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• A scale is a series of notes in a particular order.
• The notes on the guitar are divided into octaves which are made up of the notes A to G with sharps (or flats) in between each pair of notes except B&C and E&F.
• Scales can be described in three different ways: Steps patterns, scale formulae and a list of notes.
• The C major scale has no sharps or flats in it (C D E F G A B C).
• The scale diagram for the major scale is:

• This can be moved around the neck to form any other major scale.

In this lesson I am going to show you the different patterns for playing the major scale and introduce one of the other most important scales.

The pattern shown above is known as the Caged pattern, or one-fret-per-finger pattern. This diagram shows the same pattern for the major scale but with a root note on the A string instead of the E string. Note: they are not in the same key (this one is C major).

This pattern may not seem to be a one-fret-per-finger pattern. However, it is one of the exceptions where you have to stretch out the pattern by one fret to reach certain notes.

These patterns provide a regular structure which doesn't involve moving your hand up and down the fretboard. It easy to see why the Caged patterns are preferred by many guitarists, however there is another popular pattern that is used, especially by shred guitarists.

This is the three-notes-per-string pattern. The following diagrams show it with roots notes on the E and A strings:

Try these patterns and compare them to the Caged system. I personally prefer the three-notes-per-string pattern as it is the most natural fingering for the hand to play. It allows you to move up and down the scale much faster and provides a much cleaner way of doing so. If you are into shred guitar then you will appreciate that economising your playing allows you to play faster, and this pattern allows you to do this.

However, not everyone wants to play fast and there is no right or wrong way to play scales. Both patterns here have their advantages, and there are also other ways to play scales that are better suited to a particular scale. So my advice is to learn both of these general patterns for every scale you meet, but don't limit yourself to these. Experiment with other positions to find the best one to use in that situation.

For the rest of these lessons I will show you both the Caged and three-notes-per-string pattern for every scale I introduce.

So let's move on to our next scale: The Minor Scale. This is one of the most common scales used in western music. You may also find it referred to as the "pure minor", "relative minor" or the "Aeolian mode".

The scale formula for the minor scale is:

1 - 2 - 3b - 4 - 5 -6b - 7b - 1

Recall that we need to apply this to the major scale, so if we apply this to C major (C D E F G A B C) we get the C minor scale:

C - D - Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C

From this we can see that the step pattern for the minor scale is:

W - H - W - W - H - W - W

Here are the Caged patterns for the minor scale with root notes on the E and A strings:

and the three-notes-per-string patterns:

Practise all of these patterns by playing through them, both up and down. Then shift them around the neck to make other scales. It is good practice to write down the notes of every scale you form by doing this. You might find this boring but stick at it - you are building a good solid foundation for the future. If you do this rigorously for every scale you learn, you will be able to recall it in an instant and use it over any backing music without having to look it up. It is also a great way to learn the fretboard. This knowledge will be invaluable to you in the future. All the guitar virtuosos like Joe Satriani spend hours going over their scales - if you aim to be just a fraction as good as they are your playing will come on leaps and bounds.

So until my next installment, get to grips with the major and minor scales - practise them religiously no matter what style of music you play!