Your response is very spot on and appreciated.
So if someone tells you "this song is in the key of C Major" you immediately know that the chords you listed are the sumation of all the notes in the song?
I have this mixed sense of the lessons should really blend theory with chords vs talk about some notes, then show how they meld and create the chords. But you have to have a good short payoff process to help envigorate people to continue, so I get the chord focus, since most people just want to know how to play X song.
I want to understand what makes the chords and why, but my worry is that digging into that now is a quagmire.
"So if someone tells you "this song is in the key of C Major" you immediately know that the chords you listed are the sumation of all the notes in the song?"
Sort of, but usually the less the better. And the 7th chord - the diminished chord is rarely used at least in classic rock. An artist wouldn't sit down and say "I have to write a song in C major and I have to use all 7 chords in that key!" They might only use 2! They might even mix things up and bring in chords from another key!! But for now you probably don't want to get that deep into this.
Right now you just need to get a taste for what is going on, the very basics.
Everthing begins with a note. There are 12 of them. Pluck a string - you played a note. Pluck (or strum) 2 or more strings together - you played a chord. Strum the notes C E and G - you just played the C major chord. Put a few chords together (in a key) and you have the makings of a song. Write some words down on paper and you might just have a hit - or you might annoy people. But at least you have some chords to groove to. I can't overemphasize how important it was for me to learn how to write a song. This quest pulled me into a learning path of ferreting out what information I needed.
I have trained adults most of my working life and can say there is no "perfect" training style. Most of us use a cookie cutter approach for consistency and effeciency but sometimes the training needs to be modified to accomodate the individual. So if you find a tutorial overwhelming, look for another. There are tons and tons of resources out there that will help you. Just take your time and enjoy the experience of learning.
This year the diet is definitely gonna stick!
