Basic Guitar Theory Understanding I IV and V Chords

In this lesson I’m going to explain some very important info that you must comprehend as a beginner guitar player. Not learning this basic concept early on will create some serious gaps in your learning later on.

What we’re going to cover is some basic musical theory. In fact what we’re going to cover in this lesson will help you pick songs out on the guitar by ear and better write your own compositions if you so wish.

The concept of I IV V (aka. one-four-five) is simple, but isn’t often explained to beginners.

Let’s use the same example I use in the video. The A Major scale which looks like this: A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A

From these notes if we grab the I, IV and the V we will get the basic chord progression that most songs will follow in the Key of A (since this is the A major scale, we are talking about the Key of A).

So the one chord is also known as the root of the A, the four chord is going to be the D and the five chord is the E.

So playing A, D and E together is going to sound good no matter what when playing in the key of A. Don’t believe me? go grab your guitar and give this a shot.

Now I recognize that this is only the beginning, but it’s important that you take the time to not only understand this concept but that you seek out and learn the other Key Signatures since this is just A. This is a boring, yet foundational part to becoming a good guitar player.

Learning To Play in Drop D Tuning

Drop D tuning is my favorite for a couple of reasons. First, you can literally barre all six strings any where on the neck and you’re sure to be playing some chord. Secondly, you can just get this great groove going with only a few chords, even though they’re the same chords you’d play in standard tuning they just sound different when you’re in Open D.

In the above video I explain what Drop D tuning is and how you can get your guitar into this tuning. It’s not difficult to do by ear, but there are numerous online guitar tuners that will help you accomplish this. Also if you have an electric tuner at home you can likely use this to accomplish it as well.

The Tuning is as Follows.

• High and Low E strings tuned to D
• B string tuned down to A
• G string tuned down to A#

That’s it, now strum and hear that sweet sound of the open D tuning. Play around with it a bit on your own, even if you don’t know how to play your basic chords in this tuning it sounds amazing.

3 String Beginner Guitar Chords – C, G and D7

Guitar chords are what all beginners are eager to learn to play, but they can be tough to learn and take some practice. Why? Simply put because as a beginner our fingers just don’t want to stretch as far as we may need them to. With practice and time your fingers will become stronger and you’ll be able to play chords across all six strings without trouble, but in the beginning it can be nice to be able to play some chords, even if they’re not on all six strings.

In todays beginner guitar lesson online I’m going to show you 3 easy beginner guitar chords you can learn right now and will sound good together.

What you’re actually learning here is a partial C and a partial G chord on the first three strings and the D7 chord, in later lessons we’ll expand on these basic C and G chords to the full versions, but for now just get comfortable switching between these chords while you’re strumming.

So watch the video first then grab your guitar and watch it again as you try to play these chords for yourself.

Major Scale Patterns – The C Major Scale

Major scales are generally the very first most beginners learn. When they are first shown how major scales work it can seem daunting, until they realize that there’s a pattern to it all. One thing you can almost always rely on with guitar lessons is that there is a pattern to it.

In this online guitar lesson I share with you the pattern of a major scale and to do this I use the C major scale as an example. The great thing about the C Major scale is that it contains no sharps and no flats. Because of this it is very easy to remember and memorize.

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

So watch the video above, grab your guitar and give this major scale pattern a try. Once you master the C major scale stretch abilities by trying other key signatures.

FreeGuitarVideos.com Review

FreeGuitarVideos, a division of Watch & Learn, has been providing guitar lesson and other instrument videos for at least a decade.

Unlike other guitar lesson providers online they do not charge a monthly membership fee, instead they sell their lessons either one off or in a set.

So for example, rather then paying $20 bucks a month for unlimited access to lesson videos and practice tools you might pay $10-$15 bucks for four or five lessons, some guitar tab and a backing track or two.

What We Like About Free Guitar videos

FreeGuitarVideos.com (FGV) offers lessons for just about every skill level and style. You can purchase a beginner acoustic lessons series or some specific blues electric lessons.

When I first saw FGV I wasn’t sure what to think about their pricing model. After all I was so used to paying a flat rate each month and having access to tons of content, I didn’t think it would be such a great deal to pay $20 or so for a set of four or five videos. How ever I’ve changed my opinion on that a little.

One thing about online guitar lesson sites is that beginners can tend to get over whelmed. You’re suddenly given access to hundreds and hundreds of guitar lessons and it can be easy to get lost in just watching a ton of them and never actually learning everything.

