which guitar scales should I learn first?

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I played guitar for a year or so when I was younger but didn’t ever learn any scales or anything. I’d like to get a better understanding of music and how it all fits together and have had a look at a few websites but find they have too much info I don’t know where to start. If anyone has any recommendations about techniques for understanding scales and which scales to tackle first I’d really appreciate it.

What the hell? Don’t listen to Mr. Stab. How the frak could the minor scale be easier to learn than the major scale? They are essentially the same thing, except the root note is different…. There are 5 box pattern shapes to learn. These 5 shapes work for Both Major and Minor scales, in every key. Learn those 5 shapes and you’ve learned more than Mr. Stab, I guarantee it, because he wouldn’t tell you to learn the Minor scale before the Major scale, if he truly understood this. He would also know that every major scale has a relative minor scale, meaning they use the EXACT same notes, but that "root" note is different. For instance, the Key of C major has CDEFGAB in the key. Play these 7 notes starting with C, and you’re playing in the key of C major. The 6th note of a Major scale is also called the Relative minor, or just "the Minor scale"… so, the 6th note in this scale is ‘A’, right? Right… .Ok, so just simply start with A, and write the rest of the notes in succession… i.e., ABCDEFG. This is called A minor scale.
— Ask Mr. Stab how remembering that is going to be easier than C Major, when they have the exact same notes? The only reason why we call these different names, is because when you play any Major scale starting with that "root" note (in this case, we started with C), your ears will perceive a "happier/brighter" sound. Now, start with the A note to play A minor, and your ears perceive a sadder/darker sound.

The Major scale is the mother of all scales and should be learned before anything else… Why? Because when you learn it, the rest will be simple to learn, since they are based off it.

The major scale has 7 notes in it. The scale and any scale can be represented by a formula. Start anywhere on the neck and play this W, W, H, W, W, W, H… and repeat from beginning. W means Whole step or 2 fret intervals, and the H means half step, or 1 step interval. (The first note you start on is the root note, for example, start on the 8th fret of the E string. That is a C note (your root note, and is going to be . Move down to the 10th fret, which is 1 Whole step and you’
– Remember that the minor scale starts on the 6th note, right? SO you can figure out the minor scale formula by starting with the 6th note in the formula… so it looks like this: W, H, W, W, H, W, W

I hope I didn’t confuse you. Don’t start with the Minor scale. If anything, start with the Major scale in the Key of C and G. Learn the 5 box patterns for the Major scale. (If you do that, you’ll notice that when you get to the minor scale, you’ll see that the 5 box patterns are the same).

From there, you’ll want to learn the Minor pentatonic scale, because that’s based off of the Minor scale (it simply takes away 2 of the 7 notes… Penta means 5, so you have a 5 note scale)… and then the Blues scale is based off of the pentatonic scale by adding 1 note to give you a 6 note scale (which makes Mr. Stab wrong.. he said you add 1 note to the minor scale, which would give you an 8 note scale). Then, you can dive into the Harmonic minor, which is the Minor scale, but they change 1 note… and then the Melodic Minor scale changes 1 more note again off of the harmonic minor scale…. or I guess you can say that would be 2 note difference from the Minor scale..

Last, most songs aren’t in minor scales, like Mr Stab suggests…. unless all you listen to is sad emo music, where they play in the Minor scale because they are trying to give off a sad sound.

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So, recap:
Major Scale in C and G (pay attention to the 5 box patterns)
Relative Minor scale a.k.a. The Minor Scale
Minor Pentatonic scale (used a lot in blues and rock solo’s)
Blues Scale
*Harmonic Minor
**Melodic Minor
– I put a star next to the last two because they are advanced scales and are hardly ever used. I see them a lot in Neo-classical metal.

If you want to read more on how the different keys are made up, and thus, give you more insight on how scales are built, check out something called the Circle of 5ths.
Meanwhile, look into these websites:

http://www.zzounds.com/item–ESPMH417

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/search.php?value=scales&search_type=lessons

http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_scales.php


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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Mr. Stab September 14, 2010 at 1:54 am

everyone will tell you to learn the Major scale. i disagree, personally, because when i first started out, the Major scale made no sense. why? because the majority of rock/pop/blues music is based around the Minor scale. i think the Major scale is just confusing for newbie guitarists, as it often won’t sound like anything they want to play.

i think it’s best to start with the minor and blues scales (basically the same thing with one extra note in the blues). to make things easier, start out with the Minor Pentatonic (you can find all these via. Google), which is the Minor scale with some notes removed.

after you’ve worked out the Minor, work out the Major by moving up 3 frets (say you’re starting from the 5th fret for minor, start from the 8th for major). you’ll realise it’s the same shape, just starting from a different place. repeat and you’ll have a sh*tload of scales known as "Modes".

remember: music theory is just a way of translating a language that you were born with onto paper.
References :
Experience, and just my 2 pennies. What worked for me may not work for you.

