lesson 1 - sitting to play the guitar lesson 2 - have fun learning e minor and d minor chords lesson 3 - a basic overview of a 3rd chord in g lesson 4 - different fun rhythms and basic picking lesson 5 - playing in a major lesson 6 - scales - introduction to the scale of a major lesson 7 - which ones are a must and what they are lesson 8 - Answers to common guitar learning problems lesson 9 - a song with 3 chords - margaritaville lesson 10 - folk/60's tune - love the one you're with lesson 11 - Fingering Patterns - All Major Chords lesson 12 - Fingering Patterns - Minor Chords lesson 13 - Fingering Patterns - Major Scales lesson 14 - Fingering Patterns - Minor Scales lesson 15 - Song Structure - Verses,Choruses,and Bridges lesson 16 - Fingering Patterns - Major Bar Chords lesson 17 - Fingering Patterns - Minor Bar Chords lesson 18 - Exotic Sounding Chords - Augmented and Diminished lesson 19 - Classic Guitar Songs - Stairway to Heaven lesson 20 - Basic Melodic Playing - Basic Lead Guitar

Fingering Patterns – Major Scales

 

 

To a budding guitarist, practicing scales can seem tedious at best. But, mastering them is one of the crucial steps to mastering the guitar itself.

 

They can help enhance your fretboard visualization skills, improve your dexterity across the strings, and help you develop your improvisational skills. Scales also form the backbone behind lead style playing and can also make you a stronger rhythm player.

 

As mentioned in a previous lesson, scales comprise of seven notes played in succession. The major scale follows a certain pattern of fixed intervals. It isn’t necessary to memorize them. Just know that these intervals are present in every single major scale on your instrument.

 

Each of these seven notes is usually played across all seven strings. Each scale has a certain pattern that is formed on the fingerboard. The first note of every scale is called the keynote, or root, of the scale. When playing each scale pattern, it may help remember that the sequences are dependent on the keynote and each octave can be connected, making it possible to perform the scale patterns up and down the neck.

 

To simplify the process, here is a list of all the scales and the notes that are included in them. Notice how each major scale has the same inherent sound. This is because the intervals and patterns for every major scale is exactly the same.

 

C Major Scale- C, D, E, F, G, A, B

G Major Scale- G, A, B, C, D, E, F#

D Major Scale- D, E, F#, A, B, C#

A Major Scale- A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#

E Major Scale- E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#

B Major Scale- B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#

F#/G Flat Major Scale- F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D#, E#

D Flat Major- D Flat, E Flat, F, G Flat, A Flat, B Flat, C

A Flat Major- A Flat, B Flat, C, D Flat, E Flat, F, G

E Flat Major- E Flat, F, G, A Flat, B Flat, C, D

B Flat Major- B Flat, C, D, E Flat, F, G, A

F Major- F, G, A, B Flat, C, D, E

 

Don’t worry about memorizing all these notes at once. As you practice the scales, you’ll start to remember them without even thinking.

 

How to Practice the Scales

 

There is a certain technique to playing scales. On a very basic level you want to make sure that each string is pressed down firmly before you strike the string with your pick or finger. This is very important, even if it is frustrating because you’re going slow. It is best to develop solid technique. The speed will develop naturally as your progress and gain finger strength and dexterity.

 

Also make sure you have good posture while playing. Make sure your shoulders and arms are relaxed. Keep both of your wrists flat. Decide what kind of technique you want to develop while practicing your scales. Possibilities include finger style picking or alternate picking.

 

It is not necessary to memorize all of the notes, but if you decide to do so it could only help. Memorizing the notes will help you be able to visualize the fretboard. This is a skill that is almost essential if you want to be a great lead style player. This is a skill that once obtained will indicate that you are gaining mastery over the instrument.

 

Also, make sure to not go too fast while practicing. You want to play each scale perfectly, no matter how slow it is. As you gain strength, dexterity, and confidence you can increase the pace. Practice with a metronome for a added benefits. The ability to follow a set rhythm is essential for jamming and playing with others.

 

The Scale Patterns

 

Each major scale has a set pattern. This pattern will allow you to play the scale up and down the neck. You can adapt these scale patterns into songs, riffs, lead melodies, and will help you improvise with other musicians in a social setting.

 

Listed below are five fretboard diagrams with different patterns. These patterns make up the different ways you can play all the major scales. The following diagrams represent all patterns possible with the C Major scale. The C notes are colored in black. These five patterns will work for any key, meaning, they will work to form any major scale.

 

It is a good idea to memorize these patterns in the C Major scale before you move on playing it in other keys.

 

 

Pattern 1

Pattern 2
 
 

Pattern 3

Pattern 4
 
 

Pattern 5

 
   

 

 

After you master the major scale in C, you can move on to the other keys. In order to do that, just move one fret down on the neck, maintaining the same pattern. Then, after you master the major scales on that fret, you can move down to the next and so on.

After you have complete mastery of all the major scales on the entire neck, you can move on to learning about the different modes or the patterns for other scale types such as the minor scales. Remember to learn all the notes so you can start to visualize the fret board.