Ive been playing guitar for a while but i still don't understand what people mean when they say there playing in a certain key like bm or whatever what does that mean, i know where the notes are on th guitar
Ok dude,
This means you probably learned with TABS. Tabs are the Scourge of the Earth for people learning guitar. You can play a song but have no idea WHY you are playing what you are.
What people mean by playing in a certain key is that you can only play the notes or chords that fit the key of B minor.
B natural minor scale: Bm C#/dimDEmF#/m G A
Those are the chords you can play in the Bm key.
You can see this on:
http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/chord_progressions.php?scch=B&scchnam=Natural+minor+triads+i-ii*-III-iv-v-VI-VII&get2=Get
Or you can play guitar solos to the Bm key by using a scale:
http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_scales.php
Here's a sample of a melodic minor guitar scale in the Key of Bm
http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_scales.php?qqq=+0&scch=B&scchnam=Melodic+Minor+(Ascending)&get2=Get&t=0&choice=1
I suggest you use this website and look at some of the lessons and video lessons and then learn a bunch of chords and popular soloing scales (for example…Blues, Major, Minor and Pentantonic to start with)
Most scales have simple basic pattern that start at the root note (like B)
you would play a B minor scale in the Key of Bm starting at the 7th fret of the low E string and work up a pattern of 7 notes. then the pattern of notes repeats up the fingerboard and strings.
Onece you know the pattern of a Minor scale, all you have to do is start at the Note of the Key and play up from there.
The Key of G would have a pattern staring at the 3rd fret…..
Ok, that's enough for now…start studying young man!!