A note is just one pitch. For example: Playing just one key on the piano.

A chord contains 3 or more notes, so 3 or more pitches. For example: Playing 3 or more keys on the piano.

If you play 2 notes at once, that is an interval, not a chord.

When you’re recording music, gain staging is the process of making sure the recording is being captured at the most ideal volume. It applies to any instrument, or group of instruments, being recorded, regardless of it is being mic’d or captured through a DI.

The most ideal volume for recording is as loud as you can capture the recorded instrument without the audio clipping.

Clipping is when the audio is captured at a volume that is too loud and therefore sound waves in the recording are literal clipped away by digital distortion.

On the flip side, you don’t want your recording to be too quiet. This makes it more difficult for the mixing engineer to blend the track within the final mix and can contain excessive room sound or white noise when gained up in post production.

Your gain staging varies from each recording, but I typically try to capture recordings no quieter than -6db and no louder than -3db. This ensures that the recording is loud enough but also not clipping.

To ensure you gain stage at an optimal volume, you will want to do a test performance. Here, you (or someone else) will do a run through of the performance you’re about to record and watch the faders for how loud or quiet the recording is being captured.

Adjust your input volume as you go through your test performance until you’ve achieved the perfect gain stage settings for what you’re about to record.

Tuning the guitar can feel a little overwhelming your first time, but with a bit of practice it gets really easy. I suggest first learning how to tune your guitar in standard tuning, then learn other tunings.

Standard tuning is, from your lowest string to your highest string: E, A, D, G, B, E

Notice that there are two E’s: A low E and a high E.

Tune one string at a time. Use a tuner to help you (there’s TONS of free apps, I recommend ‘GuitarTuna’ for those who are new).

Pluck the string and read the tuner to detect if the note is in tune or not. If the tuner says it’s too low, tighten the tuning knob. If the tuner says it’s too high, loosen the tuning knob.

In western music, we only have 12 notes (12 pitches/semitones).

The easiest way to memorize all 12 of these notes is to learn the Musical Alphabet: A B C D E F G

But Connor, that’s only 7 notes! I know, I know. But we also gotta about sharps and flats.

A note that is sharp (#) is raised up one pitch (one semitone). A note that is flat (b) is lowered down one pitch (one semitone). Every note of the music alphabet has it’s own flat/sharp EXCEPT for B to C and E to F. There is no sharp of flat between those pitches.

So the 12 notes in Western music are:

A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab,

A lot of people think that you use your fingers to bend your guitar strings. However, that’s not quite accurate. You actually use your wrist more than your fingers to bend strings in your fretting hand.

Here’s an exercise that can help you understand the wrist motion: Take your fretting hand and turn your wrist as if you were opening a door knob. This same turning motion your wrist makes here is the same turning motion your wrist should make when you are bending strings.

If you are bending the low E, A or D string, you’re going to want to bend the string down (towards the floor).

If you are bending the G, B or high E string, you’re going to want to bend the string up (towards the ceiling).