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Imagine this: you’ve learned your guitar chords. Your technique is improving. You’re invited to a jam session to play with a few friends. They start playing in G and ask you to improvise a solo. You feel you should have learned a few guitar scales by now, but you didn’t know where to start or how to use them. The intro of the song is whizzing by, and you start to wonder, “Is it hot in here?!” It’s your turn to play – your time to face the music. And… you wake up in a moment of panic, horror movie-style.
This is a recurring nightmare for many guitar players. The good news is that it is an easy problem to solve. Below, we’ll cover the five most essential guitar scales for beginners. Practicing these scales will not only help with your command of the guitar, but it will also improve your technique, allowing you to be the lead guitarist with no problem. When all else fails, every guitar player should have these scales up their sleeve and ready to go. Read on as we explore how you can learn guitar scales and impress others with your guitar-playing skills.
Table of contents
What are guitar scales?
Before we begin, let’s briefly define what guitar scales are and why you should learn them.
A guitar scale is a sequence of notes played in a specific order on the guitar. The notes in a scale either ascend or descend. Understanding scales is one of the prerequisites for improvising a guitar solo and understanding music theory in general.
The distance, or interval, between notes in a scale determines its sound and character. People who are accustomed to Western music are most familiar with the major scale pattern that consists of seven notes with whole and half steps between them. There are different types of guitar scales, including major, minor, and pentatonic.
Minor pentatonic scale
Let’s begin with a simple minor pentatonic scale. This is by far the most versatile scale, and the one most people learn first. You can think of the minor pentatonic scale as your safety net for any type of improvisation you need to perform.
If you get lost during a song or if you suddenly don’t remember the solo you have been practicing, the minor pentatonic scale goes with (almost) everything. This scale will save the day 95 % of the time. Think of the minor pentatonic as the Swiss Army knife of guitar scales.
For most scenarios, all you need to know is the key you’re playing in and how to find that note on the 6th string of the guitar. To follow our nightmare example, G is found on the 3rd fret of the 6th string. Place your index finger on fret 3 and start playing the scale from there. Here is a diagram of the first position of the minor pentatonic scale in the key of G:
G Minor Pentatonic Scale
The red note shows where G (the root note of this scale) is found. If you need to change keys, you can simply transpose the entire chord up or down the guitar, lining up the red note on the 6th string with the root of the key you want to play in. For example, if you need to play in the key of A, just move to the 5th fret of the 6th string and start playing from there.
If you’re familiar with guitar tablature, here’s the G minor pentatonic guitar scale in tab form:
Sounds easy, right? It might take some time to get the hang of this guitar scale and how scales work in the first place, so keep practicing. Once you’ve nailed the minor pentatonic, it’s time to move on to more advanced scales and expand your guitar-playing skills.
Major pentatonic scale
The brother of the minor pentatonic scale, the major pentatonic scale works much like its minor counterpart. Here’s a diagram of the G major pentatonic scale:
G Major Pentatonic Scale
This scale sounds very different. You’ll notice this as soon as you play it. Always start on the root note when playing up, and finish on that note when coming back down.
Compare this major scale to its minor counterpart. You’ll notice that the major scale sounds happier than the harmonic minor scale, which tends to be darker. This is a great way to figure out which scale to use when jamming; if the song sounds dark and rocky, try the minor pentatonic scale. If it sounds bright and happy, try the major pentatonic scale instead.
A fun exercise is to listen to your favorite songs and identify whether it is played in a minor or major scale.
Blues scale
The blues scale is another excellent choice for beginners. This scale consists of the minor pentatonic scale plus an extra note (and its repetitions), called a blues note. It adds a bluesy sound, of course, but it’s that gritty sound you hear on a lot more than just blues music.
