A note on practicing scales.

It is more important when practicing scales to develop an ear by playing them around chords than it is to simply do wrote, technical practice of the scales by themselves. Try playing a chord and then playing the accompanying scale for that chord and you will notice how the G major scale for instance sounds if you play it directly after strumming a G major chord. You can also try playing a g minor scale over the G major chord or try playing a g minor scale over the G minor chord for that matter. Definitely play the G minor scale after strumming the G minor chord.

In this way you will learn to understand how the scales fit with the chords and how the sounds work together which is much better practice than simply running through scale diagrams although there is a place for that as well. Running through scale diagrams will increase your dexterity and comfort level with the guitar and also give you practice with alternate picking.

http://musicouch.com/music-making/guitar-lesson-three-open-chords-bar-chords-and-some-scales/

http://musicouch.com/instruments/string/guitar/guitar-lesson-two-the-g-major-chord-scale-and-more/

scales - G major at 2nd fret

Here we have pictured the G major scale as it would be fingered at the second fret. The first fret, numbered at right is the fret immediately behind the second fret which is the fret we are working with. This pattern played where shown is the g major scale. The root notes for this scale are on the 1st 4th and 6th strings as numbered at top. Below I have mapped the scale with the root notes in black.



This scale can be played anywhere on the neck of the guitar and it will be the scale of whatever notes the black notes fall upon. Considering that the e minor scale has the same notes as the g major scale this would also be the pattern of the e minor scale however the root notes would be in different places. The e minor diagram with the root notes blackened is as follows.



More on this subject can be found here:

http://musicouch.com/music-making/guitar-lesson-three-open-chords-bar-chords-and-some-scales/

http://musicouch.com/instruments/string/guitar/guitar-lesson-two-the-g-major-chord-scale-and-more/

http://musicouch.com/instruments/string/guitar/guitar-lesson-one-major-and-minor-scales-and-the-fret-board/

Thank you and I hope you found this interesting and informative. If you have any questions or comments feel free to drop me a line at walterholstad@hotmail.com.