[ragser]

I've been playing the major scales from Kirks "Ultimate Stretching excercise" and I've learned them quite well. Now that I started to look around on youtube about major scales I found several videos about it and none of those major scales were the same as kirks lesson. Here's one of them:
YouTube - Mastering The Major Scale - Guitar Lesson

I'm very confused about all this. I thought there were 13 major scales and that all were included in kirks lesson but that is something similar but yet different from that lesson. Could someone explain to me firmly and simple as you can how it works? (Keep in mind that I've only been playing guitar for about 2-3 months and I knew nothing about guitar playing before then)

[ragser]

Originally Posted by SprayTech

This may help some . Knowing the Notes on the Fretboard may shed some light on the scales .

Thanks ALOT! Actually that helped more than I thought. I'm definitely keeping this image. It will be really helpful in the future. I actually did hear how the different C notes sounded alike. So the difference between the C notes are that they have different octaves? That's just a guess, I could be really wrong about it.

[SprayTech]

yes , different octaves
And I think there are 4 octaves across the fretboard ? ( someone please correct me if I am wrong ) dont like to give bad info
I am a beginner too , and learning just like you

[ragser]

Originally Posted by SprayTech

yes , different octaves
And I think there are 4 octaves across the fretboard ? ( someone please correct me if I am wrong ) dont like to give bad info
I am a beginner too , and learning just like you

How can there be 4 different octaves if there are 12 different C notes?

[Fretsource]

Ragser there are only 4 different C notes on a guitar, not 12. Spray Tech is right about the 4 octaves.

But there are 12 different places on the guitar when you can find those 4 sounds.

That's where a guitar differs from a piano. On a piano there are 7 (or 8?) different C notes but each of those C notes can be found in one place only.

[LeeB]

Hey ragser

No worries about the questions... we have all been there. Music theory is overwhelming at first so its best digested in small peices IMHO. Actaully for some of us its always overwhelming.. we just find new bits of info to be dazed and confused about
try this... find those C notes again within a scale shape and play them and compare sound again. They will not sound identical because they are either higher or lower in tone or is it pitch...see confusing stuff. Listen for similarities, then play a C note and say a D note and try and hear how they are not similar at all....

[Jomi]

Hello Ragster,
From one beginner to another, I can't help with scales but I think I can help you get a feel for an octave.

On your guitar the thickest and thinnest strings are both E, they are one octave apart. Play them enough and you will begin to hear how they are the same note. Now put a capo on the first fret and they are both F an octave apart. Put the capo anywhere on the neck and you will hear the same relationship between the two strings.

Hope that helps.

[si16]

Originally Posted by Jomi

Hello Ragster,
From one beginner to another, I can't help with scales but I think I can help you get a feel for an octave.

On your guitar the thickest and thinnest strings are both E, they are one octave apart. Play them enough and you will begin to hear how they are the same note. Now put a capo on the first fret and they are both F an octave apart. Put the capo anywhere on the neck and you will hear the same relationship between the two strings.

Hope that helps.

They're actually 2 octaves apart, but the relationship still applies. Always check that they match up with each other when you're tuning.

[AX7221]

Here's my take:

I attacked a thumb of the diagram I used (and still use) to learn the major scale. It was brought up that root has a strong sound to it, and it very much so does. And, all of the other 6 notes of the scale have their own sound to them too. So in my diagram I put in different colors for different notes of the scales.

The first note is the root is black.
Second note yellow
Third note blue
Fourth note orange
Fifth note red
Sixth note green
Sixth note purple

If you had a C major scale and increased all of the notes of the scale by 1 halfstep you would get a C# major scale, if you did it again you have a D major scale. What that means is the pattern in the pic can slide up and down the neck, and the note name of the black dot is the ___ major scale. For more clarity you can line this one up with the c major scale in the previous post and the black dots will be on C.

Also if you look at this for a little bit it should help clear up an confusion on all of the various ways to play the major scale. Like AT said "the neck has many paths that can be taken to play a scale." And if you look at the diagram enough you can find all of them, namely the ones kirk used and the ones in the other links.