Guitar theory

I have been playing guitar for many years. I never learned how to play scales completely. I don't know which ones to learn. I've copied leads all my life. I finally found guitar tricks with overwhelming information. It's great but where do I start. I consider myself an intermediate guitar player as far as being a copycat. But I can't improvise. I get lost on the fretboard during a solo. Any suggestions. Thanks

Hey, there! Glad you are enjoying GT. :)

Originally Posted by: barry brightI never learned how to play scales completely. I don't know which ones to learn.[/quote]
If you haven't already you should start in the Guitar Fundamentals 2 course. I cover intervals & scales from a total beginner perspective.

http://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=2

Since you are an intermediate level player & have copied leads all you are after here is the conceptual understanding of how scales work. After chapter 1, then skip down to chapter 7 in which I teach systematic ways to practice scales.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=451

After you start getting the hang of the GF2 beginner scale exercises, then start to work on Anders's rock or blues courses. He does a great job of showing how to start making licks, riffs & melodies with very basic easy to understand scale patterns. And he uses chords often as a gateway into those ideas! You'll probably get the most out of starting at Level 2.

In rock, jump into chapter 2 where the lead ideas start.

http://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=rock2

In blues 2, jump in at chapter 1 where the scale ideas start. Then chapter 2 Anders applies those ideas to real blues licks!

http://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=blues2
[QUOTE=barry bright]I consider myself an intermediate guitar player as far as being a copycat. But I can't improvise. I get lost on the fretboard during a solo.

The way to approach improvisation is:

1. Know which scale(s) or key(s) you are working in.
2. Target chord tones.
3. Build a vocabulary of pre-established licks you can play in any given situation.

I cover some of those ideas in these tutorials.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=876
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=483
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=491

I cover the idea of how to approach them using pentatonic boxes as references in these tutorials.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=217
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=232
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=826
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=244

Hope this helps! Ask more if necessary & best of success with your guitar playing!

Originally Posted by: barry brightI have been playing guitar for many years. I never learned how to play scales completely. I don't know which ones to learn. I've copied leads all my life. I finally found guitar tricks with overwhelming information. It's great but where do I start. I consider myself an intermediate guitar player as far as being a copycat. But I can't improvise. I get lost on the fretboard during a solo. Any suggestions. Thanks

Start by learning the scales that your favorite guitar player use. If you're into old school blues you don't have to know all the scales steve vai uses.
It's really important to know what to do with the scale once you learn it. dont learn tho whole neck at once. try with one simple fingering pattern and than find a backing track and jam over, just playing scale slowly and listen, how the notes sound, do they sound right, or do the sound kind of off. or what feelings you get. in order to do that you really have to play slowly. mindlessly playing over a finger pattern will rob you of the ability to play anything meaningful.

I'm kinda like you. If I may assume so it it likely that "we" have an affinity for making the guitar useful for making music but there comes a bit of a wall of sophistication where we get separated from the people who came into the instrument's use through simply acquiescing to the laws of theory. That is not to imply that "acquiescing" didn't involve a ton of persistent hard work. I wonder however if the difference over time results in brain capacity growth that makes the rote learner more capable in the long run of developing the capacity to apply music entirely by it's technical nomenclature whereas the person who impulsively plays and "kinda" just gets used to hitting the right spots at the right time becomes somewhat handicapped.

People who learned the instrument and music of faith and sweat often think they can just tell the other type some theory that will change their capacity, but I think--being a 60 year old archetype of the "play by ear type"--that it takes a deeper commitment to thinking and working differently to catch up with those who have come in through the door of just doing what the book says. Good luck to us both.

Addendum to last post: What I've found as a "by ear" player who could fake it pretty well but hit that wall when it comes to understanding how guitarists who came into the game through just practicing the fundamentals like scales as a teacher might emphasize, is that the "by ear" player bulds up a number of bad habits that are hard to unlearn. Learning to play scales on faith that it will pay off is, in short, work. And many would-be guitar players want to have "fun"--not work.

Being of "sage age" I have developed some perspective that might help. Learning the fundamentals by rote is like being taught how to drive by just being told what a street is and what a traffic light is etc. Because of the traditional constraints of time (classes) and media (boo papers), usually no one teaches you how to THINK. And there comes a time when knowing the few kinds of scales guitarists use and the fingering positions up and down the neck, affords you the precious ability to think ahead (just like driving and knowing where you'll have to make a turn ahead or change lanes to be in the right place at the right time without error) so that you can exude that air of confidence other people admire so much.

Generally these are the major and minor pentatonic scales (which have five positions on the neck from the lowest root to the highest before you run out of frets), the blues scales, modes. By really getting these down, the next thing is to plan your playing according to the parts so that you'll be able to switch to the right position of the appropriate scale called for. When you are able to think ahead and apply these techniques confidently, you are developing the thinking necessary to be a guitarist. The more you can innovate but then return to the structure of a song the better you'll appear. Still, unlearning the fumble-finger practice of "playing by ear" or "faking it" and replacing it not only with knowledge of scales, positions and fingering but the mindset of being able to think ahead so that you'll know when and how to apply these is WORK. But because you already can make music, it is enjoyable work you can teach yourself. You just have to stay at it--the Internet is the best boon to learning ever to come along. You can answer every question and not take "do as I say" for an answer.

i'm in a similar position, been playing in bands for over 15 years but never knew any theory to do with scales etc... i always picked things up by listening but never really knew what i was doing. I can't say it's held me back as like i said ive been in multiple bands for over 15 years now but after being a member of guitar tricks for the last 18 months my guitar playing has improved massively and now i'm really starting to understand what i'm playing.

Once you learn the major and minor scale, then they all will use the same pattern. If you use the ultimate scale finder in the entire pattern view, you can change scales one step at a time and you will see the pattern is exactly the same just starting at a different position.