How To Learn Guitar Scales - A Methodical Approach

Many beginners on the guitar first learn the technique of playing chords

. However, there will probably come a time when they want to be able to play tunes or melodic passages too. It is at this point that they will need to learn guitar scales. Scales are the basis of all melody as they are, quite simply, all the notes of a particular key played in ascending or descending order.

Whatever instrument you play, scales are important if you are ever going to master the instrument. Many people find the thought of playing scales daunting, but they shouldn't! The secret with scale practice is the 'little and often' approach. Spend just a few minutes at a time on a particular scale and then work on something else before returning to the scale later in your practice session.

Here are a few other suggestions which will guide you through the process of how to learn guitar scales.

POINT NO.1: - We are all different so you must find an approach that works for you. Bearing in mind the 'little and often' issue which I mentioned in the previous paragraph, you must have an overall plan of when and for how long your practice sessions will be. You can then incorporate your guitar scales method into that. This plan of action will obviously be dictated by your daily schedule and lifestyle. Do remember that without regular practice you will make very little progress on any aspect of learning the guitar. Practice sessions don't need to be lengthy as long as they are regular. Twenty minutes a day is far better then two hours on a Sunday and nothing on the other days of the week.

POINT NO.2: - Study just one scale at a time. Don't try to learn several simultaneously as that is likely to confuse both your brain and your fingers. However, once you have learnt a scale, keep going over it to keep it in your memory and continue to improve it. I have always recommended to my pupils that as they build up a few known scales that they play through all of them before turning to the one that they are currently studying.

POINT NO.3: - Make sure that you have access to good practice material so that you know the notes to play and how to play them. Whether you have a teacher, a tutor book or you are using an online course, it is important to be absolutely clear about key signatures and correct fingerings. This is, obviously, vital in learning guitar scales correctly.

POINT NO.4: - Once you have acquired a significant number of scales in your repertoire, start up a scale box. This consists of a small box or tin into which you place small folded bits of paper, each with the name of one of your known scales on it. You then begin each practice session by picking two scales out at random and playing them through. Put that piece of paper on one side (e.g. - in the lid of the box or another tin). Over a few days you will run through all the scales you know in random order. When your box or tin is empty, put all the folded papers back in, shake them up and start all over again. This ensures that you don't forget scales you have learned as they are all being played on a regular basis. As you learn new scales you add them to the box.

I hope that this article has been of help in showing you how to learn guitar scales. Remember the basic messages; - make sure you know the key signatures and fingerings, practise them little and often and keep practising them once you have learnt them.

Copyright (c) 2010 Robert Hinchliffe

by: Robert Hinchliffe

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