The G Major Scale
Take a look at the diagram below:
This is how the end of the guitar neck would look like if your were to hold it facing you.
If you play all these notes in a row starting on the lowest note and ending on the highest note, you would have played a G Major Scale. (don't worry about the major/minor stuff right now.)
This scale also repeats itself an octave higher, so if you play all the notes in a row, you would have played the scale twice and covered two octaves. Octave means the same notes at a higher or lower pitch. We will not venture into theory and sound, just learn the stupid scale. It will help build up the muscles in your fingers and wrist, provide for a great little warm-up exercise, it sounds pretty, and others will think you know what you are doing.
The numbers on the dots above represent what FINGERS are to play these notes.
Notice that finger #1 covers all and any notes played on the 2nd fret.
Notice that finger #2 covers all and any notes played on the 3rd fret.
Notice that finger #3 covers all and any notes played on the 4th fret.
Notice that finger #4 covers all and any notes played on the 5th fret.
Lay you hand so that your fingers flatly cover all the strings from frets 2 thru 5.
Each finger has it's own fret to cover. Play notes on the 4th fret with your 3rd finger only. (ring finger, if you have one. For those who are "appendagedly-challenged", contact the teacher or consider playing slide guitar.)
Start with your 2nd finger on fret 3 of the lowest string (Low E-6th string) and play up.
DON'T MOVE YOUR HAND OUT OF POSITION!
I told you it was easy!... what?,...having a little trouble plucking the note at the same time?
Well that's to be expected at first. Break it down in a smaller form... Start with just the notes on the low string, once you get them down, go on to the next string. Start from the beginning again and see how far you can get before you F*&%k it up. I think this is where the artistic frustration is first truly experienced. In less than an hour, you can learn this scale fully, low to high, high to low, and be well on your way to building up your strength and control. Just remember not to move your hand!
When picking the notes, at first, do whatever you can to hit the notes!...after you learn the scale you should alternate your picking strokes. Start by plucking the first note DOWN and the second note UP, third note DOWN, 4th note UP, and so on. This may feel awkward at first, but if you push your way through the "blocks" and start over, you will train your hand and fingers to execute this "pattern" of correct notes AND alternating picking.
This seems hard at first, but "over-with" & "used-to" in just a little while... I promise, just like the blisters.
The above scale is GUITAR TABLATURE form.The notes displayed here represent the FRET NUMBER for the string that they are on.
Play this scale ascending and descending.Memorize this easiest of all scales and play it everyday.
You can do this one without even looking after an hour!
(This scale is the same as the others pictured, but in TAB form.)
In the above scale, each separate note is numbered.
There are 12 notes in music. That's it. Then they are repeated in higher or lower OCTAVES. Think of a piano and picture it in your mind. There are 88 keys on a full size piano, a little over 7 octaves. If we broke down the piano keys into groups of twelve, the notes would repeat themselves every OCTAVE.
FURTHERMORE, we are only going to use 7 notes out of the available 12 per octave... and then repeat them up or down...till we run out of room! (frets, keys, valves,etc..) If we were to play All twelve notes in a row, and then repeat them at higher or lower octaves it would sound just like you would imagine, kinda cool, a little boring and not too awfully useful at this point.
The scale above follows a pattern starting on the note "G". (3rd fret-6th string)
The pattern is, and this applies to most every musical instrument- 2-2-1-2-2-2-1.
Designate a "starting note" and then follow the pattern. This gives you the "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do" scale.
If you started on Note "C" and went 2 notes up, the next note would be "D", two more up, "E", one more up gives you "F", two more, "G", two more, "A", two more, "B", and one more brings us back to "Do", uh, I mean "C"... Yes, there are only 7 LETTER NAMES for music notes. A,B,C,D,E,F,G... And don't worry about the SHARPS and FLATS right now... just learn the damn scale so you can get better quicker.... But just in case you are wondering... A CHORD is made up from NOTE NUMBERS 1-3-5 of the scales, and play at the same time. That's what a chord is,2 or more notes played at the same time. So now you know where chords come from... they are the 1st, 3rd, & 5th tones of a scale. (& sometimes others!)
