Ride the Riptide. Surf the Fret Board. Rock Out with Riptide Guitar™

Let’s jump in …

What is a Guitar?

• A guitar is a stringed instrument that makes sounds.
• Guitars can have four, five or six strings. 

Guitar Strings and Tones

• Each string gets pulled to an exact tension so that when plucked, a string vibrates at a frequency, pushing air molecules to create a tone.
• Each string of a guitar sounds one tone.

Fret Boards and Tones

• A guitar has a fret board atop its neck.
• A fret lets you alter the length of a string when pressed.
• Altering the length of a string alters the frequency of vibration of a string.
• Each fret sounds one tone.

Fret Boards and Pitch

• The same tone played at different frequencies of vibration gets called pitch. 
• The fret board lets you play the same 12 tones at various pitches.

Music and Tones

• Western music tuning consists of 12 tones.
• A tone played for precise duration is a note.
• Music is the art of playing sequences of notes through time to create pleasing sounds. 

Twelve Tone Names

The twelve tone names fall into two categories, natural tones and accidental tones.

Natural Tone Names

The natural tone names are these:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G 

Accidental Symbols

The symbol ♯ means sharp.
The symbol ♭ means flat.

Accidental Tone Names

The accidental tones have two names, one for a sharp and one for a flat. You can use either name. Your mind hears the tone as the same regardless of the name.

The accidental tone names are these:

A♯ = B♭, C♯ = D♭, D♯ = E♭, F♯ = G♭, G♯ = A♭ 

The Riptide Guitar method uses the flats: A♭, B♭, D♭, E♭, G♭ 

String Names

From top to bottom (chin to floor), the tones of the strings are these:

E, A, D, G, B, E

Fretting lets you play the tones named C, F, G♭, D♭, A♭, E♭, B♭.

Hey check out this! 

Everyone else teaches the guitar upside down. With the Riptide Guitar™ method, all of the fret board pictures come to you as if you’re looking in at your guitar in a mirror. Now that is better, right?

Tones on the E-String(s)

You must commit the tones on the E string to memory!

1. Memorize in threes and twos, e.g,. E F G, A B C, D E
2. Memorize the naturals — tones neither sharp nor flat.
3. Memorize the flats.
4. Go up the neck and down the neck.

Tones on the A-String

You must commit the tones on the A string to memory!

1. Memorize in threes and twos, e.g,. A B C, D E F, G A
2. Memorize the naturals — tones neither sharp nor flat.
3. Memorize the flats.
4. Go up the neck and down the neck.

Helping Hints

• You find the accidentals on E at these frets: 2-4-6 and 9-11
• You find the accidentals on A at these frets: 1-4-6 and 9-11
• The first part of the A-string — open string to the 7th fret — is the E-string from the 5th fret to the 12th fret
• The second part of the A-string — 7th fret to 12th fret — is the E-string from the 1st fret to the 5th fret
• The tones on the 11th fret always are the flatted tones of the strings from chin to floor:
  E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭

Tones on the D-String

If you have learned the E-string, you have learned the D-string already.

• The D-string is the E-string starting on the 2nd fret of D
• The D-string is the E-string plus two
• You need learn only the 1st fret — E♭
• By playing the E-String pattern starting on the 2nd fret, you should end up on the 14th fret

Tones on the G-String

If you have learned the A-string, you have learned the G-String.

• The G-string is the A-string starting on the 2nd fret of G
• The G-string is the A-string plus two
• You need learn only the 1st fret  — A♭
• By playing the A-String pattern starting on the 2nd fret, you should end up on the 14th fret

Tones on the B-String

If you have learned the A-string, you have learned the B-string.

• The B-string is the A-string without the first A and B♭
• The B-string has B♭ and B added at the end
• The B-string is A-string minus two 
• The B-string is the E-string plus five

Practice

Here is the easiest scale to learn. It is called a pentatonic minor scale. 

• The I and the 1 represent your index finger. 
• The 4 represents your pinky.
• The 3 represents your middle.

To play it, fret your index finger on the tone in order like this:

• 1 to 4, 1 to 3, 1 to 3, 1 to 3

WARNING: When you land on the B-string after having started the scale from a string closer to your chin, you must slide up one fret on the B-string first before fretting it.

You should practice the scale on the same tones on all of the strings. Here your practice schedule:

• Day 1: C F
• Day 2: B♭ E♭
• Day 3: A♭ D♭
• Day 4: G♭ B 
• Day 5: E A
• Day 6: D G 

Playing is the best way to commit the guitar to mind.