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basic intervals/scales lesson for beginners


the third eye

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Sure, that's a scale...

But not a standard one. ;-)

It doesn't follow Chi Swordsman's lesson on modes, and doesn't have standard intervals.

It's a 'scale' all right, but I still don't think you've made the connection of how to construct them in the way explained by Chi and Ruskie.

Greg

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Yes, that's correct-- but the 'steps' you take to get there are different, depending on the mode of the scale.

An 'A major scale' (whatever the name of the mode is) starts off on the root note (A) and then goes up by a tone, tone, then a semitone, and then tone, tone, tone, and another semitone.

Since each fret is a semitone, when you go up by a tone you have to go by 2 frets.

So an A major scale for one octave:

e-----------------------------

B-----------------------------

G----------------------1--2--

D------------0--2--4---------

A--0--2--4-------------------

E-----------------------------

It'll help a bit to remember that when I go from the fourth fret on the A string (and then from the 4th on the D) to the next open string, it's as though I'm moving up to the 5th fret on the original string. So fifth fret on A is the same as open on D.

But if you wanted to do an A MINOR scale (dunno the mode's name) you wouldn't follow the tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone sequence. You would still start on A, but the tones and semitones would be in a different order. Ditto for any other mode. The key is remembering or figuring out what the order is. (I haven't done so just yet).

Greg

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actually greg it goes up 2 tones and then a semi tone :D

oh and curtis that scale you made is called a chromatic scale, its not a sclale by definition but its used to increase finger speed and improve a sence of rythm

and yes, to make an a scale you start with a and go up to the next a (octave higher), but the difference is that its not just all the notes (12 semitones to get to a), theres a patern to it and thats where the modes come in

edit and a minor scale has a flat 3d, a flat 6th and a flat 7th

so it would be tone semitone, tone, tone,semitone, tone, tone, now if you look at it all it is is a shifted major scale!, thats the beauty of it

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we never discused pentatonic scales, but its a bit messy and i beleive its the traditional

----------------------5 8

------------------5 8----

--------------5 7--------

----------5 7------------

------5 7----------------

---5 8-------------------

and i beleive thats a blues pentatonic scale, and curtis you do realize that even if your playing the scale from the 6th string to the first all your doing is repeating the same 5 notes (if its a pentatonic) or 6 notes (if its a blues pentatonic)

i just realized why the scale sounds wierd on my electric, because i tuned it eabeab when i was playing around with tunings. :D

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actually greg it goes up 2 tones and then a semi tone :D

oh and curtis that scale you made is called a chromatic scale, its not a sclale by definition but its used to increase finger speed and improve a sence of rythm

and yes, to make an a scale you start with a and go up to the next a (octave higher), but the difference is that its not just all the notes (12 semitones to get to a), theres a patern to it and thats where the modes come in

edit and a minor scale has a flat 3d, a flat 6th and a flat 7th

so it would be tone semitone, tone, tone,semitone, tone, tone, now if you look at it all it is is a shifted major scale!, thats the beauty of it

Well, if you look down a bit, you'll see that I had it correct the second time, and by looking at the example TAB, it's clear that I start off with two tones... no need to roll your eyes. B)

I already reinforced what has been said about the scale being shifted. I agree, that IS the beauty of it. But it still doesn't answer my question about the chords. :D I could have sworn either you or Ki would have had an answer! <chuckle>

Greg

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we never discused pentatonic scales, but its a bit messy and i beleive its the traditional

-----------------------5 8

------------------5 8-----

--------------5 7---------

----------5 7-------------

------5 7-----------------

---5 8--------------------

and i beleive thats a blues pentatonic scale, and curtis you do realize that even if your playing the scale from the 6th string to the first all your doing is repeating the same 5 notes (if its a pentatonic) or 6 notes (if its a blues pentatonic)

i just realized why the scale sounds wierd on my electric, because i tuned it eabeab when i was playing around with tunings. :D

This is, indeed, a pentatonic scale. The "Blues" scale uses blue notes, too, which are the flat 3rd. In the case of The A blues, this is Eb:

--------------------------5 8

-----------------------5 8---

-----------------5 7 8-------

-------------5 7-------------

-------5 6 7-----------------

---5 8-----------------------

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Heh, you caught me mid-edit, Wes!

I had posted that scale, then remembered how pedantic some people are, deleted it while I 'researched' just to be sure, and then re-posted it when I knew it was correct. Curtis was responding to my original post that HAD the scale in it. :D

Sorry about that.