Below is a G scale with the NOTE NAMES listed for those of you who might be piano players or such, who might already know music, but not guitar.
STRUMMING HERE
This is how the end of the guitar neck would look like if your were to hold it facing you.
If you play all these notes in a row starting on the lowest note and ending on the highest note, you would have played a G Major Scale. (don't worry about the major/minor stuff right now.)
This scale also repeats itself an octave higher, so if you play all the notes in a row, you would have played the scale twice and covered two octaves. Octave means the same notes at a higher or lower pitch. We will not venture into theory and sound, just learn the stupid scale. It will help build up the muscles in your fingers and wrist, provide for a great little warm-up exercise, it sounds pretty, and others will think you know what you are doing.
The numbers on the dots above represent what FINGERS are to play these notes.
Notice that finger #1 covers all and any notes played on the 2nd fret.
Notice that finger #2 covers all and any notes played on the 3rd fret.
Notice that finger #3 covers all and any notes played on the 4th fret.
Notice that finger #4 covers all and any notes played on the 5th fret.
Lay you hand so that your fingers flatly cover all the strings from frets 2 thru 5.
Each finger has it's own fret to cover. Play notes on the 4th fret with your 3rd finger only. (ring finger, if you have one. For those who are "appendagedly-challenged", contact the teacher or consider playing slide guitar.)
Start with your 2nd finger on fret 3 of the lowest string (Low E-6th string) and play up.
DON'T MOVE YOUR HAND OUT OF POSITION!
I told you it was easy!... what?,...having a little trouble plucking the note at the same time?
Well that's to be expected at first. Break it down in a smaller form... Start with just the notes on the low string, once you get them down, go on to the next string. Start from the beginning again and see how far you can get before you F*&%k it up. I think this is where the artistic frustration is first truly experienced. In less than an hour, you can learn this scale fully, low to high, high to low, and be well on your way to building up your strength and control. Just remember not to move your hand!
When picking the notes, at first, do whatever you can to hit the notes!...after you learn the scale you should alternate your picking strokes. Start by plucking the first note DOWN and the second note UP, third note DOWN, 4th note UP, and so on. This may feel awkward at first, but if you push your way through the "blocks" and start over, you will train your hand and fingers to execute this "pattern" of correct notes AND alternating picking.
This seems hard at first, but "over-with" & "used-to" in just a little while... I promise, just like the blisters.
The above scale is GUITAR TABLATURE form.The notes displayed here represent the FRET NUMBER for the string that they are on.
Play this scale ascending and descending.Memorize this easiest of all scales and play it everyday.
You can do this one without even looking after an hour!
(This scale is the same as the others pictured, but in TAB form.)
In the above scale, each separate note is numbered.
There are 12 notes in music. That's it. Then they are repeated in higher or lower OCTAVES. Think of a piano and picture it in your mind. There are 88 keys on a full size piano, a little over 7 octaves. If we broke down the piano keys into groups of twelve, the notes would repeat themselves every OCTAVE.
FURTHERMORE, we are only going to use 7 notes out of the available 12 per octave... and then repeat them up or down...till we run out of room! (frets, keys, valves,etc..) If we were to play All twelve notes in a row, and then repeat them at higher or lower octaves it would sound just like you would imagine, kinda cool, a little boring and not too awfully useful at this point.
The scale above follows a pattern starting on the note "G". (3rd fret-6th string)
The pattern is, and this applies to most every musical instrument- 2-2-1-2-2-2-1.
Designate a "starting note" and then follow the pattern. This gives you the "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do" scale.
