Chords, Keys and Relationships Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (1:32) Introduction Grab your equipment, get warmed up, and get ready to Jam in Steve Eulberg's 8th lesson! Chapter 2: (9:44) Lesson Review, E Chord, Key of A First let's go over the major chords in the key of "G": "G", "C", and "D". In the key of "D" we have the "D", "G", and "A" major chords (remember the trick with your fingers?).

We also learned the different "A" shapes in the previous lesson: "A", "A Minor", "A7", "A Major 7", "A Minor 7", and the "Asus2". In order to play in the key of "A" we're going to need to add a chord: "E".

Learning the "E" Chord
Let's start with an "A Minor" chord. Simply pick up all three fingers and move them towards the top of the neck (down in pitch, higher on the neck). That's it - you now have the "E Major" chord. Here's how it should look:

• "E" string, open
• "A" string, 2nd fret
• "D" string, 2nd fret
• "G" string, 1st fret
• "B" string, open
• "e" string, open

With this chord, you are able to play all six strings.

Playing in the key of "A"
To play in the key of "A", you need three major chords: "A" ("I" chord), "D" ("IV" chord), and "E" ("V" chord). You now know them all!

Instead of playing in the one, four, five pattern ("I" chord then "IV" chord, then "V" chord) let's experiment with a one, five, four pattern. Moving around between these three chords will definitely help you work on your picking technique. For each chord, you are playing a different set of strings:

• “E” chord – All 6 strings
• ”A” chord – 5 strings
• ”D” chord – 4 strings

Exercise & String Muting
Now let’s try to play along with Steve in a short exercise. We’re going to play the one, five, four pattern (“A”, “E”, then “D”) and throw in some string mutes. Basically, you will be picking up your fingers a bit so that the strings are muted. The strings should not be touching the frets, but should still be in contact with your fingers.

You will notice that we didn’t attempt the “string mute” technique with previous chords such as “C” or “G”. This is because we are not holding enough notes (too many open strings) for it to sound good. With “D” for instance, we are fretting three of the four notes. You can experiment with each chord to see which sound good with string mutes & which don’t sound quite right.

Chapter 3: (7:44) Chord Shape Relationship / Asus2 / E Minor / A Minor 7th / E 7th Chords If you’re at all like Steve, you learn well visually. He likes to see a picture of chords to learn them. This also helps show the relationship of chords. It is much easier for him to memorize the shapes and patterns of the chords than to memorize the theory, string numbers, and / or frets.

”A Minor” / “ E”
For instance, look at the visual diagram of an “A Minor” and an “E” chord. The finger positioning is exactly the same just towards the top of the neck one fret. Try progressing between these two chords & see how fast you can go. Doing this will help your strumming and also help you learn to keep your fingers clustered and close to the fret board. There’s no reason to lift your fingers way up between chords. This is just going to create more work for you!

”Asus2” / “E Minor”
Now take a look at the “Asus2” chord. It’s the exact same as the “A Minor” but without the finger on the “B” string. If you take that chord and shift it up towards the top of the neck one fret, you have yourself an “E” Minor” chord.

”E” Major / “E” Minor
Check out the relationship between “E Minor” and “E” Major. The “E Minor” chord is exactly like the “E Major” chord except you are removing your finger on the “G” string.

”A” Major / “A” Minor
The transition between these two chords is also quite easy. Fret your “A Minor” chord leaving your pinkie available for use. Okay, now put your pinkie in front of your finger on the “B” string on the 2nd fret. It is okay to leave your finger on the 1st fret since it’s not changing the note at all. Now, you can just remove your pinkie from the 2nd fret (your pinkie should still be on the 1st) to transition back to an “A Minor”. Pretty easy, huh?

Create an Exercise
As we continue to stress, it is very important for you to take a step outside the Eulberg Box and create your own exercises. There is no reason to follow what we suggest verbatim – it can get a bit boring. Often times the person that teaches ends up learning more because they really have to know what they’re doing instead of just following somebody else’s lead. If you create your own exercises, you are now becoming the teacher. This is a very effective way to learn. More importantly, this is a great way to change the pace of things and have some fun!

”A Minor 7” / “E7”
There are two more chords we know that have the exact same shape. Go ahead and fret the “A Minor 7” chord. This is the “A Minor” chord without the finger on the “G” string (remember, we are flattening this note a full step to achieve the “7” style chord. Okay now let’s try the “E7” chord. This is just like the “E” chord except you are again removing the middle note on the “D” string. Look familiar? Yup! You have the exact same finger structure on both the “E7” and “A Minor 7” chords. Chapter 4: (10:40) More Chord Relations (Em 7, A Maj 7th, E Maj 7th, B Maj, B7) Let’s take a look at some more, easy chord progressions. These are in the “E” family. They don’t relate to each other with fingering as the chords in the “A” family did, but are still very easy to move between.

