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Effective OneOctave Major Scales and Why!Part III

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Today you are ready to take on Part III of the effective one-octave major scales. We’re going to climb up the strings and into the higher regions of the scale. This will make the scale patterns more comfortable to play because it’s easier to reach and press the thinner strings.

Moreover, most guitar solos take place on the highest strings of the guitar, so these scale patterns are crucial to get under your soloing fingers.

Recap One Octave Major Scales

For those of you who just stepped into Part III of the One-Octave major scale series and missed out on Part I and Part II, here are the reasons you want to learn this:

The one-octave major scale makes it easy to recognize the shape, the structure, the notes and the intervals of the scale. One-octave scales are a perfect start for beginners and will create new insights for intermediate guitar players. The major scale is the mother of all scales and is the cornerstone of everything in guitar playing.

Starting from the Root Note on the D-string

Today we are learning three major scale shape/patterns with the first (root) note starting on the D-string (4th string).

Tip: Learn and memorize the notes on the D-string so you can instantly recognize the key of the scale when you want to move the scale up or down the fretboard.

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Effective One-Octave Major Scales and Why!Part II

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Hi folks, today we’re going to dive into the one-octave major scales Part II. A nice, compact, clear and focused guitar lesson. If you haven’t learned the part I yet, you can check it out here: Effective One-Octave Major Scales and Why! Part I

Reminder Why You Want to Learn One-Octave Scales

Remember, you want to learn the one-octave major scale to easily identify the shape and structure of the scale, the notes within the scale, and the intervals. Moreover, the one-octave scale is easier to play for beginners and opens new doors, breeds new insights and improves the playing of intermediate guitar players.

Starting from the Root Note on the A-string

Today we are learning three major scale shape/patterns with the first (root) note starting on the A-string (5th string).

Tip: Learn and memorize the notes on the A-string so you can instantly recognize the key of the scale when you want to move the scale up or down the fretboard.

Major Scale Fingering

For the major scale examples and tablature below I’ve notated the fret-hand fingering. The numbers next to the notes on the note staff right above the tablature indicates the fret-hand fingers:

| 1 = index | 2 = middle finger |3 = ring finger | 4 = pinky |

How to read tablature? Check out How to Read Guitar Tabs – Tablature

The numbers in the yellow neck diagrams also indicate the fret-hand fingering. The neck diagrams also clearly show what the shape or pattern looks like. Learn to visualize and memorize the shape of each pattern.

Make sure you play the scale shapes using alternative picking. Strictly use alternating down and up strokes. The first note you play is a downstroke, the second an upstroke, the third one a downstroke, the fourth one an upstroke and so on.

Practice the scale in every Key

In the examples below we play the G major scale, but the goal is to learn these scale shapes/patterns in every key. Once you got the scale under your fingers learn the pattern in different keys. Just move the entire scale up or down the fret and change keys easily. Need more help with that? A more detailed explanation on this in Part I

Without further ado..

Enjoy!

MAJOR SCALE SHAPES – ROOT NOTE STARTS ON THE 5TH STRING

G MAJOR SCALE fingering / shape / pattern #4

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Effective One-Octave Major Scales and Why! Part I

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When you learn your first scales you usually start with two-octave scales, because they span all six strings of the guitar. You play from the Low E-string all the way up to the high e-string.

That’s great! It’s important you learn the two-octave scales inside out, but one-octave scales have their own effective purpose that will serve your playing in a different and complementary way.

Why You Want to Learn One Octave Scales

One of the reasons you want to learn one-octave scales is because of their simplicity. By using only one octave it’s easier to see the shape and structure of the scale, the notes within the scale, and the intervals. The scale is more user-friendly, easier to play, memorize and apply around the fretboard.

There’s another great benefit to learning one-octave scales. Once you got them under your fingers it’s only a matter of connecting the dots to lay out two octave and three-octave scales, since they are made up of one-octave scales.

Note: This post is part of a small series where you will learn one-octave major scale shapes across the entire guitar neck that will help you understand and own the major scale landscape.

Starting from the Root Note on the Low E-string

Today we’re learning three major scale shape/patterns with the first (root) note starting on the Low E-string (6th string).

Tip: For this lesson learn and memorize the notes on the low E-string so you know and recognize the key of the scale when you want to move the scale up or down the fretboard.

Major Scale Fingering

For the major scale examples and tablature below I’ve notated the left hand fingering (for right handed players). The numbers next to the notes on the note staff right above the tablature indicates the left hand fingers:

1 = index
2 = middle finger
3 = ring finger
4 = pinky

The numbers in the yellow neck diagrams also indicate the fingers. The neck diagrams also clearly show what the shape or pattern looks like. Learn to visualize and memorize the shape of each pattern.

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How to Simplify Your Guitar Process

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Sometimes the hardest part of practicing is starting. It’s the “thought” of having to practice that gets in the way, not practicing itself. Feelings of resistance arise and you trying to justify the art of not practicing translates in words like “I am too busy”, “I am too tired”, or “it’s too late” or “it’s too much now” and the list goes on and on.

We say there are more important things that have to be done before we can play guitar, but isn’t that always the case. There is always something more important, something more urgent, but in reality it’s nothing more than an excuse of the mind. There is time, if you want it.

EASY TIME TO PRACTICE

If you really think about it, there is 5 minutes of time to steal in every corner of the day, and 5 minutes of practice add up over time. There are 5 minutes before breakfast, 5 minutes during lunch or 5 minutes after dinner. 5 minutes before you go to school or just 5 minutes after you come back home from work.

You can also cut out the trivial stuff in your life and practice instead. What about 5 minutes less Netflix and 5 minutes less checking your email, Whatsapp or Instagram. You could wake up 5 minutes earlier or shorten the time you need to get the important things done.

You can surely find 5 minutes if you really care about playing guitar. Even if you have only 5 minutes a day, those 5 minutes add up over a week, over a month and over 6 months, especially if you practice with a goal and focus on the task at hand.

The only thing you have to do is stop allowing the thought that gets in the way of picking up your guitar right now. Just grab your guitar and practice.

So now we got that out of the way it’s important to make that practice process as simple and easy as possible, so you won’t have to think about that either.

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