If you want to move beyond the basics and truly master your instrument, there are two things you absolutely must do:

1. Memorize the fretboard.

2. Develop a solid understanding of the relationship between scales, modes
and chords.

The reason for memorizing the fretboard should be obvious. Knowing where all the notes are will make you a faster, more intuitive player. The reasons (there are many) behind learning the relationship between scales, modes and chords require a little more explanation.

The first thing to understand is that chords are constructed from scales.

Let’s say you want to know which notes make up the G-major chord You’d first need to know is that Major chords are built from the root, third and fifth tones of their corresponding Major scale. Then, you’d need to know the G Major scale, which is: G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G.

If you count up from G to the 3rd note you arrive at B. If you count up from G to the 5th note you have D. Play these notes simultaneously as GBD, and you have a G Major chord!

The second to understand is that scales (and,therefore, chords) can begin on any note within the key

Here’s where modes and chord inversions (’voicings’) come in. Let’s say that you decide to play that G Major chord at the 7th fret on the first three strings of the guitar. If you strum the chord from the inside out, you will play DGB. In other words, your ‘root’ is no longer the bottom/first note of the chord. This is what’s known as an inversion.

Now, let’s say you are playing a song in G Major, and you decide to play the scale starting from a root other than G. For instance, you might begin playing the scale at D. Is this a ‘new’ scale or just the same scale from a different position? It’s actually both!

A G Major scale played from any point while in the key of G is considered “Ionian Mode”. It will always sound ‘Major’.

However, if you play the G Major scale pattern from D while you’re in a different key, you’ll be in one of the following, alternative modes: Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, or Locrian.

These modes will sound something other than ‘Major’. The Aeolian mode, for example, is actually considered the Minor scale (Ionian = Major scale for all keys, and Aeolian = Minor scale for all keys).

The other modes fall in between, creating interesting harmonizations and are often used in Jazz music for soloing over the more complex, dissonant-feeling chords such as the Major and Minor 7ths and 9ths.

When you learn these relationships, you’ll start to notice something akin to an ‘interlocking’ pattern on your fretboard. For example, when you know all of the inversions for a given chord, then you’ll also know that beginning a scale on the root of that inversion can lead you into whichever modal scale you want to play over the current key.

The more relationships you see and understand, the more your fretboard opens up to you for creative soloing and songwriting. The end result is learning and mastering your guitar faster than you ever imagined!

These are all valid questions because how you learn to play the guitar is just as important as what you learn to play. Teaching yourself how to play might work just fine if you’ve got a good ear and some previous exposure to music theory or proficiency on another instrument.

If you’re totally new to playing any instrument at all, though, it would be a good idea to get a teacher — or — join an online program where you can interact with multiple teachers as well as fellow students. In fact, I would recommend finding at least one ‘mentor’ or a ’study buddy’ to learn with even if you lean towards teaching yourself.

Why?

In short, you learn more and make more progress faster than you would in isolation because you’ll be exposed to alternative ways of thinking about your approach to the guitar. Other players can share tips and techniques you haven’t seen before, as well as help you conquer a problem area that they’ve already mastered.

Ultimately, though, the question of how to learn guitar is up to you and your choice should be guided by consideration of your own unique situation. The following list of questions should help you make a solid decision:

1. How much can I afford to spend on lessons, books, etc, and how much am I willing to invest to get started?

2. How do I learn best? For example, can you pick up concepts easily just by reading about them, or do you prefer to have audio and video demonstrations you can follow along with?

3. Am I looking to learn a specific style of guitar such as Classical, Blues or Jazz? You’ll still need to learn basic music theory for any style of music, but you might want to look for instruction that focuses on teaching the theory in one of these contexts.

4. How much time can I devote to practice? This is really important if you’re thinking of hiring a guitar teacher. Most teachers will require you to master a lesson before moving on to the next one.

You’ll still be paying for those lessons even when you aren’t making much progress. So, if you’re strapped for time, I recommend investing in a home-study or online couse. This will give you 24/7 access to the information you need outside of your regular guitar lessons.

5. How ‘good’ of a player do I want to be? If guitar is just a hobby for you, then you’ll likely do well with just about any method of instruction. If you want to go pro or start a band, though, you should learn from as many different sources as possible.

Lesson #1: Fretboard Facts

Did you know that your fretboard is ‘doubled’ at the 12th fret position?  What I mean by ‘doubled’ is that all of the open-string notes repeat in the same order (as octaves) at the 12th fret.

If you just strum your guitar without fretting (holding down) any notes, you have the following pattern in ’standard’ tuning: E-A-D-G-B-E. Then, if you were to place your index finger across all six strings at the 12th fret, you get: E-A-D-G-B-E again!

Why is this useful?

It is useful because it means that all of the chord shapes and scale patterns you learn below the 12th fret are repeated and in the same relative positions. So, once you’ve learned how things work from the open position and 1st fret onwards, you’ve automatically got everything at the 12th fret and beyond mastered, too!

Lesson #2: Two-Note ‘Drones’

Here’s an experiment for you to try:  Play an open ‘D’ note simultaneously with a fretted ‘A’ note on your third string. Now, keep hitting that open ‘D’ as you move up the D-major scale on the third string.  In other words, keep hitting that ‘D’ as you slide your finger up the fretboard from A to B to D to E and so on.

