Musical Instruments

This rock guitar lesson will cover the commonly used chords and scales that are used in rock. Rock music evolved from blues; so much of the components of rock will also be common to blues music.

This rock guitar lesson will discuss the commonly used power chords as well as the major and minor triads. The pentatonic and blues scales used for soloing will also be explored in the context of rock guitar.

The 5 chord or power chord is simply the root and the perfect fifth and can be played just using these two notes. This chord is used extensively in hard rock, rock, punk and metal. The chord is commonly played with the root on the low E string or on the A string, but a 5 chord can also be played less commonly over the higher strings as well. As most chords are constructed using a root and fifth, it is important to know how to use power chords as they are a stepping stone to learning more complex ones.

Rock guitar commonly relies on the major and minor chords, in the form of triads. If we take a 5 chord and and add a minor third to it, we create a minor chord. If we add a major third, we create a major chord. It is common to play these chords in the open position on the fretboard, but they can be played on any part of the fretboard.

In rock, the most commonly scale used for soloing is the minor pentatonic scale. It is the “bread and butter” scale of rock. This scale is extremely versatile and should be the first scale learned when studying rock guitar. The blues scale is also very useful, and is created by simply adding a flat five to the minor pentatonic.

The major pentatonic scale and the major scale are commonly used in rock guitar playing. Both of these scales will give a brighter sound to that of the minor pentatonic. These scales can be applied to many different styles of rock music from pop to heavy rock to country.

Thank you for reading this rock guitar lesson, I hope it gives you a clear understanding of what you need to learn to understand and play rock music. Best of luck with your guitar playing.

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