feel as if no matter how much I play, how many scales I attempt to learn, genres I venture into. I seem to not progress nor learn something that truly helps me as a guitar player. Does anybody have any idea how abouts I can progress further? I need someone to tell me what I am doing wrong or critique me...
Jesus dude. I don't want to sound like one of those old men but i dont normally have to rewind this much. I appreciate you trying so hard to teach me the d@mn guitar but let me take a breath between knowledge bombs ok. :)
I have a Newbee Guitar question nobody can answer so far regarding looping 🤷♂️ Is it possible to play a bass line through a looper pedal and an amp then play along with a guitar using the same amp and looper ? if not is there another way using one ( bass ) amp ? ( unusual i know :-) if not is there another way or , what is the easiest / cheapest way to play a bass line and guitar jam on your own ? maybe it could be a good video idea / i can't find any info on how anywhere??? 🤷♂️
I mean, yes, it's possible. But maybe it doesn't sound all that good. Guitar over a Bass amp may sound a bit muffled and bass over a guitar amp misses the oompf a bit^^ (also playing bass over a guitar amp really loud might not be the best thing for the speaker) And there is the thing with connecting two instruments, don't know your looper, and if you can plug in 2 things at once, if not you might want a mixer of sorts. I don't own a bass amp, so when I want to do what you describe I usually plug it all into my mixer, wich is plugged into my PC wich intern is plugged into my stereo, where I have those massive old speakers that can deal with the highest highs and the lowest lows. The guitar doesn't sound as good as with my amp (something like "guitar rig" and a DAW helps here) but the Bass sounds a million times better. But generally you can play whatever you like through your looper and amp.
In German as well. It's called the "quintenzirkel" wich is a fancy way of saying circle of fifths. But German music theory language is just the worst anyway. I tried to understand music theory for a decade and the moment I tried it in English it all made sense. We don't even have a word for flatten or sharpen and apparently the alphabet geos AHCDEFG over here. And you kinda need to be fluent in old Italian.
I stopped the video at time mark 4:47. I learned the major scale as 2 tetrachords with a whole step separator between the lower and upper tetrachords.. Next are you going to tell me this is Ionian mode? Are we going to show the circle of fifths? ... (I'm considering your Black Friday offer, but this video isn't making the case for me.) No, we never get into the modes. Time mark 7:32: The circle of 4ths? Of course! You're doing it backwards and a 5th turned upside down is a forth (using the concept of 9). It is usually done by adding sharps as you go clockwise from C (0 sharps/0 flats) or adding flats going counter-clockwise from C. At F-Sharp/G-flat, you're halfway around the circle. I completely understand this concept and you're teaching it backwards. At time mark 9:39, you get into the natural minor (or Aeolian mode). Time mark 11:01, Triads. ... From there, I lost interests and I skipped ahead to the end section. This is all review for me and lacking in the underlying detail. Point me to your more advanced lessons so I can determine if your Black Friday offer is worth my further consideration. I am not a beginner.
If you wanted to start getting into applying this all and then looking at the next steps maybe that's an 18 month experience. But the information isn't super hard and I think most people can benefit from a highly visual crash course.
@@samuraiguitaristI personally found a lot of value in this. I've been playing guitar and creating music for about 20 years. I had no idea how the circle of fourths or the circle of fifths worked. I didn't understand how minor and major scales were related. I didn't understand how to build chord progressions other than shapes I visualized based on patterns I built out of sounds in my head. This gives me tools to develop my skills by using these guidelines. I believe this gives me a foundation to study and experiment with for years to come. Thanks sensei.
The paper visuals are genius, love that aesthetic
It's nice to do something a bit different (though time consuming) glad you enjoyed it!
@@samuraiguitarist I loved it too Sammy.
They were helpful, but it reminds me of that mid-2000s quirky, upbeat ukelele aesthetic. I always hated that.
Ok, now I Just need to watch this video every morning for the next three years and I should have this down pretty solid.
