guitar scales

Discussion in 'Performing Arts' started by deadonceagain, Aug 21, 2004.

  1. deadonceagain

    deadonceagain mankind is a plague

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    im trying to teach myslef guitar ive been playing for 3 years but im not all that good becasue i quit it for a while so now i have to relearn stuff im working on building solos and fingerings so i need guitar scales in tabs.
    thanks
     
  2. Peace

    Peace In complete harmony.

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    Well there is an easier way. Instead learn the pattern of whole and half steps.

    Major Scale:
    Whole Whole Half Whole Whole Whole Half
    Examples:
    C D E F G A B C (C Major)
    A B C# D E F# G# A (A Major)

    Natural Minor:
    Whole Half Whole Whole Half Whole Whole
    Examples:
    A B C D E F G A (A Natural Minor)
    F# G# A B C# D E F# (F# Natural Minor)

    Harmonic Minor:
    Whole Half Whole Whole Half 1 1/2 Half
    Examples:
    A B C D E F G# A (A Harmonic Minor)
    F# G# A B C# D E# F# (F# Harmonic Minor)

    Melodic Minor:
    Whole Half Whole Whole Whole Whole Half
    Examples:
    A B C D E F# G# A (A Melodic Minor)
    F# G# A B C# D# E# F# (F# Melodic Minor)

    Pentatonic Major:
    Whole Whole 1 1/2 Whole 1 1/2 (Or the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 8th of that Major Scale)
    Examples:
    C D E G A C (C Pentatonic Major)
    A B C# E F# A (A Major)

    Pentatonic Minor:
    1 1/2 Whole Whole 1 1/2 Whole (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th of that Natural Minor Scale)
    Examples:
    A C D E G A (A Pentatonic Minor)
    F# A B C# E F# (F# Pentatonic Minor)

    This shows all six of these scales played on one string. Pretty easy to understand.
    [​IMG]

    Here's an addition chart that I made. It has every all six scales in every key and easy to use. Some of the info is off because that scale might be in flat not sharp so tonight I quickly make up a flat version.
    [​IMG]
     
  3. deadonceagain

    deadonceagain mankind is a plague

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    i have no idea what the hell that means
     
  4. Peace

    Peace In complete harmony.

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    Okay, I made a little chart thing to try to explain this.
    [​IMG]
     
  5. deadonceagain

    deadonceagain mankind is a plague

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    i get the step thing but i dont know an A from Bb i have no idea how to read music at all
     
  6. Peace

    Peace In complete harmony.

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    What this:
    [​IMG]
    was showing was that each line is just a different scale. I made the root note of the Pentatonic Minor Scale F so that it would start on that first fret like the others. All that is really doing is showing you the step pattern to the six scales. Sorry if this is confusing but eventually it will be a lot better than having to find tabs to play scales. I can find you one tab but you really should learn this stuff man.

    Here it is, the Entire G Major Scale on a fretboard with all seven modes :D.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. JanaXGIRL

    JanaXGIRL Senior Member

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    Oh Keefo!! Thank You so much, Peace, cause I had the same problem... thanks once again ;)
     
  8. deadonceagain

    deadonceagain mankind is a plague

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    thats what i was looking for thanks im still trying to learn this shit its alot harder then it seems
     
  9. Peace

    Peace In complete harmony.

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    Okay then I'll teach you that then.

    The Western Music System (I forget what it's exactly called but it doesn't matter) is made up of twelve notes:

    A A#-Bb B-Cb C-B# C#-Db D D#-Eb E-Fb F-E# F#-Gb G G#-Ab

    As you can see many of the notes have multiple names. B, C, E and F are usually just called that (except when sharpened or flatten) and are rarely ever called by anything. If you start reading music, you'll notice that almost everything has a key signature (we'll get to those later) and in they Key of C# Major there is a E# used.

    Here's a fretboard. The "strings" are directly below where the note name is written not the black lines.

    [​IMG]

    If you look closely, you'll notice the pattern. Just like I told you earlier: A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G# but sometimes with different names.