In contrast when you buy an individual lesson or set of lessons from FGV that’s all you have. You watch those lessons, learn the content and then move on. It might be a bit more expensive, but like the force focus that it gives you.

Unfortunately even though I do like the forced focus that FGV gives beginners, there are quite a few things against this service being rated one of the top online guitar lesson sites.

What We Don’t Like About FreeGuitarVideos.com

We’ve already discussed cost, and it is more expensive in my opinion to learn the same thing from FGV as it would be from JamPlay or Guitar Tricks.

The second thing I’m not such a huge fan of is the video quality. Many of the videos on their site look like they’ve been converted from old VHS. They’re filmed on a low quality blue screen and don’t appear to be in HD.

The final thing that seems a bit strange to me is that while they do comply a few instructors, it appears that the same person teaches blues, rock and metal. I don’t know if all those styles converge, but with others online lessons ties you generally learn from a teacher who’s specialty is that genre.

Who Should Consider FGV?

If you’re an intermediate player who is just looking to learn a new skill or two then it could be worth buying a video from FGV. It’s a one time cost, you get to keep the video and you won’t get lost in the sea of content that some other online lessons sites have.

However if you’re a beginner I’d suggest stay away from FGV and consider our top two online alternatives.

Conclusion

While FGV offers lessons for a lot of styles and skill levels the quality of their videos and pricing structure makes them a bit unattractive. Instead I’d consider JamPlay or Guitar Tricks. You’ll get more lesson content, unlimited access and all for only one flat rate each month.

Guitar Jamz Review

GuitarJamz is a newer online guitar instruction website. Like other popular alternatives GuitarJamz is a month-to-month subscription service costing $29 per month.

One primary difference between GuitarJamz and competitive sites such as Guitar Tricks or JamPlay is that all of the guitar lesson content on Guitar Jamz is recorded and taught by Marty Schwartz.

If you’ve ever done a search for free guitar lessons on YouTube then no doubt you’ve come across Marty’s free lessons on everything from acoustic blues to country. He has literally hundreds of videos online and I’ve used a few of them personally to pick up a few tips and tricks, especially for the blues.

What We Like About Guitar Jamz

Guitar Jamz is a very free flowing site. If you’re a fan of learning a little bit about a lot rather then following a specific lesson plan then GuitarJamz is an excellent alternative to some of the more main stream online lesson sites.

Videos span a range of topics from beginner acoustic and electric techniques to blues, rock and country.

Fantastic Blues Content

Guitar Jamz’s strongest suit is Marty’s blues lessons. It’s evident from the free videos available online as well as the content available on the inside of the Gutiar Jamz website that he loves the blues. There’s more blues lessons then anything else, and he offers a ton of content to learn from.

What We didn’t Like About Guitar Jamz

If you’re a beginner then I don’t think Guitar Jamz is going to be the best bet for you. Why? Well the lack of a structured beginner lesson series will likely leave you scratching your head wondering what video you should watch next.

Also the cost at $29 a month is twice that of Gutiar Tricks and $10 bucks more a month then JamPlay. Since these two other others have about 100 times the content of Guitar Jamz, I gotta say they’re probably a better choice.

Conclusion

If you’re an intermediate player who is interested in learning the blues then I think signing up to Guitar Jamz for a couple of months will teach you a ton. Marty’s teaching style is fun and easy going and his knowledge about blues playing, improvising and theory is awesome.

Unfortunately if you’re a beginner just starting out who’s looking for some straight beginner acoustic or electric guitar lessons I’d suggest you check out JamPlay instead. They offer far more structure to their lessons and also a variety of instructors to choose from.

Best Online Electric Guitar Lessons

Learning to play the electric guitar is exciting. You can generate so much sound from an instrument that is just so quiet until you plug it into an amplifier, and well then all hell can literally break loose if you want it to.

You’ve got a couple of options when you want to take electric guitar lessons online. Many beginners start out using free electric guitar lessons online from a website like YouTube.

While this is a great way to learn the basics after you can play a couple of chords and maybe a simple song you’ll realize that you’re going to need more structured lessons then what free content can offer you.

That’s where paid online electric guitar lessons come in.

There are two websites at the forefront providing online electric guitar lesson content. The first is Guitar Tricks, the second is JamPlay. Both of these sites have been online for several years, employ more then forty different instructors and offer not just basic electric guitar lessons but also intermediate topics like rock, blues and even metal.

Let’s take a closer look at each one of these services.

Guitar Tricks Electric Guitar Lessons

No one has been offering online guitar lessons content longer then Guitar Tricks. They pioneered the industry and have been making new innovations of technology changes.

