Welcome to GUITAR TEACHER (GT). GT includes two main features: 1. A guitar tuner that is accurate to 1/10,000th of a cycle per second; 2. A database of guitar chord diagrams. Each diagram can be quickly selected and instantly displayed on the screen. This manual is divided into the following sections: 1. Getting Started 2. Using GT 3. Tuning 4. Chord Structure 5. About the Author SECTION 1 - Getting Started The following assumes a basic knowledge of DOS: BACKUP: Backing up your GT files is recommended for two reasons. 1. If one copy is destroyed or rendered unusable for some reason, you will have a backup copy. 2. If you copy the files onto your hard disk and run GT from there, the program will load much faster and work faster when it needs to use the disk. To make a backup on a floppy diskette, use the DOS "copy" command in a similar manner to the following: copy a:*.* b:*.* If your knowledge of DOS is limited so that you have trouble with this command, we suggest that you refer to your DOS manual and look up "copy", or ask a friend for assistance. To copy the GT files onto your hard disk, first make a directory to store them in using the DOS "mkdir" command. You might type the following: mkdir c:\guitar Next, type: copy a:*.* c:\guitar\*.* Again, if these commands are beyond your knowledge of DOS, you may require assistance. CONVENTIONS USED BY GT: GT presents a user interface that was created to be as standard as possible. A computer user of any experience should have little trouble getting around GT's environment. Throughout the program, the first letter of all options that may be chosen at a particular time, are displayed in high intensity (bright) mode. Pressing the letter runs the option. Also, for some of the menus, the arrow keys may be used to move a menu bar to the desired option and then the key used to run it. EXTRAS.EXE: Included with GT is a file called EXTRAS.EXE. It contains two main menu options that you would not want to run during most GT study sessions. Below are explanations of the two options. CHANGE START-UP DEFAULTS: When GT starts up, it looks into the file called DEFAULTS.DAT and reads the default settings for two variables. 1. Monitor: The first thing GT needs to know is whether to display the program in monochrome or color mode. The program is distributed with this default set to monochrome. But this can be easily changed using the "Change start-up defaults" option. From then on, the program will load according to the default you've set. 2. Display: This option allows you to set the display to either right or left handed. The display can be changed within GT for tuning and chord study sessions, but will always start up with the default you set here. Note: These defaults can be changed to different settings at any time. So, by changing them, you aren't doing anything that can't be undone. PRINT GT MANUAL: This option sends a copy of the GT manual to your printer. When you choose this option, printing does not begin immediately. You're given a chance to set preferences on your printer. The option allows you to exit without printing if you change your mind. The manual prints at 66 lines per page so, don't reset your printer to any other line spacing. A large margin has been included to allow holes to be punched if you wish to keep your manual in a binder. ORDER GT: Choosing this option allows you to print an order form for GUITAR TEACHER Advanced Edition. RUNNING EXTRAS.EXE: EXTRAS.EXE must be run from the directory where all the GT files are stored. On start-up, EXTRAS.EXE immediately looks for certain files. If they are not in the current directory, the program aborts. Example: Let's assume for instance your GT files are stored in a directory called C:\GUITAR and your current default directory is C:\WPFILES. If you were to type: c:\guitar\extras EXTRAS would attempt start-up and look in C:\WPFILES for the required files. Upon not finding them, the program would abort. In this case you must first type: chdir c:\guitar Then type: extras At this point, EXTRAS should start with no trouble. SECTION 2 - USING GT: GT must also be run from the proper directory or it will abort. See the instructions above. To run GT type: gt When the copyright notice appears, pressing most any key will cause it to disappear and the main menu will be displayed. MAIN MENU OPTIONS: The sub-headings below correspond to the options on the main menu. Each option is explained in detail under the appropriate sub-heading. TUNE UP: Once you have chosen this option from the main menu, the best way to get familiar with the tuner is to press for "Help" which displays a window explaining each option. Before tuning up, you may wish to reverse the display from right handed to left or vice versa by pressing . The small box in the lower right hand corner of the screen shows the current display mode. Notice the numbers 1 through 