C major scale on guitar. Help for Beginning Guitarists: How to Play the C Major Scale

This article is about how the harmonic minor is played on the guitar. And mostly consists of practical exercises. However, before we start playing the scale, let's understand its structure.

Formula

So, the harmonic minor is a variation of the minor scale. Its formula looks like this:

1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7

That is, its difference from the natural minor scale is only in the seventh (seventh degree). For example:

Natural minor from the sound A (A):

A (la) - B (si) - C (do) - D (re) - E (mi) - F (fa) - G (salt)

Harmonic minor from the sound La (A):

A (la) - B (si) - C (do) - D (re) - E (mi) - F (fa) - G# (sol sharp)

Using this pattern, you can "transform" the natural minor scale, built from any sound, into a harmonic minor. In relation to A minor, this is the replacement of G with G #.

The harmonic minor is used to play minor, major, semidiminished chords and dominant seventh chords.

We will consider the option of beating the dominant through this mode in the key of A minor.

That is, let's play the A minor harmonic scale on the guitar on the chord E (E major).

An example of using this approach and fret boxes, which we will analyze later in the article, see this video:

Another notable feature of the harmonic minor lies in the fact that if it is built from the tonic of the dominant (in this case E), it takes on the "look" of the Phrygian major mode, or the Spanish major:

1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7

Phrygian major from E:

E (mi) - F (fa) - G# (sol sharp) - A (la) - B (si) - C (do) - D (re)

Such a variant of playing the dominant is used in their solos by guitarists playing in various musical styles: Yngwie Malmsteen, George Bellas, John Mclaughlin, Al Di Meola and many others.

The fret is easily determined by ear due to the colorful oriental sound.

Boxes

The fingering of the boxes is based on the principle of "three notes on a string". On video, the gamma is played with alternating strokes, but you can use any other way of sound production. For example, sweep (formula down-up-down + down-up-down, etc.) or hammer / pool (legato).

Please note that the boxes use extended fingering, so you need to “warm up” your fingers first.

The scale can be played with a metronome or a backing track over an E chord, as shown in the video.

It is worth noting that playing with a harmonic lining is much more useful in terms of developing hearing and improvisational skills.

Playing each box ends with a sustained chord sound(in this case, E major). That is, in some positions, at the end of the downward movement, a repeated “return” to the tonic (E), third (G#) or fifth (B) in E major is performed. Accordingly, the steps of the mode are considered relative to the dominant.

A backing track for playing the harmonic minor on the guitar and a backing track for improvising on the E chord (which sounded on the video), tabs can be

(from b2 - second reduced stage E)

Familiarize yourself with the location of fret sounds on the fretboard:

Now disassemble the "finger". Near each note is indicated the finger of the left hand, with which it is necessary to press it.

As already mentioned above, the playback ends not with the first (lowest) note of box F, but with G# - the reference tone (third of E major).

(from level 4 E)

We finish playing the scale on the note B (5th degree of the chord E)

(from 5 steps - fifths E)

(from 6 steps)

In the last measure, we return to the tonic E.

(from 7 steps - septims)

(from 1 step - tonics)

If learning tablature is difficult for you or you prefer to learn fingering visually, watch the second part of the video posted at the beginning of the article. But set your Youtube player to slow motion. Learn more about how this setup is done.
The scale can be played on any minus and other chords, for which it is suitable (for example, Fmaj7 can be played with harmonic A minor). It all depends on the specific tasks.
Boxes study sequentially. Do not rush to cover the entire material in one or two lessons.
When all the boxes are already well enough studied, they can be played one by one gradually moving along the neck as shown in the training video.
The scale is played in eighths (two notes per beat). In the future, you can play it in sixteenths or triplets.
Play the given boxes in other keys. For example, transpose the studied material into the key of D minor and try to beat already its dominant - the A7 chord.
Combine harmonic minor with other modes (pentatonic, blues scale, natural minor) and arpeggios in your guitar improvisations, focusing on the harmonic sequence (chords of a song, instrumental composition).

All! The first part of the lesson has come to an end. Good luck with your guitar lessons! In the second part, we will consider the diagonal fingerings of the harmonic minor - .

