Scales, can you move them.

The short answer is yes - there is a simple pattern you can use for major scales based on the 2nd finger being on the 6th string root. You can use this pattern anywhere on the neck.

Best,

A :-)

Well you could also move each scale around in positions to. wouldnt it be correct to play a Cmaj scale like this:

|----------------------------------------|
|-----------------0-1-0-----------------|
|------------0-2--------2-0-------------|
|-----0-2-3-----------------3-2-0------|
|--3--------------------------------3----|
|-----------------------------------------|

Couldnt it also be played as:

|----------------------------------------|
|-----------------4-5-4-----------------|
|------------5-7--------7-5-------------|
|-----5-7-8-----------------8-7-5------|
|--8--------------------------------8----|
|-----------------------------------------|

You can move them around however you like, up and down a string, and you can also move the root to a different string. The thing that you need to keep in mind is that between the G and B strings there's a shift of one fret, so you need to move everything on the top two strings over a little when you cross from G to B.

I think that this is a rather complex modal question being asked... (complex as far as im concerned)

when you play a scale, if you want to stay in the correct key, you have to follow the interlocking modal patterns. thinking of it modally wil just make it more complicated.

This may be what your looking for scale finder

You can play a scale any way you like. You play an E by starting on the open 6th string and progressing up the neck, on the 6th string alone, if you want.

The rule is: start on the root note and progress in intervals, both up and down the scale.

Let's look at the E scale - E - F# - G# - A - B - C# - D# - E (intervals = WWHWWWH or TTSTTTS)

You start with the root note - so, for the sake of argument, open 6th string - E.
Next note in the scale (and keeping to the same octave) is F#, which is at the 2nd fret of the 6th string. This is followed by a G#, at the 4th fret of the 6th string. Next is an A, which I can either play at the 5th fret of the 6th string or play the open 5th string - it's my choice, they're the same note. The same applies to the next note, the B - I can play it at the 7th fret on the 6th string or the 2nd fret of the 5th string. The C# is either the 9th fret of the 6th string or the 4th fret of the 5th string.
The next note - D# - can be played 11th fret/6th string, 6th fret/5th string or 1st fret/4th string. The next E can be 12th fret/6th string, 7th fret/5th string or 2nd fret/4th string.
The 5 patterns just give you a snapshot of the fretboard, covering 4 frets (or 5) - the notes of the scale, though, are everywhere. You should consider the patterns more as a tool to simplify learning rather than as a method in itself.
They break the structure of a scale down into logical blocks - but these blocks are overlapping and are not discrete items that can be learnt in isolation, they are all smaller parts of a greater whole.
When you've learnt the first 2 patterns, don't go on to the 3rd until you feel comfortable playing patterns 1 & 2 as an integrated unit - a new pattern, covering 6 frets. Get used to seeing the overlaps, or to pull an example out of thin air, that playing fret 8 on the E string, which would come in pattern 2, is the same as playing fret 3 on the A string, which comes in pattern 1.
Patterns are usually learnt as fret positions:
|--2-3---5---7-8---10----12----14-15|
|----3---5---7-8---10----12-13----15|
|--2---4-5---7---9----11-12----14---|
|--2---4-5---7---9-10----12----14---|
|--2-3---5---7---9-10----12----14-15|
|--2-3---5---7-8---10----12----14-15|

It would be better to learn them as degrees of scale
|----|--7-|--1-|----|--2-|----|--3-|--4-|----|--5-|----|--6-|----|--7-|--1-|
|----|----|--5-|----|--6-|----|--7-|--1-|----|--2-|----|--3-|--4-|----|--5-|
|----|--2-|----|--3-|--4-|----|--5-|----|--6-|----|--7-|--1-|----|--2-|----|
|----|--6-|----|--7-|--1-|----|--2-|----|--3-|--4-|----|--5-|----|--6-|----|
|----|--3-|--4-|----|--5-|----|--6-|----|--7-|--1-|----|--2-|----|--3-|--4-|
|----|--7-|--1-|----|--2-|----|--3-|--4-|----|--5-|----|--6-|----|--7-|--1-|
0....1....2....3....4....5....6....7....8....9...10...11...12...13...14...15

Wherever you see a "1", that's a root note and you can start building a scale from there.

Thanks everyone i get it now. also my guitar teacher tought me that if you start on a higher string you must travel higher up on teh high e string to get the scale in its entirety