Yeah... I guess I'm too dense for music theory. The steps and half-steps I got, but once he threw keys, scales and major/minor sequences into the equation, I just lost it.
@@user-cz6us7ok2j You got this. It's simpler than you think. You just need to write it down while you watch this or other theory related videos and you'll get it. If you understood the whole/half step stuff maybe your brain had it easier because you had a visual reference. So, maybe, writing it down will help your brain to figure it out
You're going to need to change your channel name to Shogunguitarist soon.
I like Sageguitarist
Roninguitarist
i've been kinda sorta trying to wrap my brain around keys, and this is the first explanation i think that really got through to me. thanks sammy.
Enjoyed most of this yesterday while it was briefly up, and enjoyed the rest of it today. Thanks!
I’m an AP (college-level) Music Theory student and I’m learning more in this than I have in my first semester so far.
Right!? This was my first semester of college music theory class
This guy has been teaching me personally one-on-one for like 10 years and I've learned jack.
Great hair tho 😍
In my Fundamentals theory class, one semester, I start with single pitch, and by the end you would know major and minor scales and all the chords in a diatonic key and how they function. That includes inversions, Roman numerals and pop chord symbols. That is, if you actually study and practice, and some don’t and blame me that they didn’t learn anything. Then I say, “did you take notes in class, read the lesson and take it to the piano or some other instrument?” Oh no? Then I don’t think I’m the problem. :)
That is the best I've ever seen the scales explained!
15:10 - “…but it is worth acknowledging their existence.” That got a healthy chuckle outa me. 😎
Fantastic summary on the foundations 👍 love it
Solid lesson. I'm fine with all this stuff and more, but I will say that it was layed out really clearly. Knowing music theory and being able to teach it are very different things.
I was so confused at first when you reached out the "circle of fouths". I was thinking "isn't it the Circle of Fifths"? and I even opened my Circle of Fifths app to make see the diference and you were right! Seeing it from the "fourths" perspective and your phrase cues made it all clearer than ever
Thanks for the 18 minutes of music theory in a nut shell for beginner guitarists learning the ropes how to play better music behind every good songs (scale + Melody + Chord + Rhythm lessons).
I like that you use the keyboard to illustrate some of this. I took beginning music theory in school, but we didn't have a piano at home, so that's how I learned theory on guitar by transcribing what I learned on piano that day. I'm convinced that this gave me a big advantage over those who only learned on guitar.
Suddenly wishing I had you teaching me Music Theory in Highschool and College 😂
Every other teacher I had tried making things too complicated. This is clear, concise, and what i would describe as a completely perfect class on Basic Music Theory!
In shcool, obviously multiple classes each day but a total of 3 years in chorus, 6 in concert band, 5 in marching band, 2 in jazz band, and 7 years in music theory. Of course I've learned about the circle of fourth's/fifth's but NEVER once were we taught a mnemonic device to remember the sharps and flats. 23 combined years in music thouhout school and you're still teaching me new things.
Thank you
👏👏
Over 50 years of music training - which began with years and years in choir, then seven years in band - which included concert band, pep band and two years in marching band - on multiple instruments - then decades as a singer, performing from England to Hawaii - training under seven opera coaches, with a performance repertoire of over 50 arias composed by Mozart, Bellini, Puccini, Rossini, Verdi, Vivaldi and dozens of other composers * G2 to D6 * and having written over 1,000 songs, over a dozen musicals and now writing my 15th opera - trained in the Circle of 5ths, and various mnemonic devices, and I've created and uploaded educational videos on the principles of music, geometry, chemistry, math, etc., and I am - to this day - learning new things about music.
Dude that's a Paoletti guitar from Italy! Happy to see my country represented! Love your work :)
This 18 minutes covers what it has taken me 18 years to understand. Good job Sammy G.
Great video, man. So informative and presented in easily digested bites!
High quality content. It's wonderful. Please expand these topics in the future videos maybe even make a full series on music theory would love to learn from your sir.
this was an enlightening vid thank you for the help!
This is such a great video. I don't think these things could've been explained any better.