6 above the guitar fingerboard on the screen. The screen opens with the number one string marked with the menu block. Use the right and left arrow keys, or number keys to select different strings. Once you have selected the string you want to tune, press to sound the note and press again to stop it. See section 3 of this manual for detailed information on tuning. OPEN CHORD DATABASE: Again, "Help" should guide you through with little trouble. If you're familiar with guitar chord diagrams, the one on the screen should cause no confusion. Be sure the display is in the mode you want. Check the box in the lower right hand corner. Press to reverse it. At this point, press to display any chord. It's probably obvious to most that the numbers on the fingerboard are the numbers of the fingers to be used in playing the chord. For beginners, note that the thumb is not finger number one -- the thumb is not counted. There are only four possible finger numbers and they refer to your four fingers. On most diagrams, there will be one or more of the letters "o" or "x" at the top of the fingerboard. "o" means the string is to be played open. "x" means the string is not to be played. Sometimes this might seem impossible, but that's because the chord may have to played differently from the way one might think. For instance, you might have a chord where all strings are to be played except for the fourth string. In many cases, one of the fingers used to press another string is also used to dampen the fourth string simply by touching it as it reaches over. Other chords must be plucked with your strumming hand fingers to miss the strings marked with "x". Most chords however, don't present a problem. On some diagrams there will be a Roman numeral beside the first fret. This means that it is in fact not the first fret, but the fret corresponding to the numeral. This is standard notation for guitar music -- Roman numerals refer to fret numbers. For those of us who have forgotten exactly what all those Roman signs mean, here is a review: I = 1 II = 2 III = 3 IV = 4 V = 5 VI = 6 VII = 7 VIII = 8 IX = 9 X = 10 XI = 11 XII = 12 XIII = 13 XIV = 14 XV = 15 You'll rarely need to know them as high as 15. See section 4 of this manual for detailed information on chord structure. SECTION 3 - Tuning If you have trouble tuning your guitar, you're in good company. Most people including many professionals have a love/hate relationship with their instruments because of tuning problems. In most cases, it's because the guitar was not set up right in the first place and it is actually impossible to tune it correctly. But, even if everyone was given a perfectly adjusted instrument, it's doubtful that one in a great number could properly explain how to tune it. Many know various different ways of getting the instrument into some kind of acceptable shape, but many of the methods are faulty. The most common method of tuning is actually a very poor one. Most guitarists learn early that the first string open (E, the thinnest string) is the same pitch as the second string, fifth fret. One hopes that the first string is close to being in tune, and then if the second string, fifth fret can be made to sound the same as the first string open, then the second string it is reasoned must be in tune as well. After comparing the second string with the first, the third string is compared with the second and so on until all of the strings are in tune. There are at least two problems with this method. First of all, most guitars, especially acoustics, don't have the bridge set at the right distance from the nut and so when the second string seemed to be in tune at the fifth fret, it probably wasn't in tune if played open. Secondly, our hearing is not perfect and even when we think two notes are perfectly in tune there is still a certain amount of error. As you go across the neck toward the sixth string, your error is compounded. How many times have you used this method, thinking you did a good tuning job and then when you played a chord it sounded terrible. That's because when you tuned the second string to the first, you were just a little out, but by the time you got to the sixth string, you were way out! When tuning, it's best if you tune every string to the same note instead of several different notes that get gradually more and more out of tune. This can be a little tricky and demands considerably more knowledge. However, with the GT tuner you don't have to worry about the problems of tuning to inaccurate notes since they are all in tune within 1/10,000th of a cycle per second. As well, you're not tuning the strings at the fifth or any other fret -- you tune them as open strings. So how does one know when the string is actually in tune with the tone from the computer? Most people can tune it so it's close, but there's a way to be very precise. When two notes are close