4 Scales You Should Know

Tuesday, August 19, 2008, 1:39
106,939 views
17 comments

When it comes to guitar soloing, there are four scales that can be applied more often than any others. They are the Minor Pentatonic Scale, the Natural Minor Scale, the Major Scale and the Major Pentatonic Scale. Following are the most common patterns for each type. They include an easy-to-find root note on the heaviest (6th) string. These examples are all in the key of A.

Practice these patterns from the lowest-pitch root note to the highest note. Then descend from the highest note to the original root. This teaches both your ears and your fingers the full range of the pattern. Once you can do this, wander through and explore the sound of each scale. Or try them over appropriate jam tracks.

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Tags: Major Pentatonic, Major Scale, Minor Pentatonic, Minor Scale, Scales

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Storm has written 127 stories on this site.

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17 Comments on “4 Scales You Should Know”

Sam wrote on 21 August, 2008, 23:48
great lesson just 1 error the minor scale diagram is missing F the sixth degree (2nd string 8th fret).

All in all a good lesson
Storm wrote on 22 August, 2008, 0:13
Fixed, Sam. Thanks for catching that.
MJK (Mike) wrote on 17 June, 2009, 6:10
Thanks for the Print Option. Very helpful and missing on most other sites.
fullbirdmusic wrote on 20 June, 2009, 13:56
Great stuff – only thing I would suggest for more beginner-level troops are the other scale patterns up and down the fretboard.
This might explain a lot for them and clear up their confusion of the already cryptic fretboard. Thanks for making this free! cheers

wes
Storm wrote on 23 June, 2009, 7:52
@fullbirdmusic: Great suggestion, thanks! I will do that. Thanks for commenting!
MJK (Mike) wrote on 5 October, 2009, 11:26
I still need more work, but two down and two more to go…
jack wrote on 11 November, 2009, 15:37
thanks great site been playn for years,, with a bit of theroy on piano,, never moved it to guitar,,
just learned songs to play,,, but lately ive been wanting to explore more,, scales and modes are the key to growing,, been looking for sites that share,, so a big thanks,,,,, i ll be here alot,,
jack
tomas wrote on 28 November, 2009, 1:44
the last one that says major pentatonic looks like the second position of F # minor pentatonic
Storm wrote on 2 December, 2009, 11:14
@tomas – You’re right. A Major Pentatonic and F# Minor Pentatonic share the same notes so they also share the same patterns on the neck. The only difference is in which note you consider the root.
jasim wrote on 5 August, 2010, 14:15
Awesome
now I can do something when there is no electricity! (I live in Iraq )
Dee wrote on 19 August, 2010, 13:34
great lesson!thanks!
Elvis wrote on 13 July, 2011, 5:57
i realy like your lessons. Is there minor C,A,G,E,D keys please?
PopChristy wrote on 11 March, 2012, 11:03
Hi Storm, you are a terrific teacher! Thanks for your awesome posts. My question is: Can you advise me how to adapt these scales to the baritone ukulele? (It’s tuned the same as a guitar except doesn’t have the 2 bottom strings…DGBE). Thank you. -PC