GuitarGames.net is a collection of online games and webapps that range from walking guitars that teach key signatures to fish that help students learn music notation to an online practice schedule complete with metronome. Their latest release, Super Scale Trainer, is a serious webapp aimed at teaching music theory on the guitar. “Our goal is to develop a lineup of games and apps that meets students at every age and ability level,” states GuitarGames.net founder William Wilson. “The Super Scale Trainer is aimed at a fairly serious music student, it includes over 6000 possible scales and arpeggios. And yet even the first year student could stand to learn a basic C Scale.”
GuitarGames.net designed Super Scale Trainer to be played along with the guitar, making it unique among webapps. “Many of our games are basically simply flash cards with fancy graphics,” says Wilson. “With this release we see a shift towards a computerized coach if you will; a program that will have guitarists playing along with their computer in order to learn how to improvise and play faster.”
William Wilson started GuitarGames.net in 2006 in order to revitalize guitar instruction. Its goal was to take the necessary repetition of learning the guitar and make it into a game. “How do you make the fundamentals of learning guitar fun?” asks guitar instructor Peter Pupping owner of GuitarSounds Studios in Encinitas, CA. “As GuitarGames.net first appears, because of the cartoon format, one may say ‘looks fun for kids.’ The truth is all of us have kid in us. So don’t let the light-hearted humor and colorful animations fool you. Behind this light heartedness is an amazing collection of very effective teaching tools.”

I’ve been learning to draw and paint. It’s something I’ve always loved and brings me great joy. The funny thing about it is that I’m not learning to draw so much as I am learning to see. For instance, if you want to draw a convincing face they teach you anatomy. If you want to draw a convincing still life they teach you about value and shading. And it really works.

Now what does this have to do with music? Only this. If you don’t know how to hear as a musician you can’t play like one. For instance when I sit down to play a piece of music that I’ve never seen before, I can hear it in my inner ear. I look at the notes and they produce pitches in my head (and no I’m not hearing voices). This is much like an artist who has a good idea of what they are going to paint even before putting brush to paper. How do I get to this point? Ear Training!

Check out my new game at www.GuitarGames.net it’s called The Melody Game. Start learning to hear and you’ll be surprised what you can play.

I just finished my e-book Learn the Guitar Neck in 10 Easy Lessons! I think it is my best work on the subject to date. The lessons make use of three fretboard landmarks which make learning the note names much easier. Also the way in which music is organized is connected to the way in which the fretboard is set up. I did some serious research into how memory works and the best way to teach large amounts of information, and I think it paid off. Let me know what you think.

Looking for an easy introduction to music theory? I’ve struggled for years to find one that my students would like and get something out of. So far this seems to be the best one. Take a look if you want to tell your minors from your augmenteds.

When I was in college I had a number of amazing teachers. One of them was Dr. David Ward-Steinman, one of the world’s great composers as well as instructors. I remember one day sitting next to him as he sightread an entire orchestral score at the piano. That means he played on the spot about 20 parts of music at the same time on the piano. As if that wasn’t enough he was transposing for various instruments (e.g. clarinet, saxaphone, etc.) Even more amazing was that he would nod his head for the page to be turned while he was only half way through the page, meaning that he had memorized all the music that was still on the page before he played it!

In order to play a piece of music well, at sight (sight read) that is what you need to do, to look ahead. How does one learn to do this? Try this. Put a piece of music in front of you that you have never seen. Start playing. As you near halfway through the first measure have a friend cover it up the whole measure with a piece of paper. Did you have to stop? If so, try again and this time look ahead. As you go your friend keeps placing the paper over what you are playing leaving only what comes ahead visible. Fun!

These tips will help you make the most of GuitarGames.net, our sister site.

Tip No.1: Reading music on guitar is best done by approaching it from several angles.

Here is a practice routine that will help you succeed.
1) Start by reviewing the notes on the staff, (Every Good Boy Does Fine, FACE, etc.) This can be done at Note Squish , I suggest playing the game 2 or 3 times.
2) Then review the names of the notes on the guitar neck. Play Birds of Fretopia several times. And then
3) Put it all together by playing Fret Tester for ten minutes .

This three-fold approach will strengthen your reading chops in no time!

Tip No. 2: Premium Members - Work on small sections.

Are you just starting to learn the notes on the Bass strings? Or maybe you just can’t seem to remember the notes above the staff. Premium Members have access to the settings section of the games and can isolate areas of the neck, staff, etc. By isolating areas you will learn quicker. Or take ear training Can’t tell the difference between a perfect 5th and a perfect 4th? Go to the settings page and choose just those two types. Learning music is like eating an elephant (or how about a rice field for you vegetarian types). If you try to do it all at once you are in for a sore stomach. But start with one little piece at a time and you’d be surprised what you can accomplish!

I came across this tip in a guitar forum and thought it was worth passing on. It helps players learn the notes on the bass strings (6th, 5th, and 4th) It works especially well for electric guitarists who have dots on the neck at the 3rd, 5th, and 7th fret. But, it will work for anyone. It goes like this:

1. Memorize the note names on the 6th string for the 3rd, 5th, and 7th fret. They are: G, A, B

2. Memorize the note names on the 5th string for the 3rd, 5th, and 7th fret. They are: C,D,E

3. Memorize the note names on the 4th string for the 3rd, 5th, and 7th fret. They are: F,G,A

4. Notice that the notes are alphabetical and always on the 3rd,5th, and 7th fret.

5. Remember that to use sharps or flats you simply go up one fret for sharps, and one down for flats.

That little exercise will help you remember a lot of the notes on the neck. Practice this with Birds of Fretopia from GuitarGames.net and you will have the notes on the bass strings memorized in no time!

Ever wonder who comes up with those crazy sayings like “every goody boy does fine”? I think it’s people like me. My student Boaz and I came up with one for the order of the flats, see post from July 30th. Rather than remembering the order of the flats with “Bead” + gcf you could use our new one “Bad Elephants And Donkeys Get Cold Fast.” Nice! Hey, this is history in the making.

Now for flats, you know, they look like the letter "b" and make you want to throw your guitar out the window. Don’t despair, help is on the way. Here they are:

F: Bb
Bb: Bb Eb
Eb: Bb Eb Ab
Ab: Bb Eb Ab Db
Db: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb
Gb: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb
Cb: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb (very ugly!)

Once again we have a pattern, (more…)

What are Key Signatures? Ever notice all those funny sharps and flats at the beginning of music? You know, the ones you are supposed to remember and use throughout the entire piece of music. Sometimes there are a couple sharps, other times you see some flats (and decide to not play that piece of music). That is a key signature. It is kind of like the thumb print for a key. So the key of “G” for instance has a key signature with one #, namely “F#.” No other key has that signature, only “G.” Now if you know a key’s signature you can figure out its scale. If we have the key of “G” and know that its signature is “F#” then the scale contains the notes: G A B C D E F# G. In other words, it has one of each letter name (”A” through “G”) and and accidentals (sharps or flats) in the signature are thrown in too. Here is another example “Bb” (”B - flat”). It has a key signature of two flats “Bb” and “Eb”. So its scale is: Bb C D Eb F G A Bb. Also notice that key signatures never use both sharps AND flats, it is either sharps OR flats. That will be crucial in remembering them. Here goes… (more…)