The Basics. Part 5

The only way to achieve the fullest of lesson five is to review all previous lessons. The Basics 1, 2, 3 & 4!

Scales:
These are all the shapes of major scales.

_C Shape________________________________________________
 E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G
e---------------------------------------------0--1--3----|
B------------------------------------0--1--3-------------|
G------------------------------0--2----------------------|
D---------------------0--2--3----------------------------|
A------------0--2--3-------------------------------------|
E---0--1--3----------------------------------------------|

_A Shape________________________________________________
 G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A
e---------------------------------------------3--5-------|
B------------------------------------3--5--6-------------|
G---------------------------2--4--5----------------------|
D------------------2--3--5-------------------------------|
A---------2--3--5----------------------------------------|
E---3--5-------------------------------------------------|

_G Shape________________________________________________
 A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C
e---------------------------------------------5--7--8----|
B------------------------------------5--6--8-------------|
G---------------------------4--5--7----------------------|
D---------------------5--7-------------------------------|
A------------5--7--8-------------------------------------|
E---5--7--8----------------------------------------------|

_E Shape________________________________________________
 B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D
e------------------------------------------------7--8--10|
B-----------------------------------------8--10----------|
G-------------------------------7--9--10-----------------|
D---------------------7--9--10---------------------------|
A-----------7--8--10-------------------------------------|
E-7--8--10-----------------------------------------------|

_D Shape________________________________________________
 G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B
e------------------------------------------------10-12-13|
B--------------------------------------10-12-13----------|
G----------------------------9--10-12--------------------|
D------------------9--10-12------------------------------|
A-----------10-12----------------------------------------|
E-10-12-13-----------------------------------------------|

So there you have it, the 5 shapes for any Major scale. Keep at it! You're doing great! However… this is the last of the prior five lessons. Continue to play and review what I’ve said. I’m delighted to announce there will be extensions! Keep in touch! The Basics Extended series will be out in due time!

Comments

Maybe it would have been better if you had explained what the hell these are, they seem to be random modes of some scale, and a C scale must start on a C, not an E.

Really bad lesson dude. You should have put it throught the UG contribution forum.

[Iboseth]

Second! xD Great Thanks again.

[Spanner]

Ok Silent Deftone, I am detecting a note of jealousy here (correct me if I am wrong) but you seem to only post bad comments in this dude's lessons, waaaassssup wit da?

Not jealousy, the thing is that he doesn't write good lessons. I've written a few lessons of my own, and find that they are in CONSTANT reference in the Musician Talk forum.
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/chords/what_chords_are_in_what_key_and_why.html is one of them. I suggest you read it.

I post comments as I see them. If he writes a good lesson, I'll put a good comment in it. This particular one is not good? at all.

[Spanner]

Ah I see my apologies

You do make a good point (these lessons are not very well explained), your lesson was good

Check out my upcoming lesson on "The Fundamentals of Shred"

I'll be sure to check that out! I

It cut off my message!

Anyways, the rest was that Shred is awesome and I'll take any help I can get to shred. I'm at a decent speed, but would like to be faster. And have better legato.

[Spanner]

No prob dude, ill be sure to include those.
Talk to you then

Spanner

[WindJammer]

Erm, yes... I'd have to say that al of these lessons are bad... How can people get better by learning a scale with no idea as to what to do with them? Same with your other lessons.... telling people basic scales and a simplified version of chords in a key does NOT qualify as a lesson (let alone 6)

[Spanner]

Good point, but if you dont understand some basics such as things like that, you really should get a private tutor, please consider.

[ducdeeze]

I really dont see how these apply to the major scales as Shapes. Maybe I just missed something, but it seems like he didnt explain it thoroughly enough.

[petergillies]

Just like you have the 'e shape' bar chord and the 'a shape' bar chord, you can have a 'g shape','c shape' and 'd shape' bar chord too!

It is hard to explain over the internet how we call a scale pattern a 'shape' - which is why Spanner is right. This lesson should be worked on with an actual tutor.

ill try to explain though.
like in the 'e shape' bar chord, you can see that you are just playing an open E chord but with your index finger across the previous fret to re-create the nut of the guitar.
The same goes for a C, G, or D. All of which can be bar chords when the fingering is changed slightly.
These scale shapes include all the notes needed for those particular chords.
Sorry if thats still confusing.

