Guest post by Belle Arzadon

Photo by Brian Finifter

The Beginner’s Guide to Reading Guitar Scales

Guitar scales are a valuable tool for every guitarist. It’s never too early to start learning and memorizing guitar scales as these help you achieve a quicker and better grasp of guitar chords, play the lead guitar, and master many other guitar techniques.

C Major Scale

All lessons about guitar scales begin with familiarizing one’s self with the C Major Scale. This provides the foundation you need to learn other scales. The C Major Scale is composed entirely of natural tones or notes.

Naturally, the first note is the Major C. The next note would be D, E, and so forth until you find yourself back again to C. Now, just to remind you again, a Major scale has eight degrees: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C again. These respectively correspond to the numbers 1 – 8.

The eighth degree, which is the second C in your scale, is referred to as an octave. The first degree, on the other hand, which happens to be C as well in the Major C scale, is referred to as the root. Sometimes, it is also referred to as the “tonic” or “key note.” All scales are named after its root. Another term you should remember is interval, which is the distance separating one note from another.

All major scales have the same pattern of steps: Whole Whole Half Whole Whole Whole Half.

Once you’ve memorized this pattern, you’ll find it easier to write down scales and know every tone they’re made of.

Try testing this pattern out with the Major C scale. Start by playing the root with your first finger. Proceed towards the neck and subsequent strings. Notice how each note corresponds to the sequence of the pattern above. Play it again and this time, pay attention to the music it creates. Doesn’t it sound similar to the Do-Re-Mi melody you’ve grown up with? It should since that melody is based on the Major C scale.

Let’s practice the Major C Scale this time in the first position. If you recall, this position requires you to play notes belonging to the first four frets of your guitar. Pay attention to how the notes adhere to the pattern.

From Scale to Chord

You’ll now reap the first of many rewards for mastering guitar scales. By knowing how to create guitar scales, you’ll find it easier to master their corresponding chords. Simply start with the A minor, proceed to C, then go back to A minor. Practice this over and over and you’ll soon get the hang of it.

Looking for guitar and beginner piano lessons? Check out Belle’s latest at SherwoodMusic.org. Or read her latest post about bluegrass festivals at BeanBlossom.com.

Photo by Dan Coplan

Modes are both fascinating and totally confusing. I could go on for days about modal theory but this article is more about fun and giving you a taste of what modes sound like and how to play them. First, a basic introduction.

A scale is a series of notes, arranged by pitch, that starts at the root note (also known as the tonal center) and ascends or descends to its octave. Using A major as an example, an ascending scale looks like this:

A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A

A mode is similar to a scale in that it’s a series of notes, arranged by pitch, that starts at a root and ascends or descends to its octave. Rather than the root note being the first note of a major scale, however, a different note is used as the root. If you choose the 2nd note, which is B, and ascend the scale using the exact same notes as the A major scale, you get the Dorian mode – the 2nd mode of the series of seven (one mode per note). A major is the first mode (in this particular example) and is referred to as the Ionian mode. Dorian is the second mode and in this case is called “B Dorian”:

B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A – B

Start the scale using the 3rd note of A major which is C#. Guess what? Now you’re playing C# Phrygian:

C# – D – E – F# – G# – A – B – C#

Photo by by Gérard Farenc

Whether you are a musician on the move or have sold an old guitar on eBay, it is important to know how to ship a guitar properly. These delicate devices need to be properly packed for shipping so that they are not damaged.

For proper shipping of a guitar, it is obviously necessary to pack it properly.

The first and foremost step is to loosen the strings of the guitar by at least one step. While shipping, the strings might experience high tension and this can cause them to snap and cause unnecessary tension on the neck.

The next step is adding proper padding to the guitar in its case. Each section of the guitar’s main body requires a separate amount of padding. The lower portion is usually padded with one layer of bubble wrap or something similar. If you can fit it, I would even say to go for two layers. Rule of thumb here is that if the guitar can move around in its case, it can probably get broken during shipping.