If you started on Note "C" and went 2 notes up, the next note would be "D", two more up, "E", one more up gives you "F", two more, "G", two more, "A", two more, "B", and one more brings us back to "Do", uh, I mean "C"... Yes, there are only 7 LETTER NAMES for music notes. A,B,C,D,E,F,G... And don't worry about the SHARPS and FLATS right now... just learn the damn scale so you can get better quicker.... But just in case you are wondering... A CHORD is made up from NOTE NUMBERS 1-3-5 of the scales, and play at the same time. That's what a chord is,2 or more notes played at the same time. So now you know where chords come from... they are the 1st, 3rd, & 5th tones of a scale. (& sometimes others!)
Below is a G scale with the NOTE NAMES listed for those of you who might be piano players or such, who might already know music, but not guitar.
STRUMMING HERE
Notice that finger #1 covers all and any notes played on the 2nd fret.
Notice that finger #2 covers all and any notes played on the 3rd fret.
Notice that finger #3 covers all and any notes played on the 4th fret.
Notice that finger #4 covers all and any notes played on the 5th fret.
Lay you hand so that your fingers flatly cover all the strings from frets 2 thru 5.
Each finger has it's own fret to cover. Play notes on the 4th fret with your 3rd finger only. (ring finger, if you have one. For those who are "appendagedly-challenged", contact the teacher or consider playing slide guitar.)
Start with your 2nd finger on fret 3 of the lowest string (Low E-6th string) and play up.
DON'T MOVE YOUR HAND OUT OF POSITION!
I told you it was easy!... what?,...having a little trouble plucking the note at the same time?
Well that's to be expected at first. Break it down in a smaller form... Start with just the notes on the low string, once you get them down, go on to the next string. Start from the beginning again and see how far you can get before you F*&%k it up. I think this is where the artistic frustration is first truly experienced. In less than an hour, you can learn this scale fully, low to high, high to low, and be well on your way to building up your strength and control. Just remember not to move your hand!
When picking the notes, at first, do whatever you can to hit the notes!...after you learn the scale you should alternate your picking strokes. Start by plucking the first note DOWN and the second note UP, third note DOWN, 4th note UP, and so on. This may feel awkward at first, but if you push your way through the "blocks" and start over, you will train your hand and fingers to execute this "pattern" of correct notes AND alternating picking.
This seems hard at first, but "over-with" & "used-to" in just a little while... I promise, just like the blisters.
The above scale is GUITAR TABLATURE form.The notes displayed here represent the FRET NUMBER for the string that they are on.
Play this scale ascending and descending.Memorize this easiest of all scales and play it everyday.
You can do this one without even looking after an hour!
(This scale is the same as the others pictured, but in TAB form.)
In the above scale, each separate note is numbered.
There are 12 notes in music. That's it. Then they are repeated in higher or lower OCTAVES. Think of a piano and picture it in your mind. There are 88 keys on a full size piano, a little over 7 octaves. If we broke down the piano keys into groups of twelve, the notes would repeat themselves every OCTAVE.
FURTHERMORE, we are only going to use 7 notes out of the available 12 per octave... and then repeat them up or down...till we run out of room! (frets, keys, valves,etc..) If we were to play All twelve notes in a row, and then repeat them at higher or lower octaves it would sound just like you would imagine, kinda cool, a little boring and not too awfully useful at this point.
The scale above follows a pattern starting on the note "G". (3rd fret-6th string)
The pattern is, and this applies to most every musical instrument- 2-2-1-2-2-2-1.
Designate a "starting note" and then follow the pattern. This gives you the "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do" scale.
If you started on Note "C" and went 2 notes up, the next note would be "D", two more up, "E", one more up gives you "F", two more, "G", two more, "A", two more, "B", and one more brings us back to "Do", uh, I mean "C"... Yes, there are only 7 LETTER NAMES for music notes. A,B,C,D,E,F,G... And don't worry about the SHARPS and FLATS right now... just learn the damn scale so you can get better quicker.... But just in case you are wondering... A CHORD is made up from NOTE NUMBERS 1-3-5 of the scales, and play at the same time. That's what a chord is,2 or more notes played at the same time. So now you know where chords come from... they are the 1st, 3rd, & 5th tones of a scale. (& sometimes others!)