”A7” / “Em7” Go ahead and fret the “A7” chord. Remember, you will be holding the 2nd fret on the “D” and “B” strings and picking the five highest strings (just not the “E”). Okay, now remove your finger on the “B” string and move your finger from the “D” string to the “A” string (still staying on the second fret). Now you have yourself an “E Minor 7” chord. As you’ve noticed, this is a one finger chord where you can hit all six strings. It doesn’t get much easier than this!

”E” / “E Major 7”
The finger positioning between these two chords isn’t the same, but it is still quite easy to do. First fret your “E” chord. Now, take your finger on the “D” string and drop it down a half step (one fret). That’s all – now you have an “E Major 7” chord.

Exercise Time
Try progressing from “E”, to “Em” to “Em7”. Next, try moving from “E”, to “E Major 7”, and lastly to “E7”. Again, feel free to make up your own exercises to hop around amongst the different chords. I know it is an annoying saying, but practice surely does make perfect. The more you play & repeat these chords, the easier it will be.

A Trick to Help You Remember
It can get confusing remembering all of the different names and chords. One trick to help is to say the chords out loud. It has been proven that if you audibly say the word, you have a higher likelihood of remembering it. Think about the process your brain is going through. Instead of just using two senses: touch (playing the chord) and sight (seeing the chord), you are using three senses: touch, sight, and hearing. If you’re feeling adventurous, go ahead and lick your guitar to taste the chords as well (kidding of course, we don’t want anybody slicing a tongue on a string!).

Now that you’ve learned the “E” shapes, you have everything you need to play in the key of “A”: “A”, “E”, and “D”. Ready to learn the last chord family you need to complete the key of “E”? We just need to learn the “B” chords.

”B” Major
One easy way to play the “B” chord is to transition from an “A”. Fret the “A” using your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers (leave your 1st finger free). Got it? Okay now slide that chord up two frets (the “D”, “G”, and “B” strings on the 4th fret) & place your 1st finger on the 2nd fret on the “e”. Now, just pick the highest four strings. That’s your “B” chord. This will be a bit difficult to play at first because you are fretting the guitar with all four fingers. Not only that, one finger (1st finger) is two frets away from the rest of them. It can be a touch stretch for some people. As you play more & more, your fingers will loosen up and this will become easier to play.

Don’t Leave the “B7” Hanging!
As you know with the “hand trick” Steve taught you, the “E” is the 1st chord, the “A” is the 4th chord and the “B” is the 5th chord. If you are playing in the key of “E” and end on the “B7” it is going to have a very incomplete feeling. If you go back & play the “E” if resolves the progression a bit – don’t you agree?

”B7” Chord
This is one of the more difficult chords to learn. There really isn’t too easy of a way to transition to this from another chord. A lot changes with this one. It might just be easiest to take a look at the chord & figure out what the best way for you to learn. With this chord, you are fretting the highest five strings (not the “E” string):

• ”A” string – 2nd fret
• ”D” string – 1st fret
• ”G” string – 2nd fret
• ”B” string – open
• ”e” string – 2nd fret

Again, this is not an easy one to play. Try transitioning from an “A” or an “E” (the most similar) and see if that helps you out a bit. Chapter 5: (4:59) Different Keys / Wrapping Up Advantages of Playing Different Keys
You can play pretty much any riff in a different key and it will sound very similar. One advantage of changing keys is to accommodate a vocalist. It may be difficult for someone to sing in the key of “G” because it is so high. If you can play in the key of “D” they might have an easier time.

One advantage to playing in “A” is the added ability to use string mutes. Since you are fretting so many of the strings, you can use this technique to add the scratchy sound between chords.

With the key of “E”, you are able to hit the low “E” string which provides a lower, more throaty sound. This can be used to play a song that you want to feel a bit heavier & darker.

Wrap Up
With the knowledge you have to this point, you can do quite a bit with your guitar. You will be able to play in different keys and play dozens of different chords. You can mix up those chords to form hundreds of progressions. Throw in some finger picking to create an even more unique sound. Believe it or not, what you’ve learned thus far is responsible for quite a few of the most popular songs you’ll hear. As you experiment, you may realize “hey, this sounds like that song I heard today”. Guess what? You are probably right. With your knowledge of the commonly used 1, 4, 5 progression, you can probably figure out more of the song on your own!

Have fun & keep on jammin’!

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