Major scale forms - 3 notes per string
There are many ways to play major scales on the neck of the guitar.
Each different way has it's advantages and disadvantages for different
situations. In this lesson we are going to take a look at a very
common major scale system on the guitar. Playing 3 notes of the
scale on every string.
There are going to be 7 different major scale fingerings in this
system. There are 7 different notes in a major scale before the
note names start over again an octave higher. (You may want to
check out the lesson in the music
theory section of this site on constructing
major scales.) So each form in this scale system is going
to start on a different note in the major scale. So as a way of
differentiating between the 7 different scale forms, I have given
each one a modal name based on the first note that is being played
on the 6th string. A modal what? Check out the lesson on modes
called "Modes
101". That will help you understand where the names come
from that I am going to use in this lesson.
You don't really have to name each fingering anything. As long
as you know where the root of the scale is. As with a lot of scale
forms that are played on the guitar, the root is not always the
first note that you play. Out of the 7 major scale forms covered
in this lesson, there will only be one that actually starts on
the root.
In this lesson I have written out the 7 positions of a G major
scale. The root of the scale is indicated in red. There are 2
versions of each scale. One version shows a suggested fingering
for the scale, and the other shows the scale degrees or functions. Keep in mind that there are other possible ways to finger these scale forms, and you should do your own experimentation as well as try the suggested fingering. Try to learn
these in order. Just think of each scale fingering as a piece
of a puzzle. Each of these scale forms fits right into the next
form. Take a look below how the "Ionian Form" of the
G major scale starting at the 3rd fret, and the "Dorian Form"
starting at the 5th fret share some of the same notes. The higher
part of the "Ionian Form" is the lower part of the "Dorian
Form".
Ionian
Form
Dorian
Form
Don't try and and learn all of these scale forms at once. Learn
one at a time. Practice them, write melodies and improvise
with them. This lesson refers to these as "major" scale
forms, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. These could be
considered 7 different natural minor scale forms. See the lesson
on natural
minor scales. Also these could be 7 different forms of any
of the major scale modes. See the Modes
101 lesson. It just depends on what note within the
scale form you are thinking of as the root. If you don't fully
understand the concept of how one scale form can have so many
different names, don't worry....you will. Often as you are learn
a subject that has so many different sub-topics like music, you
have to partially understand a lot of things before you can fully
understand anything. So read and reread those lessons
that I have referenced above.
These scale forms do require some stretches, so you will need
to make sure that you keep your left hand thumb low.....about
in the middle of the back of the neck.
Page
2, Ionian scale form 
Major
scale forms - 3 notes per string - jump zone
|