Features of playing scales

Any scale must be played for a reason, but following a number of rules:

in the right hand, it is necessary to play the alternation of fingers: index-middle, best of all by playing with support, when the finger hits the string and rests on the next string going higher;
you need to play loud and clear;
between adjacent sounds you need to strive to make the same intervals;
the fingers of the left hand should press the string as close to the frets as possible, as this develops a stretch;
the finger of the right hand must produce sound simultaneously with the fretting of the finger of the left hand, and in no case after a pause after the finger has been fretted;
you need to try to give the game of the scale a dynamic coloring, as if it were a simple piece of music;

How to play the scale

Gamma can be played in different ways. You can play slowly, thinking through every action of the left and right hands, you can play it at speed. You can play the scale with triplets. As you have already read, you need to alternate blows with the index and middle fingers of your right hand all the time. Every third blow can be distinguished, that is, it will be like this: TAM-there-there-TAM-there-there ... This very well develops the independence of the actions of the fingers of the right hand, because every third blow falls on different fingers. But at the same time, it is important to monitor the speed of the game - it should not change.

What are scales and how to build them

Each scale has its own name. It is called by the name of the note from which it is built. For example, there is a G-major scale or, for example, C minor. If the scale begins with the note SOL, then it must end with the note SOL and nothing else.

Major scales are built according to the following principle: the initial note is taken, let it be the note SALT, and then from it, according to the law of building a major scale, a scale is built. The law of construction is a certain sequence of gaps between the notes of the scale.

Minor scales are built on the same principle as major scales, only the construction law for them will look different.

In this article, we will talk more about scales. You will find out what they are for and why they are given such great importance.

Introduction

What is gamma? This is a limited sequence of notes, chosen from 12 possible ones, that create the desired coloration for the sound. In other words, gamma for a musician is the same as for a paint artist. The artist chooses the colors he needs to paint a picture, and the musician chooses notes from the scale to create a melody. The best way to describe a single scale is to list the intervals between notes. We use the term "Tone" or "Semitone", which allows you to write the formula using capital letters, T (Tone - tone) and S (Semitone - semitone).

Some guitarists use the letters W and H to denote intervals - capital letters from the words "Half" (Half) and "Whole" (Whole). There is also a way to specify the number of semitones (1 or 2). In any case, these three ways are identical and all give us major scale intervals:

T T S T T T S
W W H W W W
2 2 1 2 2 2 1

(tone - tone - semitone - tone - tone - tone - semitone)

Let's see how it works. Let's choose a scale - Sol-sharp major (G # major). At the initial stage, we know two things. First, our base note (or tonic) is the Sol sharp (G#). Second, we will use the major scale formula.

So we start with our G-sharp note, and add the first step of the formula, which is the T-tone. So, starting with G-sharp and moving up a tone (or two semitones), we arrive at A-sharp (A#).

G# + T = A# (G-sharp + Tone = A-sharp).

A# + T = C (A-sharp + Tone = C).

In the next step, we start with C and check the formula - now we need to add a semitone that will bring us to C sharp (C#):

C + S = C# (C + Semitone = C sharp).

If we continue in the same spirit, we will get the following:
C# + T = D# (C-sharp + Tone = D-sharp),
D# + T = F (D-sharp + Tone = F; remember that there is no such note as E-sharp),
F + T = G (Fa + Tone = Sol),
G + S = G# (G + Semitone = G-sharp).

Thus, we have constructed our G-sharp major scale, consistent with our major scale formula:
G# A# C C# D# F G (G-sharp, A-sharp, Do, C-sharp, D-sharp, F, Sol).

Most scales contain 7 notes, but this is not an exact rule. As an exception, the minor pentatonic scale contains only five notes (its formula is 3 2 2 3 2 - I use numbers here instead of T and S, because it omits the pair of tone and semitone, which together make 3 half notes and which together can be easily written as 3 instead of something like “T + 1/2″, but these notations mean the same thing). Some scales have more notes, for example the chromatic scale contains all 12 notes.

It is important to note that many guitarists use scale notation for the scale formula. For example, for the major scale it looks like this: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, and for the Lydian mode it looks like this: 1-2-3-4#-5-6-7. The difference is only in the increased fourth stage. This is used to make it easier to work with the construction of modes, for example, if you know the fingering of the major scale, then you can easily build a Lydian mode by just raising the fourth degree of the major scale by a semitone.

