I’m sure you have heard of Guitar Scales (even if you can’t play it), especially if you are interested in playing the guitar!
Guitar Scales are probably the most elementary but equally important guitar exercises which should be a part of your day-to-day practice regime.
Every musician, irrespective of what instrument he/she learns starts with scales; scales are invariably used to help train your fingers and ears.
Similar to chords, even the scales are an important aspect of learning to play the guitar. After all, scales and chords is what songs are all about. Here’s how to effectively play the various Guitar Scales.
Related: More guitar lessons here.
Know the Fretboard Well
Before you go through this lesson, its important however to be familiar with the frets. Otherwise, you will find it difficult to position your fingertips well which will led to slow improvement in this lesson.
It is quite difficult to play the scale if you don’t know the right positioning of your left or right hand.
Some also are having difficulty in quickly changing their fingers on the fret board which can be frustrating, especially when you already know how to pluck the strings well and how to play with songs; you will need to keep on pausing because you don’t know where to position your fingers in the next chords.
Which Scales to Play Initially
In order to play the scales well, you have to first familiarize or visualize where your fingers should land on the next chords that you are going to play.
Once you get familiar with the above mentioned things, you can start practicing your scale playing by trying out some simple songs to familiarize the basic chords such as G, C, D and alike.
Then when you can play the song smoothly you can proceed to some difficult scales which include some sharp notes and power chords.
This is the way to learn the basic scale structures, and the notes that you need to play for the major and minor scales.
Guitar Scales Chart – Why Use it?
Here’s more explanation on this topic. The best and quickest way for new guitar players to develop individual finger strength is to play a couple of scales at different speeds each day. Scales also help train your ears to recognize common note combinations.
Scales will grow the strength and flexibility on the fingers of your fretting hand. Scales will also help you develop a solid alternate picking technique in your strumming hand. Finally, scales are especially helpful for developing good coordination between the two hands, which you will definitely need as your skill becomes more advanced.
How Many Music Scales to Learn?
There are many types but here are the common ones. The five primary guitar scales which you should know and will form the foundation of your picking technique.
- Major Scale
- Minor Scale
- The Blues Scale
- Minor Pentatonic
- Major Pentatonic Scale
Get started with these to begin with.
Guitar Scale Charts – Figuring it Out
So how do you read Guitar Scale Charts?
Scale Charts are written from the same perspective as guitar tabs. The bottom horizontal line represents the 6th (thickest) string and the top line the 1st string. The vertical lines represent different frets.
So a typical sequence may include playing on the 6th string from left to right (2nd fret then 4th fret) then play the next string (1st fret then 2nd fret then 4th fret) and so on.
Most scales chart indicates which fingers need to be used when playing the scales (1 for index and 4 for pinkie and so on).
Like anything else on the guitar, scales can also be tabbed out. Here’s a typical guitar tab for a Guitar scales chart (for a major scale).
e|—————————-1-2—|
B|————————2-4——-|
G|——————1-3-4———–|
D|————1-3-4—————–|
A|——1-2-4———————–|
E|–2-4—————————–|
Why Bother About Root Notes
Root note of the scale simply means the primary note around which the scale is built.
For the C scale the root note would always be C, for the A scale it would be the note A and so on. It’s important that you try and memorize the root notes for every scale since, this helps you to improvise better (you will reach there at some stage).
Once you know how to play the guitar scales, you’ll also eventually learn how to write your own music and enjoy playing them. But in order to attain mastery you have to learn the lessons step by step & slowly. Also, its important to practice. the more you practice, the more the initial confusion (of a new lesson) goes away. Once you’re able to do these, there’s no doubt you’ll become a good guitarist some day.
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
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