Guitar Thesaurus_The Complete Guide To Scales, Chords, Arpeggios.pdf

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Guitar Thesaurus

The Complete Guide To Scales, Chords, Arpeggios

By Stefanos Nikas

Over 120 Diagrams

All The Scales, Chords And Arpeggios You 'll Ever Need

· The Best Way To Master Guitar Theory

·

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All diagrams created using

First Edition ISBN: 978-1-304-52024-1

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner without the written permission from the author.

I would like to give special thanks to Tasos Asonitis for the help and support he provided me, none of these would be possible without him.

Guitar Thesaurus

_{The Complete Guide To Scales, Chords, Arpeggios}

Cover Photo by Haris Bampouras

by Stefanos Nikas

“He that has patience may compass anything.”

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Introduction

Reading Diagrams

Major Scale

Natural Minor Scale

Dorian Scale

Phrygian Scale

Lydian Scale

Mixolydian Scale

Locrian Scale

Harmonic Minor Scale

Locrian #6 Scale

Ionian Augmented Scale

Dorian #4 Scale

Phrygian Dominant Scale

Lydian #2 Scale

Ultralocrian Scale

Melodic Minor Scale

Dorian b2 Scale

Lydian Augmented Scale

Lydian Dominant Scale

Mixolydian b6 Scale

Locrian #2 Scale

Altered Scale

Diminished (Whole Half) Scale

Diminished (Half Whole) Scale

Whole Tone Scale

Augmented Scale

Major Pentatonic Scale

Minor Pentatonic Scale

Suspended Pentatonic Scale

Man Gong Scale

Ritusen Scale

Dorian Pentatonic Scale

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Phrygian Pentatonic Scale

Lydian Pentatonic Scale

Mixolydian Pentatonic Scale

Locrian Pentatonic Scale

Major Blues Pentatonic Scale

Minor Blues Pentatonic Scale

Melodic Minor Blues Scale

Major Bebop Scale

Open Position Chords

Minor & Major Barre Chords

Power Chords

Open Position Seventh Chords

Major Chord

Minor Chord

Major 7 Chord

Minor 7 Chord

Dominant 7 Chord

Minor/Major 7 Chord

Major 7b5 Chord

Major 7#5 Chord

Minor 7b5 Chord

Minor 7#5 Chord

Minor 7b9 Chord

Augmented Chord

Diminished Chord

Diminished 7 Chord

Major 6 Chord

Minor 6 Chord

Major 6/9 Chord

Minor 6/9 Chord

Major 9 Chord

Minor 9 Chord

Dom9 Chord

Minor 11 Chord

Dom11 Chord

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Major 13 Chord

Minor 13 Chord

Dom13 Chord

Dominant 7b5 Chord

Altered Chord

Sus2 Chord

Sus4 Chord

Dom7sus4 Chord

Major Arpeggio

Minor Arpeggio

Augmented Arpeggio

Diminished Arpeggio

Major 7 Arpeggio

Minor 7 Arpeggio

Dominant 7 Arpeggio

Minor/Major 7 Arpeggio

Major 7b5 Arpeggio

Major 7#5 Arpeggio

Minor 7b5 Arpeggio

Minor 7#5 Arpeggio

Minor 7b9 Arpeggio

Diminished 7 Arpeggio

Major 9 Arpeggio

Minor 9 Arpeggio

Dom9 Arpeggio

Minor 11 Arpeggio

Dom11 Arpeggio

Major 13 Arpeggio

Minor 13 Arpeggio

Dom13 Arpeggio

Dominant 7b5 Arpeggio

Dominant 7#5 Arpeggio

Dominant 7b9 Arpeggio

Dominant 7#9 Arpeggio

Altered Arpeggio

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Scales Over A7 Chord - Box 1

Scales Over A7 Chord - Box 2

Scales Over A7 Chord - Box 3

Scales Over A7 Chord - Box 4

Scales Over A7 Chord - Box 5

Scales Over Amaj7 Chord

Scales Over Am7 Chord

Diatonic 7th Arpeggios In A Natural Minor Scale - Box 1

Diatonic 7th Arpeggios In A Natural Minor Scale - Box 2

Diatonic 7th Arpeggios In A Natural Minor Scale - Box 3

Diatonic 7th Arpeggios In A Natural Minor Scale - Box 4

Diatonic 7th Arpeggios In A Natural Minor Scale - Box 5

Major

Minor

Major 7

Minor 7

Dominant 7

Major 7b5

Minor 7b5

Augmented

Diminished 7

Dominant 7b5

Altered

Chord Structure Index

Scales Over Different Chord Types

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What you are looking at right now is exactly what the name suggests. It is a Guitar Thesaurus. The term Thesaurus, derives from the Greek word “θησαυρός” which means “treasure”, reflects the value of this project. What we attempted to do was to create a complete collection of all the theoretical shapes that have been used in guitar since the dawn of this instrument.

