Scales

You can start here. This is one of David Hodge's lessons. There are links to other lessons, why are related to this one.

Have fun and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Hi Cam,

To learn the Major Scale you have to learn 5 different boxes/positions. The boxes/positions are the same for every key, they are just played on different places of the neck.

Another scale that you definitely should learn is the Minot Pentatonic Scale! Here you also just have to learn 5 boxes/positions, and then you know the Minor Pentatonic Scale for any key.

I would recommend to look at http://www.digifoot.se where those scales are presented in an easy and understandable way.

Major Scale: http://www.digifoot.se/majorscale.htm
Minor Pentatonic Scale: http://www.digifoot.se/minorpentatonic.htm

Good luck!

Sorry, but I'm going to contradict boroo. Forgetting the fact that I suspect that boroo is hustling for digifoot, simply learning those patterns will not teach you anything about music theory, nor will you improve your understanding of how scales work.

The patterns will teach you how to play a scale, without ever having to know or understand why you're playing those particular notes.

Patterns don't teach you about intervals or scale degrees - which are extremely useful in building chords, as well as scales. Will patterns tell you what I-IV-V is all about? No.

Patterns have their place, don't get me wrong, but I see them as a secondary aid, rather than the principal learning tool.

I'm with Greybeard. In fact, I'll make another contradiction to what Boroo said: there are not five major scale fingering patterns. There are more (or less) depending on how you want to look at the fingerboard, but five is an ugly number that isn't very practical.

The point of learning patterns - and I do teach patterns first- is to quickly get into improvising, before you've got a complete understanding of the music theory involved and the names of the notes on the fretboard. But the point of learning the theory and fretboard layout is to think like a musician - you never want to have to compromise a musical idea simply because it doesn't fit into the boxes you know!

If you do want to start with patterns, here's why five is an ugly number: you can cover every major scale note on the fretboard with just four - if you look at his charts, you can do it without ever using pattern 2. (In fact, you can cover every note using just three... but a couple of them will be awkward to play!)

Start by learning the pattern with the second finger root on the 6th string (pattern 1 in his diagrams) because that's the only one that gives you two octaves with no shift or stretch. Add 3 to 5 others as you feel ready for them, and make your selections based on the music you play. If you want to play metal or another technical style, you'll want three-on-a-string patterns - there are two main ones, neither of which are in the charts referenced.

At that point, STOP using patterns! Instead, get your head around the theory of scales, because otherwise you'll be memorizing too much, and thinking too little. Here's why:

- if you think logically, you can start a scale pattern on the 5th or 6th strings with any of your four fingers, and you can start a pattern on the fourth string with your first or second finger (after that you're duplicating other patterns). So that's ten.

- if you look at the fretboard, there's only one fret with no major scale notes. Any of the other frets can logically be your "position", which gives you 11 patterns.

- many fingering patterns can have variations. What's shown on his charts as position 2 can also be played stretching forward to get the F# and B notes at the 9th fret; what's shown as pattern 5 can be played stretching for the F# at the 16th fret. Include all the variations and you're up to something like 15-20 fingerings.

Granted, not all of the possible fingerings are "useful" (although the hard ones can make great practice exercises). But they're all possible - and that's the difference between an intermediate guitarist and an advanced one: possibilities.

The advanced guitarist plays ALL the patterns - but doesn't use ANY of the them! They know the notes of the scale in every key and know where they are on the fretboard. As a result, any pattern, even the "hard" or "rare" ones will come naturally when they need them. (By the way, the same is also true of chords - a good jazz guitarist can play thousands of different chord voicings, but they only "learned" a couple hundred of them at most; they create the rest as needed.)

Noteboat and Greybeard thanks for your replies. I want to clarify that you aren't saying that beginners shouldn't learn and work with scale patterns but that those shouldn't be the end product. Is that correct? I've been burning into my brain and hands various scale patterns. They provide me with two immediate benefits - 1) hand dexterity, coordination, and timing; and 2) an immediate way to play leads and fills.

I think that the long term benefit is being gained by using the scales as a stepping stone to knowing the fretboard and the scales. This was started by using the techniques in BYCU for scales - joining the patterns up and down the neck, noting the scale roots, breaking the patterns into bits and rejoining them (pairs of strings), etc. I added to it by calling out scale degrees as I play or note names, rotating which scale degree I start on, starting the scale playing on the neck in different positions, randomizing things with flash cards (key, position on neck, degree started on), etc.

I still haven't got to the point where I don't need the scale patterns but I think I'm beginning to see the next "valley" as I climb this mountain with the aid of scale patterns. I don't think I'll be fully into that next stage for a couple of years but I can start to see some of it. Is this the right path? Should I be doing something else instead? If this is the right way are there other things to do that would help? I've also started learning the triad forms on the 1sst to 3rd and 2nd to 4th strings (3 major chords, 3 minor chords with inversions) and then the extensions (add 7th etc.).

I think you're doing well, Hyperborea.

And that's pretty much exactly what I was saying - scale patterns are important, because you shouldn't wait to be creative. There's always more to learn in music (and on the guitar)... but you should start taking what you can do and messing around with it as early as possible - in fact, the very first time you pick up a guitar isn't too soon! That's really how you discover and develop your own "voice" on an instrument.

Fretted instruments are unique in that a finger "pattern" can be moved up and down the fretboard, instantly putting you in a new key. On other instruments some understanding of theory is required first: you need to know which black keys go with a given scale (and which white ones don't), or the specific - and unique - combination of keys/valves for each scale. That makes fretted instruments simple to make music on... there's no waiting. Learn a pattern and off you go, in all keys.

But that's a double edged sword. When you're memorizing finger patterns, you get a template you can move, but not the understanding of why it works. You're always limited to using things you've memorized.

A good example: you come across a chart with a C7b5 chord in it. If you're "pattern based" you can't play it until you learn it. There are plenty of resources to get that chord, like chord dictionaries. But If you know the theory behind chord building - even if you've never seen this particular chord before[/] - you grab a C7 fingering that you know, find the fifth and lower it. Voila. You're playing the chord.

So my approach is to teach a pattern and get the student to mess around with it. But we don't stop there - we've got to figure out why it works, and apply it to other places. Ultimately, that lets you play whatever you want wherever you want... without having to learn a pattern first!

I just wanted to thank everyone who replied to this post, thank you so much. Everyone here is such a great help and I appreciate all the great advice.

Cam