Category: Scales

November 19, 2007

A minor pentatonic for improvising

Filed under: Scales - 19 Nov 2007

The A minor pentatonic scale has five notes: G A C D E

You can play it starting on the low E string at the fifth fret like this:
A C D E G A C D E G A C
Here’s the tab:
E———————————5–8—-
B————————–5–8———–
G——————-5–7——————
D————-5–7————————
A——5–7——————————-
E-5-8————————————-
For variety you can also begin this scale pattern at the seventeenth fret. There are other patterns in other positions on the neck, but now you know the names of the notes you can find them for yourself. Here’s a guitar fretboard diagram.
Learn the pattern above for a start. Try working out some licks using these notes. You’ll be surprised what you can do with five notes!
To go further with improvisation, start listening to your favorite guitar players with a new ear. Pay attention to what they are doing. Take note of how their solos are composed: are they scale passages? Are they questions and answers? What does the guitarist do to fill twelve beats (for instance)? Does he bend the strings, use hammer-ons, all downstrokes? Try and analyze some guitar solos a little bit and apply them to your own playing.
More pentatonic minor patterns here.

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October 22, 2007

Learn all of the notes on the fretboard

Filed under: Scales - 22 Oct 2007

Can you play all guitar scales in all keys in any position on the fretboard? If you’ve taken online guitar lessons before, you’ve probably learnt the basic shapes and scales, but this lesson is designed to help you learn it all:
“Most guitar players are victims of their own quick-fix mentality. “Why learn every scale in every key if I can use a ‘cookie-cutter shape’ scale pattern that I can move around the guitar neck and play the same notes?” What happens is that a large number of players know their scales if somebody holds their hand and takes them to the root note or starting point of the scale, but what they don’t learn is what notes they are playing and how they all relate together. And, more importantly, how to use the scales to make music that doesn’t sound like they’re “trapped in a box”.”
See how you can learn the notes on the fretboard here!

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October 21, 2007

Guitar scales at Chordbook.com

Filed under: Scales - 21 Oct 2007

This site features a flash modelled guitar and chordbook with over 1300 guitar chords and inversions. See and hear the chords you select.
The virtual guitar behaves just like a normal guitar, Put on a capo to change the pitch, drag and drop the finger markers to make your own custom chords. Choose from electric or acoustic and Left or Right handed.
Chord Sequencer: you can save and sequence your guitar chords and play them back in the mychords area!
Also try out the guitar tuner for alternative tunings.
Learn to play scales and improve your lead solos, with the guitar scales generator.

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