Cattle Call for Beginner Guitarists

As for other scales, I believe the A minor pentatonic can also be used, could someone with more experiance confirm this? :)

Scott

Well, A-minor pentatonic would be the same notes as C-major. The difference is which note you'll use as your 'home-note'. You'll probably find yourself accidentily changing to C-major if you start in A-minor, whether you like it or not. :D Don't worry too much about it, use whatever notes you like and let the scholars worry about how to call it. An alternative to the C-major pentatonic scale would bte general C-major scale.

A: Writing music and improvising is like walking: you just got to start doing it one day and things will start rolling from there. :D

As for other scales, I believe the A minor pentatonic can also be used, could someone with more experiance confirm this? :)

Scott
In toying with the backing track, I had one of those AHA! moments in regard to the relationship between the A minor pentatonic scale and the C Maj pentatonic scale.

I found the notes and box that seemed to my ear to "fit", and figured out it was the notes of the A minor pent, minor pent scales being the only scales I've really learned yet (on guitar). But as I kept playing, I noticed I kept coming back to the C notes as the root at the end of phrases. Hmmm, I'm thinking How can that be?! It's obviously the A minor pent box.

Lightbulb!! :idea: THIS is what they are talking about with the relative major and minor scales!

It was one of those things I'd heard plenty of times, that the relative major and minor scales consisted of the same notes, but I could never really comprehend how that could be so, until my own ears "discovered" it, and voila, comprehension. Rushed to find Misanthrope's flash tool, and confirmed it.

May sound obvious now, but it was very exciting for me at the time. :D

Margaret

A: Writing music and improvising is like walking: you just got to start doing it one day and things will start rolling from there. :D
If you change your username again, please make it "Ockham" :) You have a knack for distilling things to their essence!

Ya I was tinkering with the scale along with the BT a little while ago, a couple of the notes sounded real nice, and when I looked them up they were the C notes...go figure :)

Here is another site worth looking at:

http://visualguitar.com/

Scott

ummmm - if I'm going to have a go, can I just bluff it? It's worked for me so far.....! Ashamed to say, I really don't know any scales - except the scale of C on keyboard....and that's not exactly taxing......

:D :D :D

vic

ummmm - if I'm going to have a go, can I just bluff it? It's worked for me so far.....! Ashamed to say, I really don't know any scales - except the scale of C on keyboard....and that's not exactly taxing......

:D :D :D

vic
Same here. And I have no clue about all this recording stuff. I'm going to have to study this thread closely before I try.

ummmm - if I'm going to have a go, can I just bluff it? It's worked for me so far.....! Ashamed to say, I really don't know any scales - except the scale of C on keyboard....and that's not exactly taxing......

:D :D :D

vic
You can play whatever you want to play. Even if you don't think you "know" the scale, I have a strong hunch your ear will tell you what sounds right or not so good. :D

Margaret

I am no expert in recording Urban Cowgirl but I am willing to pass on my limited knowledge if you need a hand to record ...

first thing would be set up a sound click page

https://www.soundclick.com/community/memberlogin.cfm?action=logoutdone

Then maybe a programme such as Audacity

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

you will need a lame.dll thingy programme to convert recordings into MP3s to post on soundclick

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Lame_Encoder.htm

Everything I have mentioned is a free down load from the net

When you sign up for Soundclick use a hot mail address or something like that I found its easier to sign back in that way ..

It may all seem too hard but honestly it is not any questions on how to do something just go to in the studio forum those guys are awesome in helping ...

Oh a couple of other things you will need ,

Mic -

Guitar -

You -

And remember no-one is perfect record yourself it will help you in playing better if you can play back your playing , you don't have to post every thing you play just record as much as you can , then listen to yourself ...

Hope this has helped you and anyone else recording isn't hard , its' posting what you have done I have found the hardest part ...

I am slowly realising people around here are actually here to help , I know I sound bad but people are encoouraging me to keep doing it and I feel a little more comfortable doing it now ...

