|
|
Vol. 13, No. 6: Dec.-Jan. 2008
|
Scales, Who Needs Them? Why And What For, Anyway?!
| |
|
|
by Jamie Andreas
|
|
|
Page added in
December, 2003
|
| |
|
About the Author
|
|
Jamie Andreas is a virtuoso classical guitarist from New York.
Free! 10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Become a Better Guitarist! "The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar," the Perfect Start for Beginners, the Answer to the Problems of Players. Start to play the guitar without getting bad habits, or get rid of the bad habits you already have, by knowing how to do "perfect practice" with "The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar".
Visit www.guitarprinciples.com.
© Jamie Andreas
|
Somewhere along the way in our development as guitar players, we start to get the
idea that it would be a good idea if we learned some of those things called scales.
If we are new to the guitar, and new to music, we are probably not even quite sure
exactly what a scale actually is, which certainly adds to the aura of mystery that
begins to surround the subject.
The next thing that happens, as we continue along in our development, is that we
begin to get the unsettling impression that there seems to be an awful lot of those
things called scales. In fact, there seems to be hundreds of them. We may even run
across an encyclopedia of scales, and realize that there could be thousands of these
little buggers out there! The very prospect of learning all those scales begins to
make us weak in the knuckles!
It is at about this point that we start to get a little suspicious, a little curious
about this whole business of scales and what they really have to do with us, and
what we want to do on the guitar. "How many of these things do I have to learn,
anyway"?, we ask, "and what do I do with them once I learn them"?
Then we go and try to find the answer to our questions. We read magazines and hear a
lot of advanced and professional guitarists talk on the subject, and it leaves us
even more confused. One guy says we must know a hundred ways to play a major scale,
and then we should learn a hundred minor scales, and then start on the more exotic
type of scales. Another guy, who is also an advanced player, perhaps professional
and perhaps rich and famous, says he only uses a few scales. So after all our
agonized searching, we are even more confused than when we started!
What gives?
Well, I am going to try and provide some clarity on the subject. I am going to lay
out an overall view of the subject, and provide you with an understanding of what
scales are, what they are used for, and how the way scales are used is different for
different types of players. Once you understand these things, you will be in a much
better position to achieve some clarity on the subject, and make your own decisions
about how you are going to include the study of scales into your practice regimen.
What Scales Are, Musically, and Why We Practice Them
Musically speaking, a scale is simply a series of notes, following one after the
other. The really important thing about any scale is the space between the notes,
and by space, I mean the space in terms of pitch. It is the distance in pitch
between two notes that contains the emotional content of music. This is one of the
most important concepts that any musician can know, and most do know it, if only on
an intuitive level. For those wishing to develop an understanding of music theory,
this concept should be pursued and understood. I cannot go into it in the depth it
deserves in this essay, but I will lay out the essence of it, and you should pursue
it with your teacher, and in books.
If I play a note on the guitar, and then play the same note again, there is no
distance in pitch between the two notes. If I play a note, and then play the note on
the very next fret, the distance in pitch, (which is the "highness" or "lowness" of
a sound), between those two notes is called a half step. If I play a note, and then
play the note two frets away (a note on the first fret, then the third), that is
called a whole step, and the effect is very different than a half step. If I play a
note and then the note three frets away, that distance is called a minor third.
All of these different spacings in pitch between notes are called intervals in music
theory. In the interval of a minor third mentioned above, you can really hear what I
mean by the "emotional content" of the interval. The minor third interval is
contained in the minor chord, and this particular "spacing" between notes is what
gives a minor chord it's dark, minor sound. When you play a blues scale, it is the
sound made by the first two notes, and gives the blues scale it's bluesy feeling (or
at least contributes to it, as do some other intervals).
That is as far as I want to go with Intervals for now. I just want you to know they
exist, and that they carry the "emotion" of music. I want you to know that every
scale not only contains notes, but that the spaces, or Intervals between the notes
are what is really important. Scales come in different "types", major, minor,
diminished, etc.. Each type of scale has its own peculiar spacings between the
notes, and these spacings give each type of scale its unique emotional feeling or
"color". You will see later that players of different styles use different types of
scales in their playing. A lifelong blues/rock player may never need to play a major
scale.
Because each type of scale has the same intervals between notes, each type of scale
has the same "feeling", even if it has a different letter name. In other words, if
you play a C major scale, or a D major scale, or a G major scale, they will all have
the same pattern of spaces, or intervals between each of the notes, as well as each
containing the same number of notes, so, they will all sound "the same" in terms of
the "emotional content" or feeling of the scale. In fact, you could say they all
have the same "color". Minor scales have a different spacing between the notes than
major scales, and it gives them a "dark" color.
Using this analogy, you could think of a scale as a palette of colors. If a composer
wants to write a sad piece, he will pull out a minor scale, and use those notes to
write it. In this sense, we could say scales are the building blocks of music.
What Scales Are, Technically, And Why We Practice Them
Musically speaking, we have seen that scales are the "building blocks" of music.
Many times in playing all types of music, we find ourselves simply playing scales,
backwards and forwards, and in lots of other patterns. So it would seem natural that
it would be a good idea to know how to play them, and it is!
