Current Events > I've memorized all the major scales on guitar except G and F.

(+) Yeah! (+)

On the first 4 frets, that is. I can play everything forward and backwards without having to think hard about where to put my fingers.

What should I start practicing next? I don't feel like I need to worry about the minor scales very much, because they're just the major scales, starting on the 6th note.

Learn piano. A real instrument that can play bass and treble at the same time

Winrawr posted...

Learn piano. A real instrument that can play bass and treble at the same time

I'm learning piano and guitar along side eachother. Guitar is taking longer, though. So I find myself practicing it more.

Out of curiosity can you transpose on guitar? I just learned c scales c doriaan c minor c harmonic minor and can just transpose it to a with button

Metal_Bug posted...

I'm learning piano and guitar along side eachother. Guitar is taking longer, though. So I find myself practicing it more.

Guitar is harder initially but it's essentially playing piano but with one hand. You get better texture and expression over notes tho unless you have a really high end piano. Actually nothing compares to finger picking.

But yeah guitar is just too limited for me. I still can play a tiny bit though

I would also learn minor keys before you learn more major. You lose a lot to not know at leat one minor key by heart

Winrawr posted...

Out of curiosity can you transpose on guitar? I just learned c scales c doriaan c minor c harmonic minor and can just transpose it to a with button

I'm not sure what you're trying to ask.

If I want to play A minor, I just play the C major scale, but starting with A instead of C.

Then learn a harmonic minor and Dorian minor of same key

Winrawr posted...

Then learn a harmonic minor and Dorian minor of same key

Ah OK gotcha.

Winrawr posted...

Out of curiosity can you transpose on guitar? I just learned c scales c doriaan c minor c harmonic minor and can just transpose it to a with button

I mean that does work, but it's a big handicap to rely on the transpose button to that extent.

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smoke_break posted...

I mean that does work, but it's a big handicap to rely on the transpose button to that extent.

Why? Genuinely curious

Winrawr posted...

Why? Genuinely curious

I think of situations where you might not have access to it, like if you were playing an acoustic piano. It can also make modulating to different keys within the same song a pain. It just makes things easier to know other keys, in my opinion.

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Metal_Bug posted...

because they're just the major scales, starting on the 6th note.

Not exactly.

Winrawr posted...

Learn piano. A real instrument that can play bass and treble at the same time

Check out how Ricky Wilson had his guitar set up.
...I also Piano is my main.

TC you should work on Arpeggios and Intervals....get to know your thirds.
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smoke_break posted...

I think of situations where you might not have access to it, like if you were playing an acoustic piano. It can also make modulating to different keys within the same song a pain. It just makes things easier to know other keys, in my opinion.

my acoustic does have transposition. i dont think it is worth the effort imo. im curious about this topic though enough that im going to go ask on reddit

yeah i honeslty do not know what to do next on piano. been playing since last may. there's just so much information that it gets my mind cluttered

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The major & minor penatonic scales are actually the exact same thing played from a different position. This is why certain chords & modes fit together perfectly under one key. F sharp Minor & A Major are the same exact notes, but a different root/octave is used for the starting position, so it just sounds different lol even tho its honestly not, but the combination of notes on different strings creates different harmonies (I like to go the opposite route of Major & create totally dissonant harmonies by playing on the harmonic mode of the penatonic).... and F sharp is the same as a G flat. XD

in other words, youre not really memorizing different scales so much as you are memorizing different positions and keys for the same scale. And what you consider to be 2 or 3 different scales can actually be considered one scale.... and that relationship is important to understand so you dont play restricted.

Xethuminra posted...

The major & minor penatonic scales are actually the exact same thing played from a different position. This is why certain chords & modes fit together perfectly under one key. F sharp Minor & A Major are the same exact notes, but a different root/octave is used for the starting position, so it just sounds different lol even tho its honestly not, but the combination of notes on different strings creates different harmonies (I like to go the opposite route of Major & create totally dissonant harmonies by playing on the melodic mode of the penatonic).... and F sharp is the same as a G flat. XD

Ya I know what a relative minor is but thanks for the input!

Metal_Bug posted...

Ya I know what a relative minor is but thanks for the input!

lol

you said you know the first 4 frets pretty well - you may as well do the same thing now but with higher positions. Get super comfortable playing scales in all sorts of positions. Play an E Major Scale using only the low E and A strings, or a two octave B major using only the A-B strings, etc.; I think getting familiar with the whole range of the fretboard with scales before moving on to arpeggios and such will make learning other things much easier.

and when you get bored of the technical work, just learn some songs/music you want to learn. Figure out riffs or chord progressions by ear if you want to get better at that, or just pull up some tabs or whatever.

what styles do you like?

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Minor Scales are not the same as Major Scales.

They are fundamentally different.
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Im learning to play a viola

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SiO4 posted...

Minor Scales are not the same as Major Scales.

They are fundamentally different.

The major penatonic uses the same notes as its relative minor.

This is critical to understand for forming your palette....

Xethuminra posted...

The major penatonic uses the same notes as its relative minor.

This is critical to understand for forming your palette....

I am talking about the Major and Minor Scales. Straight up.
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SiO4 posted...

I am talking about the Major and Minor Scales. Straight up.

remember,

the best music breaks the rules somewhere in the composition as a repeating motif

Xethuminra posted...

remember,

the best music breaks the rules somewhere in the composition as a repeating motif

I am just saying the Major and Minor Scales are not the same.
The Fifth almost does more to define a key, and in both cases they are completely different.
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SiO4 posted...

I am just saying the Major and Minor Scales are not the same.
The Fifth almost does more to define a key, and in both cases they are completely different.