Please any questions

I think we all help each other in some way or another

Trevor

There's nothing really all that mystical about "relative minors" is there?

Here's the pattern for major scales:

T T S T T T S (Tone , Tone , Semitone etc.)

Sometimes written as:

W W H W W W H (Whole step, Whole step, half step, etc.)

Here's the pattern for minor scales:

T S T T S T T

Does that look slightly familiar? It should do - it's the same order, it just starts at a different point.

Take the first pattern (major):

T T S T T (Now start here instead) T S (and go back to the start again)

Now you've got the minor pattern. You just started at A instead of C. Same notes, but you just generated them in the scale order for Am, the relative minor of C major.

Same deal with any major. 6th note in the scale gives you the name of the relative minor. As Sleutelbos says - same notes, different starting point. :)

Only really an issue when you have to remember where you're trying to get back to musically, or if you're using scale patterns to build chords.

At least that's how it all seems to me. But then I'm not a theory guru, more of an experimenter. :wink:

Just select from C, D, E, F, G and A and skip the sharps/flats and you'll be fine. 8)

Cheers,

Chris

To put it another way:

Look at the chart here, and play any of the marked notes - in your choice of order. :D

Chart of C major all down the neck at Cyberfret

Print it out, turn it sideways and start improvising. 8)

Thanks Trev, that helps a lot. :D

If I may add my little 2 cents, I don't know much about scales, modes, relations et al but I'm not a beginner player either.
As someone else mentionne earlier in the thread, I just let my ears guide me as what sounds good or not.

One little trick I developped over time is to figure out the chords on the fretboard of a song, at different positions, and make note of where the fingers lend on the strings.
I strum each chord position and then play the notes and devise myself a little "box" pattern at each chords position.
If I'm not mistaken, this actually gives me all the notes of the pentatonic scales for each chords.
Then it's just a matter of practicing each "box" patterns and developping some speed and feel for the song.

99% of the time, it gives me all the notes needed to do some soloing over a backing track.
I do that using the Major form of the chords.
If a chord is a 7th, minor or other, you hear the added, or modified, notes as you practice your box and adjust accordingly.

And while I still don't understand the scales, it gives me a better understanding of what they are.

Ok I 'm lost ....

I'm dunmb as dog poop ... Just tell me 3 things

1/ What strings

2/ What fret

3/Where

My teacher is on holidays so I can't ask him what I really have to do ...

Anyone here who can type really slowly ... :lol:

I don't read too quick you see...

Trevor

it only rained here twice this week once for 3 days then again for 4 days ..

This looks like a lot of info, Barnabus, but it's really not that bad.......give this a try. If it's still a muddle, we'll try breaking it down further. Or maybe your son can figure out the flash tool and explain it to you. :lol: Kids are usually quicker at this stuff somehow.

Margaret

For anyone who might like to play around with the backing track mentioned above, here is a great tool from GN member Misanthrope. It shows you the box positions on the fretboard for the pentatonic scales:

http://www.chordsandscales.co.uk/tools/pentatonic_scale_tool.exe

Click the link, then hit Run, and Run again.

When the flash tool opens, click on Box 1, Box 2, etc, to display various box positions moving up the fretboard. A "box" is just a moveable position where you can (but you're not required to) keep your fretting hand and play within. Click on the colored dots to display the root notes for minor, major, neutral, and the blue notes.

For this backing track, highlight the Major root (red dots) and use any box position where the major root is a C note. The C note is your "home" note (a place where you might start and end phrases or lead lines.)

For C Major pentatonic:
Box 1 is located from frets 5 through 8
Box 2 is located from frets 7 through 10
Box 3 is located from frets 9 through 13
Box 4 is located from frets 12 through 15
Box 5 is located from frets 14 through 17

With the boxes placed as above, the red dots will be C notes, the roots of the scale.

If I haven't explained this well, other kind souls will soon chime in here and help clarify.

Margaret