Sounds pretty cool, right?  You can do this for the E and A string below as well.

If you want a song to follow along with and practice this technique, check out the early U2 song called “Electric Co.”  The Edge is a big fan of these two-note ‘drones’ and used the technique in that song.

If memory serves, ‘Electric Co.’ is in the key of D-major, and the riff progresses like so:

D/A - D/C - D/B - D/E - D/F# - D/D (that second D is played at the 7th fret position) -
D/A -D/C - D/B -  D/G (open G on 3rd string) - D/E - D/F#

Hint: You may need to tune down a half-step to get in key with the album version of the song.

Lesson #3: Easy ‘Thirds’ in G-Major

The Beatles’ song, ‘Blackbird’, popularized this sound. The progression of intervals of ‘thirds’ creates a very cool sounding harmony that feels both ‘major’ and ‘minor’ at the same time.

In case you aren’t familiar with the concept of intervals, the basic definition of an interval is that it is the difference in pitch between two notes. What you do is count up from the root note of the major scale to find the interval number.

In the key of G-major, for example, the distance from from G to C is an interval of a fourth because C is the fourth note in the scale.

In this example, however, what we’re actually doing is taking the thirds relative to the chords being played. Let’s go from G-major to A-minor to B-minor. The intervals of thirds for each of these chords is: G/B, A/C and B/D, respectively.

Now, trying plucking these intervals with your thumb and index finger. Start with G on the sixth string and B on the second string, open position. Move to A on the fifth string, open position, with C played on the second string, first fret. Finally, play B on the fifth string, second fret, with D on the second string, third fret.

In ‘pseudo-tab’, the notation would look like this:  (6/3 - 2/0) - (5/0 - 2/1) - (5/2 - 2/3).  The first number in the ‘fraction’ represents which string to play on, while the second number represents which fret on that string to hold down.

The parenthesis indicate that you should play both strings simultaneously, rather than one after the other.

So, (6/3 - 2/0) means play the note on the 3rd fret of the sixth string at the same time as you play the second string (0= open position).

That’s it for this round of beginner’s guitar lessons. I hope you enjoyed them and try experimenting with them to come up with new sounds of your own!

This got me wondering whether there might be a connection between the two. It seemed far-fetched; but, the more I thought about it, the more parallels I saw between these two seemingly different levels of training.

So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that:

1. You can learn guitar faster by studying the techniques involved making your overall playing ability ‘faster’, and..

2. You can become a ‘faster’ guitar player by re-focusing your practice sessions on the basic concepts and techniques taught to every beginner.

The reasons for this overlap and can be summed up in a handy acronym: M.O.S.T. — or, “Memorization, Observation and Strength Training.” Let’s cover each one to clarify the point.

Memorization

One of the things that slows down both beginning and intermediate guitar players, no matter how good of an ‘ear’ for music they have, is a failure to memorize:

1. All of the notes on the fretboard

2. Chords and scales for the Major and Minor Keys

It doesn’t matter whether you’re just starting out, or have a few year’s playing experience already. The fact is that ‘hunting and pecking’ for the right chord or note will slow you down.

You don’t have time in the middle of a song to stop so you can figure out if a Db minor chord will work in the key of B, and then figure out where that chord is relative to your current position on the fretboard.

If you’re a beginner, then memorizing your fretboard is the place to start. This will make it easier for you to memorize chords and scale patterns, as well as understand the relationship between them in music theory.

If you’re already playing, then you should focus on strengthening your knowledge in both areas. You probably have a good part of your fretboard memorized already, but can you jump to any note or chord automatically?

Observation

Your senses of touch, sight and sound are all involved in playing guitar. As you play, you will no doubt feel the development of ‘muscle memory’ as your fingers play across familiar chords and scales. You will see patterns and relationships on the fretboard. You will hear what you’re playing and come to connect it with all of the above.

Memorization is the foundation for observation, and observation is the key to training your mind and hands to work in concert automatically.

If you want the ability to play anything you hear ‘in your head’ the moment your fingers reach the fretboard, then you must wed memorization with observation when you practice.

Strength Training

No, I’m not suggesting you lift weights at the gym! Strength training, which really includes ‘dexterity’ training, is part and parcel of everything we’ve covered so far.

Beginning guitarists often struggle to hold down chords, and to play scales with all four fingers. This is simply a matter of building strength, muscle memory and dexterity through consistent and correct practice.

Intermediate players who want to get faster on the fretboard must realize that the most likely culprit(s) behind issues with ’speed’ will be a deficiency in strength, dexterity, correct techqnie or all three.

Beginners should focus on strength building exercises and on performing those exercises perfectly. If you’re given an exercise that requires you to hit a note with your pinky, but you decide to ‘cheat’ by using your ring finger, know that your playing will hit a wall down the line.

Likewise, players who can’t seem to exceed their current speed on the guitar should examine their own technique. Have you stopped working on your strength training because the exercises are boring? Is your technique ’sloppy’?

There are some things you simply can not get away with at 160 beats per minute the way you can at 120 beats per minute.

In conclusion, the key to learning guitar faster - as well as playing it faster - rests in following the M.O.S.T. formula. It really is all about getting the basics right from the start!