Hello all!
I have just been started practing speedruns and stuff on the guitar. When i play i just create random stuff and play, (mostly for fun) people say i have to learn scales. I only know 1 scale and that is Am penatonic. What scales should i learn? how should i learn them? how do i learn a scale horizontaly(bad english)? what is the difference between minor and major? how do i create licks from the scale?
Thanks to all who answers me! I wounder how i could learn guitar without gmc
Hey Braer
Theory can seem a little daunting to start with but you can soon find yourself understanding how everything works together between chords and scales and most importantly how to use them to make music! Luckily Andrew has put together a great set of articles
here which really helped me grasp everything- i advise you sit down with a cup of coffee and do a little bit of reading everyday
What scales should i learn?
You know the Am pentatonic scale- which is a cool choice of scale for alot of applications but it is mostly use for phrasing. I reccomend for speed runs you learn the Minor scale, and more specifically you should learn these in a 3 note per string layout (3nps). You'll find a couple of articles in that theory list that go over the advantages of learning them this way and how to construct them.
how should i learn them?
You should learn what intervals are (check that theory list!) and learn the intervals in the minor scale, also learn what a root note is (this would be the "
A" in
Am pentatonic or
A minor scale). You can learn them in a CAGED format- which is great for playing it in 5 different positions and be able to visually compare the scale to the relevant chord. However, learning the 7 3nps shapes will allow you to see every note on the neck that belongs to that scale and also help with those speed runs (as you'll be playing the same amount of notes on each string, which is a miracle for the picking hand!)
what is the difference between minor and major?
You can have major and minor chords- and also major and minor scales, you'll eventually learn how chords are derived from scales but i'll be brief in explaining the difference here
major chord: 1 3 5
minor chord: 1 b3 5
when applied to the key of A (A being the
root note here) you get:
A chord: A C# E
Am chord: A C E
So where chords are concerned there is only one note different between major and minor!
with scales:
major scale: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
minor scale: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
in A:
A major: A B C# D E F# G#
A minor: A B C D E F G
As you can see there are three notes that differ between the major and minor scales (after working through andrew's lessons you'll learn how the major and minor scales are related not only with each other but with 5 other scales with funny names
)
how do i create licks from the scale?
I find the best way for this is to
1) know the patterns that make up the scale in various places on the neck
2) listen to alot of music you like and learn the licks your favourite players use
the combination of these two things will get your creative juices going and also give you the framework that you can operate in to make the lick sound good.
Hope that helps a little
edit: i see Emir is faster with his fingers on the keyboard than i am - but i should have guessed that with the speed i've seen them move around the fretboard