If we think about scales in terms of technique, in terms of what it takes to
actually play them on the guitar, we realize that simply because a scale is a string
of notes, the simple act of playing a scale is quite a demand on the player. And the
faster the scale, the greater the demand. In fact, for guitar players, scales are a
whole lot more difficult than they are for most other musicians. A piano player only
needs one finger to play one note, but a guitar player needs the co-coordinated
action of two fingers (or finger and pick) to produce one note, and that has
profound implications. As a guitar player, you would be wise to reflect on and
appreciate this fact.
Almost all guitar students are unprepared for effective scale practice when the first scale comes along. The concept of truly independent finger action must have already begun to become a physical reality in the hands in order for scales to begin to be practiced with benefit, and not harm.
Segovia wrote, in his famous collection of scales for the classical guitarist, "The study of scales will solve a greater number of technical problems in a shorter amount of time than the study of any other technical exercise." In other words, if you are able to successfully play scales, and get one finger after another to do what it needs to do to get those notes, then there are a whole lot of other things you will also be able to do. So this means that the study of scales is one of the best things we can do in our practice sessions to develop and maintain our technique.
And this is one of the main points I want to get across here: scales are, at the very least, a primary technical exercise for all types of guitarists. For non-improvising guitarists such as classical guitarists, this is, in fact, their main purpose. A classical guitarist does not need a million scales at his fingertips. Since scales are serving only the purpose of providing excellent exercise for the fingers, we only need to select and practice the ones we feel give us that exercise. In fact, in Segovia's collection, most of the scales are simply the same finger patterns moved around the neck.
Of course, there is a world of things to know about the correct way to practice scales so that our fingers actually do learn to play them well, and so that the practice of scales helps us technically, rather than hurts us. For far too many students, scale practice gets them nowhere. That of course, is a whole other subject which I have addressed in other essays. At the least, you should realize that practicing scales successfully is a complex matter, not to be underestimated, and not to be undertaken without a lot of effort to understand how to practice them correctly.
With this is mind, we could interpret Segovia's statement to mean "if you can figure out how to learn scales well, you can figure out a lot of other technical challenges that playing the guitar poses".
What Scales Should You Know? How Scales Are Used Musically By Guitarists
As you probably suspect by now, exactly what scales, and how many scales a player
should know, depends on the style that player is playing. Here are some general
guidelines to help you figure out what you should be doing about scale practice in
your own playing.
All players should learn and practice major scales in the first position in the
common keys of C, G, D, A, E, and for the ambitious, the relative minors of these
major keys.
All players should learn movable scale patterns. Major scales that begin with the
2nd finger on the 6th string, as well as the pattern that begins with the 2nd finger
on the 5th string should be learned. After that, the major scale pattern that begins
with the 4th finger should be learned, first from the 6th string, then the 5th.
Ambitious players should then learn the major scale that starts with the first
finger on the 6th and 5th strings. Having these scales in your fingers (six major
scales) also puts all the arpeggios and modes into your fingers as well.
For those wishing to play blues and rock, you should learn the first pentatonic
scale inside and out, backwards, forwards, and various patterns. There are 5
pentatonic scale positions in all, and you should gradually learn them all. Of
course, you must learn the licks that come out of them as well, and how to use them
in improvising in the common keys (A & E first).
For players wanting to improvise in the more sophisticated styles, such as jazz, or
fusion styles, all the above should be learned. After that, you are a prime
candidate for one of those gigantic, monster scale books we talked about earlier!
Of course, there is a whole lot more to know about the subject, but I hope I have
provided the basis for a little clarity, especially for those new to the instrument.
Good luck finding which scales are right for you!
Copyright 2003 by Jamie Andreas (www.guitarprinciples.com)
Introducing "The Principles Of Correct Practice For Guitar: Part One" DVD!
Principled Players have been clamoring for this visual guide to all the
Foundation Exercises contained in "The Principles" since the publication of
that landmark book for guitarists, often referred to as "The International
Bible of Guitar."
It has been two years in the making, writing and refining the script, and
making sure it gives complete instructions on how to properly practice all
the techniques covered in "The Principles" book, and adding many new things
along the way, insights and approaches that facilitate the learning process.
The entire DVD has one central purpose: to establish the proper bottom of
your practice. It will settle any questions you may have as to exactly how
things are to be done, and many of you will be quite surprised how slow
"slow" really is! Jamie guides you through each exercise, speaking out loud
what is going on in his head, and what should be going on in yours!
The DVD is not a substitute for the book, but a very powerful means of fully
absorbing what is in the book. It does not go into the detailed explanations
of key concepts contained in "The Principles" book; rather, the focus is to
illustrate the use of these concepts for the performance of the Foundation
Exercises as they should be done.
Click here to learn more!
Read Reviews of the DVD from the Guitar Principles Forum!
Jamie's provocative writings examine all aspects of becoming a true musician.the technical/physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Guitar virtuoso, recording artist, composer, and teacher of 30 years, Jamie is recognized by music experts around the globe for his major contribution to the advancement of guitar education.
His method book, "The Principles Of Correct Practice For Guitar" (1999) continues to bring the highest acclaim, world renowned as "The International Bible For Guitarists", and the "Holy Grail Of Guitar Books." With a straight forward writing style, his tried and true, result-oriented guitar book powerfully reveals the correct practice methods that no other book has revealed.taking the student from the beginning stages all the way to the highest levels of virtuosity.
Jamie is already familiar to aspiring guitar players, as his wisdom is
present throughout the Web on all major guitar sites, including his own.
|
|
Additional Columns by Jamie Andreas
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
- And 22 more in the Guest Columnists series, view the index
|
|
