https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:17:08 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-132288 Thu, 13 Oct 2005 21:04:45 +0000
Some background on myself first. I'm an old guy starting the acoustic guitar again after 40 years away. Wish I would have had the internet back then! Guitar Noise and all the other sites are great. I also like music theory.

I also just bought the first three books in the Guitar Grimoire series, too. I was approaching things with various scales using Peter Vogl's Scale book plus different software freebies on the internet.

I was getting frustrated while trying to learn scales by not having all the harmonized chords in the scale in their various positions on the fret board. That's why I bought the Grimoire series especially the second and third books. But here are some questions:

1. The Grimoire scale approach seems to use the 6th string root approach. Using an acoustic guitar it starts to be a stretch down at the 12th fret. Shouldn't I learn scales on the 5th and 4th roots, also?

2. Concerning #1 above, when you improvise, say in the IV and V modes, aren't you taking off within the original I pattern? In other words, using the Grimoire approach, if I'm playing a G Major pattern at the 3rd fret 6th string and then want to go into the D Mixolydian scale would I jump up to the D on the 6th string to improvise?

3. Also, I've noticed that the Grimoire Scales and Modes scales are the three finger sweeping patterns. Is that what is the best to learn to begin with?

4. When you all practice scales do you also play all the harmonized chords for that scale? If I'm playing the G major scale from the 3rd fret do you also play all the harmonized chords for that key around that 3rd fret position - Am, Bm, C, D7, Em, F Dim? Also, do you practice all the possible chords/extensions for that scale, e.g. 7's, 11's, 13's, dim, etc.?

I appreciate any help you can give me.

Dan]]> Guitar Players Discussion Buddy Love https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-132288 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-126827 Wed, 21 Sep 2005 14:57:37 +0000
That actually leaves out a few! If you take the approach that a position is where your first finger gets at least one note, a major scale can be played in 11 different fingerings - the only spot where you won't have a first finger note is a minor third (three frets) above the 6th string root.

Right idea with the modes, though - since each mode has the same notes as any other related mode, the fretboard notes are identical. The problem, though, is this makes 'em very hard to use... you really can't approach modes in a practical way through fingering patterns.]]> Guitar Players Discussion NoteBoat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-126827 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-126799 Wed, 21 Sep 2005 07:46:45 +0000
I re-read the theory part of the grimoire and started to suspect that I missing something, but what?

Reading both of your posts made it finally click. The grimoire teaches like 7 shapes for each scale and say for F major you play shape 1 in position one, then shape 2 in position 2, etc. this gives you a major scale all the way up the neck - this is what I was trying to memorize - every note and interval along the way. But multipy that time all the different keys and modes and that's not scalable (pun intended).

So, for F# you just slide the whole mess up a fret and play like you are in F, except the thing "wraps around" and in position 1 you play scale shape 7 - so there is a system to the whole thing -- like you both said learn the shapes. In G you play shape 1 at the 3rd fret and shapes 6 & 7 "wrap around" and get played in positons 1 and 2 respectively

The modes work the same way; want a F Dorian (the 2nd mode of the major scale) just play pattern 2 in position 1.

Thanks for epiphany guys. Also realized that this is a bit O.T. sorry about that.]]> Guitar Players Discussion cschooley https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-126799 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-126628 Tue, 20 Sep 2005 22:27:09 +0000
here's another one

http://www.moewes.com/moewes/modules.php?name=Guitar]]> Guitar Players Discussion cmoewes https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-126628 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-126615 Tue, 20 Sep 2005 21:20:01 +0000 What I'd strongly reccomend (speaking from experience) is to learn the scale, every shape one at a time, in a guitar friendly key - So for the major scale an easy place to learn is with the first shape on the G, and with pentatonic in A, harmonic minor in E etc. (Great thing is those scales in those keys connect) This is how my guitar teacher is approaching it with me. Although I knew several of the scales in open positions, and could construct them with the interval patterns at other places slowly, he has me playing G major in all the patterns across the entire fretboard and connecting them. Now we are working on some sequences on these patters as well.. I do think it has helped me connect what's in my head about notes and such to something I can play..]]> Guitar Players Discussion vink https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-126615 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-126604 Tue, 20 Sep 2005 20:24:58 +0000 To get to know a shape once you played up and down it a few times, is to just improvise with for a while.
Then once you know a scale in one key all over the fretboard and are very familiar with it, can improvise all over it, start it off in a different key and start try to move around the connecting shapes of the scale with improv'.
Basically the idea is to learn the how one shape flows into the next, so that you dont just end up saying "yes i have strictly learnt A, C, and E major scales" but instead have a full grasp of the scale and can move it about at will.
And great thing is that if you learnt several scales in connecting keys that I mentioned, you will be able to move about to different key and still see those connections and really make your playing sound interesting!]]> Guitar Players Discussion simon@home.co.uk https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/paged/2/#post-126604 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/#post-126592 Tue, 20 Sep 2005 18:43:14 +0000
http://www.jguitar.com/scale

Also, do a chord search while your there. It's cool.

http://www.jguitar.com/chordsearch]]> Guitar Players Discussion Anonymous https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/#post-126592 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/#post-126502 Tue, 20 Sep 2005 11:01:03 +0000
http://activeguitar.com/basics/

Same kind of deal: pick any scale/chord/arpeggio and bang.]]> Guitar Players Discussion undercat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/#post-126502 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/#post-126484 Tue, 20 Sep 2005 07:08:38 +0000
I have even bought some books on sight reading, and am digging through the basement looking for my old Mickey Baker book. Don't laugh.

All these scale sites are good resouces, but I am wondering if anybody knows of some good ways to go about 'assimilating' these scales.

I am working commiting to memory the major scale in every key on every postion of the neck, and then I am guessing that I can retain other scales due to their relation to the major scale (I hope).

The Grimoire says as much: "It will benefit you greatly to memorize the numerics for all 12 keys, but until then we have...". So my current routine is to practice a scale in a postion until I can say the note names forward and backward - then move on - then come back because I forgot it.

So I am only on the 2nd postion of the F major scale - like the 2nd diagram of the book. I am not worried that this is taking so long because I assume that as I become familiar with the major scale in one key it will come easier in the others - please tell me I am right :-)

I am hoping as I get more familiar with the major scale in all keys all over the neck I will be able to look at a new scale, see the intervals between the tones and play it all over the neck in an arbitraty key. I said I was *hoping* okay. Does that sound like a logical approach to learning the fretboard and some scales?]]> Guitar Players Discussion cschooley https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/#post-126484 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/#post-125992 Sun, 18 Sep 2005 19:29:29 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Ricochet https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/every-scale-youll-ever-need/#post-125992