Scales

This is an article about blues improvisation, but it has some application of scales in it so you can get an idea of what you are supposed to be doing.

Blues Solo Improvisation – A Basic Introduction

thanks, i'm checking it out now. :)

Pick a scale, play it over and over again, up and down, until you have it committed to memory. Then just do what I do- mess around, try to randomly hit notes within the scale- sooner or later you'll put together a cool little riff, and then you can work from there. Or you may come across a song you know, and then you can try to figure out the song by yourself, by ear, rather then looking up music or tab for it. You can also try playing only every other note in the scale, or play three notes up or down the scale, go back one note, and repeat. I guess it would look something like this: 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 5, 4, 5, 6, etc.
It seems that a lot of people say scale patterns are to constricting, but in my opinion, there great for doodling around with, and you can pick the emotion you want to play- Something happy? Major scale. Something sad? Minor scale. Whenever I'm bored, I pick up my guitar, figure out a key and scale, and just play whatever comes to mine.
After a while, you'll become so familiar with a scale that you'll be able to hit the exact note you want. And from there, you can start building up speed :wink: . . .
I hope this helps!

Pick a scale, play it over and over again, up and down, until you have it committed to memory. Then just do what I do- mess around, try to randomly hit notes within the scale- sooner or later you'll put together a cool little riff, and then you can work from there. Or you may come across a song you know, and then you can try to figure out the song by yourself, by ear, rather then looking up music or tab for it. You can also try playing only every other note in the scale, or play three notes up or down the scale, go back one note, and repeat. I guess it would look something like this: 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 5, 4, 5, 6, etc.
It seems that a lot of people say scale patterns are to constricting, but in my opinion, there great for doodling around with, and you can pick the emotion you want to play- Something happy? Major scale. Something sad? Minor scale. Whenever I'm bored, I pick up my guitar, figure out a key and scale, and just play whatever comes to mine.
After a while, you'll become so familiar with a scale that you'll be able to hit the exact note you want. And from there, you can start building up speed :wink: . . .
I hope this helps!

thanks man, that really helps :)

Playing full scales (actually practicing them, not just knowing what they are or where they are), in my opinion, are for building strength, flexability, and speed. It also gives you muscle memory of where those notes are for when you are actually playing. When you start adding theory to your scale playing (this goes for major, minor, or pentatonic) you will be more prepared to tackle a song than you would if you were to just copy exactly what someone else did without knowing why they did it or why it works.

Also, they are great for warming up before playing. After stretching out your fingers a little, play a couple of scales in a couple of different places on the neck. It'll loosen up your fingers, and that certainly cant hurt your playing.

Last, imagine it like this: You're learning to write your name. You know what it looks like, so you just copy that. You know what the word 'dog' looks like, so you can just copy that. Then imagine that you have no idea how to spell the word 'surprise'. Without knowing the alphabet or some theory behind using it, that would prove impossible. Now do the same with math. You know that 25+25=50. You know that 30+30=60. What's 22+47? Without knowing what numbers actually MEAN, you'd have no idea because the previous ones had nothing to do with the new one.

Gunslinger

P.S. I dont mean that you cant read or add, its just an example :)

P.S. I dont mean that you cant read or add, its just an example :)

Heh, well I got the picture. Thanks for the analogy :P

I at least know some pentonic scales, but like I said i know very little of why I'm doing it

I guess a good analogy would be that music is like painting- the sets of colors and technique you use determine how the painting looks and the mood it conveys. Scales are like sets of colors. Most music is played within scales, so once you figure out what scale a song is using, you can try to play it on your own. I find that figuring out a song (however simple or slow) is much more satisfying then just playing from tab.
My friend, who is a much better (seriously) guitar player then me, tells me he wishes he had the ears to just figure out a song without tab. I don't have very good ears, but after a while playing chords and scales, you can tell when you're playing something "wrong" (a good example is trying to play a major chord, and it sounds depressing- that seems to be a hint that a string is flat out of tune, so you end up with a crappy-sounding minor-esque chord). Just keep playing through a scale. After a while, you'll slowly pick up that ability to know what you want to play next.
I know a lot of classic rock music uses the minor pentatonic scale. For instance, the acoustic riffs in Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" can all be played in E minor pentatonic by doing hammer-ons from open strings, and then strumming a G chord. At least that's how I play it 8) .