As a beginner guitarist, you must have heard the word scales numerous times. That’s simply because scales are the foundation of everything we need to understand about music, from reading and playing the instrument to composing. Scales help you explore music and push beyond your current technical and musical boundaries. In this article, we’ll cover the basics of scales, how they are formed, the different types of scales, and how to play them on the guitar. If you’re eager to dive deeper, At Artium Academy’s online guitar classes we offer the perfect platform to learn and refine these essential skills from expert instructors.
What are guitar scales?
Do you know how many notes there are in music? Western music has 12 notes called tones. Indian music further divides these 12 tones into 22 tones, which are known as microtones. However, we will mainly discuss the 12 notes in Western music for now.
All the music that we hear in Western music is created from these 12 notes. Yes, you read it right! Literally every song you listen to is composed within the boundaries of these 12 notes. The frequency of these 12 notes may vary. The names of these 12 notes in ascending order are A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G# and then we are back to A. This is also known as the chromatic scale. The hashtag sign you see is called ‘Sharp.’ Similarly, when you descend, we use the flat sign ‘b’.
So, if we were to learn how to play these 12 notes, is that enough? The answer is no. It will take you a lot of time to figure out the right combination of these notes to create music. Such a combination of notes that makes it easier to create melodies or music is known as a scale. Simply put, a scale is an ascending and descending sequence of notes that you can combine in any order and it sounds good. Let’s explore the basic scales we need to know as beginners.
The Major Scale – The foundation of Western music
– The Major scale is the most basic scale one needs to learn. It forms the foundation of Western music and all of the theory is based on and derived from the major scale. This scale has 7 notes and a bright and uplifting sound. The formula for a major scale is as follows: W W H W W W H, – where W stands for a whole-step interval and H stands for a half-step interval.
– The most common major scale a beginner guitarist should know is the C major scale. This scale has all-natural notes. i.e.,: thereThere are no sharps or flats in this scale. And that’s why the C major scale is also known as the Natural Scale. The notes of the C major scale are C, D, E, F, G, A, and B.
Here’s how you can play it in the open position :
The Minor scale – Adding emotion to your music
Like the major scale, the minor scale has 7 notes as well. However, the minor scale has a more melancholic and emotional feel. This scale has been used in a lot of iconic emotional ballads. The formula for the minor scale is as follows: WHWWHWW.
Here’s how you can do it in one octave:
The Pentatonic Scale – The most versatile scale
The pentatonic scale is the doorway to playing guitar solos and improvisation. Its simplicity and versatility have made it a favourite amongst guitar players. You can move around the fretboard very easily using box shapes of the pentatonic scale. As the name suggests, this scale has 5 notes. Major, Minor and blues pentatonic scales are the most common ones used.
If we remove the 2nd and the 6th notes from a minor scale, we get a minor pentatonic scale. For example, if the ‘A’ minor scale has the notes A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, the minor pentatonic scale will have the notes A, C, D, E, G, and A.
Here’s how you can play the A minor pentatonic scale:
Common Mistakes to avoid When Learning Scales
Common mistakes we make while learning scales. We recommend that you remember to avoid making these mistakes and learn in detail how to play guitar for beginners here:
- Tempo: It is important to practise the scale slowly at first and ensure that you are playing all the notes of the scale clearly and with the correct finger numbers. As guitar players, we often play scales faster compromising the quality of sound. Remember to take it slow.
- Metronome: It is extremely important to build an internal rhythm which will keep you consistent rhythmically in whatever you play. Practising with a metronome is the best way to ensure that. Metronome should be your permanent companion while practising anything on guitar.
How to incorporate scales while learning guitar as a beginner?
1. Scale shape: You must learn the shape of the scale and practise playing the shape numerous times until you achieve the desired clarity and speed. It’s important to memorise the shapes to start incorporating them into your playing.
2. Solo and exploration: Once you have memorised at least two shapes of any scale, play them along with the backing track and explore the different combinations of the notes in the scale. Let your imagination take over and keep your ear active.
3. Learning songs: Learning songs is one of the best ways to understand how one can use the scales. It is important to know which scale is the song based on and how it is used to create melodies.
Conclusion
Learning scales is one of the most vital steps for a beginner guitarist to understand and explore music. The scales help you play songs, improvise and compose. Start with playing one shape of one scale and slowly increase your vocabulary of scales. Learning to play scales and apply them can be a little daunting for beginners and might need some help and guidance. At Artium Academy, we have a step-by-step approach to learning guitar which ensures that students learn comfortably with proper techniques.
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