I would put it very simply, do you want to learn to play scales or do you want to learn to play music?
Learning how intervals sound and how they are associated with different styles of music to me is probably the most important aspect of whatever style of music you are interested in.
I got very frustrated with learning scales and modes and other peoples music, I went away from all of that and learned what I wanted to do by:
a) listening to it and identifying the intervals being used for phrases and riffs
b) start to improvise using that knowledge
c) stringing the pieces I had together to create a song
Blindly learning anything without putting it into practice for your own purposes isnât good for your progress. Intervals are much easier to make sense of in any piece of guitar music than just a scale, learning intervals also helps a great deal if you do want to play the music of others, it helps to transcribe what is being played.
Bear it in mind that this is my own experience, it probably wonât suit everyone!
Yet here you are asking about scales. If you truly know this you wouldnât be asking. Pick any note on the neck as a starting point and play the theory 101. If you can play the major scale from that note you already know that scale and itâs intervals. Time to use that knowledge to make music.
Great subject! Iâm taking jazz lessons at the local community college and asked my instructor the same question.
His strong recommendation was to go through the six patterns we are working on, forward and backwards, In any key using a metronome.
Then to pick one pattern and go through the Circle of Fifths. Your finger position varies as you go up and down the fretboard. It helps identify your strengths and weaknesses and gives guidance as to locations on the fretboard to work on or stay away from. All this if you have time of course.
Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention that has really helped me was to go by the numbers and not to worry about the notes. This way I always know that 3-4 and 7-1 are the half steps.
Isnât it? Or perhaps the question is more - isnât improving dexterity and improving the mind-muscle connection of notes & their relationship useful? I feel like it is.
I wouldnât expect you to remember where everyone is at Richard - Iâve done plenty of musical experimentation with patterns 1 - 3, and backwards and forward in thirds, at a reasonably brisk tempo (just measured it linearly - at least 240bpm). I was more thinking if itâs important to know scale and note position up and down the fretboard or intervals between notes in a limited area. I know theyâre both useful - and of course songs are more important.
Thanks for the well thought out post. And makes sense on a single guitar with chord decorations performance - the notes need to be close to the chords.
Plenty of theory in the theory course - that would be the place to start. Although Justin does pepper in a bit here and there throughout his other lessons, then google can help deep dive any areas.
Playing music of course, which is most of what I do. Sounds like you think having the sound of intervals programmed in your brain is important.
Being a bit condescending there stitch. I said TTSTTTS is theory 101 (for the major scale). Programming the fretboard and intervals into fingers and mind across 6 strings is something else. There is a lot I donât know about scales and intervals, hence the question. I was after opinions and thoughts rather than an ultimate answer.
A different perspective there - learn the patterns first, then circle of fifths. Interesting. Thanks!
Yeah, he says Circle of Fifths for everything you do. After two months I now know where every note on the fretboard is!! Yahoo!
Then you know more than you think. Playing the major scale in thirds is playing each chord in that scale one after another in order. Try this simple exercise, play a 1 4 5 chord progression (loop or backing track.) Over the 1 play the 1 3 5 intervals over the 4 play 4 6 1 over the 5 play the 5 7 2. Those are the chord tones or Major chord tones. Now do the same with a 2 3 6 chord progression those are the minor chord tones. The rest of the note can be use as color tone to make what youâre playing more interesting. Then mix up the chords using 4 or 5 chords progression and do the same exercise. Slowly start adding other notes from the scale until you start hearing patterns you like. These are phases.
Practicing this relationship between note of a scale and the chords within that scale develops your ear and the finger muscle memory will follow.
The pattern doesnât matter because itâs the same notes.
Thatâs a pretty impressive speed
In a nutshell, what Rick @stitch is describing here is the Re-Active Listening lesson in the Major Scale Maestro module.
Well worth a watch if you havenât already.
Not really.
Just watched the lesson and what Justin is teaching is trying to find the chord tones. Jk already can play the major scale in 3rds. So heâs already playing in chord tone. Iâm talking about using that knowledge.
Itâs a good lesson to go along with the exercise though.
This is more of what Iâm trying to explain using the exercise.
https://www.justinguitar.com/guitar-lessons/arpeggios-why-how-which-when-ar-101
In Justins lessom heâs talking more in a blues context and using a 7th arppegio where JK was asking more about Major scales which are more melody based but the concept is the same only using stacked 3rd not including the b7
Ah, you got me there! That arpeggio lesson is the only video on the entire planet that wonât play on my old iPhone!
I started (and subscribed) to the PMT course and got up to end of Grade 3. Not got much further as itâs not exactly riveting stuff! I did say that I would do Grade 4 PMT this year but havenât got very far.
Yes I do, if you can âhearâ in your head what you want to play it does make it much easier to play what youâre trying to play, for me where I learned to play way before any of this wonderful information was available it was the only way really to learn something that you wanted to play. It also helps to learn pitch and be able to identify where on the neck itâs most likely being played.
I came here to fill in the stuff that I didnât know and was shocked how much I had missed out. My rhythm guitar playing wasnât that good, and there were lots of other things that I didnât know. Thereâs no doubt in my mind that without going through it I wouldnât have been where I am now. But I do feel that once youâve got to a reasonable level of competence and confidence youâre much better starting to do your own thing rather than just learn others compositions.