Adam D September 14, 2010 at 2:33 am

What the hell? Don’t listen to Mr. Stab. How the frak could the minor scale be easier to learn than the major scale? They are essentially the same thing, except the root note is different…. There are 5 box pattern shapes to learn. These 5 shapes work for Both Major and Minor scales, in every key. Learn those 5 shapes and you’ve learned more than Mr. Stab, I guarantee it, because he wouldn’t tell you to learn the Minor scale before the Major scale, if he truly understood this. He would also know that every major scale has a relative minor scale, meaning they use the EXACT same notes, but that "root" note is different. For instance, the Key of C major has CDEFGAB in the key. Play these 7 notes starting with C, and you’re playing in the key of C major. The 6th note of a Major scale is also called the Relative minor, or just "the Minor scale"… so, the 6th note in this scale is ‘A’, right? Right… .Ok, so just simply start with A, and write the rest of the notes in succession… i.e., ABCDEFG. This is called A minor scale.
— Ask Mr. Stab how remembering that is going to be easier than C Major, when they have the exact same notes? The only reason why we call these different names, is because when you play any Major scale starting with that "root" note (in this case, we started with C), your ears will perceive a "happier/brighter" sound. Now, start with the A note to play A minor, and your ears perceive a sadder/darker sound.

The Major scale is the mother of all scales and should be learned before anything else… Why? Because when you learn it, the rest will be simple to learn, since they are based off it.

The major scale has 7 notes in it. The scale and any scale can be represented by a formula. Start anywhere on the neck and play this W, W, H, W, W, W, H… and repeat from beginning. W means Whole step or 2 fret intervals, and the H means half step, or 1 step interval. (The first note you start on is the root note, for example, start on the 8th fret of the E string. That is a C note (your root note, and is going to be . Move down to the 10th fret, which is 1 Whole step and you’
– Remember that the minor scale starts on the 6th note, right? SO you can figure out the minor scale formula by starting with the 6th note in the formula… so it looks like this: W, H, W, W, H, W, W

I hope I didn’t confuse you. Don’t start with the Minor scale. If anything, start with the Major scale in the Key of C and G. Learn the 5 box patterns for the Major scale. (If you do that, you’ll notice that when you get to the minor scale, you’ll see that the 5 box patterns are the same).

From there, you’ll want to learn the Minor pentatonic scale, because that’s based off of the Minor scale (it simply takes away 2 of the 7 notes… Penta means 5, so you have a 5 note scale)… and then the Blues scale is based off of the pentatonic scale by adding 1 note to give you a 6 note scale (which makes Mr. Stab wrong.. he said you add 1 note to the minor scale, which would give you an 8 note scale). Then, you can dive into the Harmonic minor, which is the Minor scale, but they change 1 note… and then the Melodic Minor scale changes 1 more note again off of the harmonic minor scale…. or I guess you can say that would be 2 note difference from the Minor scale..

Last, most songs aren’t in minor scales, like Mr Stab suggests…. unless all you listen to is sad emo music, where they play in the Minor scale because they are trying to give off a sad sound.

So, recap:
Major Scale in C and G (pay attention to the 5 box patterns)
Relative Minor scale a.k.a. The Minor Scale
Minor Pentatonic scale (used a lot in blues and rock solo’s)
Blues Scale
*Harmonic Minor
**Melodic Minor
– I put a star next to the last two because they are advanced scales and are hardly ever used. I see them a lot in Neo-classical metal.

If you want to read more on how the different keys are made up, and thus, give you more insight on how scales are built, check out something called the Circle of 5ths.
Meanwhile, look into these websites:

http://www.zzounds.com/item–ESPMH417

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/search.php?value=scales&search_type=lessons

http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_scales.php
References :

LucasMan September 14, 2010 at 2:45 am

The best place to start is the major scale. Simply put: it’s the basis for western music.

Once you’ve learned the major scale, you can start learning how chords are built, the basics of harmonic progression, and lots of other things.

I recommend learning this major scale shape first:
http://0.tqn.com/d/guitar/1/5/d/G/major_1st_posn.gif
This shape makes it easier to see how your basic barre chords are built.

Don’t listen to that other guy talking about how "most" rock/pop is in minor keys, that’s just ridiculous. While I’d bet money that a majority of rock/pop songs are in a major key, I’m willing to say it’s about half and half. However, what cannot be argued is the fact that music students have learned the major scale first for hundreds of years. Minor key harmony can be more complicated than major keys, and it’s important to take things step by step.

I recommend picking up a basic theory textbook or getting yourself a knowledgeable teacher. In the mean time, these websites are both excellent resources:

http://www.angelfire.com/music/HarpOn/
http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/primer/

The first one is a site for harmonica players, but the information in the "theory" section is applicable to any instrument.
References :

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