The Basics of Guitar Scales

Article by Bernice Eker

Perhaps no one would contest that almost every man has had the desire to learn how to play the guitar in his early years.

Perhaps this is due to the fact that in our time, guitars are pretty much available anywhere and that guitars are a lot cheaper and portable than pianos and other musical instruments.

Guitars are also a lot easier to learn than other musical instruments. Add to this the fact that many rock icons and country music stars use guitars. Although it is sad that many who started did not pursue it, it is still compensating to know and realize that we will never run out of good guitar players in the world.

Learning the guitar scales is not for beginners. This is for people who know how to play the guitar, even in the basic ways only, and want to further improve their musical prowess. If you are not yet aware of the different guitar parts, then perhaps you should start at the basics before learning the scales used for guitar music.

It was always observed that there are 12 sections on the guitar’s musical octave. These divisions are called semitones. To give a further definition, an octave is called so if one note or sound is twice as high as another one. When looking at the guitar, keep in mind that that each fret or division is a semitone.

This means that there is a total of 12 frets in regular guitars. You will find that sometimes there are more than these in other guitars. Another thing to remember is that one scale starts and also stops at each octave. You may have observed that others use a “capo” when playing the guitar.

This means that what they press as a chord is pressed farther from the nut after they have tied something around the guitar. This is for experts who understand the differences of the octave and the scales. They also do this to play a different key.

Accordingly, there are seven modes for the major scale. For the minor scale, there are only three modes. There are other guitar scales called the blue, pentatonic, and the whole tone scale. India and Spain introduced the diminished and other scales.

Pentatonic ScalesMany will say that this type or mode of scale is the least complicated of all. This is precisely because the pentatonic scale is only using five notes instead of the standard seven notes. One should never miss in learning the pentatonic scale because this is crucial in learning the other modes of scales.

There are two types of the pentatonic guitar scales: the major and the minor. Accordingly, the major scale is a lot more complicated than the minor scale. The difference is that the minor scale is shifted three frets from the major scale pattern. The major scale is commonly used in songs or music meant for the church.

The Blues ScaleThe blues scale is like a modification of the A Minor Pentatonic Scale. This is done by adding a note to the pentatonic scale. This is done simply to alter a common note or scale, thus adding flavor to the music.

About the Author

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www.erniehawkins.com Root Hog or Die by Harlem Hamfats arranged by Ernie Hawkins for acoustic fingerpicked guitar in the Piedmont style, includes Ernie Hawkins – guitar and vocals; Joe Dallas – trombone; Roger Day – tuba; George Heid – washboard; Marc Reisman – harmonica. Live performance recorded at: Rex Theater, Pittsburgh, PA. Root Hog or Die is featured on Ernie Hawkins’ CD, Bluesified available at: www.erniehawkins.com Learn more about and connect with Ernie Hawkins at http © Copyright Ernie Hawkins 2010 This project is partially supported by a grant from Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed by the Heinz Endowments; the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; and the Pew Charitable Trusts; and administered by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. www.pennpat.org Ernie Hawkins Biography For many years Ernie Hawkins has been playing concerts, clubs, blues and folk festivals, workshops, colleges, museums, parties, fist fights and millennium celebrations in the United States, Canada, Japan and Europe and at every stop in the road from A Prairie Home Companion to Antone’s to the Madrid Jazz Festival. He has played with blues greats such as Son House, Mance Lipscomb, Fred McDowell, Jim Brewer, Rev. Gary Davis and many others. Ernest Leroy Hawkins was born in Pittsburgh PA in 1947. In the ’50′s he had a paper route, a beagle and a Roy Rodgers harmonica (which he still has somewhere). He first learned country guitar …
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Introducing The Twelve Bar Blues Chord Progression – Learn To Play The Blues

Learning the blues

I came across the Blues in a flea market! More than twenty years ago, a vinyl LP in orange-ish colors caught my attention. I took it home and from the very first second of listening to “Broke Down Engine” I fell in love with it. The recording was Dave Peabody & Co – Blues in Brussels, from 1977.

And blues really is something amazing. With all the guitar riffs and licks as well as long guitar solos, this music has a special location in my heart.

