If you are going to be asked to learn guitar scales, you need to have a pretty convincing reason. Scales are hard work and not exceptionally stimulating. They are valuable. And that is why they are what you need to know. If all you want to do is strum you guitar in solitude, maybe you can skip the scales. But, if you want to play with anyone else, or get good enough to play solo, you are going to need scales. No doubt about it.
Scales are the universal language of music. It makes no difference if the music is classical, pop, rock, grunge or whatever. There is a scale involved. These sets of notes are the same for almost all instruments. When you see a jam session where everyone is somehow magically in the groove, they know scales.
To really get good with scales, to earn your chops so to speak, takes some time. It is generally accepted that short sessions done daily will get farther and faster than spending two hours twice a week. The reasoning behind this concept is that scales are fairly straight forward and you will lose concentration if you spend more than five to fifteen minutes at a sitting.
It is possible that Carnegie Hall is not your ultimate goal, but getting every possible note that can be played on a guitar into your fingers, probably is. This kind of practice, short and focused will give you flexibility and control of your instrument. This kind of practice is also a long term project. Really great musicians never give up scales. The sessions are short and the payoff is huge.
It is a good idea to begin all of your practice sessions with at least one scale. One scale may be all you know at first. You will warm up your fingers and get your brain into music mode. Be alert. Mindless scales are what you want to avoid by using the short time span.
Now try it very slowly without any tension in your grip or fingering. That is really difficult to do. But having some sort of plan for getting the daily scales done is important. Short and sweet is the way to go at it.
If you have completed the first several suggestions, then it is quite likely that you have run out of time. Do not continue. Stop right where you are and go on to practice whatever piece or etude or song you have on your agenda. Resist the urge to somehow get whatever scale you are working on right. Trust that in 3 years or so, you will have all of them right where you need them.
The whole point of taking the time to learn guitar scales is to move you beyond the simple rote playing that is needed for beginners. This knowledge can take you to the next level. And there are few guitarists who are in demand, that do not know all their scales up one way and down the other. You can be in demand too. It just takes practice.
Scales are the universal language of music. It makes no difference if the music is classical, pop, rock, grunge or whatever. There is a scale involved. These sets of notes are the same for almost all instruments. When you see a jam session where everyone is somehow magically in the groove, they know scales.
To really get good with scales, to earn your chops so to speak, takes some time. It is generally accepted that short sessions done daily will get farther and faster than spending two hours twice a week. The reasoning behind this concept is that scales are fairly straight forward and you will lose concentration if you spend more than five to fifteen minutes at a sitting.
It is possible that Carnegie Hall is not your ultimate goal, but getting every possible note that can be played on a guitar into your fingers, probably is. This kind of practice, short and focused will give you flexibility and control of your instrument. This kind of practice is also a long term project. Really great musicians never give up scales. The sessions are short and the payoff is huge.
It is a good idea to begin all of your practice sessions with at least one scale. One scale may be all you know at first. You will warm up your fingers and get your brain into music mode. Be alert. Mindless scales are what you want to avoid by using the short time span.
Now try it very slowly without any tension in your grip or fingering. That is really difficult to do. But having some sort of plan for getting the daily scales done is important. Short and sweet is the way to go at it.
If you have completed the first several suggestions, then it is quite likely that you have run out of time. Do not continue. Stop right where you are and go on to practice whatever piece or etude or song you have on your agenda. Resist the urge to somehow get whatever scale you are working on right. Trust that in 3 years or so, you will have all of them right where you need them.
The whole point of taking the time to learn guitar scales is to move you beyond the simple rote playing that is needed for beginners. This knowledge can take you to the next level. And there are few guitarists who are in demand, that do not know all their scales up one way and down the other. You can be in demand too. It just takes practice.
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Navigate to www.eliteguitarlessons.com for more articles and to learn guitar scales. Most people find that it is fairly easy to learn to play the guitar if you have access to top quality instruction.
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