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Heh! I should just scrap the whole post. <laff>

The funny thing is, as I said, I wasn't that confident with what I had posted, so I went to research first. One site said "the flat third", so I believed it...

And then as I was doing the scale on my guitar, I was 'counting'... going, "what the hell? This isn't the third, it's the fifth?"

Then I thought, "I guess I'll just post the information I got, because hell if I can solve this mystery."

And now I have the mixed emotions-- gratification that I was right after all, but shame that I posted incorrect information. :D

All I know is that the TAB still reflects the scale I use for Blues. B)

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heh, oops that is not a blues pentatonic, :D, but your also wrong because its actually a minor pentatonic scale.

curtis actually you just learned about 19 scales, becaue the pentatonic is a movable scale, if you use the same pattern you can play it on any starting fret (on the 6th string though). to form the blues scale of the name of the note of which you started on B) so if you do the same pattern starting the second fret on the 6th string, you would make the F# pentatonic scale, then if you add those notes that wes ponted out and you got yourself an F# "blues" pentatonic scale (actually i think technically its a hexatonic scale, 6 tones, or septatonic) also in answer to your question wes (sort of) a blues sca;le usually has either 1 or 2 notes added on,

oh wait, greg i missed the chord voicings post, ill get on it.

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None of it means anything to me unless I know which chords to put underneath. How can I choose chords that have more of the scale's flavour? Or in general, how do the two relate? What I'm getting out of this so far is that for the 8 (or was it 7... I'm a good teacher but a crap student. <laff>) basic modes, the 'shape' is basically the same, except 'shifted' by varying degrees.

sorry i havn't been around for a bit, anyway here's an answer of sorts..

BTW i noticed you calling me Chi, finally someone who knows what i mean by ki! :D

yeah, you're right about the scale shapes being shifted, it's just a big fretboard size template which contains all modes linked up, which you can shift around,

and there's other templates you can use instead, like the one which contains harmonic minor, or the pentatonic one(the pentatonic template has 5 modes of it's own because any (pure)pentatonic scale only has 5 notes)

(i referred to those as 'families in the tut)

the chords underneath basically want to be made out of the same notes you are using to solo with

if i was playing chords in B minor(relative lydian is G) that revolve around the B and i played a solo in G lydian, i'd sound like i was playing in B minor, but i'd just be using shapes that i know through G lydian(this can open up your playing too by forcing yourself to use different shape ideas for the same scale)

however if my chords changed and revolved around the G(still only making chords from the notes in Bminor or G lydian)

the solo wouldn't sound minor anymore but lydian

the chords will sound more G lydian if the 'lydian' notes are accentuated

ie. the root because it's our link to G, and the Augmented 4th because it's the note that makes it different from another commonly known scale(in this case G major)

chords accentuating these will sound very lydian

so playing G lydian or Bminor over a B simply sounds like Bminor

but playing G lydian or Bminor over a G will sound lydian

if i played B lydian over a B it would sound lydian too

if you make a backing track that only uses B you could play in Bmajor, switch to Blydian to start giving a modal flavour, switch to B harmonic minor for a buildup

then into B mixolydian for some jazz etc... it can all sound good and like the modes they are because it's always a B scale over a B

if i played in B minor and then switched to a RELATIVE mode like Glydian i'd still be playing in Bminor

if my backing track incorporated a B(root) and a maj2 (C#) and even a Min3 (D)

to solo i could play modes which contain a maj2 and min3

(aeolian,Dorian,harmonic minor...etc)

so the solo could switch at anytime between Bminor, B harmonic minor or Bdorian and sound good(and the modes would sound like the modes they are) B)

does that make sense?

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in response to Truerussians post

So if i started on 3rd fret and went up the tone semittone tone tone tone semittone way (thats it, right?) then thats a petonic scale, right? if i start on 6th string

hmm, starting to make some sense now :D

Curtis

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in response to Truerussians post

So if i started on 3rd fret and went up the tone semittone tone tone tone semittone way (thats it, right?) then thats a petonic scale, right? if i start on 6th string

hmm, starting to make some sense now :D

Curtis

no what im saying is

--------------------2 5--

----------------2 5------

------------2 4----------

--------2 4--------------

----2 4------------------

2 5----------------------

would also be a pentatonic minor scale, but instead of the Aminor pentatonic it is the F#minor pentatonic, as the root note (2nd fret on 6th string) is f#

im just trying to show you that a minor pentatonic scale is movable, as are most scales

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