Guitar lessons, music theory, improvisation, creativity and essential listening.
This exercise is aimed at improving your technique and offering you extended scale phrasings. The basic idea in this exercise is to play the first 3 notes in the scale, then, starting at the second note in the scale play 3 more, then, starting from the 3rd note in the scale play 3 more etc. If the scale was numbers, the pattern would be: 123 234 345 456 567 678 789 etc Remember that these exercises can be played anywhere on the neck using any … [Read more...]
This lesson is almost identical to the A Major Scale Harmonized 3rd and 5th degree. I have added it in order to show how once one pattern is learned, it can often be used on a different set of strings. 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 … [Read more...]
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. These are the chords that are the result of harmonizing the A Major scale 3rd and 5th notes. The theory behind scale harmonization is covered in theory lesson 7. If … [Read more...]
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 in theory lesson 7. The chords names are as follows. GMaj7 Am7 Bm7 CMaj7 D7 Em7 F#min7b5 GMaj7 ( Please not that the F#min7b5 chord is also known as the F# half … [Read more...]
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 become the Ab Dorian Minor scale. One fret lower and it becomes the Gb Dorian Minor scale. Also notice that this position DOES NOT start on the root of the … [Read more...]
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 higher (4th fret) it would become the Ab Melodic Minor scale. One fret lower and it becomes the Gb Melodic Minor scale. Also notice that this position DOES … [Read more...]
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 of this scale, if you were to start the same shape (pattern) one fret higher (4th fret) it would become the Ab Major scale. One fret lower and it … [Read more...]
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 you to use. Download the MS Word 2003 file here © Synaptic Systems Inc., 2001 … [Read more...]
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 this, you can now see all of the notes of that scale across the neck. Often, when learning a new scale, I will do this. I sit with my guitar in front of this scale block and play the … [Read more...]
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