|
|
 |
The Whole Guitar Neck Mapped Out
by Adam St. James -
www.AdamStJames.com
Most guitarists spend their entire musical life soloing out of just
one or two scale patterns, typically at the 5th and 12th frets, depending
on whether they are playing in the key of A or E. How boring that is
for the listener, and really, how boring that must be for the guitarist.
There are only seven different scale patterns that cover the entire
neck of the guitar in any key. Learning them all is not only easy, it
is mandatory for anyone who wants to develop into more than your typical
hack lead guitarist.
Once you know the seven patterns, all you have to do is slide them up and down the neck to play in any other key.
Remember that if you slide one of the patterns up two frets, you must slide all of the patterns in that key up two
frets so that they work together. And even better, when you learn the seven patterns in one key, you have actually
learned two keys, one major and one minor, because of the theory of relative majors and minors (see tip #12 in the
book "101 Guitar Tips: Stuff All The Pros Know And Use" for more information).
These seven scale patterns are labeled based on the first note on the low string of each pattern and its relation
to the root note C. So the pattern that begins on C at the 8th fret on the sixth string is Pattern One.
Each of the other patterns correlates with a scale step in the key of C major, so the pattern that begins
with the open low E string is actually Pattern Three because it begins on E, the third step in the C major scale.
For more on the scale numbering system, see tip #2 in 101 Guitar Tips.
This method will make transposing to other keys easier, and will aid in learning the notes in each key.
Note about fingering: On Patterns like #1, 2, and 4, where you skip a fret between the first/second and second/third note, use
1 - 2 - 4 fingering.
Here are the seven scale patterns in the key of C major/Aminor:
Note from the author: "The Whole Neck Mapped
Out" is the No. 1 lesson from my best-selling instructional book,
"101 Guitar Tips: Stuff All The Pros Know And Use." This is the
most important guitar-based knowledge I have to share, and I stress
it with all my private students. 101 Guitar Tips includes many tips from
celebrities such as B.B. King, Joe Satriani , Steve Vai , and more,
from interviews I've done throughout the years. The book comes with
a CD loaded with audio examples and play-along/jam tracks.
| |
|
|
Interactive Polls
Have you had arm or hand problems?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