They offer several levels of electric guitar instruction starting with their core guitar fundamentals section. This is the area a beginner would start if they aren’t familiar with basic notes on the guitar, chords, scales or musical theory.

This course gives you all the fundamentals you’ll need to master more advanced techniques and styles on the guitar. Once you complete the guitar fundamentals course, or if you’re already an intermediate guitarist you can go to their genre specific electric guitar lessons online.

These more specific lessons cover topics like Rock Guitar, Blues Guitar, Metal and other electric guitar styles. You can pick and choose which course you follow and even jump between one another if you want.

Right now you can test drive all of the online lesson content at Guitar Tricks free for 14 days. Click here to learn more about their free guitar lessons online for beginners offer.

JamPlay Online Electric Guitar Lessons

JamPlay, like Guitar Tricks, offers lessons for a variety of skill levels and styles. The first phase of their lessons targets beginners. They have about ten different series of lessons just for beginner electric guitar. Each series is taught by a different teacher and will basically teach you the same things, but each instructor has a little different way of doing that. I like being able to pick and choose which instructor I learn from since each one has a little different way of doing things.

The intermediate second phase of their lessons is style specific, like Guitar Tricks. They offer electric guitar lessons online for rock, blues, metal, country and more.

If you already consider yourself an intermediate guitarist then you can skip over the phase one lessons. Or if you just want to brush up on a few of the basics you can pick and choose which lessons you watch in phase 1.

Personally I like JamPlay. They use multiple angle technology in most of their videos. This means you get a close up shot of the instructors fretting hand, strumming/picking hand as well as a top view and panned out full view in each video. This ensures you see exactly what the instructor is demonstrating for you up close.

JamPlay has a great intro video on their home page you can watch. I’d suggest visiting their site to get the full overview of what they offer and how they teach.

The Best Online Rock Guitar Lessons

When it comes to learning to play rock guitar online you’ve got a few options.

You can spend some time looking for free online rock guitar lessons at a website like YouTube. You’ll likely find some half decent stuff, however you’ll have a hard time getting a well rounded education in rock guitar as there is no continuity between on free video and another.

A second option is you could purchase an ebook or downloaded rock guitar lessons online course. Courses like Jamorama or Guitar Super Stars provide a basic overview of electric as well as acoustic guitar that can get you started with rock. However again they don’t offer a well rounded series of lessons specifically in rock and roll.

The best online rock guitar lessons are going to come from one of the two best online membership guitar sites. These two sites are JamPlay.com and GuitarTricks.com. The rest of this article I’ll give you an overview of these two services and how their rock guitar lessons online compare.

GuitarTricks Rock Guitar Lessons

Guitar Tricks has been offering online guitar lessons for longer than any other website. They have a staff of over forty different guitar instructors and offer some of the best online guitar lessons for beginners available.

Their online electric guitar lessons are part of their intermediate lesson plan. The first stage of lessons from Guitar Tricks is their “Core Fundamentals” section. In this area you learn the basics of guitar chords, notes, scales and theory. Once you’ve completed these lessons you’re ready to graduate to the next level of lessons which are: rock, blues, country or a variety of other genre specific lessons.

If you’re already an intermediate player you can skip the beginner stuff and move right to the intermediate lessons. Totally up to you.

Right now you can test drive all of the lesson content Inside the Guitar Tricks members area free for 14 days. This way you can decide if you like it or not. Learn more about their free online beginner guitar lessons offer.

Jamplay Online Rock Guitar Lessons

Jamplay is a newer service but they’ve come to the fore front of not just rock but all online guitar instruction. They also have forty plus instructors on staff producing guitar lesson content and also have their lessons divided into skill levels.

Like Guitar Tricks, the rock guitar lessons at JamPlay are in the intermediate guitar lessons level. So if you’re brand new to the guitar you may want to start with one of their beginner electric guitar courses. If you’re already at an intermediate level then you can jump right into their online rock guitar lessons.

I find there is more variety of lessons at JamPlay and their videos have more features than Guitar Tricks. For example, most lesson videos at JamPlay use a 4-way split screen to show you what the instructor is doing with their right hand, left hand and over top view and then a view from the front. This helps in seeing exactly what the instructor is demonstrating.

Personally I’m a big fan of JamPlay and I have a membership there myself (save 25% if you sign-up use my jamplay coupon), but both of these programs are great online guitar courses. If I had to pick between the two I’d probably go for JamPlay’s rock guitar lessons online

Choosing The Best Online Guitar Course

Taking an online guitar course is convenient, inexpensive and allows you to learn as quickly or slowly as you’d like. The only challenge arises from which online guitar course do you use?

