So down about my scales and learning in general 
for some reason my fingers are so clumsy despite finger stretches and finger gyms and chromatic exercises almost every day. Still having trouble getting my fingers to spread out onto each fret. Especially middle finger and ring finger want to be together and I get so frustrated I use my right hand to try to pry them apart! 
I guess I do get better but so slowly I donāt notice it from one day to the next. It also doesnāt help that I donāt fully understand the use of the scale patterns or how they relate to the caged system and ultimately what use it all is. I did the whole beginners course but I donāt think there was a lesson on CAGED unless I missed it? I feel like Iām missing something that should be obvious. That on top of the not being able to make my fingers go where I want them, I wonder if Iāll be stuck on grade 4 foreverā¦itās been a couple months now and I really want to move on but also I want to do things properly and not skip anything important. Rant over 
From memory, Justin uses the G major scale in his major scale intro lesson? I donāt know why he chose that, because itās a big stretch for a beginner. Try moving the scale two frets up to the A major scale. It requires much less of a stretch. Or the C major scale which requires almost no stretch at all. When youāve got the scale pattern internalised you can work your way back down to the G major scale for a bit of finger torture.
Thanks jacksprat! Itās definitely easier to do the scale further up the neck but even the C major scale isnāt completely comfortable for me. I guess I just need more practice.
Hi
Iām having a bit of trouble understanding the part about when ādescending the scale you go as low as you can.ā Iām not sure what as low as you can go means.
And, when ascending the G Major scale, doesnāt the scale end on the A note (5th string, high E string)?
Iāve done my major scale chart, and some other practical music theory. I understand that the major scale is 7 notes plus the octave (do re mi fa so la di do) and Justin mentions in the video that major scales are 16 notes.
And, Iāve counted out the 16 notes and they add up correctly haha.
Why am I not getting why the āAā while ascending and the āF#mā while descending are there?
Thanks
Andrew
Hey Andrew.
Justins instructions/ teaching here is essentially a choice made by Justin in how to initially practice the scale.
It simply makes it 16 notes up, and 16 notes down, then you go up 1 to the root and start again. Gets a rhythm going, and gets you used to hearing it all revolve that root note.
It also assists when starting to alternate pick the scale sequence. It will keep the āups and downsā in the same places on repeating iterations.
Cheers, Shane
Low as you can go means all the notes that are in the scale that you can reach from that position. So, that would include the F# (string 6, fret 2). Same with the high A note at the top of the pattern (string 1, fret 5).
As for the why, they are included in the pattern because they are notes in the scale. Thereās no rule that says the highest and lowest notes in a pattern must be root notes.
Also, as Shane mentioned above, there is a good reason for having an even number of notes in the pattern, regarding repeating the same picking pattern each time through the pattern.
I donāt understand why this is called E shape if we do the pattern in the key of G or A .
Hey Dave,
Its called the E shape because the E shape chord ( not actually an E major chord), sits right inside the pattern; in fact it defines the pattern.
Cheers, Shane
This may help you visualise why it is called the E shape. The diagram shows the E shaped Major scale in Key of G . If you imagine the 3rd fret to be the nut, the notes shown in blue and the root notes, it would be the same shape as the open E chord.
Each scale pattern in the CAGED system is based on the open chord shapes.
In this case we have another G Major scale but based on the C shape (Pattern 3)
Again the blue notes and the root notes correspond to the shape of the open C chord, where this time the 7th fret would be the nut and G and e are played as open strings and the thick E string not played.
Seeing the Open chords with each scale shape should help you to understand the naming convention.
Hope that helps
Hi group. I am still confused as to when I would play the major scalesā¦ā¦I have leaned all three along with x2 minor pent scales, but for backing tracks for blues I always go to the minor pent scalesā¦ā¦
Would I use these major scales for normal songs? Do you do riffs on these scales?
Any help appreciated
Blues is indeed a different story, but in theory the major scale is a perfect fit for many genres in Western music.
The natural major scale is a good starting point for any song thatās in a major key. Take any song in G major and play a little melody / riff using the G major scale. You should be fine.
However, often youāll see other scales being used that are derived from the major scale. Think of them as major scales with a certain flavor.
Country music uses the major pentatonic scale a lot.
For rock music, the mixolydian scale (the major scale with a flattened 7th degree) is a popular choice because it has āattitudeā. Some subgenres turn to the lydian scale (the major scale with a raised 4th degree). Et cetera.
I tend to think of scales as a palette of notes, rather than a fixed entity that is utilised in one type of music or another.
Major scales as a framework, can fit very well over major chords progressions, but elements of them can be used anywhere.
Major pentatonic is great in the Blues over Dom7 chords. That 2nd and 6th from the major scale can sound great over a Blues progression.
Lots of flavours, as Jeff said.
Cheers, Shane
Thatās amazingly profound to me.
Sorry folks.
Iām wearing my pedantic hat in writing this.
There are 17 notes in the major scale patterns Justin teaches.
The reasoning is simple.
Each pattern spans a certain number of frets. Included in each pattern are each and every note that the scale contains that can be found on those frets - inclusive of notes that are higher than the highest root note and lower than the lowest root note.
There is an advantage to having an odd number of notes - when you start the pattern with a down pick on the lowest root note and cycle all the way up and down and around it, you will end / begin the next cycle with a down pick also.