Are you feeling like scales are a confusing guitar topic in your study of guitar? If you are feeling this way,  then that's perfectly fine. Feeling like this is extremely common, especially if scales are new to you and you've never worked on them before. In this lesson, I’m going to show you a "4 step" scale practice approach that you can start to do as soon as tonight...





This 4 step scale exercise will work wonders to help you loosen up to learning scales and it will increase your flexibility for applying scales both technically and musically.

Much of what you are trying to overcome with scale practice relates to how a scale is perceived, where the roots operate on the neck and how to develop the scale up to a high level of skill.

WATCH THE VIDEO:



SCALE STUDY EXERCISE:
Each of the scale study steps in this exercise are going to help you hit these key scale learning areas and allow you to do it quickly so as not to take up much practice time.

I want to show you a four step scale exercise that you can start doing tonight that will help you better understand (not just how you can start to place the scales on the neck), but also how to get better at their patterns - memorizing them - as well as, playing the major and minor colors as well.

The ideas that I have for you are all based upon; the location of the scales root, determining major or minor, using the “5-fret” theory (to place the notes onto the guitar neck), and also to practice the scale using a three location system for helping you maximize the scale’s use.

Let’s start by checking out how the entire exercise works once you’ve got it all together.

PLAY THROUGH:






LEARNING THE EXERCISE:
Now that you have a better idea of how this exercise operates. The next thing I’d like to do, is break everything down into steps, so that you can understand how to start learning each part of the exercise.

First, we’ll break down how to begin locating scale root notes.


1). Scale Root (Tonic) Note Relationships:

Octave distance Head-stock to Body "7-Fret" span.
6th string to 5th string (mid-neck region)



Octave distance Body to Head-stock "5-Fret" span.
6th string to 5th string (upper-neck region)



Octave distance Body to Head-stock "5-Fret" span.
5th string to 4th string (mid-neck region)



Next, we will establish how to understand the Major or Minor color of a scale. Otherwise known of as the scales "Tonality."





2). Establishing Major and Minor Color (Tonality):

MAJOR TONALITY:
Major relationships are established using a distance of a "Major 3rd" off of the scales Root (Tonic) note. This distance forms a unique geometrical pattern on the neck




MINOR TONALITY:
Minor relationships are established using a distance of a "Minor 3rd" off of the scales Root (Tonic) note. This distance forms a unique geometrical pattern on the neck



Next, we will apply the 5-fret location system to establish the key-note (Tonic) locations.






3). Mapping the Tonic Location with the 5-Fret System:

When starting this exercise, begin by choosing a note on the fret-board based upon the 6th string.



NOTE: If the first tone is lower down the fingerboard on the neck, (such as the "G" note shown above off of the 6th string 3rd fret), the next note - the 5th-string tone - will be located 7 frets higher. 



Map out the next tone based upon the 5th guitar string.



NOTE: If the tone is higher up the fingerboard on the neck, (such as the "G" note shown above on the 5th string 10th fret), the next 4th-string tone will be located 5 frets lower. 


Map out the final tone based upon the 4th string.




4). Performing scales that operate within patterns:

Major Pattern:


Minor Pattern:





EXERCISE OVERVIEW:
Doing the exercise will get you more familiar with what creates a major scale and how to change the scale over to minor tonality. 

After that, the routine practice of it will get you trained on how to use the 5-fret scale location system as you work with more tones on the neck.

REVIEW: The 4-Step Exercise:

1). Locating Root Notes (Tonic)
2). How to establish Major and Minor color
3). Learning the “5 fret location system”
4). Perfecting the patterns on the neck (in 3 locations)




CONCLUSION:
If you can’t play scales right now, one of the most important things to start working on is understanding how the root notes for scales (that you want to play) can be located anywhere on the fingerboard.

Once you understand that principle, you can organize the notes of a scale so that you can achieve the correct name of the scale that you want. 

In other words, if you need an, “F Major” scale, you’ll need to know where those “F” notes are in order to get everything started.

Once you have the desired naming note established, then the next thing to be clear about is the quality of the scale. 

Major and Minor scales are the main scale qualities. So, you will need to get to know what happens to achieve each one.

From that point, you’ll need to spend a considerable amount of time playing the patterns. 

The practice that you put into practicing scale performance will build your skill with left and right and coordination, and it will help you to eventually start using the scales musically.