The guitar’s neck is quite delicate and needs to be packed the most carefully. The padding of an electric guitar neck should be very thorough. The materials used for padding can be cotton cloths, folded newspaper, packing peanuts or anything else you see fit. Again, the guitar should not be able to move inside the case.

After packing the guitar neatly and snugly in its case, it is placed inside another cardboard box for shipping which is also filled with packing material. This is important as it prevents the guitar from all the bumps and jerks that it will be exposed to during shipping. In many cases, air bags can also be used, but they do not provide complete protection.

That’s about all there is to it. Make sure your strings are loose and that everything is properly padded. Taking a little extra time will make sure that your guitar makes it to its final destination in one piece. Oh, and get the insurance!

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Corey Palmer is a guitarist from Woodstock, NB Canada who has been playing for the past 20 years. During this time, he has been a member of many different bands ranging from rock, metal and even a little country. He currently jams with a band called gNosh. Email: coreypalmer@sharemyguitar.com

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Photo by iBjorn

Manage Your Free Time

You are a young guitar student. You have a guitar, a teacher, and a date set for lessons. However, one thing has seemed to escape your thoughts… creating your guitar practice schedule. When should you practice? Between work, school, friends, and family… where is the time to practice? Thank goodness that with just a little planning and time management, you will have enough time to practice and enough time for all of your other tasks.

Cut Out The Clutter

The first step is to find out what’s cluttering your time. Sadly, you can’t cut out school. However, there are other factors which come into play (these include your friends, family, and down time). Once you identify all of these factors then you can start rearranging your schedule to incorporate it. Try reducing friend time by about thirty minutes or so and reduce time with family by the same or more and then you have at least an hour to practice. This doesn’t have to be a daily occurrence. However if you wish, you may put in practice time daily. It also may be helpful to form a five day schedule during the week, leaving the weekend free, or you can make a schedule incorporating every other day. Choose whatever form of practice schedule it is, as long as it makes you feel comfortable and works within your lifestyle. One thing that may offer a slight hindrance to your practice flow is a work schedule. If so, try your best to make a practice schedule work around the job.

Photo by notsogoodphotography

Tune That Guitar!

The hard driving sound of a rock and roll guitar riff is unmistakable. However, there are so many styles and sounds of rock guitar. Each one has its own signature. For the amateur player, getting a good rock guitar tone is not easy.

New guitar players tend to make the same mistakes. Primarily, good tone and good sound come with the proper tuning of the instrument. Strings are also an important aspect of achieving that unique sound quality. Rookie players tend to use heavier gauge strings that may seem optimum for a harder rock sound. Though this may be true in some cases, newer players often cannot manipulate them in a skillful manner. This is due to the fact that heavy gauge strings are also hard on those virgin fingers. Tough skin and calluses need to develop by practicing regularly. Light gauge strings can create some of the best sounds in rock, and they are much easier to play.

Dial in the Right Sound

As far back as the 1950s, getting a good rock guitar tone meant having a quality electric guitar and a decent amp. The best electric guitars in the business during that era were Fender, Gibson and Rickenbacker. Back then it was more the guitar than the amp, but today good tone can come from many things.

Though vintage guitars are still the preferred instrument of most rock musicians, amplifiers have taken a giant leap forward in creating specific sounds themselves. Amp modeling has become a feature of some of the newest digital units. In some of the higher quality digital amps, sounds of specific guitars and amplifiers are used. For example, a newer amp with a modeling feature can mimic the sounds of a Fender Stratocaster or an old Vox tube amplifier. The digital quality usually comes fairly close to the sound that is produced by the guitar or amp that is being copied.

Using Effects Effectively!