(Also, all the shapes are in the key of C - therefore if someone is playing a chord progression in C, if u play any of the notes notated in the tablature above, you will be 'soloing' accurately.)

[kdo]

i sort of get it...when u say shapes do u mean the shape of the chord or the actual chord itself...hmm..ive confused myself..

[SForbz-Rockstar]

that c shape looks like the E phrygian

[metal4all]

i wish this was explained better, cuz i dont get this whole thing at all

[petergillies]

yeah i can see how you say it looks like E phrygian, and technically, it is! Because it starts on E although it ends on G... the scale is just written like that to show that the whole section of the fretboard can be used for the scale, not just an 8 note run within a certain area of the fretboard..

this lesson probably makes lesson sense cos the bass notes are not highlighted. also, this isnt a 'real' 4th lesson. u shouldnt expect people to learn these scales four lessons into starting! so im re-writing everything for my website. there will be explanations of bar chords and everything before we get to the scales. they will be written for people who just wanna play guitar, so dont get ya knickers in a knot those 'theory is the most important thing to start with' people.
anyway, you'll just have to wait till i explain it better in the new lessons, have started writing already. sorry bout the confusion on here!

[6thedition]

The latest lessons have confused me a bit. What the last lesson told me is that the shape of c,a,g,e and d are in the c major scale. I could see em all in it, but then it was explained that its the barre chord versions. I reccomend that in your next lesson, you compare tabbed versions of scales with the barre chords. Im still unsure of how you can predict other scales with the information you have.

[hendrix999666]

i agree with windjammer- wats the point in teachin us all these scal;es if we dont no wat to do with them??

[liam177lewis]

yeah, true. its all very well saying 'alright, there it is, get to it', when we dont know how!

[liam177lewis]

yeah, true. its all very well saying 'alright, there it is, get to it', when we dont know how!

[nj3kted]

ready for my next lesson... thnx xD

[nyl]

to petergilles
does that mean that if the song is played in chord pattern like A E F#m D, just pick any note on the scale of these chords then you can create a solo

[nyl]

to Petergilles
does that mean that if the chord pattern of the song is in A F#m D E then you just pick any notes on the scales of those chord, by doing that you can create a solo?

[timmyjbone]

see what u gotta relize is that c major is related to bminor and therefore they confervse and become on in the 10th form of that note

[ourlastday]

kool lesson, helped me alot

[slash_muthafukr]

ya dude c starts on c not e

[JohnnyGoo]

Aren't shapes A-D the entire Lydian mode?

[orion284]

this stuff is way wrong dude. the c scale goes from c not e. i think u need to learn ur basics again.

[Lead guitarist]

Could someone correct the lesson? I seems like some scales are written incorrectly and I don't want to be using wrong scales.

[JJTheMonkeyHoe]

SilentDeftone
Maybe it would have been better if you had explained what the hell these are, they seem to be random modes of some scale, and a C scale must start on a C, not an E.

Really bad lesson dude. You should have put it throught the UG contribution forum.

Um... What he has up there are the five positions of the C Major Scale. Maybe she should have explained things a little bit more, but don't act like you know what you're talking about and then give wrong information SilentDeftone. The C Major Scale does NOT have to start on C. It is comprised of seven different notes, C, D, E, F, G, A and B. If you look above the TABs you will see the notes listed. You need to realize that a good player should not just look at a scale as 8 descending notes, but he or she should see the scale on the entire fretboard, which is what this lesson teaches us.

[Billie236]

Another Excellent Lesson

[ansie]

hi sorry but i rely dont have a clu what im supose to do wit this lesons 1-4 was great but the last 2 is a bit bogas pleas help

[branny1982]

this is ridiculous.....
this isnt a lesson, it tells us absolutely nothing.

please, no part 6.

[mrmac]

This lesson blows.

[acoostic]

i think i got it. it worked better for me to have my son play the chords while i tried to solo with the scales.

[nuis]

It is said "These are all the shapes of major scales." then again: "So there you have it, the 5 shapes for any Major scale." so I wonder it is a big lie because these are actually shapes for the C Major scale only, i.e. the notes which comprises D Major scale are D,E,F#,G,A,B,C# and I can't see any pattern showed on this lesson that stand for this scale (you can easily see there aren't any flats or sharps notes on these shapes). I could understand better if it was determined if those shapes are 'moveable' from a referred scale to another or it completely changes because the "CAGED method" for a scale has nothing to do for another scale.
Please tell me if I'm wrong.