Altering Basic Scales on the Guitar
There are many distinct types of scales in music and most beginner guitar players are not really able to play more than one or two; so today we will be talking about how to transform one basic minor scale into three different ones in just a couple of steps.
Let's use an A Minor Scale as an example:
E—-----------------------------5-7-8----- B------------------------5-6-8----------- G------------------4-5-7----------------- D--------------5-7----------------------- A--------5-7-8--------------------------- E--5-7-8---------------------------------
The A minor scale is formed by the following notes:
A B C D E F G
Now to transform this box into an A Minor Pentatonic Scale, we will need to eliminate 2 notes, in this key, the notes B and F will be left out:
E—-------------------------------5--8------- B--------------------------5--8------------- G--------------------5--7------------------- D--------------5--7------------------------- A--------5--7------------------------------- E—5---8-------------------------------------
A C D E G
To take one step further, let’s alter the A Minor Pentatonic into an A Blues Scale just by adding one note, in this case, the Eb:
E—-------------------------------5--8------- B--------------------------5--8------------- G--------------------5-7-8------------------ D--------------5--7------------------------- A-------5-6-7------------------------------- E—5--8--------------------------------------
A C D Eb E G
So in a very quick way to explain this whole idea:
The A Minor Scale has seven notes: A B C D E F G
The A Minor Pentatonic has five notes: A C D E G
The A Blues Scale has six notes: A C D Eb E G
Remember that when studying scales it is very important to be creative with them! Watch the video for some basic ideas and then create your own licks, riffs and melodies.
Feel free to contact me for some tricks about applying this idea to other scales or to get more in-depth with music theory and improvisation!
Rod Ferreira has been teaching guitar in the Phoenix area for over 10 years, and on Lessonface for about six months. Learn more about his background and book a lesson with Rod>>>