BEFORE YOU PLAY ANYTHING YOU MUST HOLD THE PICK CORRECTLY! Most people seem to hold the pick in between their thumb and the rest of the fingers like this...
WRONG! This is incorrect because it causes your pick to draaaaag along the strings and get caught more easily. THIS is the correct way to do it...
Do this by placing the pick on your thumb and then close in on it with the left side of your pointer finger (assuming you are right handed, lefties use the right side of your pointer finger) Then extend the rest of your fingers! This causes the pick to angle itself to allow you to play faster and not get the pick caught in the strings. WHOOHOO! The first thing that will be beside each scale is it's name. This is not the name of the entire scale, but the name of the mode! For example, in the minor scale the second mode is called Locrian, the third mode is called Ionian, and so on. Next is the degree. Most of the time modes are related to the major scale, but I'm going to relate them to the minor scale as it is easier to get a grasp on the Minor Harmonic scale and Jazz Minor if I teach it this way. The last thing beside each mode/scale is the step pattern. This is sort of a tricky concept to grasp, but think of it this way. Every step pattern relates to the Major scale! The Major has a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh intervals (same as degrees). The Minor scale has a first, second, flat third, fourth, fifth, flat sixth, and flat seventh. This means that the minor scale has the same intervals as the Major scale EXCEPT for the third, sixth, and seventh, which are FLATTENED. To flatten a note is to decrease it by one semitone (one fret) to sharpen a note is to increase it by one semitone. There are also double-flats and double-sharps where the interval is increased or decreased by a full tone (two frets). In case you don't understand yet, here is a little diagram (oh, also # means sharp and b means flat) C Ionian (major scale): C D E F G A B, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th C Aoelian (minor scale): C D D#/Eb F G G#/Ab A#/Bb Also, you'd probably like me to explain the numbers in each of the circles. On the left side there is the fingering of each scale, which explains what finger you use to fret that note. Number 1 is your pointer finger, 2 is your middle finger, 3 is your ring finger, and four is your pinky finger. It's important that you use the correct fingering! On the right side there is the degrees of the scale. Play them in numerical order. Of course you won't play the scale in numerical order when you are writing a song or guitar solo, but to learn the scale you should to it numerically. |
