Scales: The A Major Scale Harmonized 3rd and 5th degrees
These are highly recognizable sounds often heard in rock and country playing but used also in all forms of music. The block below consists of chords moving up the fretboard. The first chord has a red line through it to highlight its pattern. The second is in blue, the third in red and so on. [...]
Scales: The G Major Scale Harmonized
The block below consists of chords moving up the fretboard. The first chord has a blue line through it to highlight its pattern. The second is in red, the third in blue and so on. These are the chords that are the result of harmonizing the G Major scale. The theory behind this is covered [...]
Scales: G (Dorian) Minor
The Dorian Minor scale is commonly used in improvisation. This position ( personal opinion ) lends itself nicely to working up speed. Remember that these scales can be played anywhere on the neck. In the case of this scale, if you were to start the same shape (pattern) one fret higher (6th fret) it would [...]
Scales: G (Jazz) Melodic Minor
More often called the Melodic Minor scale, this scale is commonly used in improvisation. This position ( personal opinion ) lends itself nicely to working up speed. Remember that these scales can be played anywhere on the neck. In the case of this scale, if you were to start the same shape (pattern) one fret [...]
Scales: G Major ( 2 positions )
Major scales are one of the most commonly used scales in improvisation. Shown below are 2 positions of the G Major scale. The second position allows for greater movement up the neck. Both positions lend themselves well to working up speed. Remember that these scales can be played anywhere on the neck. In the case [...]
A blank chord template you can use
Here is a blank chord block you can use to mark out chords you discover as you explore your instrument. Just download it on to your system and print it. If you prefer, you can download the MS Word document (version 2003) which has several of these already neatly laid out on a page for [...]
A blank scale template you can use
Here is a blank scale block you can use to mark out scales you discover as you explore your instrument. Just download it on to your system and print it. If you prefer, you can download the MS Word document (version 2003) which has several of these already neatly laid out on a page for [...]
Scales: Looking for patterns and the A Minor Pentatonic Box Scale
If you took all the notes from all the 5 positions shown in the A Minor Pentatonic lesson and placed them into one block, this is what you would end up with. This is a great exercise to do with any of the scales we (or anybody else) show you in multiple positions. By doing [...]
How to read the scale blocks
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Scales: A Minor Pentatonic ( 5 positions )
One of the most commonly used scales in improvisation is the Minor Pentatonic scale. Shown below are 5 positions of the A Minor Pentatonic scale. The second position shown is probably the most commonly used shape of this scale. While learning all five is highly recommended, start off by learning the adjacent positions (1 and [...]
