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Mini-Course Lesson 5: What Scales Should I Learn First?
Answers To Action Step In Lesson 4:
Hopefully you had no trouble working these out. Don't panic if you found it challenging. Usually if someone has trouble with this stuff, it's because of a couple of main reasons…
Anyway, now that I've given you the answers, let's get started with this lesson… WARNING: The following lesson is pretty long. You may want to print it out, so that you can read it away from your computer. :-)
In this lesson we take a detailed look at the answer to this question… "What scales should I learn first?" This is a really important question to answer. Because there are so many scales that we could learn, it is very valuable to target only the ones that we feel will help us most. Before I give you an answer to this question, I need to make a REALLY important point… The music you love will give you the answers! By analyzing the songs you learn, you will find out what scales you should learn first. For example, if you like blues, then you will notice that a LOT of blues solos use pentatonics or blues scales. So these would be the scales that you would need to learn first. As a personal example, I learned a HUGE amount about major scale modes by analyzing the transciptions to Steve Vai's "Passion And Warfare" album. It took many hours to do, but it really helped me to understand what modes I needed to learn to play in that style. It also helped me to understand how to use them in real life playing situations! But what if you're not yet at the level where you can analyze the songs that you learn? If this is the case, then I recommend learning songs from quality guitar magazines like Guitar Techniques (my personal favorite). Each time they teach a song or solo, they describe in detail what scales are being used. Now that I've made this important point, let's take a look at what scales I think you should learn first. I'll also give you good, concrete reasons why I think they are essential… Essential Scale #1: The Major Scale (1 2 3 4 5 6 7) The major scale is such an important scale to know. Here are a few reasons why…
Please take a few minutes to study the diagram. After you've done that, please write down any observations that you have. This diagram gives us some useful insights. Here are two really important points… Important Point #1: Memorizing a scale is made easier by linking it to something that you already know. Notice how you can go from one scale to the next, by just changing one note? This makes things easy for memorization. For example, the lydian mode is exactly the same as the major scale except it has a #4. So if you already know the major scale, then learning the lydian mode is made much easier. It's just a matter of changing the 4 to a #4. Important Point #2: All scales stem from the major scale. Remember the concept of Six degrees of separation? The idea that everyone is no more than six "steps" away from each person on Earth? It's the same with scales! I haven't wasted the time to prove this, but I'd be surprised if there was a scale that was more than six steps away from the major scale. On the diagram above, ALL scales are found within three "steps" of the major scale! Moral of the story? Get to know the major scale really well. Ideally it should be learnt over the entire fretboard rather than just memorizing a few scale fingerings. If you need help with this, I recommend finding out more about the Guitar Scale Mastery membership website. Just in case you are brand new to the major scale, here is a useful two-octave fingering for the A major scale… A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A And here is the same scale fingering written out in TAB. It is played using alternate picking, starting with a downstroke. Also pay careful attention to the fretting-hand fingerings shown underneath the TAB. These are the exact fingerings that I use. Of course…feel free to change the fingerings if you find an approach that works better for you…
Once you've memorized this fingering, please complete the following Action Step… ACTION STEP: Please work out the notes in the following scales. Refer to the above diagram to help you. I have done the first for you… E major scale: E F# G# A B C# D# E E lydian mode: E mixolydian mode: E jazz minor scale: E lydian dominant scale: E lydian augmented scale: E mixolydian b6 scale: E dorian mode: E aeolian mode: E harmonic minor scale: Let's now take a look at the next important scale to learn…
Essential Scale #2: The Major Pentatonic Scale (1 2 3 5 6) Like the major scale, the major pentatonic scale is a vital scale to learn. There are MANY songs, solos and melodies that use it. If you've never played this scale before, here is a useful two-octave fingering for the A Major pentatonic scale… A Major Pentatonic Scale: A B C# E F# A And here is this fingering written out in TAB…
Once you've memorized this fingering, please check out the following diagram…
Earlier in this lesson we looked at how you can change one scale into another just by changing one scale degree. The above diagram shows another way of looking at scales… You can create a new scale by adding additional scale degrees to a scale. For example, to create a mixolydian mode all you need to do is add a 4 and b7 to the major pentatonic scale. The cool thing is, if you already know the major pentatonic scale then learning the mixolydian mode becomes much easier. Notice how in the above diagram all five scales contain the notes of the major pentatonic scale. Please take a close look at the diagram now. What this means is that if you know the major pentatonic scale well, then learning the other five scales becomes a MUCH easier task. Pretty cool huh? That is why I have included the major pentatonic as one of the essential scales to learn. :-) ACTION STEP: Please work out the notes of the following scales. I have done the first one for you… A major pentatonic scale: A B C# E F# A A major scale: A lydian mode: A mixolydian mode: A lydian dominant scale: Once you're done, please continue reading…
Let's now take a look at the third essential scale to master…
Essential Scale #3: The Minor Pentatonic Scale (1 b3 4 5 b7) EVERY guitarist needs to master this one! It is an incredibly important scale and is used in many styles of guitar playing. If you've never played this scale before, here's a useful two-octave fingering of the A Minor Pentatonic scale… A Minor Pentatonic Scale: A C D E G A And here is the same fingering written out in TAB…
Once you've memorized the above, please take a look at this diagram showing you one reason why it's so important…
Learning the minor pentatonic scale is so valuable. A big reason is that once you learn it, then it learning other scales is made much easier. Notice in the above diagram how we can create new scales by adding one or two notes to the minor pentatonic scale. Very cool…and it also makes it easy to remember the new scales. :-) ACTION STEP: Please work out the notes of the following scales. I have done the first one for you… D minor pentatonic scale: D F G A C D D minor blues scale: D dorian mode: D aeolian mode: D phrygian mode:
Some Final Thoughts… I hope you enjoyed this lesson. I also hope it has made you realize by focusing on mastering a few scales, you can make HUGE improvements to your guitar playing. Mastering the three scales we looked at will definitely lay down a very strong foundation. This will make learning additional scales MUCH easier. I feel that mastering these three scales over the entire fretboard is vital for anyone serious about improvising. I also think it's important to learn to use them in a musical way. After all, that's what the best guitar players do! If you're not sure how to do this, and you would like some help, then please go to Guitar Scale Mastery. Oh well, that's all from me. This was supposed to be the last lesson in this mini-course, but I've decided to send you a bonus lesson. I have so much that I'd like to share with you, and five lessons just isn't enough. :-) So look out for an email from me in two days time. The bonus lesson will help you put these essential scales into practice, by using some cool sounding backing tracks. Work hard on your scales, and I'll see you soon! All the best, Craig Bassett. | ||
Copyright 2009 by Craig Bassett. All Rights Reserved.
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