Scales and fingerings

A scale is a group of notes with a certain interval between them - the way I described it above. These intervals determine which fingerings we should use to reproduce the desired scale.

Major scale fingering:

If you know the fingering of one major scale, you know how to play each major scale on the guitar in its standard tuning. To play the C Major scale, start fingering it with C on the sixth string. To play the D Major scale (D Major), start your fingering with D. And so on.

The same applies to any other scales, if you know the fingering, then immediately start with any tonic that you need, and you will play the scale.

Fingerings were created to use scales in standard tuning. Scales are part of musical theory because scales are just an idea until they are played, and the way we guitarists turn a theoretical scale into action is by applying fingerings that allow us to play the notes we want.

Again, the fingering I gave you was designed specifically for standard tuning. If you lower the tuning and play the C major scale on this fingering, then it will not contain those notes that are included in the C major scale (Do - Re - Mi - Fa - Sol - La - Si).

The scale has not changed - the C major scale still contains the notes Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si. However, once the guitar is tuned differently, you need to use new fingerings to play the correct scale notes - Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si.

Thus, a scale is a combination of notes, the characteristic feature of which is the reproduction of a certain sound character when played. All the fingerings that you will learn in future articles are just a convenient way to play scales, this is a kind of template for building a scale from the note you need.

In the given fingering there are three notes per string. There can be four notes on a string (although this is difficult to play), two (used in the pentatonic scale), you can even play the entire scale on one string. All this variety of combinations gives us new fingerings.

Gamma and key

You learned that the key determines the tonic (the first step of the scale). Gamma and key are very closely related, but scale is not key. The name of the key depends on the scale - this is a bit misleading.

Key- the tonal center of the melody. Key indicates the chords and notes to which the melody gravitates. You can write a song where the melody starts on the C major scale and then briefly switches to the A flat major scale for just one or two bars, and then back to C again.

The fact that we have returned to C helps us to see this note as the tonal center or heart of the melody, the basis to which we invariably return. The base is the “key”, and in most cases, we start the melody with a scale that matches the key. In some cases, we will not deviate from the scale that corresponds to the key without changing the key of the music.

The change of tone is called modulation. In this case, we are changing the tonal center of the melody, and we will use a new scale (or set of scales) to which it will gravitate. The melody will be built in such a way that the new key will become its center, and the old key and the scales associated with it will remain only history until we make reverse modulation.

Thus key is the anchor for the melody, scale is the tool for creating the melody, and fingering is the tool for translating the scales onto the guitar fretboard.

The meaning of scales in music

In musical terms, a scale is a palette of notes from which you can select the notes you need to build chords, solo melodies, accompaniments, and everything else, hoping to get a good sound.

Look at it this way: before you become a poet, you need to master the Russian language. Scales are the language of music, and there are many ways to combine them with each other to create interesting compositions.

Not knowing scales is like trying to write a poem without using words. I admit that in some cases this will work, and the result will be wonderful, but the possibilities will expand significantly if you begin to adhere to the generally accepted means of expression, which are scales.

There are many types of scales. Think of them as expanding your vocabulary and getting new and original ways of expressing your ideas.

Boxes

Let's get back to the appliqués for a moment. When studying fingerings, as a rule, the fretboard sequence is divided into "boxes". Boxing is just a group of notes on a scale that is easy to play without too much movement on the fretboard. Boxes are constructed by moving up from the bottom E string, and playing one scale note after another, starting at whatever note it is.

There is an important point regarding boxes/fingerings. It's that they stay the same no matter what key you play your scale in. If you are playing the C major scale using a specific box or fingering and you want to play the A major scale, all you have to do is move the fingering up the fretboard 2 frets. Why is that?

Let's figure it out. Do and A are separated by 2 semitones. If you move the box up the fretboard, none of the note intervals will change. So you play exactly the same formula, just using a different tonic. This means that you have to learn each fingering once, and you can use it for each of the 12 notes!

Tonic

A source of confusion for some people is the fact that for many fingerings, the note listed as the lowest is not the root note. If you have thought about it, then it is correct. Let's start with the G major scale. Our first box should start on the low E string, 3rd fret - which is the Sol. We add notes starting from this scale to build the scale:

G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G
(Sol, La, Si, Do, Re, Mi, F-sharp, Sol, La, Si, Do, Re, Mi, F-sharp, Sol).