    You were asking about scales earlier. This is what I was trying to explain.
    The scales are just patterns of half, whole and 1 1/2 steps that starts at a specific note, called the root.

    For instance the Major patter on steps is:
    Whole Step - Whole Step - Half Step - Whole Step - Whole Step - Whole Step - Half Step. By following that pattern you will find every note in your major scale.

    Example:

    My root is C. I now have a whole step. So I got two spaces to the next note. C - C# - D so my next note is D and I have another whole step. D - D# - E so my next note is E. Now a half step E - F. my next note is F. So far: CDEF. From F we have a whole step. F - F# - G. CDEFG. Another whole step, G - G# - A. Now CDEFGA. One more whole step then a final half step. A - A# - B then B - C (because we end at our root, this is the 8th note usually called the octave. Sometimes the 2nd note in a scale will be refered to as "the 2nd" same with the other notes.

    Do you get the it now?

    W = Whole Step , H = Half Step , 1 1/2 = 1 1/2 Step

    Major Scale:
    W-W-H-W-W-W-H

    Natural Minor Scale:
    W-H-W-W-H-W-W

    Harmonic Minor Scale:
    W-H-W-W-H-1 1/2-H

    Melodic Minor Scale:
    W-H-W-W-W-W-H

    Pentatonic Major Scale (Root, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 8th of corresponding Major Scale):
    W-W-1 1/2-W-1 1/2

    Pentatonic Minor Scale (Root, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th of corresponding Natural Minor Scale):
    1 1/2-W-W-1 1/2-W
     
  10. Peace

    Peace In complete harmony.

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    I'll post some more information later (if you want) but right now my hands need a break.
     
  11. Peace

    Peace In complete harmony.

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    dead do you even know the notes on the treble clef?
     
  12. deadonceagain

    deadonceagain mankind is a plague

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    thanks that help alot!i get it now about the clef i dont know what your talking about isnt it that thing befor the music like a G clef or somthing
     
  13. MattInVegas

    MattInVegas John Denver Mega-Fan

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    Do you know what a "Capo" is? Buy one. They are about $5 here in Vegas.

    Big City, Big Price!
    Tablatures are FREE on the web. (Sing365.com gives them to you!)
     
  14. Orsino2

    Orsino2 Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    Get a kyser or a shubb capo for $10-$20... I think they are warranteed as well.
     
  15. Orsino2

    Orsino2 Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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  16. deadonceagain

    deadonceagain mankind is a plague

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    how did we get on the subject of capos
     
  17. MusicMan19

    MusicMan19 Music Elitist

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    The clef for the guitar is called the treble clef. You're not going to need to know the bass clef if you play an high-pitched instrument.

    The treble clef applies to the guitar fairly well. Your 24th fret on the high E string is E, and is the 4th octave. This note is high E. High E will be the highest note on the ledger lines. The open fret on the low (6th) E string is E and is the lowest note on the ledger lines.

    Basically all you have to look at is the chromatic scale, which is all 12 notes in Western Music. These notes are the first seven letters of the alphabet. You will not have an H note,or an H #/b note. The chromatic scale goes as follows:

    A,A#,B,C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A .

    These are the only notes available in western music, although you can also have a double sharp noted as an X, but we won't go there right now. lol The "#", "b" are called sharps and flats. These, in theory terms, are also called "accidentals". A sharp raises your current note one half step, and a flat lowers your note one half step. You'll notice that 2 notes in western music don't have sharps or flats,those being B and E. Bb is the same note as A# and Eb would be the same note as D#.

    Scales are easy to understand once you understand this chromatic scale, and easy to apply once you know all the notes on your fretboard. Like peace was saying, the scales are simply based on the intervals from your tonic (root) note. If you want to play the C Major scale, for instance, you would first look at your interval patern: W,W, H, W,W,W,H. Then you simply apply it to the notes following your chosen root note, which, in this instance, is C. So, looking at your chromatic scale and moving up those notes you'll see that the C Major scale goes this way:

    C Major:
    C, D, E, F, G, A, B.

