SCALES! Help my aching brain

[cmiller0034]

Anybody have any good tips for memorizing scales. (minor pent, major, ect.) I have been fooling around with guitars learning songs and a few techniques, but its time to get serious. My friends asked me to start a band (rock and blues mostly judging by their tastes) and I need as much help on how to get my mojo working as possible. Any suggestions are appreciated. What method did you use? Share everybody!

Here is a clip of my friend Micheal playing at a get together. I don't want to embarrass my self!

[101Volts]

This website has a scales section along with a chord namer section along with other things.

www.jguitar.com

However, I feel I am not really helping you here if I don't at least say that you need your life based in a way that works well to do that. And that's not something that's "Some people got it, other don't and can't." if you know what I'm talking about.

- Austin

[cmiller0034]

you need your life based in a way that works well to do that. And that's not something that's "Some people got it, other don't and can't." if you know what I'm talking about.

- Austin

Hmmm. I kinda catch your drift. I don't think I have any "Natural talent", but through hard work and practice most people can develop the skills they need. The website looks interesting, Ill check it out. Thank you Austin, my fire to learn just burned a little bit brighter!


Keep the suggestions coming everyone!

[Haole Jim]

The truly immortal Frank Zappa had two tips which have worked here (no natural talent, either).

1) "Shut up and play yer guitar."

2) "Shut up and play yer guitar some more."

Best of fortune.

[olrocknroller]

The truly immortal Frank Zappa had two tips which have worked here (no natural talent, either).

1) "Shut up and play yer guitar."

2) "Shut up and play yer guitar some more."

Best of fortune.

I once asked Nokie Edwards whether he could read music. He replied, "Yeah, I learned to read music, but I never let that hold me back."

Time on the fretboard seems to be the best teacher...he's spent a lifetime at it!

[101Volts]

The truly immortal Frank Zappa had two tips which have worked here (no natural talent, either).

1) "Shut up and play yer guitar."

2) "Shut up and play yer guitar some more."

Best of fortune.

Sounds good to me, and those words of wisdom can be substituted for whatever: Car Repair, Drawing, Photography, Wood Carving, Exercising, Cooking, Etc. Just shut up (AKA "Be Quiet" or "Hold your peace") and do it.

- Austin

[Dimeman]

I have a chart for minor pentatonic and I am memorizing from the 1st string to the 6th string the number of frets from the "Barre finger root note 1st or 6th string" to the fret to be played..3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 3

[Nokie]

The truly immortal Frank Zappa had two tips which have worked here (no natural talent, either).

1) "Shut up and play yer guitar."

2) "Shut up and play yer guitar some more."

Best of fortune.

I once asked Nokie Edwards whether he could read music. He replied, "Yeah, I learned to read music, but I never let that hold me back."

...

The classic line is, "I don't read well enough to hurt my playing." That said, I personally wish I'd spent more time learning to read better than I do. The advantage would be in getting a wider variety of gigs. Not being able to sight read confidently limits one to playing head arrangements and basic chord charts. I just saw the Wrecking Crew movie. Tommy Tedesco had one of the greatest of day jobs for a guitarist due to his excellent reading ability. Then again, Nokie's day job weren't to bad either. -Marty

[jfine]

I'd recommend starting with the minor pentatonic. In A it's spelled A-C-D-E-G and repeat--if you play it in 5th position it covers two octaves. In tab it looks like this:
5--8
5--8
5-7
5-7
5-7
5--8
fret numbers of course. Use your index finger for the 5th-fret notes, your 3rd finger for the 7th-fret notes, and (usually) your 4th finger for the 8th-fret notes, although if I'm bending the 8th-fret notes on the 1st and 2nd strings, I'll often use my 3rd finger instead. Don't worry about that when you're first learning the scale--just use index and pinky on the 6th string, index and ring for the next three strings, and index and pinky again on the 2nd and 1st strings. Take it slow until you can go from the low A at the 5th fret on the 6th string, all the way through the scale to the C at the 8th fret on the first string. Once you can do that without stopping, do it in reverse, from the high C back down to low A, then put them together without repeating any notes. While you have it slow, try naming the notes as you're playing them. They go:
A--C
E--G
C-D
G-A
D-E
A--C
If you know the minor-pentatonic fingering, you just move it down a step-and-a-half (three frets) and you've got the major pentatonic in the same key. A-major pentatonic is spelled A-B-C#-E-F#. Am pentatonic=5th position; A maj pentatonic=2nd position. To keep the sound in your head, start the A maj pentatonic with your pinky on the 5th-fret-6th-string A (that's the root). If you start with the index-finger 2nd-fret-6th-string F#, it'll sound like F# minor pentatonic, which it is....but if you stay in the same key you'll hear the difference. I always thought of the minor pentatonic as the "sad bluesy" scale and the major pentatonic as the "happy country" scale, although after you get them under your fingers, you'll be able to mix and match them at will.