Knoweth thy Major Scale

Click images for videos - green are free
1
2
3
4
5

 

Bookmark this

Backing Tracks

Tab

Guitar pro tab Guitar pro tab (?)

Members practicing this lesson:
SensE
sammy_k
design8r
sporkstorms
Kurt Miller
PhilipG


   Welcome to the first in a series of lessons designed to help you internalize scales, be able to change key and know them over your entire fretboard inside and out!

It is no good just learning a scale in one position and not understanding how it relates to chords or how to play it anywhere else on the neck. Any scale you know should cover the entire fretboard. However, it isn't practical to learn a scale over the entire fretboard and it can be extremely daunting - so we break down scales into 5 learnable chunks AKA scale positions.

The most important thing you need to take from this lesson is where the root note is situated within each scale position and where the related chord shape is situated.... The common mis-conception with scales and modes is that a position IS a mode - this is not true at all! Positions are a group of notes, the way you play them and the chord you play them over is what makes it into a mode... any scale or mode covers the entire fretboard - period.

So you can see I have clearly laid out the 5 scale shapes I use in this exercise.. and notice that I change key 5 times, but my hand doesn't leave frets 3-5 fret region! This is power! it helps keep more continuity during improvisation and really shows you that you dont have to just learn one position and keep moving it along the fretboard....

This video we focus on playing the scales in fret region 3-5, video 3 is fret region 5-7, video 4 is region 7-9, video 5 region 9-12 and video 6 region 12-15...

Each exercise in each video follows the same order - Chords, Scales ascending and descending, then up one scale down the next, then down one scale up the next.

Visualization is key so really spend a lot of time memorizing the scale shapes.

Here is the process I take when learning scale and chord shapes:

1) Without your guitar, visualize the chord and scale shapes until you are entirely familiar with them mentally.
2) Once you are confident you know the shapes, only then play them on your guitar. Practice changing between chords to a metronome and play the scales to a strict count.

Good luck!
Nick



A(Gshape).jpg

C(Ashape).jpg

D(Cshape).jpg

F(Dshape).jpg

G(Eshape).jpg


     Lesson Questions, Feedback & Comments



Kristofer Dahl
post 31st March 2008


GMC Founder & Rocker


Just excellent Nick - very well focused with clear illustration all over the lesson! This should be an excellent starting point for people wanting to learn more about playing over chord changes - thanks! biggrin.gif
Fran
post 31st March 2008


Member


Really good, well explained and detailed.
Great one Nick!
The Uncreator
post 31st March 2008


Fire Up The Blades, Moderator


Very helpful lesson, like Fran said, well explained! smile.gif
purple hayes
post 31st March 2008


Member


Is it just the lighting or are some of the frets on your guitar not straight?

Cool lesson, too!
Danilo Capezzuto
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


Truly smart and useful lesson Nick, compliments!
Iluha
post 31st March 2008


Member


Another incredibly usefull lesson Nick, thank you!
Pink70
post 31st March 2008


Member


Bookmarked for sure! Thanks Nick.
Andrew Cockburn
post 31st March 2008


Theory Instructor & Moderator


Great workout Nick:)

Looks like you have one of those tricky well tempered fretboards?
Marcus Siepen
post 31st March 2008


Instructor (Blind Guardian)


Killer lesson Nick
DeepRoots
post 31st March 2008


Member


This is a great great lesson nick- the kind of lesson i really enjoy learning and practising. Well explained and an essential topic (epecially the direction i wanted to be going in)- thanks a bunch smile.gif
Tuubsu
post 31st March 2008


Member


nice lesson for scales indeed! smile.gif
at lights end
post 31st March 2008


Member


great! will be learning this
Gabriel Leopardi
post 31st March 2008


GMC Coordinator & Instructor


Excelent lesson Nick! Very well explained.
Dejan Farkas
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


Nice lesson, good work there smile.gif
Robwylde
post 31st March 2008


Member


This hit's the spot. Exactly what I needed. Please keep them comin!! Bookmarked!!!
Pitch_Black
post 31st March 2008


Member


Very cool lesson! I like the name of the lesson too:)
Carlos Carrillo
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


very creative lesson Nick!!!!!!!!

nice job
Hauke_Z
post 31st March 2008


Member


Absolutely Great!
Bogdan Radovic
post 31st March 2008


Bass Instructor


Excellent lesson Nick!
mattacuk
post 31st March 2008


Lets go fishing!


