6 replies to this topic

[Ghost-RiderP51]

So I'm having a little trouble understanding scales. Not so much what a scale is, but the meaning and purpose behind it. Generally scales tend to be octaves, but what makes it important? I've been practicing the major scale pattern on my guitar(finger practice) and as I understand it depending on where you start you get a different scale of note X. I've been able to tell that the pitches progressivly change and it makes sense because you are either going to go down the fret board or a string down. But lets say that I play the A scale and the 6th note in the scale has a certain pitch, but you dont want that note to have that pitch, the scale essentially becomes useless. No? I'm just so confused. Why is it that when I google major scale I get this pattern, and not another pattern with the same notes of a different pitch?

[Kirk Lorange]

Hi, G-RP51 ...

There are many scales and it sounds to me like you're looking for a scale other than the major scale. If you're wanting to hear another note, simply play the one you want to hear there. Don't let the scale dictate to you, you just play what you want to hear and don't worry about trying to classify it into this or that scale. I'm not sure what you're attempting in this case, but if you're hearing a melody line in your head and you want to turn it into a guitar melody, just keep poking around until you find the note.

What is it exactly you're working on that has made this come up?

The scale in your diagram is the F# major scale, by the way. You need to move the whole pattern to the right 3 frets to make it an A major scale.

[Ghost-RiderP51]

Well I'm tired of just learning tabs in order to play. Once in a while I come up with something I like from hours of messing around and I would have a sort of image of the kind of sound I wanted to play in the coming 10 notes for example, but I can never make it a reality. Uncertain of what note to play, pitch etc. So I've been trying to learn the music it self instead of memorizing picking patterns and which frets to press. What I was puzzled about in regards to scales is when there is the freedom to play a note on any string at different places, why does a scale define specific ones?

Language of course is an issue here for me, hence why I didnt have much luck on google. I posted this out of frustration. But I noticed the video threads about music, and once I learned more musical words it seems like I've been able to find what I needed. "the overall concept with scales relates to key signitures. if you play a scale and then play a note that isnt in that scale, it sounds… off… right? thats why if you learn the correct intervels and everything you can easily write good melodies, solos, chord progresssions and riffs. in a general sense that is. hope that helps". So I guess thats the answer. You dont want to play another F# because it would sound really bad,.

[Kirk Lorange]

You need my PlaneTalk package, G-R ... You're the exact guy I wrote it for, all tangled up in scales, modes, terminology, repeating fretboard positions, scale patterns. I always liked puzzles and the way music and fretboards interact is about the biggest puzzle of all. I spent a good 20 year distilling it all down until I got to the lowest common denominator ... so to speak. PlaneTalk is where I describe and demonstrate it all in detail.

PlaneTalk

[mset3]

Ghost-Rider,

I was going to recommend PlaneTalk, but Kirk beat me to it. The course is well worth taking a look. I believe it will answer all of your concerns.

Mike

[brettls]

The importance of scales can also be linked to chords. For example, the C Major scale is spelt C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C and we can take a note and, subsequently, every second note (third interval) above it to form chords. E.g. pick out C-E-G-B This is a C Major 7 chord. pick out D-F-A-C and this is a Dm7 chord etc.

It follows that the most natural interpretation to scales is that when playing over a chord progression, you simply play the notes of the chord in your melody; i.e., play the notes C,E,G,B over a C Major 7 chord, and you will have what is known as chord tone security. The other three notes; i.e., the D, F and A can be whatever you like. For example if you play them all as naturals, you are playing the C Major scale over the said C Major 7 chord. But you can do other things to create/release tension. E.g. you could flatten your A and have the notes C,D,E,F,G,Ab,B,C and then you will be playing in C Harmonic Major.

It is important to learn where the notes of your chords are and when you understand the rest of the notes in relation to it, you are free to change the notes that you like. This is what makes learning a couple of patterns helpful; if you understand what notes are making it up, you can alter which tones to change to your liking. I hope that helps.

[waveheavy]

There it is: all music equals 3 things:

Scales, Chords, and Arpeggios.

We shouldn't think of any of those 3 forms as being that much different. Chords and arpeggios are simply built off of Scales. So if I want to play a scale pattern in place of a song's Chord, no problem. Same thing with using an Arpeggio of a Chord instead the Chord in a song. The only real difference between the 3 forms is their technical playability is different.