Having knowledge of scales on the guitar is vital for many different reasons. They build strength in your fingers in a manner that isn’t possible by just playing songs. Playing guitar scales also train your ears to identify common note arrangements.
The 6 Most Commonly Used Guitar Scales
The Minor Pentatonic Scale
The pentatonic scale is majorly a wonderful combination of 5 notes. They are easy to play and are a perfect introduction to the scales for the beginners. They are of two types: minor and major. It is due to their simplicity and the magic that they create, they are widely used in blues, country, jazz and rock music.
The Blues Scale
The blues scale is derived from the minor pentatonic scale, as it is basically the same with one additional – a flattened 5th note.
As the name implies, the scale is used greatly in blues, although is also used in jazz and rock based styles a lot too. The blue scales actually sound a bit bluesy. If you keep in mind the notes, you can improvise your rhythm while playing notes. The smart use of Blues scale can add more thrill to the song you are playing.
The Aeolian Mode or the Natural Minor Scale
The natural minor scale, or the Aeolian mode, is simply a diatonic scale made up of seven notes. The natural minor scale is certainly the generally used scale in different music styles such as pop, rock and many other styles of popular music.
This scale is great when it comes to improvising over minor chords. It contains the major pentatonic scale as well as the relative minor pentatonic scale.
The Major Scale
The major scale is mostly used in a many different ways. The chords bent from this scale are frequently used to form chord progressions. Furthermore, this scale is also used to form commonly used modes. The scale is also commonly used to play the solo over major seventh and major sixth chords mainly in jazz style songs where the scales used change over different chords.
The Dorian Mode
As you eventually learn guitar scales ultimately you will find that the Dorian mode particularly is useful for soloing. Dorian mode is more frequently used to form over minor chords in fusion and jazz-based styles.
The Mixolydian Mode
The fifth mode of the major scale is called as the Mixolydian mode . this is widely used in jazz and fusion based styles and produces awesome results.
Guitar Scales Chart
Don’t Learn Scales At Random
When you talk about music, there are a number of scales that exist, therefore it is significant for you to get planned about which of them are more important for you to learn and master. Simply make a list of all the different scales that are used commonly in your style of music and do not go on to learn other unusual and obscure scales until you have a positive command on the basic scales used in your style of guitar playing.
Analyze Solo Guitar Playing And Focus On The Scales Used
It is essential to spend few hours in a day monitoring how the different guitar players use scales in the music you hear. In addition to general ear training, spending this time will allow you to observe how the scales you are trying to master can be used to generate melodies and licks that merge together to make guitar solos.
Fortunately, there is many great way to master guitar that might help you to get more out of the efforts you spend on learning scales.
Master The Guitar Fretboard Completely
When it comes to guitar playing the most common mistake the majority of beginner guitarists make while learning to play scales is only playing in a particular area of the guitar. The common case of this for blues or say rock guitar players play the A minor pentatonic scale in the 5th point on the fretboard only and entirely ignoring to learn it in other parts of the guitar.
Apply The least Amount Of Pressure Necessary
Every beginner should try to play a series of notes quickly with the least amount of pressure to make the notes sound good. For this beginner needs to practice gradually and observe how much pressure is really needed. This type of training and pressure exercise does take focus and patience. Once you start practicing eventually, you will build up the habit of simply using pressure needed. Since the beginner applies less pressure, this allows the beginner to play faster with less fatigue and much more fun.
Leave a Reply