| Major Scales These scales divide up the neck into each position; each scale covers up to five frets. Use them to improvise, or follow these six steps to use them to learn how to read notes up the neck. But this method is best for motivated upper teens and adults. Children should follow a method book, like Mel Bay’s Children’s Guitar Method Vol I. 1. Memorize the scale form. 2. Play the scale up and down, while stating the letter name of each note. 3. Memorize the note names on the staff: spaces = FACE, lines = Every Good Boy Does Fine. 4. Play the scale up and down, while looking at each note on the staff that you’re playing. 5. Begin playing melodies from a songbook. Learning to read will be more interesting if you play melodies you know and like. So choose a book (from Hal Leonard’s Paperback Songbook series) and choose songs from the key of C (no sharps, no flats). a. Play the songs in open position first (using open notes), b. then in second position (finger one doesn’t dip below the second fret), c. then in fourth position… The scale forms below are listed in order, for each position up the neck in C major. 6. Since you’re playing the melodies to tunes you already know, you won’t need to focus on rhythms yet. But soon, you’ll want to know how to count whole (4 beats), half (2 beats), dotted quarter (1 1/2 beats), quarter (1 beat), eighth (1/2 of 1 beat), and sixteenth notes and rests. The bottom numbers in each scale-form represent the frets you play on string six, the top numbers represent the frets on string one. Commas are place between fret numbers having double digits. You’ll memorize the scales faster, be saying the fret numbers as you play them. The root, the note that names the key, is underlined and bold. The letters to the right of the fret numbers are the note names for each string and fret, consecutively. The scale degree numbers (1-7) appear to the right of the note names. I deliberately separate fret numbers and note names. This, rather than having one learn the scale form, and note names, and the staff notes, all together. This is better pedagogy. C Major Scales Frets Notes Degree Open Position 013 EFG 345 013 BCD 712 02 GA 56 023 DEF 234 023 ABC 671 013 EFG 345 Second Position 35 GA 56 356 DEF 234 245 ABC 671 235 EFG 345 235 BCD 712 35 GA 56 Fifth Position 578 ABC 67 568 EFG 345 57 CD 12 579 GAB 567 578 DEF 234 578 ABC 671 Seventh Position 78,10 BCD 712 8,10 GA 56 79,10 DEF 234 79,10 ABC 671 78,10 EFG 345 8,10 CD 12 Ninth Position 10,12,13 DEF 234 10,12,13 ABC 671 9,10,12 EFG 345 9,10,12 BCD 712 10,12 GA 56 (8),10,12,13 CDEF 1234 Twelfth Position 12,13,15 EFG 345 12,13,15 BCD 712 12,14 GA 56 12,14,15 DEF 234 12,14,15 ABC 671 12,13,15 EFG 345 Modes and World Scales For learning the neck, improvising, and songwriting Now memorize the scale degrees of each of the scale forms. This will allow you to play all other scales and modes, based on the major scales you’ve already memorized. Again, this is better pedagogy than memorizing other scales in isolation from what you already know. Modes Ionian: degree 1 – 1 Use it to improvise over the C chord (the I chord), and its altered notes. Dorian: 2 – 2 Covers Dm, ii (or complicate it, and imagine playing in D major, rather than C major, but lowering degrees 3 and 7) Phrygian: 3 – 3 Covers Em, iii Lydian: 4 – 4 Covers F, IV Mixolydian: 5 – 5 Covers G, V Aeolian: 6 – 6 Covers Am, vi Locrian: 7 – 7 Covers Bdim World Scales Learn to manipulate the scales you’ve memorized above by lowering or raising certain degrees. This will teach you the neck, breaking you out of the boxes (scales) listed above, and will open up worlds of ideas and emotions. Master each, then alter the major scales in other ways. b3 Melodic Minor (or complicate it, and think of playing in a relative minor key and raising the seventh) b3, b6 Harmonic Minor b2, b3 Neopolitan #5 Asavari Raga b2, #5 Byzantine b3, #5 Augmented b2, b3, #5 Neopolitan Minor b2, b5, #5 Persian #5, b7 Hindustan b5, #5, b7 Whole-Tone b2, b3, b7 Javaneese b5, b7 Brazilian b3, b5, b7 Roumanian Minor b2, #5, b7 Jewish Ahaba Rabba b2, b5, #5, b7 Oriental b3, b5, #5 Algerian b2, b3, b5, #5 Raga Todi |
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