    C Minor:
    C,D,D#, F,G, G#, A#.

    The only difference between the C Major scale and the C Minor scale is two intervals. Your second and 5th whole degrees are turned to a half degree, and your major scale now becomes a minor scale . The reason why this scale sounds sad is entirely based on these two interval changes.

    Chords are the exact same thing as scales. Chords are simply scales played simultaneously. To make a major chord you take the first, third and fifth note of that major scale and stack them on top of one another. So, for instance, if you wanted to play a C Major chord you'd take C, E, and G notes from your fretboard and play them at the same time. If your bass note is changed from your root note, to say E or G, you have an inverted C Major chord, which is something that pertains more to advanced level theory.

    In summary, music theory is very simple when you stand back and look at it objectively. It is a system of 7 letter note names. These notes can be made higher, or lower, simply by adding a # or b. Each chord pertains to it's correlating scale. Once you understand which intervals pertain to which scale, you can easily find your root note, and follow the notes of these intervals. Once you know the scales, and the correlating chords, you can begin to make chord progressions with scale-based melody backings, which is basically all a song consists of, until you get into classical or Jazz music, which gets a bit more complicated. Here is a very good amount of scales based in C with their correlating intervals:

    C Major scale:

    C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. (W,W,H,W,W,W,H)

    C Pentatonic Major Scale:

    C, D, E, G, A. (W,W, W 1/2, W)

    C Blues Major Scale:
    C, D#, F, F#, G, A, (W 1/2, W, H, H, W, W)

    C Minor Scale:
    C, D, D#, F, G, G#, A#(W, H, W, W, H, W, W)

    C Melodic Minor Scale:
    C, D, D#, F, G, A, B (W, H, W, W, W, W, H)

    C Harmonic Minor Scale:

    C, D, D#, F, G, G#, B. (W, H, W, W, H, W 1/2, H)

    C Pentatonic Minor Scale
    :
    C, D#, F, G, A# (W 1/2, W, W, W 1/2, W)

    C Blues Minor Scale:
    C, D#, F, F#, G, A#. (W 1/2, W, H, H, W 1/2, W)

    C Byzantine Scale
    C, C#, E, F, G, G#, B. (H, W 1/2, H, W, H, W 1/2, H)

    C Egyptian Scale:
    C, D, F, G, A#. (W, W 1/2, W, W 1/2, W)

    C Gypsy Scale:
    C, C#, E, F, G, A, A#. (H, W 1/2, H, W, W, H, W)

    C Mohammedan Scale:

    C, D#, F, G, G#, B (W, H, W, W, H, W 1/2, H)

    C Algerian Scale:
    C, D, D#, F#, G, G#, B. (W, H, W 1/2, H, H, W 1/2, H)

    Some of these are fundamental for playing rock music, while others are a bit more exotic and are my favorites, especially when playing progressive metal. When you play these scales you'll notice just how much of a difference in sound a couple of interval changes can make. Enjoy!
     
  18. JanaXGIRL

    JanaXGIRL Senior Member

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    hey.. right now you'll probably think about me I'm the stupidest in here... but... I'm trying so hard to understand that all.. but I don't.. so, please, can anybody teach me just a few chords.. (I ve got an acoustic guitar with 6 strings) so, you know, I mean.. just where I've to put my fingers when I wanna play G, D, C.... you know.. just the beginning... pleaaaaase. :)

    THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! ;)
     
  19. lakeoffire

    lakeoffire Live.Laugh.Fuck.

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  20. JanaXGIRL

    JanaXGIRL Senior Member

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    B MAJOR SCALE
    E :| -*--------------|----------------|---------------- ||
    B :| -*--------------|----------------|---------------- ||
    G :|*-*--------------|----------------|----------------*||
    D :|*-*--------------|-------------6--|--8----9--------*||
    A :| -*------------6-|---7----9-------|---------------- ||
    E :| -*--7----9------|----------------|---------------- ||
    B C# D# E F# G# A# B
    what a hell does it mean? :( :( :(
     

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