Various pedals or board effects can also create a good rock tone. These adjuncts to the electric guitar can provide a myriad of sounds that can be custom made, and combined to form a more personalized sound. Some of these effects are built into the amp itself. The most common effects that create the best rock tones are distortion, chorus/flange, overdrive and vibrato. There are some others, but these additional guitar effects are main ingredients in that vintage rock guitar sound. However, in the end its all about practice and knowledge of the instrument itself that creates good sound.

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Corey Palmer is a guitarist from Woodstock, NB Canada who has been playing for the past 20 years.  During this time, he has been a member of many different bands ranging from rock, metal and even a little country.  He currently jams with a band called gNosh. Email: coreypalmer@sharemyguitar.com

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Did you ever want to learn to play guitar? Maybe you have a guitar that you do not know how to play, or you are thinking about getting one, but you know that guitar lessons can be expensive, and you just do not have the money. Well, did you know you could learn guitar online?

Photo by Y

Learning to play guitar these days means that you need an internet connection and an axe!

Google it

Learning guitar online is simple with all the information out there nowadays. With a simple search, you will discover that there are many and varied websites dedicated to teaching people how to play guitar. It doesn’t matter if you’re a complete beginner if or you have a lot of experience but still want to progress in your playing; with all the information there is to be found online, it’s easy to find websites that are perfect for your skill level. You will be surprised how easy it is for you to learn to play guitar online!

Get Your Video On

When it comes to websites that teach guitar, you have a variety of options. Some websites have video tutorials that you can learn from, while others use mainly written lessons. Some websites even have interactive “guitars” that you can use when learning. Since everyone has a different style of learning, it is up to you what methods you make use of when learning to play guitar online. Some people find videos help them more, while others who learn better from reading and seeing things in writing will naturally work better with written lessons. If you do not know which works better for you, it is a good idea to try both and see which one helps more. You may even find a mix of the two works best!

Now Start Jamming

Once you learn guitar online, you will be able to take your guitar out at parties, jam with your friends, or if you get really good, play at an open mike night. Maybe you can even join a band and start writing some songs. There are plenty of cool things you can do with a guitar, once you know how to play it. Think of how easy learning guitar online will be–you will not have to leave the house, you can do it in your pajamas, you can do it at anytime of the day or night (provided you don’t wake anyone up!). There is really no excuse not to try to learn from these online guitar tutorials. So, isn’t it time you took that guitar that has been propped up in the corner of your bedroom and made it into something more than just decoration?

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Most of my previous posts have been aimed at helping you understand how to move around the neck in a particular key so that you can break out of the typical pentatonic box for soloing or lead melody ideas. For this lesson we are going to use the same concept but in a totally different way!

Lead guitarist Zakk Wylde slinging a few of his Gibson Les Paul Custom model guitars

Today we will deal with symmetrical runs as well as chromatic ideas. Now we aren’t talking about car parts or some new yoga stretch but rather some cool and very different sounding patterns for you to try out. Symmetrical runs are favored by players like Eddie Van Halen and Zakk Wylde who always seem to find a way to make notes and passages sound out of this world and super interesting. An example of a symmetrical run would be something as seen below.

E 9 12 15
B 9 12 15
G 9 12 15
D 9 12 15
A 9 12 15
E 9 12 15

As you can see the same frets are used as you ascend up and across the neck. A common problem for some players is that these stretches aren’t exactly easy to make and take some getting used to. You may have to work on how far apart you can stretch your hand. Another important thing to work on is to try and use your first, second and pinky fingers when doing something like this.

It is very important that you understand what note you will resolve to. In the case of the lick above, you would resolve to a G. I would use a lick like this in an E minor or G major setting or lead passage. As you know if you’ve been following my posts, I’ve spent a lot of time explaining how to move around the neck in a certain key. A symmetrical run doesn’t sound like it’s in a key because technically it’s not. That makes it a challenge to use correctly since it’s important to resolve to a note in the key of which you are playing a song or jam in. Yet, at the same time it makes it sound really cool since it’s going against the grain of typical modal runs. Let’s take the example above one step further, and play this in triplets.

