A simple question LOL
When learning scales, what is the general consensus on what to learn first and then going forward…
Learn all of the Minor Pentatonic scales first in all patterns including blues scales then move onto Major Scales.
Or, learn the complete set for each e.g. Learn the Major and Minor of A then move onto the next one?
I know the A Minor/D Minor, all patterns including blues, should I then move onto E Minor and so forth. Once I have all the minor embedded in my tiny brain LOL then only move onto Major Scales and then lastly Arpeggios.
I can improv in A, D and BM - the reason for BM is I am learning the blues and it’s used a lot by BB King etc. Learning “The Thrill has Gone” - Nearly finished learning all the solo parts for the whole song.
It sounds like you are doing ok Rachel, And Justin has lots of related lessons for all you mention and lots of blues so maybe follow a few of the lessons cheers Hec
I’d say it depends on what type of music you want to play and maybe if you’re more or a rhythm guitar player or want to do solos.
long babble - only read if bored
Me, coming rather from pop music and having had “a look” at the piano lots of years ago, I started with the white keys and most common scale, the major C. Most do start there, I think? Then, on guitar, the next important for me was G major - the first pattern is a rather easy shape low on the fretboard (There’s also only one black key! aka one sharp note involved) , and A minor pentatonic, also E minor pentatonic, but the A minor pentatonic is so much more used.
But you remind me to continue my scale exploration and practice! Phew - the guitar has so many different fields to put work in!
Maybe not exactly what you are looking for, but maybe if you follow the lessons in order and come across them, that would have been an answer for me and I would not have learned most of the scales first, but that was before I came to Justin.
The order would/should then automatically have been clear .
After watching the video @roger_holland posted, it sounds like you are on the right path. You learned specific scales to help you play the music you love and you are able to improvise and play leads over them. You have now motivated to work on the Bm blues scale as BB King is one of my favorites.
I’d say keep going down the path you have been following. If there are other greats you want to play, I’d say did what you did for BB King and identify if they lean towards a particular scale and learn that one.
Do you know all the notes on the fret board? I may be wrong, but I would think that, since you know a few of the scales in all positions, if you fully know the fret board you may find it easy to simply move the scale based on which you want to play.
Thank you both for replying. Had a look at the video and I do agree, I’m on the right path. Learning the correct scales to improve my improvisation is the key as I’m into the blues, I’ll fine tune my A, D and BM scales, licks etc. then move onto E as it good for std 12 bar blues
I spent 5min a day learning the notes on the fret board, part of my practise routine. Use a website https://random.bretpimentel.com/ which does random notes so I find it helpful.
@rachelcoles The smartest way to learn scales is learn and understand the major scale first. Everything in music comes from the major scale and by understanding it you will know every scale, mode, chord comstruction etc.
The easy way is learn the minor pentatonic scale so you can noodle away years of your life playing simlpe solos but note quite understandy why it works.
All these scales are the same pattern just different starting points. All scales are movable so once you learn 1 pattern you know it in all 12 keys.
This is why understanding the major scale is so important.
+1 to what @stitch said. Learning the scale formulae (for major and minor) and using them to find the notes is one thing. Learning scale patterns is another thing. I think that without the basic theoretical background (major scale theory) and the ability to make music with at least one pattern, both are of limited use.
(Plus, you will find that each major scale also has a parallel minor scale that has the same notes. Of course, they look different on the fretboard. And the pentatonic scales are just subsets of the 7-note scales.)
Funny enough I know the G Major Scale pattern one as I use this for my “minimum finger movement exercise”… So I can practise my noodling and jamming on that pattern as well LOL - just kidding. Actually, I am doing the Music Theory course and learning about the Major Scales.
I have briefly looked at Justin’s Major Scale section which is also based around the G Major Scale and he says once you know pattern one, it’s best to practise jamming/improvising over a G Backing Track. It will help my Blues improv especially if I can jam over G. Once mastered, I will look at the rest. I know the C Major Pent. Scale and the A minor have the same chords and the C Major has B/F. I will go through Justin’s Major Scale series as well and understand the theory more.
This is what drives me nuts with online Teachers including Justin. They don’t tell you the patterns are the same for all 12 Keys.
If you know pattern 1 of the G major scale you know pattern 1 of all 12 keys. The pattern is movable so if you move it up 1 fret you will be playing the G#/Ab Major scale pattern 1, Move it up 1 more fret and you will be playing the A Major scale pattern 1.
Now that you know the A Major Scale pattern 1 you can figure out the A Major pentatonic scale. The intervals of the A major scale are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, the intervals of the A Major pentatonic scale are 1 2 3 5 6 and the intervals of the minor pentatonic scale are 1 b3 4 5 b7
So you see once you know the Major scale all the rest can be figured out easily. But you need to know Major scale pattern 1 inside and out. This make learning the rest of the scales in every pattern very easy.