Yah

Fifths would be the next thing to talk about.

you are thinking more about taking a key and changing it from Major to Minor tho, I can tell.

what im talking about is moving from Penatonic Major to its Relative Minor, and what I wanted to go into was the variety of ways you can play a scale. You can play the whole thing on just ONE STRING, octave hop, use open notes, etc. different positions = different sounds = more music

same coin, Different side, thats all

Xethuminra posted...

Yah

Fifths would be the next thing to talk about.

you are thinking more about taking a key and changing it from Major to Minor tho, I can tell.

what im talking about is moving from Penatonic Major to its Relative Minor, and what I wanted to go into was the variety of ways you can play a scale. You can play the whole thing on just ONE STRING, octave hop, use open notes, etc. different positions = different sounds = more music

same coin, Different side, thats all

I suppose I should noddle around with it.
But, I come from a Piano point of view, and that is probably where the difference is.
But to say, Cmaj and Am are the same, is false.
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How else are you gonna get people to think theyre meant to play guitar because they tried a 2 & a half step hammer-on without being prompted?

Xethuminra posted...

How else are you gonna get people to think theyre meant to play guitar because they tried a 2 & a half step hammer-on without being prompted?

By handing a guitar and then suggesting....try playing one of your favorite songs.
~It's that simple.
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SiO4 posted...

By handing a guitar and then suggesting....try playing one of your favorite songs.
~It's that simple.

I guess when you put it like that....

Normally, Id agree with you.

Blues scale

That's it

Fuck everything else

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SiO4 posted...

I am just saying the Major and Minor Scales are not the same.
The Fifth almost does more to define a key, and in both cases they are completely different.

eh

I tend to think of keys as being defined primarily by where the semitones are. the fifth is generally not super important unless it's altered in some way

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averagejoel posted...

eh

I tend to think of keys as being defined primarily by where the semitones are. the fifth is generally not super important unless it's altered in some way

It's the Third of The Fifth that makes it so important.
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Sound like a nice work btw.

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One of the best exercises for the guitar is starting with the first fret and playing up to the fourth fret then back down again using all different fingers. Repeat for each string and up to the 12th fret, as they get smaller the higher you go.

Once you can do that without making mistakes, switch it up by going 1-3-5-7-5-3-1.

Repeat for all strings and once again up to the 12th fret. It helps with finger movement and strengthening.

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Thing one: 0-2-3-5
Thing two: 0-2-5-6

Congratulation!
You are now a rock star

*edit:

• if you play 0-1-3-5 (Thing 3) in dropped D, you will become a legend

or you can get funny/fancy with an 0-2-4-5

No love for 7-7-10-7-5-3-2 these days

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0-1-3-4
**charms snakes**

01-2-3
**is led zeppelin**

SiO4 posted...

It's the Third of The Fifth that makes it so important.

oh so you're talking about the chord, not the scale degree itself. yeah I'm on board with that

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***** Start Bending Early *****

building that technique and the callouses, and finger strength required - better sooner than later! ^.^

averagejoel posted...

oh so you're talking about the chord, not the scale degree itself. yeah I'm on board with that

Well, I am talking about both.
...I'm not trying to be a pain, but it is Musical Theory.

The Third of the Fifth is the leading Tone of the Scale.
That is why it is so emportant.
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SiO4 posted...

Well, I am talking about both.
...I'm not trying to be a pain, but it is Musical Theory.

The Third of the Fifth is the leading Tone of the Scale.
That is why it is so emportant.

I'm aware. I'm a professional musician and I have a degree in music.

but the leading tone being the third of the V (chord) does not make the fifth scale degree itself important for the overall sound of the scale. like if it isn't altered, the fifth of any given chord can usually be omitted without meaningfully changing the chord or the way it functions.

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When everyone is all playing together too....
It matters who is hitting what roots, fifths, octaves, and how, as it brings the instrument to the surface or closer to another instrumental in particular, depending - and, in what way everyone is (or isnt) syncopated. So, how you work that around with the chorus, and the verses, the solos, and all... thats where this stuff really comes into play. Maaaybe not so much in designing riffs & basic chord progressions, eh?

averagejoel posted...

I'm aware. I'm a professional musician and I have a degree in music.

but the leading tone being the third of the V (chord) does not make the fifth scale degree itself important for the overall sound of the scale. like if it isn't altered, the fifth of any given chord can usually be omitted without meaningfully changing the chord or the way it functions.

I am talking about the V chord...and as such The third of the fifth, as it pertains to Minor or Major.
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SiO4 posted...

I am talking about the V chord...and as such The third of the fifth, as it pertains to Minor or Major.

in other words, you are not, in fact, talking about the fifth scale degree itself.

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What happens if you start changing the roots tho? Perhaps as a transient chord? Hmmmm

and were sliding
now start messing with the octave of the fifth - and you solo

slow it all down, chop it up, change it up, try a new gimmick, and you get different music

Xethuminra posted...

What happens if you start changing the roots tho? Perhaps as a transient chord? Hmmmm

there are lots of different ways to think about chords over a different root. like you can think of A-7 as C/A. but there are also ways to notate chords with that kind of notation which would be messy without it.

like B/C is easier to read than C-7b5.

you can also think of chords written that way as rudimentary polychords -- slashes between notes mean just a bass note, but a horizontal line means it's a full chord. so for example

C/A contains the notes A, C, E, and G. but

C

A

is a C triad on top of an A triad, so it would contain A, C#, E, C, E, G

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So, this is where it gets really interesting to talk about modern music, digital effects, and how that alters the sound similarly to playing in an orchestra vs solo

or just try playing everything backwards and see what happens

a lot of people who know fuck-all about music itt

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Bananana posted...

a lot of people who know fuck-all about music itt

Care to name a few
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