Scale help


rtb67
Registered User
Joined: 06/24/13
Posts: 10
rtb67
Registered User
Joined: 06/24/13
Posts: 10
02/22/2015 5:19 pm
When playing ascending or descending scales,is there a formula to tell me where the next note is? I know on a single string its whole step, whole step, half step.....
Is it just the knowledge of the notes in the position I'm playing for determining the next note played. I saw something in the core lessons where Chris said something like " one string down and four frets back". What's that about? Help😂
# 1
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,368
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,368
02/23/2015 2:12 pm
Originally Posted by: rtb67When playing ascending or descending scales,is there a formula to tell me where the next note is? I know on a single string its whole step, whole step, half step.....

Yes, it's always to same formulas; depending on if you are playing major or minor (diatonic or pentatonic). The trick with the guitar is that since you can often play the same note in more than one place you can "double back" & create the same series of notes in many different fretboard patterns.

It is as you correctly wrote the knowledge of the notes in the position your playing. I encourage you to go back & look at my lessons in GF2 that explicitly explain this in detail.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=363
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=743

After that, when you are ready, you can look at the next step: finding those patterns all over the fretboard.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=453
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=887

However, before you go through all of that, keep this in mind: it's much better to know just one scale pattern that you can actually use to make music, than 3 or 4 patterns that are just overwhelming things you are trying to memorize but have no practical use for.

So, learn one of those patterns & practice it. Really get it down & use it, or part of it, in a piece of music. Then go forward & learn another one!

Hope this helps. Best of success!
Christopher Schlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor

Christopher Schlegel Lesson Directory
# 2
rtb67
Registered User
Joined: 06/24/13
Posts: 10
rtb67
Registered User
Joined: 06/24/13
Posts: 10
02/23/2015 5:56 pm
Thank you Chris for your response. I will practice all in those lessons you attached.
# 3
icebreaker1588
Registered User
Joined: 01/08/08
Posts: 67
icebreaker1588
Registered User
Joined: 01/08/08
Posts: 67
03/02/2015 8:01 pm
Originally Posted by: rtb67Thank you Chris for your response. I will practice all in those lessons you attached.



Those lessons really helped me out! It was almost magic how it happened. lol You start repeating those patterns over and over...then a week or 2 later your fingers all of a sudden know where to go!
# 4

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