I wish I've seen this video 15 years ago. Thank you!
Music theory is in everything we do without knowing it! But understanding it has helped my playing so much
Love the graphics.
And in tomorrow's video we take what we learned today and learn how to solo over Giant Steps.
Lol funny enough, the only other time I did stop motion was for my giant steps video. I still suck at that song
@@samuraiguitarist nobody sucks at that song, we all suckle at it.
are you refering to john coltrane's song?
It is only the circle of 4ths when you go counterclockwise.
If you go clockwise, the intervals between notes are a 5th
I learned all this in high school, and like a dumb teenager, assumed I'd learned as much as I'd ever need to, and that I totally had music "figured out" at age 15. You probably already know how that went.
Anyway... here's wonderwall
I could never wrap my head around the 'circle of fourths/fifths' - to me, it's far easier to learn all the scales by heart than to transpose them out of a circle graph. Took me about a month to learn them and now they live rent-free in my head, whereas even 20+ years later after I was told about those magical 'circles' I still struggle with remembering them and need to construct them from scratch - negating the whole point of them as being a 'shortcut'. YMMV.
Great video. I learned the circle of 5ths, but you explained everything very well. Good job!
Sammy G has to be the best YT channel for guitar 🫡
I already did the relative major/ minor thing with just going down or up three half steps.
For example
A minor going up 3 is C Major
E minor going up 3 is G major
E major going down 3 is C#/Db minor
Doing it like this kinda reminds me that the chord shapes are the same between the relative and the only difference is starting point🤷🏻♂️
At 5:10 you play b but it sounds like c. Why? Then at 5:17 the b flat sounds like b. When you play the whole f major scale b flat at 5:24 sounds like b flat.
I can't imagine this happened by accident. Or did it?
Long time subscriber, I always enjoy your content. The theory is solid.
Damn, Sam…I wouild pounce on your Black Friday deal, but I’ve really tightened my budget belt lately, onna counta I switched my day job to half-time so I’d have more time to get everything packed up and ready for moving my family across the country. But half-time is half pay. But all is cool, because after we move, I won’t need a day job any more, and I can make guitaring my full-time job. At that point, I’ll gladly pay for whatever deal is available, because I know it’ll be worth it. Thanks for you, bro’. 😎
Thanks, sensei.
Bro cleared up the circle of 4ths for me in 2 minutes... I been lost for 3 years
This is really helpful, however it does seem to assume that the player knows the notes on the fretboard. any recommendations on which method or video is most helpful for that?
Man that's GOOD!
ARe you going to do a video on the "up-down body" instrument on the background? It sits on the center of the screen over your right shoulder and it drove me crazy when I noticed.
Salu2
Never have I understood theory so easily
you can learn a small part of music theory in 18 min ;). good video though. respect for the analog visuals in our digital world.
0:38 the diesis would like a word 😊
Didn't this already get posted recently?
Ya I had to fix a couple things
@@samuraiguitarist Namely the whole offer!
3:36 Omar Rodriguez-Lopez wants to know your location
Sounds like Take The Veil or Tetragrammaton
Love me some Mars Volta
I've been playing for years. Started around 8 I believe, self taught, very few lessons but zero music theory.
I've reached a point where I feel as if no matter how much I play, how many scales I attempt to learn, genres I venture into. I seem to not progress nor learn something that truly helps me as a guitar player.
Does anybody have any idea how abouts I can progress further? I need someone to tell me what I am doing wrong or critique me...
15:45 this can be complicated if you play around by ear and end up building inversions 😅
3:36 Jazz!
Very cool
Jesus dude. I don't want to sound like one of those old men but i dont normally have to rewind this much. I appreciate you trying so hard to teach me the d@mn guitar but let me take a breath between knowledge bombs ok. :)
I have a Newbee Guitar question nobody can answer so far regarding looping 🤷♂️
Is it possible to play a bass line through a looper pedal and an amp then play along with a guitar using the same amp and looper ? if not is there another way using one ( bass ) amp ? ( unusual i know :-)
if not is there another way or , what is the easiest / cheapest way to play a bass line and guitar jam on your own ? maybe it could be a good video idea / i can't find any info on how anywhere??? 🤷♂️
I mean, yes, it's possible. But maybe it doesn't sound all that good.