Below is a G scale with the NOTE NAMES listed for those of you who might be piano players or such, who might already know music, but not guitar.
STRUMMING HERE
The notes displayed here represent the FRET NUMBER for the string that they are on.
Play this scale ascending and descending.Memorize this easiest of all scales and play it everyday.
You can do this one without even looking after an hour!
(This scale is the same as the others pictured, but in TAB form.)
In the above scale, each separate note is numbered.
There are 12 notes in music. That's it. Then they are repeated in higher or lower OCTAVES. Think of a piano and picture it in your mind. There are 88 keys on a full size piano, a little over 7 octaves. If we broke down the piano keys into groups of twelve, the notes would repeat themselves every OCTAVE.
FURTHERMORE, we are only going to use 7 notes out of the available 12 per octave... and then repeat them up or down...till we run out of room! (frets, keys, valves,etc..) If we were to play All twelve notes in a row, and then repeat them at higher or lower octaves it would sound just like you would imagine, kinda cool, a little boring and not too awfully useful at this point.
The scale above follows a pattern starting on the note "G". (3rd fret-6th string)
The pattern is, and this applies to most every musical instrument- 2-2-1-2-2-2-1.
Designate a "starting note" and then follow the pattern. This gives you the "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do" scale.
If you started on Note "C" and went 2 notes up, the next note would be "D", two more up, "E", one more up gives you "F", two more, "G", two more, "A", two more, "B", and one more brings us back to "Do", uh, I mean "C"... Yes, there are only 7 LETTER NAMES for music notes. A,B,C,D,E,F,G... And don't worry about the SHARPS and FLATS right now... just learn the damn scale so you can get better quicker.... But just in case you are wondering... A CHORD is made up from NOTE NUMBERS 1-3-5 of the scales, and play at the same time. That's what a chord is,2 or more notes played at the same time. So now you know where chords come from... they are the 1st, 3rd, & 5th tones of a scale. (& sometimes others!)
Below is a G scale with the NOTE NAMES listed for those of you who might be piano players or such, who might already know music, but not guitar.
STRUMMING HERE
There are 12 notes in music. That's it. Then they are repeated in higher or lower OCTAVES. Think of a piano and picture it in your mind. There are 88 keys on a full size piano, a little over 7 octaves. If we broke down the piano keys into groups of twelve, the notes would repeat themselves every OCTAVE.
FURTHERMORE, we are only going to use 7 notes out of the available 12 per octave... and then repeat them up or down...till we run out of room! (frets, keys, valves,etc..) If we were to play All twelve notes in a row, and then repeat them at higher or lower octaves it would sound just like you would imagine, kinda cool, a little boring and not too awfully useful at this point.
The scale above follows a pattern starting on the note "G". (3rd fret-6th string)
The pattern is, and this applies to most every musical instrument- 2-2-1-2-2-2-1.
Designate a "starting note" and then follow the pattern. This gives you the "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do" scale.
If you started on Note "C" and went 2 notes up, the next note would be "D", two more up, "E", one more up gives you "F", two more, "G", two more, "A", two more, "B", and one more brings us back to "Do", uh, I mean "C"... Yes, there are only 7 LETTER NAMES for music notes. A,B,C,D,E,F,G... And don't worry about the SHARPS and FLATS right now... just learn the damn scale so you can get better quicker.... But just in case you are wondering... A CHORD is made up from NOTE NUMBERS 1-3-5 of the scales, and play at the same time. That's what a chord is,2 or more notes played at the same time. So now you know where chords come from... they are the 1st, 3rd, & 5th tones of a scale. (& sometimes others!)
Below is a G scale with the NOTE NAMES listed for those of you who might be piano players or such, who might already know music, but not guitar.
STRUMMING HERE
STRUMMING HERE