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The 5 Basic Scales + Shapes September 5, 2006

Posted by shredguitar in : Scales , add a comment Tag:, , , , , , , , , ,

There are 5 basic scale shapes that all lead guitarists should know.. and they can be played on any fret on the guitar.
1. Major

2. Minor
3. Major Pentatonic

4. Minor Pentatonic

5. Blues

==========

Once again, we’ll play in the key of C (i.e. 8th fret on the low E string)

1. Major

e—7-8———
B—–8—10—-
G—7—9-10—-
D—7—9-10—-
A—7-8—10—-
E—–8—10—-

2. Minor

e—–8—10-11-
B—–8-9—-11-
G—7-8—10—-
D—–8—10—-
A—–8—10-11-
E—–8—10-11-

3. Major Pentatonic

e—–8—10—-
B—–8—10—-
G—7—9——-
D—7—–10—-
A—7—–10-11-
E—–8—10—-

4. Minor Pentatonic (we’ve covered this earlier)
e—–8——11–
B—–8——11–
G—–8—10—–
D—–8—10—–
A—–8—10—–
E—–8——11–

5. Blues (same as Minor Pentatonic but with 1 more note per octave)
e—–8——11–
B—–8——11–
G—–8—10-11–
D—–8—10—–
A—–8-9-10—–
E—–8——11–

==========

Remember to use a metronome while practising to get the scales up to speed, and always use alternate picking. Play them from the 6th string to the 1st string and vice versa. Good luck!

Basic Open String Scales August 31, 2006

Posted by shredguitar in : Scales , 2 comments Tag:, ,

There are seven basic open string scales that are the building blocks of many other scales and keys that are used by the best guitarists.

Practicing, memorizing, and getting faster at playing these scales are the initial steps in playing lead guitar.

It is a challenge to memorize these scales note for note, and I recommend you learn these any time you can, even when you’re not playing guitar, just by memorizing the names of the scales and the frets.



C Major

e—————————–0-1-3–
B———————–0-1-3——–
G——————-0-2————–
D————-0-2-3——————
A——-0-2-3————————
E-0-1-3——————————

G Major

e—————————–0-2-3–
B———————–0-1-3——–
G——————-0-2————–
D————-0-2-4——————
A——-0-2-3————————
E-0-2-3——————————

F Major

e—————————–0-1-3–
B————————-1-3——–
G——————-0-2-3————
D————-0-2-3——————
A——-0-1-3————————
E-0-1-3——————————

D Major

e—————————–0-2-3–
B———————–0-2-3——–
G——————-0-2————–
D————-0-2-4——————
A——-0-2-4————————
E-0-2-3——————————

Bb Major

e—————————–1-3–
B———————–1-3-4——
G—————–0-2-3————
D———–0-1-3——————
A—–0-1-3————————
E-1-3——————————

A Major

e—————————–0-2-4-5–
B———————–0-2-3———-
G——————-1-2—————-
D————-0-2-4——————–
A——-0-2-4————————–
E-0-2-4——————————–

E Major

e—————————–0-2-4-5–
B———————–0-2-4———-
G——————-1-2—————-
D————-1-2-4——————–
A——-0-2-4————————–
E-0-2-4——————————–

The Pentatonic Scale August 30, 2006

Posted by shredguitar in : Scales , add a comment Tag:, , ,

One of the scales that most players use is the Pentatonic scale, which just consists of 5 notes. Practise it, alternate pick all the notes, and make sure you use a metronome to get your chops up to speed!

This is the Pentatonic Scale in C

pentatonic.txt

Knowing the fretboard August 28, 2006

Posted by shredguitar in : General, Scales, Beginners , add a comment Tag:, , , ,

Probably the most important step for a shredder… is knowing the fretboard!

Just a short introduction of the fretboard.. at the headstock, where the nut is, that’s Fret 0.. and you start counting in ascending order from there… all the way towards where your pickups are located. On most electric guitars designed for shredding, there should be 24 frets, while some beginner electric guitars (mostly) have 21 frets… most Fender Stratocasters have 22 frets. The guitar I’m currently using is a Jackson Soloist SL-3 model , which I find is pretty darn good, especially with Seymour Duncan HotRails at the neck and middle. Do check it out if you’re interested in getting a good shred/metal guitar, and it’s versatile in jazz/blues as well.

Anyway, just to start off on a good note (pardon the pun), here’s the fretboard and the notes on each respective fret.

Fretboard

Take some time every single to memorise a section of it, and soon you’ll be able to play fast runs with no problem at all! Good luck!

Knowing Scales

Posted by shredguitar in : Uncategorized, General, Scales , add a comment Tag:, , ,

If you wanna be a shredder, you’ve GOT to know your scales so well, that you can even play them in your sleep! All the different fingerings and runs up and down the fretboard, you’ve gotta know them all! Keep working at it, and start memorising the fretboard, and you should be able to get it all down over time!