It’s true that knowing guitar scales and learning the guitar fretboard is invaluable for taking your playing to the next level. A knowledge and understanding of your instrument opens up a wide variety of creative possibilities (e.g. soloing, improvising, etc.) for how you actually play your instrument.
In the past, we’ve explained the theory behind guitar scales and we’ve also took a more in depth look at how to build a major scale. This information is essential to your growth, but we’ve never really had any guitar lessons that look at the ways you can actually learn guitar scales and learn the guitar fretboard.
In this guitar lesson on scales, let’s look at a three ways or techniques you can use to learn guitar scales and learn the guitar fretboard:
1.) Memorization
You can always use a chart of the guitar fretboard notes and stare at it for hours memorizing each note on every string. You might have also heard that if you want to the learn the guitar fretboard you will memorize a bunch of guitar scale patterns up and down the neck. However, these are probably the worst ways to learn guitar scales if they are the only methods used.
The problem with only using these methods is that you memorize a bunch of patterns and note names but you have no idea how these patterns and notes interact with one another. My guess is that you might already be doing this. If you are, it’s not all bad, but let’s look at a couple more methods that you should be utilizing as you learn guitar scales and learn the guitar fretboard.
2.) Triads
Triads are a group of three notes played simultaneously. Triads are made up of one note with a third and fifth above it. So for example, in the key of C major, we have a scale that looks like this: C D E F G A B C. We could group together notes C, E, & G to make up a triad. We could also group together notes F, A, & C to make up a triad. And so on…
There are different types of triads. There are major, minor, diminished, and augmented triads. When you first start learning triads, you should start learning your major triads up and down the neck and in different positions.
When you learn triads, you see how these groups of notes interact with the other ones. You can see that by making one note in the triad sharp or flat you change the entire sound of the triad. When you learn triads in combination with guitar scales, you are better able to see how the individual notes relate with one another. We’ll have to save a more in depth discussion on triads for a later time.
3.) Sight Reading
Among guitar players, sight reading from a piece of sheet music seems kind of like a lost skill and not all that necessary. However, sight reading forces you to internalize the guitar fretboard. So when you see a note on a piece of music, you have to see where that note is on the guitar fretboard. If you’ve never read music, there are some wonderful resources out there that use sight reading for learning the guitar fretboard. One that I’ve used and will recommend is Berklee Press Modern Method for Guitar Volume 1.
4.) Guitar Scales Method
Probably one of the best way to learn guitar scales is to use a guitar scales method. These methods combine all the elements that we’ve discussed and more into a method that allows you to master and learn the guitar fretboard. It gets past just mere memorization and into a way that allows the guitar fretboard to make sense to you. Craig Basset’s Guitar Scale Mastery System is one of the best methods out there available to learn guitar scales and master the fretboard.
What are some ways you practice learning the guitar fretboard? Post your comments!
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73 comments
HI!!
The techniques given by you is very interesting and looks like they are going to work if someone applies them. The way you have described about the three techniques is nicely given and very effective.
Good Day
Thanks, Roger. I’m glad you find them helpful.
do you think you can send me anything through the post please
mono, I’m confused by your question. What are you asking?
You are right about learning note patterns being useless unless you can find interesting relationships between the notes.
The best way to learn the fretboard is to understand all the relationships between scales, and between scales and chords. THEN find out how they relate to the guitar.
Otherwise you will drown in a quagmire of rote-learned patters with no seeming relationships tying them together.
In my experience, the best way to memorize the notes on the fretboard is to understand the relationship of the strings, and how the notes are interconnected across them. This way, if you learn the low E and A strings, you’ll be able to “calculate” the notes on the other strings as well.
I agree that it is important to learn to read music when learning guitar. I made the mistake of not learning it and playing by ear instead. This made it very difficult to go back and learn when I needed it later on in a professional setting.
I agree with you Guitar teacher. It’s very helpful if you know the relationship between notes and string.