This is just what I need Nick! thanks so much biggrin.gif
Muris Varajic
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


Awesome job on this lesson Nick,explained well!! smile.gif
Jerry Arcidiacono
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


Excellent!
Nick325
post 31st March 2008


Member


awsome
Nick Kellie
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


thanks guys I'm glad this is of help for you - this is how I have practiced and learned my scales for some time and I believe it really gets you to know the scales on a deeper less superficial level.
Greetings for Poland! (Krakow)
Nick
Nick Kellie
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


with regards to the first 2 frets being bent... Its a system called fretwave. In order for every note to be really in tune on the guitar, every fret would need to be positioned slightly differently, but the worst offending frets are 1st fret G string and 2nd fret B string.. so to compensate for their sharpness the fret is knocked back to make it more in tune. Works great and doesnt affect the playability and means that all the open chords are in tune.. no compromise. So now E chord and C chord are in tune at the same time.

There is a swedish company now making necks called true temperament necks which have every fret corrected on every string! Looks like the guitar has been melted in a serious accident but sounds incredibly in tune! - you pay for it though, one of their necks costs a small fortune!

nick
James N
post 31st March 2008


Member


In regards to the fret wave, if you bent a note wouldn't the guitar change in tune because now to the string is located at a different part of the fret?

Aside from that, great lesson.
Nick Kellie
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


no james - you are banding the note from that fret so it means the notes sharpened from the position of that fret. It perfectly in tune and no harder to play than any normal fret.
thanks!
nick
BIGD2
post 31st March 2008


Member


Good lord Nick.........you run the scales like I do except I am only a one year beginner...but I do keep wearing out frets on cheap guitars (latest Ibanez RG2EX1)

Best stress relief...get those fingers moving..

Thanks for the lesson......BD
Hisham Al-Sanea
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


wonderfull lesson . nice work Nick
Juan M. Valero
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


Oh, my God !! hehehe, there are lot of things that I explain in the lesson that I'm uploading now biggrin.gif

I hope you explain it better than I XD

great work !!
Trond Vold
post 31st March 2008


Instructor


Excellent smile.gif
Your explanations are great and easy to understand
Ivan Milenkovic
post 1st April 2008


Instructor


Excellent lesson, very useful, nice reading as well! smile.gif
Juan M. Valero
post 1st April 2008


Instructor


I cannot stop praticing this lesson, you add a great point of view in this one and you reminds me the exercices that I did when I studied jazz lot of years ago
Nemanja Filipovic
post 1st April 2008


Singing Instructor


great lesson Nick...smile.gif
Joe Kataldo
post 1st April 2008


Instructor


Absolutely Great Stuff and explanation biggrin.gif
misterj
post 1st April 2008


Member


great lesson! just what i needed!
ItsMe
post 1st April 2008


Member


nice
steve25
post 1st April 2008


Member


I don't get it :/
Nick Kellie
post 1st April 2008


Instructor


Hi steve what exactly is it you don't understand ? maybe I can help you out.

nick
Pablo Vazquez
post 1st April 2008


Instructor


Very nice lesson, Nick!!
shideru_guitar
post 2nd April 2008


Member


what does the e shape and the g shape mean on the diagrams?
that is where i am confused at.
and also is there a reason why u do the shapes at the beginning a bit different to the tab? the chord i mean, not the scales.
thanks
sid
Nick Kellie
post