What scales to learn

pineappletrain
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:36 pm

I find scales being a great exersise for speed and teorie learning so what scales do you seem best to learn im a beginner and i only know blues scale in E i think im not eaven sure (E,G,A,A#,B,D,E,G,A,A#,B,D,E,G)
Ok i take back the part about the blues scale i have NO idee of what that is but it sounds like blues (starting on lowest E)
I have also seen some people whriting that i you should always ceep your thumb at the back of the neck playing all chords, should i always ceep my thumb in the same position playing chords or not ?


tovo
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:52 pm

Mate I'm going to have a go at answering your thumb question and if I say something inaccurate others will jump in.

The thumb is best kept toward the centre of the neck where it can apply best pressure. Having the thumb there also helps to keep a gap between the palm and the neck and helps ensure you can make chord changes with dexterity. The pressure you get from having a thumb in the centre of the neck really helps with barre chords for example. Sometimes, and the are examples in Neil's lessons, the thumb can be used on the low E for certain chords. There are a few really exceptional players who use their thumb a lot and I think that can be confusing for beginners as they hear nothing but advice about keeping the thumb behind the neck and then they see great players doing otherwise.

Hope that helps a little with your question.


pineappletrain
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:19 pm

Well i do keep my thumb at the back of the neck for most chords but for some chords i dont i change the position with my thumb, like when playing D major or Am i tend to move my thumb so its sticking out from the neck as if i was going for hitting the low E with the thumb but i dont touch it, for me it changes position playing sertain chords im not just sliding my hand left to right on the neck im also moving it somtimes up and down the width of the guitar neck by twisting the wrist of my hand.
hope you understod that
When doing barre chords i ceep my thumb behind the neck and my palm having some distance from it and the neck, but playing chords like D and Am my wrist twist somewhat and my palm thouches the neck.


wiley
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:23 pm



BigBear
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:35 pm

pineappletrain wrote:
I find scales being a great exersise for speed and teorie learning so what scales do you seem best to learn im a beginner and i only know blues scale in E i think im not eaven sure (E,G,A,A#,B,D,E,G,A,A#,B,D,E,G)
Ok i take back the part about the blues scale i have NO idee of what that is but it sounds like blues (starting on lowest E)
I have also seen some people whriting that i you should always ceep your thumb at the back of the neck playing all chords, should i always ceep my thumb in the same position playing chords or not ?

Oskar- the truth is you really need to learn all the scales!! But, it helps a lot to know that each key has scales all over the neck. It also helps to learn the 5 scale patterns instead of just the scale. A scale pattern is a set of scales repeated twice as you move from the bass notes to the high notes. But the really cool thing is once you've learned the five patterns, you can move them all over the neck for any key.

Another really cool thing is the major and minor chords have some common notes for example the key of C is the same as Am, the key of G is the same as Em. So once you learn five scale patterns you got all the keys and their relative minors!! It's getting easier by the minute, right? :laugh:

I would suggest learning the pentatonic (penta=5 notes) scale patterns first. Once you've got those mastered fill out the notes to get the whole scale.

Once you've got those regular scale patterns the blues scale is simply a flatted 3rd so there are two of those in every pattern (because the full scale repeats) to make the blues scale. In the key of C/Am, C-D-E, the blue note is E flat.

Once you've got the patterns learned it's just as easy to play in F# as it is in C or any other key.

Good luck and let us know if that doesn't make sense!

Cheers! :cheer:


pineappletrain
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:37 pm

Only watched part 1 but there is nothing about that in there guess it must be in part 2 or did i miss something in part 1


pineappletrain
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:43 pm

Than you bear, i dont understand how the scales work yet though im going through some theorie lessons in here, but do they cover everything like that or do i have to learn som of those things by myselfe ? Like different keys and what you play inte them, like someone askes me to play something in the key of C i have no idee what to do, exept for maybe playing the key C but thats it.
Is this cind of material in on the website ?


TGSuzanne
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:35 pm

It is best to learn all the major and minor scales and then you can go into blues, diminished and pentatonic scales from there, depending what type of music you will be playing. Some of the practicing of scales is meant to keep your finger technique up as well. If you "know" those scale patterns by rote, find your way around your instrument will be easier and the better your technique, the more you can relax while you play. It is important to stay relaxed so you can play fast and not injure your hands.


AndyT
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:20 pm

Start working your way through the Guitar Genius lessons. You will learn a huge amount about scales. Don't skip ahead though, or you may not fully understand it. Each lesson is based on the last one.

The second section Funformentals 2 is where you will find what you are looking for. Ooops... Sorry... Spelling. 'Fundamentals'. ;)

:laugh:


TGSuzanne
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Fri Nov 06, 2009 7:02 pm

pineappletrain wrote:
Than you bear, i dont understand how the scales work yet though im going through some theorie lessons in here, but do they cover everything like that or do i have to learn som of those things by myselfe ? Like different keys and what you play inte them, like someone askes me to play something in the key of C i have no idee what to do, exept for maybe playing the key C but thats it.
Is this cind of material in on the website ?
Look under the scales topic.....I've been adding information for you.

Suzanne


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