guitar scaling pattern

guitar scaling pattern

Learn Guitar Scales Youtube

We all do. Everything we play on the guitar comes out of our scales-just as everything we write comes out of the Roman alphabet. So (and this is no big revelation) soloing or improvisation is simply a matter of disassembling our scales into smaller chunks and reassembling them in an order and a style that creates the mood or effect we wish to hear.

Learn Guitar Scales Youtube

So how do you play solos that don’t sound like scale practice?

The first thing you need is patience. If you are just beginning to learn how to play lead, chances are you are starting out by playing scales. In fact, odds are you are starting learning some sort of pentatonic scale. So, it only makes sense that the first attempts you make at playing lead are going to sound exactly like…scales. That’s right. That’s to be expected. You are simply playing what you know. And that’s alright.

Keep playing scales. Don’t stop studying scales just because your lead-playing sounds like scales. Keep learning new scales. Keep learning your scales in all 12 keys. If not all 12 keys, then at least the five most popular guitar keys-C, A, G, E and D. In other words, don’t ever stop studying your scales-they are the basis for your fundamental musical knowledge.

Pro basketball players practice layups and free throws daily. Martial artists-even masters (especially masters) practice their most basic punches and kicks daily. And you should be practicing your musical basics daily as well.

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The second thing you can do is copy. Learn other people’s leads. Listen to CDs and work out the lead parts. Steal from all styles-not just the genre you are interested in. The more you steal from others-the less your improvisations will continue to sound like pure scales and the more they will begin to sound like your stolen solos. And that puts you one step closer to the final goal.

The third thing you can do is put in your time. That’s all. Keep studying different scales. Keep collecting musical ideas from others. And keep practicing. That’s all. It’s just a matter of time.

And then, one day you will pick up your guitar and lay down a solo that is totally your own. Sure, it will still be based on those scales that you spent hours learning and practicing. It will still have elements of those countless licks, solos and riffs that you copied from others-but you will have put your signature on it. And that’s what makes it your own.

When we first begin learning to play lead guitar, all of our improvisations may sound like scales. That’s okay. We have to start somewhere. And we should not let this discourage us from continuing to practice and study our scales. But, in addition, we must continue to collect musical ideas from others. The goal is not to sound like other accomplished guitar players. The goal is to use what they have given us as a basis for our studies. As we do, we will eventually begin to develop our own style.

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Learn Guitar – Pentatonic Scale Patterns to practice – How to solo on guitar

Guitar Scale Guru: The Scale Book – Your Guide for Success! (Creative Concepts Publishing) $8.00 All of the essential diagrams, drawings and information concerning theory, scales, and their uses in one easy-to-use book! Covers the five essential scales for today’s guitarists – major, major pentatonic, minor, minor pentatonic and blues – with a unique…