Don’t assume that this scale only works in blues music. Do you like Oasis? It’s in a lot of solos. Metallica? Black Sabbath? You guessed it. Stevie Ray Vaughan? Clapton? John Mayer? A staple of those players. From traditional blues all the way to pop, funk, metal, and jazz, this scale with the extra note can add the touch of flair you’re looking for. Here’s a diagram in the key of G with the added note in blue
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G Blues Scale
As we move on to more complex guitar scales, they’ll require a bit more control and knowledge. The blues scale is no exception. As great as the blues guitar scale is, you should be careful when improvising and playing your solos. The added blues note is a passing note — something to play occasionally, but not for too long or too often.
When improvising, you will mostly want to play the regular minor pentatonic scale and save that extra note for when you need more flavor. Be sure not to linger too much on that note or end your phrases there.
Major scale
The mother of all the scales in music theory, the major scale is the logical next step in our journey. This scale consists of seven notes and can be complicated. The major guitar scale isn’t quite as versatile as the minor and major pentatonic scales.
Why? Because the major scale adds two notes to the major pentatonic scale, and those notes can sound tense. This makes them harder to use. Here’s the major scale in the key of G. Notice the differences (marked in blue):
G Major Scale
As you can tell, the shape of the scale is mostly the same, except for the two notes that are repeated. These can be tricky to use and don’t always sound good in solos, which is why the major pentatonic is usually a safer bet.
Having said that, those notes do add character to the scale, and risky notes tend to be more interesting for the listener. Making the song a bit unpredictable is more exciting than always going the usual route. Playing those notes effectively requires mastery of the guitar.
For now, just be mindful of the risky notes when using the major scale. Try them out and know that if at any time something sounds “wrong,” just move to the closest note that is common to both the major scale and the major pentatonic scale.
With this in mind, don’t forget to experiment and try new things! Once you feel comfortable playing the major scale, there’s always more to learn and practice.
Minor guitar scale
The minor guitar scale – like its major counterpart – is the foundation for all other minor scales. As with the earlier example, you can think of the minor scale as the minor pentatonic with two added notes.
The same warning applies as before: those two notes can sometimes be risky, but they are worth the time it takes to master them. Practice the natural minor scale to make your music even more exciting and impressive. Here’s a diagram of the scale in the key of G:
G Minor Scale
As before, notice the root note in red and the differences with the minor pentatonic in blue.
How to practice guitar scales
Practice different guitar scales — slowly, up and down, in different keys — and always start and end on the root note. Once you memorize them, get a backing track and start playing over it with each scale. If you find a backing track in C minor, try playing over it with the C minor pentatonic, the C blues scale, or the C minor scale. Likewise, if you find a backing track in G major that you enjoy, try playing over it with the G major pentatonic or the G major scale.
Have fun and keep practicing the art of improvisation, even if it is just five minutes a day. A typical guitar solo is 30 to 40 seconds, so five minutes of practice is the same as seven to ten guitar solos!
Whatever you do, don’t be afraid to experiment and make mistakes. Although learning scales may take some time and effort, you’ll find that it is extremely rewarding.
How to learn guitar scales in a nutshell
These scales are only the beginning of the journey into improvisation. Scale shapes can be difficult to memorize at first, and using scales in the real world can be overwhelming. Stick with it and learn them in the order presented here to maximize your efforts and understand the relationships between the scales.
The excitement that comes from navigating the guitar fretboard with freedom and confidence can only come from practicing scales. Always be on the lookout for similarities and differences between scales to build on your knowledge.
Understanding different guitar scales will also help you in songwriting. Start by choosing a scale that fits the overall tone of the song you’re writing. This can be a major scale for an upbeat pop song or a minor scale for a moody metal track. Use this scale for writing the different parts of the song.
You can use scales to create chord progressions. Chord progressions are a series of chords that form the harmonic structure for your song. Remember that scales are just one part of the songwriting process. Consider the rhythm and lyrics of the song and how the guitar combines with other instruments and vocals.
Now that you know the most essential guitar scales, get practicing, and don’t forget to have fun!