The Guitar Resource

A lot of guitar players first learning music theory and scales find it hard to remember notes from the scales and chords they are learning. Forget about remembering the notes of complex modes and chords, even remembering the notes of major and minor scales and chords can be tough.

A helpful way for me to remember chord and scale notes is to create note cards. I do one note card for each major scale (so there are a total of 12 cards). I put the cards in the order of the Circle of Fifths. On each card I have the major scale really big across the top of the card. Then I number each note as follows: 1, 2/9, 3, 4/11, 5, 6/13, 7. The reason I give certain notes two numbers is because it will help me remember their extension names as well. Then I also circle the notes 1, 3, 5, 7. So now I can visually see what the essential chord tones are (I put the numbers below each note).

Now I start writing out common chord names and their notes. So for example on the C major card I would write:
C: C, E, G
Cm: C, Eb, G
Cmaj7: C, E, G, B
Cm7: C, Eb, G, Bb
C7: C, E, G, Bb
Cdim: C, Eb, Gb,
Caug: C, E, G#

You can do any other chords that you use, but those are a good start. If you know how to build chord extensions than those chords should give you a good starting point.

You can also write out modes, but if you know the mode formulas then you may not have to. I would also write out all the chords in that card’s diatonic scale. And then just add anything else on to that chard that you need to remember.

Don’t write them all at once because it will seem tedious and boring. Just write out 2 or 3 a day. Start with C and work your way around the Circle of Fifths. The reason to study these in the circle of fifths is because it will help you remember the number of sharps and flats in each scale.

Now the key here is to carry these cards around with you and study them when you have time. I bring mine with me on the train to and from work. That gives me 25 minutes to study each way. I put on my MP3 player and just glance at the cards. The key things I try to remember at first are the 1, 3, 5, 7 of each scale, that way I know all the essential chord tones. After I have all those down I work on getting down all the other scale tones.

This may seem a bit boring at first. But it is a great way to practice while you are away from the guitar. I guarantee this will be a huge benefit to your playing.