Answers to Everyday Questions : When learning guitar scales should you learn all the possible fingerings?

When learning guitar scales should you learn all the possible fingerings?

4 Responses to “When learning guitar scales should you learn all the possible fingerings?”

1. fretcruiser said :
   October 23rd, 2010 at 9:54 am

   You should eventually learn all of them, but don’t overload yourself at first. Just make sure you master one pattern before your learn the next one.

   Also, not sure if you know this, but all off the scale patterns are interchangeable. So when you learn one pattern, you can take that pattern, and start on a different note to get a different scale.

   This is the best one to learn first.
   http://www.guitar-dreams.com/modules/guitarlessons/uploads/Scales/Diatonic/15FRET.jpg
   That example is in the key of G major, and the root notes are indicated by the purple notes. If you move that pattern up 2 frets, then you are then playing the A major scale.

   Also, it’s very important that with this pattern you use your middle finger to play all the notes on the 5th fret until you get to the 2nd string, not your ring finger. Doing this will keep your hand centralized and you can play it faster and more efficiently.

   Also…Scales ARE essential to be a good guitarist. Saying they’re not would be like saying “Paint like Di Vinci, but don’t learn how to hold a brush”.
2. Stan said :
   October 23rd, 2010 at 10:13 am

   Don’t waste your time.

   Scales are not music.

   Playing scales will never make you a good guitarist.

   Sure, it’s nice to have a foundation in music theory, but you’d be far better off learning a favorite guitar solo note for note.

   If you want to study any scale, stick to the basic blues scale, or pentatonic.

   The pentatonic scale is adaptable to anywhere on the neck, to any key.

   Do not neglect your rhythm playing. Learn at least 3-4 different ways to play each chord, so when you play with another guitarist, you can play a different inversion of the same chord to help spice the song up a bit.

   You will never be a good lead guitarist until you are first a good rhythm guitarist.

   Remember…scales are not music. It’s the heart and feeling and use of space, and bends.. etc and the selection of notes, that give your solos breath and life.

   Best of luck, and keep practicing till those fingers bleed.
3. TheGrandOnion said :
   October 23rd, 2010 at 10:25 am

   If you intend to be more of a soloist, for sure.
   I just figure its even more important to know 4 or 5 ways to play each chord or write a catchy 3-chord song.

   Knowing all those chords will help when you sit in on a jam session & want to do more than play the same 1st position chords everyone else will undoubtably be playing. And writing 3-chord ditties will come in handy when you have a bunch of musicians together & they want to do more than play, ugh, Mustang Sally…again! lol.

   Besides, if you check the local Craigslist ads, ‘lead guitar’ types looking for a band situation in which they can wa nk away are probably the most common ads. Unless you can do some pretty amazing things, leadwise, you’ll just be another face in the ‘guitar hero’ crowd.
4. Adam D said :
   October 23rd, 2010 at 10:58 am

   I’m not sure what you’re asking.. 12 different scales in C? There’s a lot more than just 12 different scales… as you can see by clicking on the link.
   http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_scales.php?scch=C&get2=Get&t=0&choice=1

   What you need to be concerned with first, is learning 1 scale… i.e. the major/minor scale, and then moving onto the Pentatonic scale, then blues, harmonic minor, melodic minor…etc. The major scale and pentatonic scales are probably used 99.999% of the time in western music. The major scale has different ways/positions to play it, up and down the neck. There should be 5-7 different positions for you to know (depending on what method/format you choose to learn), but there are different methods that you can use… i.e. the CAGED system, and the 3 notes per string methods. These are 2 variations, and generally you should get comfortable with 1 of them. Most prefer the CAGED system, which has only 5 different finger positions. The 3nps has 7 different positions.

   The CAGED system/ boxed patterns are what most people start with. It’s not solely learning these patterns, you want to keep in mind where the root notes are located with in them. When practicing these, I accent those notes with a harder picking attack, so I know exactly where they are on the fretboard… so when I’m playing rhythm, and switch to a lead, I can go anywhere on the fretboard and know where my root notes are.

   What kind of ties into knowing where your root notes are, has to do with another method, which I would learn after you master your box patterns. It’s called the 3 octave method. It takes you from the top of the neck, and moves you down, quickly to the bottom of the neck, in a fluid exercise, that spans 3 full octaves. You can do a search on youtube.com for this.

   Last, I would learn the scale up and down the neck utilizing 1 string, and on every string… then in sets of 2 strings, then 3 strings, then 4… etc.

   Start with 1 key, and learn the intervals, which is simply W W H W W W H for the major scales… but pick a key, I start with the key of C, because it’s a common key to use, and has no flats or sharps, so your 7 notes are going to be C, D, E, F, G, A, B.

   Keep in mind that every key in the major scale has a relative minor, which is two notes before the major scale. They share the same exact notes, but it gives off a “different” perceived sound, due to the root note. So two notes above C, in the major scale is ?… A… so the relative minor of the C major scale is Aminor…. so keep that in mind. It all depends on where your root note starts from.

   Now, you mentioned 12 different scales in C? I think you mean, 12 differerent scales in the major scale… since there are 12 total notes on a guitar.