To build the next box, we would have to move from G up one step to the 5th fret, which is A. Now, from there we start building our range:

A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G A
(La, Si, Do, Re, Mi, F-sharp, Sol, La, Si, Do, Re, Mi, F-sharp, Sol, La).

It takes 7 notes to get to our Sol tonic!

It's not difficult - you just have to understand which note is the tonic and where it is. However, it will more often happen that above or below the tonic there are no suitable notes that are part of the scale and suitable for playing (thus the game will start with the tonic).

The tonic is very important because it determines the scale you play (along with type, major, minor, etc.). Although there is no rule that says that you should always start the scale with the tonic. Think of a scale as a palette of notes from which you have to choose the right ones to play.

What scales should be taught?

Any scale you want! Scales are an important part of your creative arsenal. The more scales you know, the more ways you have to express yourself. Let's note some of them.

1. Minor pentatonic.

This is the first scale that most people learn. It is simple because it contains only five notes, and immediately opens up great opportunities for improvisation and playing in the blues/rock style.

2. Major pentatonic.

This is a variation of the minor pentatonic scale, they are very similar.

3. Major scale.

One of the main scales in music.

4. Natural minor scale.

Together with the major scale, they form the basis of all music. In fact, the pentatonic scale is a minor scale, with only a few missing notes. So, wherever you use the minor scale, you can also use the pentatonic scale.

With the aforementioned scales you will play rock, and you will probably be able to play 95% of the music you are familiar with. You can be a very competent musician even if you stop at this stage. The following scales are more limited in use, and have more of a jazz sound. They will bring new flavors to your music.

5. Harmonic minor / melodic minor.

Two variations of the minor scale that sound special, especially the harmonic minor.

6. Major and minor modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian).

Natural scales are actually variations of the major scale, which are built according to special rules. Depending on the scale you use, they will give different shades to the music. The major natural scales are great to learn once you've fully mastered the scales mentioned above.

By the time you've mastered the major scales and other scales, you'll be an accomplished musician with a wide range of possibilities.

7. Exotic scales.

There are hundreds of exotic scales, many of which are used in certain types of folk music.

Each type of scale will be given special attention in other articles. At this stage, you should only understand why we use them and why they are so important.

Today's article will focus on guitar exercises. These exercises are designed to improve the technique and speed of the game. In the future, they will help you play complex musical passages. We have already gone through the preparatory stages: we studied, figured out what it is and Now it's time to combine all this knowledge and put it into practice. Our task is to learn how to play scales on the guitar. How these scales are written on the stave, and what key signs are there, I hope you have read. If not, then the entire list of scales and their key signs are presented. I will introduce the fingering of several scales. It is best to play them with a pick (down-up-down-up). So you can achieve a clear and high-speed game. Naturally, you need to start playing scales at a slow pace and preferably under.

In order to understand how to play scales on the guitar, you first need to correctly position your left hand. In general, its position is similar to when you hold down the chords, only the fingers need to be held a little wider so that they are located above the corresponding frets. By minimizing your movements, you can achieve high game speed and finger fluency.

Left hand position

Now let's look at the fingering of specific scales for the guitar. The guitar neck is shown in the same way as on regular ones. For the utmost clarity, I list the strings from top to bottom: Mi[E]-Si[H]-Sol[G]-Re[D]-La[A]-Mi[E]. The frets are numbered under the neck, and the numbers in the circles indicate the numbers of the fingers with which the strings should be clamped. You can also say that these are tablature scales for guitar.

Gamma G Major

Gamma G Minor

Gamma C Major

I would like to show you another version of the C Major scale fingering.

Gamma C Minor

Gamma E Minor

I want to clarify that you need to play the E minor and E major scales on the guitar from the open sixth string, since this is the tonic - the note MI (marked with a circle).

Gamma E Major

Gamma A Minor

The scale should be played from the open 5th string. That is why the name of the A string is circled.

Gamma in A Major

This scale, like the previous one, begins with an open 5th string.

Gamma D Minor

Gamma D Major

Scales in B Major

Scales in B Minor

"Tutorial" Guitar Lesson No. 19

What are guitar scales for?