to the same pitch, but not quite, if you play the notes together and listen closely you should hear a pulsating sound. As the notes get closer to being the same pitch the pulsating slows down, and the goal is to make it stop altogether. When it stops, the two notes are vibrating at the same number of cycles per second. This method of tuning seems to be easier when using "harmonics". Tuning with harmonics is a feature available with Guitar Teacher Advanced Edition. If you find that later a string seems to have gone out of tune, go back to the tuner. Tuning to another string which itself might be a little out is where you begin getting the whole thing in a mess again. If your tuning still seems inaccurate, it may be that your bridge and/or top nut are not adjusted properly. You might consider taking it to a repair shop for an opinion. SECTION 4 - Chord Structure Chords are another great mystery to musicians and of special interest to guitarists because eventually every guitarist ends up playing a lot of them, whereas a trumpet player for instance never plays one. A chord is simply a combination of single notes. There is no end of combinations one could come up with, and so naming them all with descriptive names would be quite a task. However, over the centuries attempts have been made to categorize different combinations and give them names. Understand from the start that the names for chord categories that have come to be accepted are only barely descriptive. To understand the structure for each chord category, one must first consider the major scale. That is: DO RE MI FA SO LA TI DO To play the major scale starting at any note, it must be played with the following intervals: DO * RE * MI FA * SO * LA * TI DO or: 1 * 2 * 3 4 * 5 * 6 * 7 8 What this means is that you must skip a fret between certain notes, but not others. Forget about "DO, RE, MI" now and just consider the numbers. Notice 3 and 4 are right next to each other as well as 7 and 8. The rest have frets between them. Try playing a major scale starting at the second string, (next to the thinnest string) pressing the first fret (C). Call this note number 1. Next, play the second note of the scale in the third fret, and then continue following the number pattern above until you reach the end of the scale. You should end up at the 13th fret which is the next C and exactly one octave from the note you started with. You have just played a C major scale. So what does this have to do with chords? It's simple really. The different chord categories are simply different number combinations out of the major scale. The most basic chord for instance is a major chord, which is any combination of the first, third and fifth notes of the major scale. The chart below should help: SCALE CHART: 13 F# G G# A Bb B C C# D Eb E F 12 E F F# G Ab A Bb B C Db D Eb 11 D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb Cb C Db 10 C# D D# E F F# G G# A Bb B C 9 B C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A Bb 8 A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab 7 G# A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G 6 F# G G# A Bb B C C# D Eb E F 5 E F F# G Ab A Bb B C Db D Eb 4 D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb Cb C Db 3 C# D D# E F F# G G# A Bb B C 2 B C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A Bb 1 A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab So, a C major chord is made up of any combination of C, E and G. If you choose the OPEN CHORD DATABASE option and retrieve a C major chord, you'll find that every alternative is a different combination of these three notes. Notice the structure for each chord is listed at the very bottom of the screen with the structure for each alternative listed just below the fingerboard diagram. By this time, you should have a better idea of how this works. Try another one. Retrieve an E minor chord from the database. Notice the structure is 1 3b 5. Now look at the E major scale above. Number 1 is E, a flatted 3 is G natural and 5 is B. Knowing these number combinations is actually more important and descriptive than the names of the categories. For instance, calling a chord a "seventh" doesn't reveal a lot about the structure, but knowing the structure is 1 3 5 7b is much more useful. (You need to know the names though.) Many reading this will become quite suddenly enlightened on this subject. What you need to do now is study the structure of every chord you play. Gradually, you'll begin to see how useful this knowledge is. SECTION 5 - About the Author 1950: Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada 1956: Began studying piano 1961: Began studying guitar 1964: Began performing professionally 1971: Began teaching guitar and piano 1989: Graduated from the Computer Programmer/Analyst program at Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology, Barrie, Ontario