Guitar Interval Bootcamp

The Problem: Learning Guitar the Hard Way

Most guitarists learn the instrument as if it has 132 different notes, when it's really just 12 notes repeated over and over.

You see fret numbers and string numbers. But the pros see patterns. They see how the same note appears in multiple places. They understand that the fretboard is actually organized, not random.

The missing piece? Intervals—the simple numbering system that connects everything you already know into one logical framework.

The C Major Scale: Your Musical Rosetta Stone

Here's the C major scale - you know it as Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do:

 

Most people memorize this as a sequence of notes. But watch what happens when we number them:

 

These numbers? They're what musicians call intervals. And they're the key to everything.

 

For example, here's the G major scale:

 

Now let's swap out the notes for the intervals:

 

Notice how the 1 is on G, and the 4 is still 5 frets from G - so it's C. The 5 is 7 frets from G - so it's D. Same distances, different starting point.

Here's another example - the A major scale:

 

Again, let's swap out the notes for the intervals:

 

Again, the 1 is on A, the 4 is 5 frets from A (which gives us D), and the 5 is 7 frets from A (which gives us E). The fret distances never change - only the starting note changes.

How This Explains Chord Progressions

Now, remember all those times you've heard musicians talk about "I-IV-V" progressions?

They're just talking about these numbers. It's the same system session musicians use in Nashville - the Nashville Number System.

Whether you're in C, G, A, or any other key, these relationships are always consistent because they're always based on the major scale.

That's why session musicians can say "I-IV-V in whatever key" and everyone instantly knows what to play.

In the key of C, a I-IV-V progression is:

• I = C major (the 1st chord)
• IV = F major (the 4th chord)
• V = G major (the 5th chord)

 

In the key of G, a I-IV-V progression is:

• I = G major (the 1st chord)
• IV = C major (the 4th chord)
• V = D major (the 5th chord)

 

In the key of A, a I-IV-V progression is:

• I = A major (the 1st chord)
• IV = D major (the 4th chord)
• V = E major (the 5th chord)

 

That's it. When someone says "let's do a blues in G," they mean:

• I = G major
• IV = C major (4th chord of G major scale)
• V = D major (5th chord of G major scale)

 

And here's the thing - you've been playing I-IV-V progressions for years:

Same pattern. Different keys. You just didn't know that's what musicians call it.

Using Intervals to Build Chords

Now that you understand intervals as a numbering system, let's see how they explain chord construction. This is where everything clicks together.

I'm going to shift the frets we're using a little to make it easier to play the chords as we build them, so instead of the 1 being under the index finger, it'll be under the ring finger, or the pinky if you're getting real fancy:

 

Ok so here's how every major chord is built:

 

That's it. C major chord? Take the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the C major scale:

 

A major chord? Same formula, different starting point:

 

G major chord? You guessed it:

 

Same formula everywhere. 1-3-5. Always.

You're not memorizing hundreds of different shapes anymore. You're applying one formula to different starting points.

Change One Note, Get Minor Chords

Want to make any major chord sound minor? (That "sad" sound?)

Just flatten the 3rd:

 

 

That's the only difference between C major and C minor. Move the 3rd down one fret.

Same thing works for any minor chord - Dm, Em, Am - they're all just 1-♭3-5 starting from different notes.