Guitar Thesaurus is the guide of every scale, chord and arpeggio used in today's music which are presented throughout the sections. Particularly, we utilized the method of boxes, that is, we divided the fretboard into five different consecutive boxes (each one having its own shape but retaining of course the same intervallic structure) for every scale, chord type or arpeggio spanning across the neck. We consider this method to be the most efficient for memorizing shapes, especially when it comes to using them in your everyday playing. Every example in this book is based on “A”. That is because “A” is the most used root note. Moreover, by having the same tonic, the shapes are easily comparable.

The first section is about scales. We have categorized the scales according to the “family” they belong to. For example, we begin with the Major scale and then all the modes of it, Dorian, Phrygian etc. In the same way we have the Harmonic and Melodic Minor followed by their respective modes, in scale degree order. For example, Melodic Minor is followed by Dorian b2 because it starts from the second degree of it. Therefore, Lydian Augmented, the one that starts from the third degree , goes next and so on. In the final part of this section we have included the pentatonic, symmetric scales and others used mostly in jazz, like Bebop Major.

The second section is dedicated to chords. Here you will meet all the chords that you will probably come across in your life. We have tried to keep all the shapes as simple as possible without distorting the sound of them. Bear also in mind that all of the shapes presented in this book are movable, open chords are not included. Memorizing the shape with an “A” root means you can use it with every other root note.

The third section is all about arpeggios. Something like the connecting link between scales and chords, arpeggios will help you spice up your playing and create interesting melodic lines. Once again, we do have a collection of the most commonly used arpeggios. Note that in the scales and the arpeggios sections we do not want to suggest any specific fingering since we believe it depends on your personal style and we highly recommend you to experiment with it. We also found way more useful to include the scale degrees that are in use so that, while practicing, you are aware of the theoretical background as well.

We have also included an additional section which, although diverting from the essence of a “Thesaurus”, we strongly believe it is of great practical and theoretical importance. In this section we have few examples of practical implementation of the shapes that you have already learned. For example, we take the most common chords and we demonstrate the arpeggio and the scale that are used over it when improvising (again dividing the neck into boxes for practical purposes). We present the different scales used over the 7th chords, box by box, and we point out the specific scale degrees that differentiate from scale to scale. This is extremely useful when it comes to playing over chord changes. We also take the most commonly used scale, Natural Minor, and we demonstrate all the diatonic arpeggios that occur within its box, encouraging you to do the same for the rest of the scales as well.

It is our firm belief that this book is true weaponry in the hands of a guitar player. Whether you are just beginning with the guitar or you are a trained professional, this book has everything that you will ever need in your never-ending quest of decoding the fascinating world of the guitar fretboard.

Stefanos Nikas

&

Tasos Asonitis

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High E String Low E String Interval Root Note Fret Number Nut Finger Number Root Note Barre

Muted String Open String

"All shapes (except open position chords) are movable. They can be played anywhere on the fretboard depending on what key you are playing in."

Notes

Root Minor 2nd Major 2nd Minor 3rd Major 3rd Diminished 4th Perfect 4th Diminished 5th Perfect 5th Minor 6th Major 6th Diminished 7th Minor 7th Major 7th R b2 Δ2 b3 Δ3 b4 p4 b5 p5 b6 Δ6 bb7 b7 Δ7 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 8

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Guitar Thesaurus by Stefanos Nikas

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" The Altered chords are made of the Root, Δ3, b7 (so that they

function as dominant chords) and they have the 5 or the 9 either

diminished, augmented, or both, in any possible combination. So,

instead of spending a lot of pages to include every possible

combination of alterations, we came up with the system that you

see above. Since the most-used shapes for an Altered chord are the

one that has its Root on the sixth string and the one that has its

Root on the fifth string, you are able to retain the basic dominant

shape that is colored in black dots, and add any grey-colored

alteration needed. The one in purple is the perfect fifth which is

included in the altered chords that do not have their fifth altered.

