Classical Harmony - Guitar 2

ActionTab

Quick Reference

This handy chart tells you what every dot in the ActionTab system means. If you don't understand some of them don't worry - we have video lessons that explain them in the members section.

Fretboard & Capo

The fretboard is the area of your guitar where you play

Some songs require a capo. A capo is just a clamp which you can place on any fret. This effectively moves

the 'nut' of the guitar, allowing you to play 'open' chords higher up the fretboard. In ActionTab the capo is represented by the black bar on the left.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Space, K	Pause/Play
Home	Rewind
End	Go to End
	Step Forward
	Step Backward
M	Mute/Unmute
F	Fullscreen
H	Toggle Help
S	Save Settings
R	Restore Defaults
O	Toggle Loop
D	Toggle Delay Start
X	Toggle Light Strings
W	Flip Fretboard
C	Fretboard Color
T	Tablature
N	Normal Speed Window
B	Bookmark Position
,	Set Loop Section Start
.	Set Loop Section End
/	Clear Loop Section

Strumming Hand Dots

Fingerpick

Fingertap

Downstroke

Upstroke (Palm muted)

Pinch Harmonic

Color Codes

Applies to both hands

Thumb

1st (index) Finger

2nd Finger

3rd (ring) Finger

4th (little) Finger

Fretboard Hand Dots

Hold finger here

Bend note down

Bend note up

Hammer On

Pull Off

Slide dot this way

Prepare note

Mute note/string

Harmonic

Vibrato

Open string note (no finger)

Song Notes

This tune is from the JamZone where we take a look at creating lovely harmonies from just 1 scale.

This second guitar provides the main melody but does have a bassline too. The Thumb picks the same bassline as guitar 1, but half as many times. The fingers play the melody on the higher strings.

All the notes are from the E natural minor scale:

E - F# - G - A - B - C - D - E

Give it some practice, there are some simple but useful techniques here.

Now listen again to the mp3 audio of both guitars together. Notice how just 1 scale and 2 guitars playing quite similar things can provide lovely intricate sounding music. Great harmonies don't require a diploma in music theory to make! They can be surprisingly simple. The problem for most guitarists is that it involves 2 guitars. In this day and age, this is easily remedied...

Record Yourself!

Get your hands on some recording software. Professional packages such as Cubase, Pro-Tools, Cakewalk, Logic, Adobe Audition are available. These do cost, but if you are serious about making your own music they are really the best way to go. The quality of plugins and compatible music software is far better than the free recording packages. However, you should always dip your toe in the water first, and the best free online recording software is Audacity. It's not the frilliest package ever made, but more than adequate for recording yourself and making multi-track recordings (which you need to record instruments separately, but play them back simultaneously).

There are plenty of tutorials on the web about using audacity and it'll get you started on the recording path.

Recording yourself is invaluable. Not only will it help you make music with more than 1 instrument. It provides a great feedback loop. That means you can record your own wild experiments and see what works and what doesn't. You'll also be able to hear your own progress over time with each recording you produce. You can also pinpoint areas you need to refine in your technique from recordings you make. Sometimes sitting back and listening to yourself helps you get new musical ideas too!

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