E
9 12 15
B
9 12 15 9 12 15
G 9
12 15 9 12 15
D 9 12 15 9 12 15
A 9 12 15 9 12 15
E 9 12 15

Doing something like this always comes across sounding really cool in my opinion. From here you can get into chromatics. Playing in chromatics means that you are playing every note in and out of the key you are in as passing tones to a note that is in the key you are in. The point here is to resolve to a note that is in the key you are in, but leaving the key in the middle using chromatic can lead to some cool ideas and tensions. Let’s skip the talking and get into the examples!

E 15 15
B 15 16 17 17 16 15 14 13 12
G 12

This is an example of playing in E minor but using the connecting notes to pair with the notes of the key to make an interesting musical statement. So last but not least lets combine a symmetrical run with chromatics and have some fun!

E
12 14 15 14 13 12 15
B
12 14 15 15 16 17
G 12 14 15
D 9 12 15
A 9 12 15 9 12 15
E 9 12 15

Work on this and you will be able to freely switch between staying in one key, or use these new ideas to expand and vary your guitar vocabulary!

Thanks for reading.

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Brian Marshak is a staff writer at SMG. Brian is also a guitar player and composer in Hollywood, CA. He began playing guitar at the age of six and is mainly self taught from guitar magazines, jamming with other players and learning songs from tapes and cd’s. Brian studied at the Berklee School of Music for awhile on scholarship but left school early to move to Hollywood to work as a professional musician. Since 2006 he has done session work, live showcases, and touring for various bands. Email: BrianMarshak@sharemyguitar.com

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As we have previously discussed, the A minor scales up and down the neck on each of the 6 strings. In our previous lessons we learned how to play a few cool licks that should help you begin to see how to open up the neck and move around.

Photo of Eddie Van Halen by Anirudh Koul

Here is another approach from an entirely different angle. That angle is the approach of using arpeggio shapes to open up the neck. Arpeggios are 3 note patterns that contain the 3 main notes of the chords they represent. For example, an A minor arpeggio would involve the notes A, C, and E which are the exact same notes that make up the chord. The only difference is that a chord contains more than one of some of those said notes and they are played simultaneously, while arpeggios are played one note at a time. Hence the phrase, arpeggiating a chord or arpeggiating a phrase.

Most people use the following shapes for arpeggios.

As an example we will use A minor:

E- 8 12
B- 10

Notice that the shape is like a V. All the frets are evenly spaced out as well.

Next is A major and that shape is as follows

E- 9 12
B- 10

Notice that again the shape is like a V, but this time the frets aren’t evenly spaced out as they are in the minor shape. The 9th fret on the high E string is only a fret away from the 10 on the B string.

So let’s move on, and see if you remember this

E– 0 1 3 5 7 8 10 12 13 15 17 19 20
B– 0 1 3 5 6 8 10 12 13 15 17 18 20
G– 0 2 4 5 7 9 10 12 14 16 17 19 21
D –0 2 3 5 7 9 10 12 14 15 17 19 21
A – 0 2 3 5 7 8 10 12 14 15 17 19 20
E – 0 1 3 5 7 8 10 12 13 15 17 19 20

Good, I hoped that you would. So, what are the chords that make up the A minor scale?

Well, we have the following

A minor (A, C, E)
B dim. (B, D, F)
C major (C, E, G)
D minor (D, F, A)
E minor (E, G, B)
F major (F, A, C)
G major (G, B, D)

Also notice that on the neck we have those exact same arpeggios.

Using the shapes I showed above I want to tab out the whole A minor scale on the B and high E strings.