The C major scale (C major) is the simplest scale on the guitar, but with fingering it will be of particular benefit to beginner guitarists. Unfortunately, many do not imagine the useful action of such a tedious activity as playing scales on the guitar. A guitarist who does not want to play scales resembles a crawling baby who does not want to walk, believing that moving on all fours is faster and more convenient, but whoever gets on his feet will learn not only to walk, but to run fast.
1. The scale in C major throughout the fretboard will give you a better idea of the location of the notes on the fretboard and help you remember them.
2. When playing scales, you will see synchronism in the work of the right and left hands.
3. Gamma will help to catch the feel of the neck and thereby develop accuracy when changing positions of the left hand.
4. Develop the independence, strength and dexterity of the fingers of the right and especially of the left hand.
5. Makes you think about the economy of finger movements and the correct positioning of the hands to achieve fluency.
6. Helps in the development of musical ear and sense of rhythm.

How to play guitar scales correctly

The first thing to do in order to play the scale correctly is to memorize the transitions from string to string and the exact sequence of the fingers of the left hand. Do not think that scales are just ascending and descending sounds and your task is to play them as quickly as possible in this way, building up technique. Such a vision of the task is doomed to failure from the outset. Scales are primarily passages of the pieces of music you play. You already know that music is not a chaotic change of passages and chords - all sounds are united by the tonality and rhythmic basis that allow us to call it MUSIC. So, the scale in the key of C major must have a certain size when performed. First of all, this is necessary in order to keep at a certain pace when playing without any slowdowns and accelerations. Accurate rhythmic performance in a certain time signature gives the passages beauty and brilliance. That is why scales are played in different sizes (two, three quarters, four quarters). This is how you should act when playing the scale, highlighting each first beat of the first measure of the time signature of your choice. For example, when playing in two beats, count one and two and marking with a slight accent each note that falls on “one”, count in three beats one and two and three and also noting the notes dropping out on "one".

How to play the scale in C major on the guitar

Try to raise (raise) the fingers of your left hand above the strings as little as possible. The movements should be as economical as possible and this economy will allow you to play more fluently in the future. This is especially true for your little finger. The constantly rising little finger when playing scales and passages is an excellent "traitor" indicating the wrong position of the hand and forearm of the left hand in relation to the guitar neck. Think about the reason for such movements of the little finger - it is quite possible to change the angle of the hand and arm relative to the neck (change of landing) will give a positive result.

Playing the scale in C major up

Place your second finger on the fifth string and play the first note C, keep your second finger on the string, place the fourth and play the note D. You play two notes, but both fingers continue to press the fifth string, while placing your first finger on the second fret of the fourth string and play the note mi. Just after playing mi on the fourth string, lift your fingers from the fifth to play f and g while holding the first finger on the note mi. After playing the G note, tear off the first finger from the fourth string and, placing it on the second fret of the third string, play the note la, and then tearing off the second and fourth fingers from the fourth string with the third finger, play the note si, continuing to hold the first finger on the note la (second fret). Just after playing the B notes, raise the third finger, while the first finger begins to slide easily along the third string to take its place on the 5th fret. Pay special attention to this change of position on the third string, taking care that there is no uncontrolled sound interruption when the first finger moves to the fifth fret. I think that you have already understood the principle of performing the scale up and you can move on to the next step.

Playing the scale in C major down

You have played the scale on the first string to the note C, while the fingers of the left hand continue to stand in their places (1st on V, 3rd on VII, 4th on VIII frets). The principle of playing the scale in the opposite direction remains the same - as few extra finger movements as possible, but now, in order, tear off the fingers from the string and after the played note la on the 5th fret, we will tear off the finger holding it only after we play the note G with the fourth finger on the 8th fret of the second string .

Right hand when playing scales

Play scales with different fingers of the right hand first (i m) then (m a) and even (i a). Remember to make small accents when hitting the strong beats of the bar. Play with a tight, loud apoyando (supported) sound. Play the scale on crescendos and diminuendos (increasing and weakening the sonority), practicing the shades of the sound palette.

You can learn the C major scale from the tablature below, but the main thing is to follow the fingerings written in the notes.

Once you learn how to play the C major scale, play C sharp, D, and D sharp major. That is, if the gamma C major began from the third fret, then C sharp from the fourth, D from the fifth, D sharp from the sixth fret of the fifth string. The structure and fingering of these scales is the same, but when played from a different fret, the feel on the fretboard changes, making it possible for the fingers of the left hand to get used to these changes and feel the guitar neck.