Guitar over a Bass amp may sound a bit muffled and bass over a guitar amp misses the oompf a bit^^ (also playing bass over a guitar amp really loud might not be the best thing for the speaker) And there is the thing with connecting two instruments, don't know your looper, and if you can plug in 2 things at once, if not you might want a mixer of sorts.
I don't own a bass amp, so when I want to do what you describe I usually plug it all into my mixer, wich is plugged into my PC wich intern is plugged into my stereo, where I have those massive old speakers that can deal with the highest highs and the lowest lows. The guitar doesn't sound as good as with my amp (something like "guitar rig" and a DAW helps here) but the Bass sounds a million times better.
But generally you can play whatever you like through your looper and amp.
Samurai and guitar in your channels name so i have to sub
I have all your courses and they're great. But now I struggle when I see everyone else refer to the CIRCLE OF FITHS 😅.
Is it a Canadian thing?
Is it???? I didn't know others did it different
Ha ha, lol, I just googled it and I can't believe how many people refer to it as 'fiths' - it's not even a word!! 😂😂
In German as well. It's called the "quintenzirkel" wich is a fancy way of saying circle of fifths. But German music theory language is just the worst anyway. I tried to understand music theory for a decade and the moment I tried it in English it all made sense. We don't even have a word for flatten or sharpen and apparently the alphabet geos AHCDEFG over here. And you kinda need to be fluent in old Italian.
I wish I could meet you I am from Winnipeg to I am such a big fan my name is Charlie berg plz reply
Plz Answer
I stopped the video at time mark 4:47. I learned the major scale as 2 tetrachords with a whole step separator between the lower and upper tetrachords.. Next are you going to tell me this is Ionian mode? Are we going to show the circle of fifths? ... (I'm considering your Black Friday offer, but this video isn't making the case for me.) No, we never get into the modes. Time mark 7:32: The circle of 4ths? Of course! You're doing it backwards and a 5th turned upside down is a forth (using the concept of 9). It is usually done by adding sharps as you go clockwise from C (0 sharps/0 flats) or adding flats going counter-clockwise from C. At F-Sharp/G-flat, you're halfway around the circle. I completely understand this concept and you're teaching it backwards. At time mark 9:39, you get into the natural minor (or Aeolian mode). Time mark 11:01, Triads. ... From there, I lost interests and I skipped ahead to the end section. This is all review for me and lacking in the underlying detail. Point me to your more advanced lessons so I can determine if your Black Friday offer is worth my further consideration. I am not a beginner.
Do you say TI instead of Si to avoid mixing it with C?
Am I the only one who's disappointed he subscribed to the dojo a week early and missed all the courses?😅
Send an email to steve@burnsidemarketing.com and we'll take care of you
@@samuraiguitarist you are the absolute man!
Fat Charlie Gets Drunk At Every Bar and Bead Greatest Common Factor. That’s how I learned the sharp and flats order.
why hasn't this been explained like this all the time lol?
B to da C to da D double G.
ahhh why is your CoF the wrong way 🙈
First
How about learning music theory in 18 months, at least? These learn X in 1 hour stuff are very counterproductive.
If you wanted to start getting into applying this all and then looking at the next steps maybe that's an 18 month experience. But the information isn't super hard and I think most people can benefit from a highly visual crash course.
@@samuraiguitaristI personally found a lot of value in this. I've been playing guitar and creating music for about 20 years. I had no idea how the circle of fourths or the circle of fifths worked. I didn't understand how minor and major scales were related. I didn't understand how to build chord progressions other than shapes I visualized based on patterns I built out of sounds in my head. This gives me tools to develop my skills by using these guidelines. I believe this gives me a foundation to study and experiment with for years to come. Thanks sensei.
How is it counterproductive? This is a good primer, on the basics, for FREE.