Learning to use them to make music is a whole other story but you need to start some where.
The reason music Teachers teach the pentatonic scales first is because they easier to learn and to use.
But learning and understanding the Major Scale opens up music in general and just make learning easier over all.
So don’t just stick to the G major scale move it around the neck this will help you to learn the notes on the E strings as well.
Ask the right questions and you get the right answer. Thank you for the explanation, I had a light bulb after reading it. Looked at the scales document I created and it suddenly clicked into place. I was initially on the right track with the way I was learning the scales. Learn pattern one, then figure out the remaining patterns as I knew the chords and therefore it also helped my fretboard knowledge. You made it so simple to remember. Happy days. I’ll give it a go tomorrow and see how I get on. Major Scales, here I come LOL
I do appreciate the help.
Ditto on the Major scale as the framework for it all.
Justin teaches the Major scale first, for the reasons outlined here by others.
Justin really emphasises to learn it, and learn it very well; it will form the basis of ALL your learning going forward. And by really learning it, he means the scale, not just the patterns; they are incidental.
Looking back after only 5 years of playing, I’m very grateful it was presented to me in this way. The ongoing developmental benefits are substantial.
That’s not correct. I only followed theory here and Justin mentioned the patterns somewhere pretty much starting with the major scales, ANd that it’s the same, just higher or lower on the neck… probably it was teaching C or G I think. Just - I was lazy with theory since more than a year, I don’t remember where it was exactly
Edit: @stitch I am not at ease with the above statement, because I am not wanting to offend you, nor anyone else and usually put things in a more subtle way, plus leaving room for my own possible error. I am quite certain that there’s not a single person not having been wrong when they truly believed they were right, and for myself I’m even sure.
Justin teaches the open Em pent, open C major then the A minor and G major scales first and doesn’t mention that the patterns are movable until the Major Scale Maestro which is grade 4.
How can you be sure to you remember that exactly? For you it’s longer ago than for me!
WHen I was in grade 3, he renewed quite a bit of it… Maybe you took it before and it wasn’t there when you did grade 3?
I really am not happy contradicting you, you know a lot more than me concerning guitar things and are always helpful!
What I did yet is grade 3 and just a few fun lessons of 4 and then theory until grade 3 finished I think. It was somewhere in there, starting to learn the major scales, but I won’t relisten to everything to prove it.
Yeah, I can’t recall exactly when Justin mentioned that the pattern was the same for all keys, but I do know I had grasped that concept right from the get-go. So he must have made it clear quite early in the course.
Rachel, based on Justin’s lessons, I would say that neither of these is the “general consensus” on what to learn first.
Justin recommends (and I agree) that you should learn one of the 5 patterns of a scale, then learn how to make music with that one pattern, then learn a 2nd pattern, then learn to make music with it, etc., etc.
The choice of which to learn first (Pentatonic patterns, Major scale patterns, etc) depends on what kind of music you are most interested in playing FIRST. If you are interested in playing Blues, I’d recommend learning the Penatonic patterns first.
FYI, the (Major) Pentatonic scale is simply the Major scale with 2 notes removed.
In my case, I’m learning the Pentatonic patterns and the Major scale patterns in parallel. I have one 5-minute practice item to practice a Pentatonic pattern, a 5-minute practice item to practice making music with that pattern (usually, learning and using licks over a backing track), a 5-minute practice item to practice a Major scale pattern, and a 5-minute practice item to make music with that pattern (usually figuring out a vocal melody to a song I already know how to play).
I do like you idea of the practice…might incorporate that into my routine. I do practice licks etc on certain patterns while jamming and i enjoy playing a song I’ve learnt over a backing track to vary it.
I must say @stitch explanation on the scales was great. Looked at the Major Scales today and within 30min I had a clear idea of how to play all the Major Scales and Major Pentatonic in pattern 1 no problem. Working out patterns 2-5 will be easier now. This will allow learning songs, jamming in keys easier.
On a side note…
It must be hard for any guitar teacher (mainly online) to know what exactly to teach and when etc. because everyone one of us has different goals, learning speeds, ambitions, styles etc. we want to learn on the guitar.
That’s why the JG forums are great, varied experiences, knowledge and loads of tips and tricks
The main goal is…
we become better guitar players than we were yesterday
for the whole song.
and most common scale, the major C. Most do start there, I think? Then, on guitar, the next important for me was G major - the first pattern is a rather easy shape low on the fretboard (There’s also only one black key! 
after reading it. Looked at the scales document I created and it suddenly clicked into place. I was initially on the right track with the way I was learning the scales. Learn pattern one, then figure out the remaining patterns as I knew the chords and therefore it also helped my fretboard knowledge. You made it so simple to remember. Happy days. I’ll give it a go tomorrow and see how I get on. Major Scales, here I come LOL