4 Scales You Should Know
- Tuesday, August 19, 2008, 1:39
- Beginner, Featured, Lead Guitar, Scales
- 36,466 views
- 12 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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12 Comments on “4 Scales You Should Know”
Trackbacks
- The “Secret” Pentatonic Shapes | Guitar Teacher Online
- Fingerboard Aerobics - Major Scale in 3rd Intervals | Guitar Teacher Online
- Featured Guitar Lesson: “Hidden” Pentatonics | Guitar Teacher Online
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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
Fixed, Sam. Thanks for catching that.
Thanks for the Print Option. Very helpful and missing on most other sites.
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
@fullbirdmusic: Great suggestion, thanks! I will do that. Thanks for commenting!
I still need more work, but two down and two more to go…
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
the last one that says major pentatonic looks like the second position of F # minor pentatonic
@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.