If you're a guitar student searching for perfection but you struggle to put sense to the traditional major and minor scales, you are going to want to watch this video and start doing the exercise I show here every single day. This is something you can do whether you know scales or not and it is going to provide you with benefits beyond just understanding the notes and the scale intervals...




I have an incredibly helpful lesson for you today. It’s directed at all guitar players so that you guys can learn the sound and note layout on the neck of the most important color tones of the major and minor scales along with a couple of the popular modes.

This work will train your ear, it’ll help you better understand notes and intervals on the neck and you’ll be able to fully understand the effects of musical sound…

WATCH THE VIDEO:



For most students who are practicing guitar, the major or minor scale is a scale in name only. For new students of scales and music theory, there’s generally no complete high level understanding of why one scale might be used in a song over and above the other.

But, after today’s video you’ll not have an understanding of what each scale does, and why we call them major or minor, but you’ll also better comprehend the most important part of learning scales, and that’s the emotional effect they can produce in music. Let me show you exactly what I mean…

1). Basic Major Scale – Core Tones…


Across the notes of a key we have certain degrees of “scale tones” that together end up producing the scales tonality. In a “Basic Major” scale the interaction of the scales Root note with the 4th and 5th plus the relationship to the third and 6th notes will produce the scales tonality.




As you can tell when you play these tones isolated, the Major sound is very uplifting, triumphant and happy sounding.

Let’s also play it up in another register of the fingerboard to hear it played elsewhere…



In music, a scales third and sixth degrees work together to create the scales tonality. In the basic major scale the 3rd and the 6th tones are called “Major 3rd” and “Major 6.”



Everything operates in combination with the scales 4th and 5th (as well as with the Tonic), to form the entire tonal response, which also creates a sound effect we call the “emotional effect.”

Next, let me show you how all this works with the Minor scale…




2). Natural Minor Scale – Core Tones…



The Natural Minor scale lowers the 6th and the 7th scale degrees to restructure the sound and the emotional effect of the music that we would arrange and compose with this scale type.

As you can tell the effect of the scale is darker, with a sad /negative sound as compared to what we heard with our sound of the major scale.

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I wanted to take a minute to let you know, that if you want to learn even more about scales and theory I have a great offer for you.

With any donation over $5, or any merchandise purchase from either my Tee-Spring, or my Zazzle store, I’ll send you a free copy of THREE of my most popular digital handouts.

One is called, “Harmonized Arpeggio Drills” (it’ll train you on developing your diatonic arpeggios).

Another one is my “Barre Chord” Handout which includes a page showing all the key signatures along with a chord progression that applies barre chords.

Plus, you’ll get my Notation Pack! It has 8 pages of important guitar worksheets for notating anything related to; music charts, guitar chord diagrams, and TAB.

As a BONUS, (from my "Over 40 and Still Can't Play a Scale" video), I'll also throw in a breakdown of all of the chords that are diatonic to the "F Major" scale.

As an EXTRA BONUS for my Phrygian Dominant video, I'll also throw in a breakdown featuring all of the chords that are diatonic to the Phrygian Dominant scale.

Just send me an email off of the contact page of CreativeGuitarStudio.com to let me know about either your donation or your Merchandise purchase and I’ll email you those digital handouts within 24 hrs.     
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Here’s the Minor tones played once again, but this time up in the necks higher register…



As we just saw and heard the minor scale’s lowered third and six degrees work together to create the minor tonality. These tones are called “Minor 3rd” and “Minor 6.”




The lowered tones produce the minor scale's sound in combination with the 4th and 5th (as well as with the Tonic), forming the tonal response, or the “emotional effect.”

Next, let’s find out what happens with “2” popular modes…





3). Mixolydian Mode



The Mixolydian mode drops the 7th note of the scale down a half-step mixing the Major 3rd sound against the sound of a Minor 7th.

This creates an interesting blend that’s fantastic for styles which don’t fall into the conventional sounds of basic Major or Minor. I’m talking about styles like; Blues, Soul music, Funk, R and B, Motown as well as, Jazz and Jazz-Fusion music.

4). Dorian Mode


The Dorian mode drops the 3rd tone down a half-step creating a Minor third sound, but the really unique sound is actually created by the scales 6th degree.

The 6th is Major and the unique tonal response comes from the blend of the minor 3rd against the major 6th.

The thing that’s really important to understand is that scales create an emotional effect that’s not just tied to music theory, or to the way that the scale makes us feel when we play through it.




There’s another level at work here, and it has to do with the way that our emotions are affected by the sound. And, how that sound is directly tied to a specific musical style...

So, the scales we choose, combined with the knowledge of the scales emotional effect will help us as musicians to be able to decide the emotional direction of the state of mind that we’re hoping for in the person listening to our music.

And, once we fully comprehend how all of this happens, we will truly perfect our sound, our style and how we compose and arrange music for others to enjoy…