D minor E minor F major G major A minor B Dim. C major D minor E minor

E- 1 5 3 7 5 8 7 10 8 12 10
13 12 15 13 17 15 19
B- 3 5 6 8 10
12 13 15 17

Simply put, I would like you to practice playing these notes and shapes up and back on the B and E string until you can start playing it and knowing which arpeggio you are playing. For example, take a chord progression of Am G F Am and loop it on some sort of recorder so that it is playing over and over again for a couple minutes. Then, I would like you to practice playing the arpeggios along with the chords because they literally fit along with the chords perfectly. This is because as I said, they are the same notes of the chords. After that you can work in some arpeggio shapes to your playing to go along with what you already have for some licks in the A minor scale!

When you get some minor pentatonic blues licks worked in with some arpeggios you have the making of some really cool and original playing ideas.

Thanks for reading!

Guitar Players are often responsible for adding harmony and structure to a piece of music. Harmony, in essence as we perceive it in music, is a balance of one or more notes within the given musical environment. As we think of this balance in terms of musicality, we often overlook the need for balance in the physicality of playing. Without this awareness we open ourselves up for the dissonance to overthrow the balance of harmony and cause physical discomforts.

“The best prevention is to stretch the hands and fingers before and after practicing or performing”

The most common physical threat to guitarists is RSI or Repetitive Strain Injury. There are many types of RSI (many commonly referred to as Carpel Tunnel, Tennis Elbow, or even Tendinitis) and the name says it all. Repeating particular scales or chords, especially ones that require some fancy finger-work, cause the muscles to overwork in one direction leaving the opposite muscles weak which in turn creates the imbalance which eventually leads to swelling, achiness, and arthritic pain. RSI is much like spraining a wrist or ankle, but in the case of guitarists the discomfort is usually experienced in either one of the first 3 fingers and or the palm near the thumb. Ignoring the early onset of RSI can cause some long-term difficulties, so it’s best to “nip that sucka in the bud” as soon as you feel it, or better yet start implementing some preventative measures now.

The best prevention is to stretch the hands and fingers before and after practicing or performing. There are several great resources for guitarists in regards to hand stretches but I will suggest one that is crucial. As I mention RSI is caused by over-straining the muscles in one direction, so by adding resistance and working the muscles the other way, we can correct this. So we fret pushing our fingers inward towards the neck so to work the opposite muscle group, place a rubber band over your fingertips and thumb (holding them all straight and touching the fingertips together) simply open and close the hand. The resistance of the rubber-band will help build the muscles that will balance out your fret hand (do this for your picking hand as well).

If you’re already feeling the pain of RSI then take a few days off from practicing, try to keep the fingers out straight and maybe even use an icepack (or a bag of frozen french fries from your freezer). There are many healthy ways to approach the healing process as well. Keep the joints hydrated by drinking lots of water. Supply the muscles, bones, and joints with all the nutrients they need to be strong. As a longtime student of the healing arts and dabbling herbalist I would recommend taking a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement and Glucosamine which will greatly help you heal fast and stay healthy. There are also many holistic herbs (ie: Devil’s Claw, Black Cohosh, Valerian Root, etc.) that can aide with the swelling and pain. But again, and most importantly be sure to practice proper stretching and exercise.

So practice with care and always play it safe. After all, your music is in your hands!

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Scott “SVH” Von Heldt is a staff writer for SMG. Scott is currently the lead guitarist for Brian “Head” Welch (ex-Korn) and has worked with members of White Zombie, Cirque Du Soliel and many others. In late 2008 he released the first book of his Mystic Art of Self-Discovery series entitled Mind Over Metal: The Musician’s Guide to Mental Mastery.

Email: SVH@sharemyguitar.com

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Let’s wrap this series up this week! We will be doing the lesson on the A and low E string today. These strings can be used in the scale to do some cool three note per string runs up and down the neck. I like to think of being able to know the whole scale up and down the neck so you can move around the neck effortlessly once it is learned.

Part 5 of  Unlocking the Neck will help to get you on your way to shreddin like a pro!

So lets get right to it!

