Scales
Pentatonic major, minor, blues, pattern 1-5 major, minor, modes I-VII, major, minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, 3-notes-per-string I-VII, major, minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, symmetrical scales
Dots () and symboles (like and ) indicate where the string must be pressed. If these symbols are behind the nut, use the open string. For other keys than the one displayed, move the whole fingering according to the transposing table.
Interval numbers also indicate where the string must be pressed. If these numbers are behind the nut, use the open string (no fingering required). For other keys than the one displayed, move the whole fingering according to the transposing table.
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Manual
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What are scales?
A sequence of notes in ascending or descending order of pitch. In western major or minor tonalities, scales contain seven notes lying within the octave with one representative of each letter name (A–B–C–D–E–F–G), any of which may be inflected by an accidental (e.g. a sharp or flat sign).
The guitar scales are divided into different groups. Among the most popular scales are the minor pentatonic, blues and modes I-VII. Here you’ll find all the church modes like ionian, dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian, aeolian and locrian. They are always displayed in two different graphic representations, either as fingering with dots or with inscription of the contained intervals.
A special feature are the 3-notes-per-string scales. If your fingers are long enough, you can play 3 notes of the scale on each string without having to skip to the next string. For very fast runs, use Legato technique without picking. Very popular with shredders!
Further explanations and musical examples of the church modes can be found in the theory section on the scale construction page. The differences between natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor are also shown.