There are a lot of choices for guitar lessons online. Everything from inexpensive ebooks to monthly online membership websites. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular courses.

JamPlay.com

In my opinion the best online guitar course is JamPlay.com. They have over 40 different instructors, hundreds of hours of lessons and they have something for every skill level.

Starting with their phase 1 beginner lessons you can learn the fundamentals of playing guitar on either an acoustic or electric guitar. Heck, they even offer a series of online guitar lessons for kids.

Next their phase 2 lessons cover genera specific topics and styles such as blues, metal, country and even rock guitar lessons online as well as speed playing and soloing techniques.

Finally their phase 3 lessons are specific song lessons. Here you can learn to play some of the greatest hits of all time and of course a few lesser known songs.

Every video is shot using high definition equipment and takes advantage of multiple camera angles when the instructor is demonstrating something important. This way you’re sure never to miss a thing.

The cost is only $19.95 a month (see our Jamplay coupons available to save a few bucks), about the same as one private lessons, and you are given unlimited access to their entire lesson catalog 24 hours a day 7 days week. There’s a fantastic intro video you can watch on their official website. Click here to view the video now.

Guitar Tricks

Like JamPlay, Guitar Tricks is a monthly membership service that provides you unlimited access to their massive catalog of over 3000 guitar lessons spanning all skill levels.

If you’re a beginner then the best place to start with with their Fundamentals online guitar course. This will teach you everything you need to know from chords and scales to theory and strumming techniques. Once you’ve mastered this area of their course you can move on to more intermediate lessons in blues, rock and even country.

All videos are recorded in high definition quality and you’re given guitar tab and sheet music to go along with all demonstrations played during a lesson.

Learning with Guitar Tricks is pretty easy. You just need to put in the time to watch the videos and practice. Everything you need to learn is laid out in an easy to follow lesson plan inside their membership area.

Jamorama

Unlike Guitar Tricks and JamPlay Jamorama is an Ebook online guitar course that includes video and audio snippets to help strengthen key techniques and skills.

The benefit of an online guitar course like Jamorama is that you only pay one time. There is no on going monthly membership fee. The draw back is that the instruction isn’t as easy to follow as the video lessons provided by the other two courses we discussed above.

The ebook included with Jamorama guides you through the basic concepts you need to know on the guitar. When required you’ll be asked to watch a particular lesson video or listen to an audio clip to help strengthen your understanding on a particular topic.

While these guitar lessons online are less expensive they are not as effective as the full blow video courses like JamPlay. Also there is minimal intermediate guitar content you can learn once you’re done with the beginner stuff.

Guitar Lessons Online For Kids

It’s no surprise that more parents are looking for online guitar lessons for kids. After all this is the technical generation isn’t it? They’ve been using the Internet and electronic devices for their entire lives.

So where’s the best place to find guitar lessons online for kids?

There’s only one membership website that I know specifically offers an online kids lesson section and that’s JamPlay.com.

JamPlay is the largest provide of online guitar lessons for beginners and kinds. They employ more then 40 different instructors. They cover everything from foundational beginner topics to intermediate genre specific lessons on blues, rock, jazz and more.

How Do Their Kids Lessons Work?

Like all of the lesson series at JamPlay their online kids guitar lessons series is a set of videos all filmed by one instructor. The particular instructor who teaches the kids series is Steve Eulberg. He has many years of experience instructor both adults and children on the guitar offline and has taken his wealth of knowledge and teaching style online to reach more students.

The process is simple. You join JamPlay.com (cost is $19.95 a month for unlimited access and we have Jamplay coupons availabie). In the phase 1 section of their lesson (Phase 1 is beginner lesson content) you select the kids guitar lessons. From there you begin with lesson 1 and go on from there.

THe videos range from 10-20 minutes and you can pause and pick up where you left off at any time, so it’s easy to go at your own pace.

One of the great things about using guitar lessons online for kids is that you can even learn with your child. This is a great experience when you go through this process together, plus you’ll pick up a new enjoyable hobby as well.

A Note About Free Lessons

Many people want to simply go to YouTube for their guitar lessons. They figure there is just so much free content out there why pay for it. While there is a ton of free lessons out there there is very little structure to all of that free content.

It may cost a few bucks a month, but whether you want to take electric guitar lessons online, or find some great videos for you kids, a service like JamPlay will always trump freebie videos.