The twelve bar blues chords

But you have to start at the beginning to be able to learn how to play the blues. And a good start would be to learn the traditional 12 bar blues chord progression. This term is from the number of bars in many blues songs.

If you understand and master the twelve bar progression, you will be able to jump right in with nearly any blues jam session.

Ballads usually are about minor chords. But Blues in its turn certainly is the master of dominant seventh chords. And as far as I can tell the most common chords are set in the key of A major. The actual blues chords to use in this case are E7, A7 and D7.

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You play them like this:

E7

e 0|—|—|
B 0|—|—|
G |-1-|—|
D 0|—|—|
A |—|-2-|
E 0|—|—|

D7

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

A7

e 0|—|—|—|
B |—|-2-|—|
G 0|—|—|—|
D |—|-1-|—|
A 0|—|—|—|
E x|—|—|—|

Those 3 guitar chords stand for the I, IV and V scale steps in the key of A. Quite a few blues songs have only those 3 chords. And that’s great to understand if you want to play in different keys. Now you know you should play the D7 when someone holds up four fingers to you. This means “play the IV chord!”

So, the “magic” blues chord progression in this case looks most of the times like this:

|  A7  |  A7  |  A7 | A7  |
|  D7  |  D7  |  A7 | A7  |
|  E7  |  D7  |  A7 | E7  |

You can actually play the V chord in the 2nd measure for variations.
|  A7  |  D7  |  A7 | A7  |
|  D7  |  D7  |  A7 | A7  |
|  E7  |  D7  |  A7 | E7  |

You can customize the turnaround (the final two bars) in several ways. An example: | A7 D7 | A7 E7 |
Blues Chords – Playing The Cool 12 Bar Blues

But keep in mind you will discover almost endless variations. But once you get the hang of the 12 bar blues, you are well prepared to drill down a bit deeper down into the exciting blues world.

So there you are – the 12 bar blues chords. To help you to translate these chords to other keys, take a look at this table of chords in the keys A, E, D and G.

Key    (I)    (IV)    (V)

E    E7    A7    B7
A    A7    D7    E7
D    D7    G7    A7
G    G7    C7    D7

Good luck and happy bluesing!

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Guitar Setup Kit

Tools that make learning to play more fun, easier to understand and provide experiences that would not otherwise be possible should be a top priority.Guitar Setup Kit Here are three categories of educational guitar gifts that are worth consideration.

Guitar Music Slow Down Devices: ( – 0 USD) When a guitarist reaches the advanced-beginner stage it is very common to want to learn to play popular songs. It can be difficult to listen to a song at full speed then figure out which notes and chords to play. This is especially difficult when the song contains a fast or complicated solo.

Slow down devices play back dvds at much slower speeds without distorting the pitch of the song. Often a difficult part of the song can be set to continuously loop until it can be conquered. Two basic varieties are available. One is software that you load on your computer and the other is a modified DVD player.

Jam tracks or Backing Tracks: ( – 0) There is nothing more fun then playing lead guitar with a recording of a full band in the security and comfort of your own bedroom. Jam tracks are available in two versions; with and without the lead guitar part built in. They are also available in just about any genre of music from blues, rock, country and jazz, just to name a few.

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Video Guitar Lesson DVDs: ( -0) There has never been a time in history where so many options have been available for learning to play guitar. No longer do you need to settle for the inconvenience and expense of being taught by a randomly selected local guitar instructor. Now it is possible to inexpensively learn in the comfort and convenience of your own home with Guitar Lesson DVDs.

One of the most exciting parts of these courses is that the instructors are often experienced professional guitarists that also have a passion for teaching. These instructors would normally not be available to the average student if it were not for the invention of guitar courses on DVD.

Video Guitar Lessons come in many forms but there are two that are most prevalent. The first is an all around, thorough beginner through intermediate course that teaches both acoustic and electric guitar playing with a taste of many different popular styles.

Secondly there are many courses available that specialize on specific styles of music and techniques. Examples of these are blues, rock/metal, lead, improvisation, acoustic, electric, bass, classical and many more.

Since the quality and thoroughness of these courses vary greatly, it is a great idea to visit guitar lesson review websites to learn which are the good ones and why. Also, make sure that the these instructional dvds have a money back guarantee if your favorite guitar player is not satisfied for any reason.

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