![]() ![]() Don’t worry about note names to start with while you get comfortable with the pattern and sound of the major scale as you practise it. To start with, you should simply get comfortable playing the scale, using the intervals. ![]() ![]() Of course, you should know how to determine any note that you are playing, based on your knowledge of intervals and the musical alphabet that we covered in the last lesson. The note names were written above each note to make things easier, but when you are practising scales by yourself, you won’t necessarily know what the note names are. ![]() Should You Know Note Names?Īs you can see from the examples that we have done so far, major scales contain seven notes. You have probably heard it before, played as a scale, but also variations on the scale itself (for example, in the melody of a song). This is because it is a very important scale that is kind of hard-wired into western music. You have probably realized that the sound of the major scale is familiar to you. You should practice playing the major scale on one string, starting from different notes. In this example, we are going to play the scale ascending and then go back down the way we came (descending). In the previous example, we only played the scale in one direction (ascending). This time we are going to play a C major scale, by starting on the 5th fret of the 3rd string. You don’t even technically need to be aware of which notes you are actually playing. Once you have done it a few times, it should be very easy to pick a starting note (root note) and play the scale on one string. The interval structure of the major scale is simple to memorize and then play on one string. Hopefully you do not need to rely on the notes/tabs. What we have just done, from a notation/tablature perspective, looks like this: The above list of instructions makes it look more complicated than it is. Semitone (back to the root note!) – G (6th string, 8th fret) – We have moved up a semitone (1 fret) from F#.Tone – F# (6th string, 8th fret) – We have moved up a tone (2 frets) from E.Tone – E (6th string, 12th fret) – We have moved up a tone (2 frets) from D.Tone – D (6th string, 10th fret) – We have moved up a tone (2 frets) from C.Semitone – C (6th string, 8th fret) – We have moved up a semitone (1 fret) from B.Tone – B (6th string, 7th fret) – We have moved up a tone (2 frets) from A.Tone – A (6th string, 5th fret) – We have moved up a tone (2 frets) from G.Starting Note (Root Note) – G (6th string, 3rd fret).Now let’s apply that to the G major scale, starting on the 3rd fret of the 6th string: Tone – Tone – Semitone – Tone – Tone – Tone – Semitone Let’s look at the interval structure of a major scale again: The intervals are built upon the root note. The starting note (in this case, G) is the ‘root note’. Because the starting note is G, we will be playing a ‘G major scale’. Let’s play the above intervals, starting on the 3rd fret of the 6th string. The starting note determines what the ‘root note’ is. Scales can be played starting from any note. Let’s play the above scale (set of intervals) using only one string. In actual fact, we rarely play scales by using only one string, but it is a great exercise from a learning perspective. Playing a scale on one string is an easy to way to see how the scale looks from a visual perspective in its most simple format, while hearing how it sounds as well. The best way to try out this scale is to play the above set of intervals on one string. Tone – Tone – Semitone – Tone – Tone – Tone – Semitone.The major scale is made up of the following intervals: But for now, we want to know how to produce the major scale. We’ll discuss the importance of major scales a little more shortly. They are, in a way, the DNA of western music as we know it. Major scales are the most important scale that you can learn. In this lesson, we are going to focus on the ‘Major Scale’. If you haven’t read the previous lesson, or you’re not confident with intervals and the musical alphabet, you can read the lesson here. Both are important for understanding scales. The easiest way to think of a scale is as a set of intervals that create a particular sound which can be used for a range of purposes. In the previous lesson, we learnt about the ‘musical alphabet’ and intervals. Most people come across scales in some form or another quite early on in their guitar journey, even if they’re not sure exactly what they are or what their purpose is. Scales are the entry point to a vast array of music knowledge, from chord theory, to song writing, to soloing and everything in between. It’s time to enter the expansive world of scales. ![]()
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