I am totally lost at this lesson. Everything was good up to this point. Followed along with the videos well, can do the Note Circle from memory, have filled in the Major Scale Worksheet several times… but when I got to this lesson it’s like I’ve fallen off a cliff.
Here’s where I’m confused (I think). What is the relationship between the notes on the Major Scale Worksheet and Pattern 1 of the Major Scale? I’ve tried several times to make sense of it and I just don’t see it. Thanks.
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I’m assuming you are able to fill in the worksheet correctly using the formula for the major scale - TTSTTTS
For the key of G major, we have the notes G A B C D E F#
We could play all these notes on the same string. On the 6th string we would play the G on the 3rd fret, follow the T/S formula and end back on G at the 15th fret.
3 - 5 - 7 - 8 - 10 - 12 - 14 - 15
G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
We can now lay out those same notes across all the strings. This allows us to play a scale in a certain area of the neck.
For pattern 1 of G major, this area is from fret 2 to 5.
The first eight notes of the pattern are the same ones as the ones we played on one string. But the pattern continues by repeating the notes in a higher octave.
So by playing the scale in a pattern, rather than on the same string, you can easily span two octaves and play legato/faster.
Other patterns exist in different areas. Every pattern has its own character and benefits / disadvantages. This has to do with the way the chord tones fall under the fingers.
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Hi to all the theory learners,
I started my guitar journey 1 year ago and realized that some theory will help me improve my playing. There are chord shapes, minor pentatonic patterns, major and minor scales patterns etc. Most can be found on Justin´s amazing webpage. What would be very helpful for me is something like a big cheat sheet that I can put next to my guitar, helping me to remember a certain pattern without having to look it up on the webpage (usually not knowing where to start).
I found a good ressource here (Reddit - Dive into anything) but some of the patterns differ from Justins. Wouldnt a cheat sheet be a great addition to Justin`s Tools?
All the best,
Nik
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Justin’s goal is to teach you how to play guitar. Learning scale patterns is part of the learning process. Cheat sheets are a crutch and don’t help in the learning process.
You should be learning and using these pattern one at a time.
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Hey Nik,
I understand what you’re saying, but in the long run, learning the intervals on the fretboard will give you far greater knowledge, understanding and practical application. Make the intervals your goal, rather than the patterns. In this way, you become your own teacher, and the learning starts to compound pretty quickly.
The scale patterns, chord shapes etc are just a reflection of these intervals at work.
Absolutely nothing wrong with having some diagrams here and there, especially in the initial stages; but I’d be using them as a temporary measure for confirmation purposes of your own construction.
Cheers, Shane
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This is a small cheat sheet I printed off and placed on a music stand. It’s from JG’s website, but I added some coloured boxes to emphasise how the patterns overlap and to show the relevant CAGED chord within the pattern. Note, the numbers on the top patterns are finger numbers and those on the bottom pattern are the interval numbers. [ mod correction - scale degree numbers, not interval numbers - see a similar misunderstanding addressed here
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So why do we go to strings 3,2,1? strings 6,5,4 give you the do, re mi, fa, so, la, ti, do. isn’t that the end? why are we continuing on the other strings.
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Within any given fret span (say frets 2-5 for the G major sale pattern 1 E-shape) there sit more than one octave span of the G major scale itself.
Including the lowest available sale note of F# (fret 2 of the 6th string) to the highest available note of A (fret 5 of the 1st string) the scale spans:
F#, G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G, A
17 scale tones in total.
All CAGED scale pattern shapes have 17 scale tones.
The scale patterns blend and merge together giving across the entire guitar fretboard a huge scale span of notes.
Why limit the options when there’s so many notes from low to high?
I have no idea honestly. just trying to get a handle on the bare basics. justin starts the lesson by stating the major scale is do re mi fa so la ti do, but then continues on past the “do” for many more notes (that dont sound anything like do re mi). my first rodeo with theory past grade 1 and 2.
Okay, your confusion is understandable.
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do is one octave starting and ending on the same note with an octave between them.
That last Do can represent the end of one iteration and the start of a new iteration in a continuous chain or loop.
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do
Do can represent the end and start of ocatve cycles of the major scale endlessly for many repeats.
… Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do …
@LesPaulMoreRay think of a piano. The white note span 6 octives but only contain 7 notes. The 6 strings of the guitar used in the scale pattern is 2 of those octives plus a few extra note to complete the pattern.
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Thanks you Richard for posting this. It is a very clear chart and the colours help a lot.
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Looking at major scale pattern 1. if you did not have the red on circle 2, how would you know that was the root note, and not the one in the circle 1.
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Scales, whether major or minor, are defined by the intervals between the scale degrees. If you recall the major scale pattern, it goes like this beginning from the root note:
T - T - S - T - T - T - S
C major scale: C D E F G A B (C)
If you compare the scale diagrams against this formula, you will find that the notes fretted with the 1st finger cannot be the root notes of the given major scale. For example, check the intervals in pattern 1 starting with the lowest note indicated on string 6 and going up one octave:
S - T - T - S - T -T - T
Notes of the C major scale: B C D E F G A (B)
Does this look like the major scale? Yes it does, although the last semitone interval has been moved to the beginning. Since only natural notes are played, it cannot be anything else but the C major scale. However, the first note played was B - it is part of the scale, but not the root note.
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Thanks a lot for your good explanation
Hello Stein. Thanks for subscribing to Justin’s Music Theory course, and welcome to the Community.
Good question.
The red for root note is a universal convention - you will very rarely see a scale pattern without the root note being shown in red.
Also, as you learn more scale patterns, you will come to know that the lowest possible note is not necessarily the root note.
Plus, as you come to learn each scale pattern in turn, you will elarn and practice and play it starting and ending on a root note so the knowledge will become embedded.
Supposing you simply wanted to be able to figure it out without a guitar in hand but with some prior knowledge about the major scale. I shared some diagrams in a post above (it is definitely worth readng this topic from the first for a lot of useful information) that could help.
This shows the notes of the G major scale (repeated) with the interval spacing shown below - the major scale formula.
Here is a neck diagram showing the first 12 notes of the G major scale on just the low E string (the neck runs out of frets after that). It also shows the intervals as Tone or Semitone below the diagram.
Here is the full G major scale pattern 1 with green lines between the notes showing Tone or Semitone. There is an issue when the pattern jumps from one string to another but the concept should be clear enough to understand.
I hope that helps.
Cheers
Richard
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Hello Richard,
I think there is a small mistake in the last graph, shouldn’t we have a tone after the E on the 2nd line?
As usual, your explanations help a lot, thank you!
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Yes, that is an error on my part.
Good spot.
I will try to find the original and edit or redo it.
Cheers
Richard
You also missed the semi tone green bar between B and C on the G string
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