So, for example, in A7b9 you can include the 5 if you want to, but

in the A7#5 you cannot. We colored it in purple to show that it can

sometimes be added unlike the basic shape (in black dots) which

must be used in any case. Last thing to keep in mind is that the

numbers in black and purple dots do NOT represent intervals but

rather a suggested fingering. Only the numbers in grey dots

represent intervals.

If you want to play A7#5b9 you will use the basic shape, and then

add the #5 and the b9. So in Shape 1 you will have the first finger

barring across the sixth, fifth and fourth string on the fifth fret, the

second finger on the third string on the sixth fret, the third finger

on the second string on the sixth fret, and the fourth finger on the

first string on the eighth fret. It works the same way for Shape 2.

The most commonly used combinations for Altered chords are:

dom7b5, dom7#5, dom7b9, dom7#9, dom7b5b9, dom7b5#9,

dom7#5b9, dom7#5#9."

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"For altered arpeggio we apply the same concept with the altered chord section."

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"In this section, the first scale is the one used more often. The scales that follow are used also as an alternative to achieve a different feel. The colored degrees of each of these scales represent the notes that differentiate from the basic scale, in this case, Mixolydian."

R

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Chord Structure Index

Major

Minor

Major 7

Minor 7

Dominant 7

Minor/Major 7

Major 7b5

Major 7#5

Minor 7b5

Minor 7#5

Minor 7b9

Augmented

Diminished

Diminished 7

Major 6

Minor 6

Major 6/9

Minor 6/9

Major 9

Minor 9

Dom9

Minor 11

Dom11

Major 13

Minor 13

Dom13

Dominant 7b5

Sus2

Sus4

Dom7sus4

Altered

R Δ3 p5

R b3 p5

R Δ3 p5 Δ7

R b3 p5 b7

R Δ3 p5 b7

R b3 p5 Δ7

R Δ3 b5 Δ7

R Δ3 #5 Δ7

R b3 b5 b7

R b3 #5 b7

R b3 p5 b7 b9

R Δ3 #5

R b3 b5

R b3 b5 bb7

R Δ3 p5 Δ6

R b3 p5 Δ6

R Δ3 p5 Δ6 9

R b3 p5 Δ6 9

R Δ3 p5 Δ7 9

R b3 p5 b7 9

R Δ3 p5 b7 9

R b3 p5 b7 9 11

R Δ3 p5 b7 9 11

R Δ3 p5 Δ7 9 11 13

R b3 p5 b7 9 11 13

R Δ3 p5 b7 9 11 13

R Δ3 b5 b7

R Δ2 p5

R p4 p5

R p4 p5 b7

The Altered chords are made of the Root, Δ3, b7 and have the 5 or the 9 either diminished, augmented, or both, in any possible combination.

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Major Chord Minor Chord Major 7 Chord Minor 7 Chord Dom7 Chord Minor/Maj7 Chord Major 7b5 Chord Major 7#5 Chord Minor 7b5 Chord Minor 7#5 Chord Minor 7b9 Chord Aug Chord Dim Chord Dim7 Chord Major 6 Chord Minor 6 Chord Major 9 Chord Minor 9 Chord Dom9 Chord Minor 11 Chord Dom11 Chord Major 13 Chord Minor 13 Chord Dom13 Chord Dom7b5 Chord Dom7#5 Chord Dom7b9 Chord Dom7#9 Chord Altered Chord Sus2 Chord Sus4 Chord Dom7sus4 Chord Major Scale Minor Scale

Major Scale / Lydian Scale

Natural Minor Scale / Dorian Scale Mixolydian Scale

Harmonic Minor Scale Lydian Scale

Augmented Scale / Lydian Augmented Scale Locrian Scale

Locrian Scale Phrygian Scale

Augmented Scale / Lydian Augmented Scale Diminished (Whole Half) Scale / Locrian Scale Diminished (Whole Half) Scale

Major Scale Dorian Scale

Major Scale / Lydian Scale

Natural Minor Scale / Dorian Scale Mixolydian Scale

Major Scale Dorian Scale Mixolydian Scale

Lydian Dominant Scale / Altered Scale Whole Tone Scale / Altered Scale

Phrygian Dominant Scale / Altered Scale / Diminished (Half Whole) Scale Altered Scale / Diminished (Half Whole) Scale

Altered Scale

Any scale containing the R,2,5 depending on the harmonic context Any scale containing the R,4,5 depending on the harmonic context Mixolydian Scale = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =