Guitar Scales

I would like to start this off by saying that “guitar scales” (much like “guitar music theory”) is a term that doesn’t really make sense. What you will see, is that these “guitar scales” not only relate to any musical instrument, but you’ll learn some of the ways that you can use them to create music.

What is a Scale?

Simply put: a scale is a series of notes. That’s all. It’s not a pattern of notes on a fretboard, nor is it some kind of magical construct to make you shred better. If that’s what you thought, then you’re in for a shock!

What I’m going to show you is how to think of guitar scales in a musical way (rather than as a pattern). When you learn how to play a new scale, the first step is finding the notes on the fretboard- but that’s only the first step! Anyone can learn a pattern of notes on the fretboard, the real key is knowing how to get the most out of each scale when using them in a solo, or to add depth to your rhythm playing.

How to use Guitar Scales

Hopefully, over the coming weeks, you’re going to see each scale in a new light. I’ll take you through my personal favourite points of each scale (and also some of the notes to avoid in a solo…). By the end of this series, I hope you will no longer treat guitar scales as merely “licks” to “shred” with- you’ll see them as much more!

Scales are our “tonal palette” with which to solo, and just like with a painters palette, it’s not just about slapping colours (or scales/notes) anywhere. The real skill is in using those colours (scales or notes) to create the artistic effects that we want.

Here are the posts in this series:

• The Major Scale
• Using the Major Scale

• The Major Pentatonic
• Using the Major Pentatonic

• The Minor Pentatonic
• Using the Minor Pentatonic

• The Blues Scale

• The Minor Scale
• Minor Scale Licks

• The Harmonic Minor
• Using the Harmonic Minor

• The Melodic Minor
• Using the Melodic Minor

• The Modes

January 18, 2011 at 11:00 pm | Guitar Scales, How to | No comments