The Guitar Major Scale

The Guitar Major Scale

If you want to be a good guitar player and a good musician, you will need to master the major scale.

The Major Scale is pretty much the basis of Western music (no NOT cowboy stuff--the Western Hemisphere). As you continue to progress, you will understand why they are so important.

I have not gone into structure here--that will come in the Music Theory section. Right now I am just going to give you some basic movable scale shapes.

The first two start on and are named after the 6th string:

The first scale begins on the first fret of the 6th string (you are looking at the picture as if your guitar were lying on your lap}. The note on that fret if "F", so this is an F major scale. If you started the same pattern on the 5th fret ("A"), it would become an A major scale. That is why it is called a "movable" shape.

Here is a different shape:

This one begins on "G" so it is a G major scale. If you play this one and then play the first one starting on the 3rd fret, they will sound the same. Get the picture? Of course there are MANY ways to practice these scales so that you become an amazing player--ask your teacher to explain or click here for

Practicing Guitar Scales (a page on this site).

Here is the next pattern:

This pattern begins on "B"--the second fret on the 5th string--so it is a B major scale.

These, and ALL scales, are the foundation of your playing. Learn them well and you will never regret the time you spent learning them!

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