A – 0 2 3 5 7 8 10 12 14 15 17 19 20
E – 0 1 3 5 7 8 10 12 13 15 17 19 20

As we have done in all of the lessons, I want you to do the following and practice sequences ascending up and then down the neck as follows, FOUR TIMES EACH. And please, use alternate picking! These posts have stressed repetition to gain confidence and knowledge on the neck, today’s lesson is no different.

Let’s start with the A string.

A —- 0 2 3 (4 times)
2 3 5 (4 times)
3 5 7 (4 times)
5 7 8 (4 times)
7 8 10 (4 times)
8 10 12 (4 times)
10 12 14 (4 times)
12 14 15 (4 times)
14 15 17 (4 times)
15 17 19 (4 times)
17 19 20 (4 times)

Now you descend the neck

20 19 17 (4 times)
19 17 15 (4 times)
17 15 14 (4 times)
15 14 12 (4times)
14 12 10 (4 times)
12 10 8 (4 times)
10 8 7 (4 times)
8 7 5 (4 times)
7 5 3 (4 times)
5 3 2 (4 times)
3 2 0 (4 times)

Next is the E string

E —- 0 1 3 (4 times)
1 3 5 (4 times)
3 5 7 (4 times)
5 7 8 (4 times)
7 8 10 (4 times)
8 10 12 (4 times)
10 12 13 (4 times)
12 13 15 (4 times)
13 15 17 (4 times)
15 17 19 (4 times)
17 19 20 (4 times)

Now you descend the neck

20 19 17 (4 times)
19 17 15 (4 times)
17 15 13 (4 times)
15 13 12 (4times)
13 12 10 (4 times)
12 10 8 (4 times)
10 8 7 (4 times)
8 7 5 (4 times)
7 5 3 (4 times)
5 3 1 (4 times)
3 1 0 (4 times)

So now we have the whole guitar mapped out as follows

E– 0 1 3 5 7 8 10 12 13 15 17 19 20
B– 0 1 3 5 6 8 10 12 13 15 17 18 20
G– 0 2 4 5 7 9 10 12 14 16 17 19 21
D –0 2 3 5 7 9 10 12 14 15 17 19 21
A – 0 2 3 5 7 8 10 12 14 15 17 19 20
E – 0 1 3 5 7 8 10 12 13 15 17 19 20

Time to learn how to blaze around the neck

Here is a basic A B C pattern up the neck in 3 octaves.

Practice this one ascending and descending

E 10 12 13
B 10 12 13
G 7 9 10
D 7 9 10
A 5 7 8
E – 5 7 8

Another cool take on the same pattern

E 13 12 10
B 13 12 10
G 10 9 7
D 10 9 7
A 8 7 5
E – 8 7 5

Here is a classic C major scale run using 3 notes per string

E – 10 12 13
B – 10 12 13
G – 9 10 12
D – 9 10 12
A – 8 10 12
E – 8 10 12

As you can see, adding these 3 note per string runs into your playing adds a few cool new tricks into your guitar playing vocabulary. I would recommend doing the following to best learn the notes on each string: practice the sequences up and down on each string, ascend on the low E, descend on the A, ascend on the D, descend on the G, ascend on the B and descend on the high E. After that, repeat and repeat and repeat!

Practice makes perfect, and learning this material is crucial. For the next step, I would experiment. See what kind of cool material you can come up with and I encourage you to send me some ideas back as I am always looking for next crazy licks!

Thanks for reading.

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Brian Marshak is a staff writer at SMG. Brian is also a guitar player and composer in Hollywood, CA. He began playing guitar at the age of six and is mainly self taught from guitar magazines, jamming with other players and learning songs from tapes and cd’s. Brian studied at the Berklee School of Music for awhile on scholarship but left school early to move to Hollywood to work as a professional musician. Since 2006 he has done session work, live showcases, and touring for various bands. Email: BrianMarshak@sharemyguitar.com

Like this post? Then you won’t want to miss the other awesome posts we have planned. Subscribe to Share My Guitar and get new posts delivered daily…for FREE!