A GUIDE TO
UNDERSTANDING
GUITAR "THEORY" ©

LESSON FOUR: Starting to Understand ... (dare I say it...?) SCALES & OCTAVES

This is fairly easy to do, even if it is hard to understand at first.
The reason we started on "C" , 5th string, 3rd fret is to have an anchor embedded in our brain as to WHERE AND HOW to find any KEY, SCALE, or CHORD ROOT NOTE just by following the DOTS. (A root note is just the LOWEST "tone" of the Key you are supposed to be playing in.)



EXAMPLE:

5th 6th STRINGS

C - G (FIRST DOT)
D - A (SECOND DOT)
E - B (THIRD DOT)
F#-C# (FOURTH DOT)

The reason we use this particular PATTERN is to introduce us to MAJOR SCALES. Try to repeat this PATTERN until it makes sense to you.

In case you don't know (and WE will assume that you DON'T), ALL MAJOR SCALES will have either SHARPS (raised "tones") OR FLATS (lowered "tones'), EXCEPT for "C" natural.

To make this information clearer, observe the following example:

"From C to Shining C." This is an example of an OCTAVE!!! (Sometimes written as "8va") It's easy to remember too! "OCT" means 8! (Octopus, octagon, etc.)

Major Scale = 8 notes! Scale degree numbers...
In Any Key ! = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (8) (also known as "1" again)

A discussion on the NAMES of the Scale Degrees is in a later lesson. Also, the explanation of TETRA-CHORDS (an Easy way to remember SCALE CONSTRUCTION) will be introduced.

 

REMEMBER.. a

"C" scale = C D E F G A B C (no #'s, no b's) which puts "C" is in a class all IT'S own !

 

Now, on to the SCALES using "SHARPS" ( # ):

"G" scale = G A B C D E F# G (one SHARP "F#", which occurs at the "7th" place or step degree ..very important to remember for the sharp keys!)

"D" scale = D E F# G A B C# D (two SHARPS... retains the original "F#" and adds a new sharp "C#"... again at the "7th" place or "step" degree. This is the same pattern that will REPEAT again and again ...)

"A" scale = A B C# D E F# G# A (three SHARPS... retains the original "F#" and "C#", and adds a new SHARP "G#" at the "7th" degree)

"E" scale = E F# G# A B C# D# E (four SHARPS... retains F# C# G# and adds a new SHARP "D#" at the "7th" degree)

"B" scale = B C# D# E F# G# A# B (five SHARPS... all previous SHARPS, plus a new SHARP "A#" at the "7th" degree)

"F#" scale = F# G# A# B C# D# E# F# (six SHARPS... all previous SHARPS, plus a new SHARP "E#" at the "7th" degree)

A side note here� we use the NAME "E#" here (and in the next example) because THEORETICLY it is correct. Although not usually mentioned in "contemporary" terms, there REALLY exists a "Cb" , "B#" , "Fb" , and "E#" , (contrary to what you THINK you already know!) even though they are the same ENHARMONIC.
Cb = B and Fb = E ... B# = C and E# = F

Enharmonic means Same Note, Different Name.

See? Easy!

AND LASTLY:

"C#" scale = C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C# (seven SHARPS... all previous SHARPS, plus a new SHARP "B#" at the "7th" degree)

(There are others (the flats "b"), we just don't need to know them... for now. A Complete SCALE is listed, also in a later lesson.)

At this time I know you are probably saying out loud, "NOW WAIT A MINUTE, YOU SAID THERE ARE NO "SHARPS" IN "C", AND THERE YOU GO "SHARPING" EVERYTHING ON A "C".

NO! Get this part right, a "C#" is a DIFFERENT Scale altogether. A "C" is NOT a "C#" or vice versa. (If you don't believe this, get a friend to play one SCALE while YOU play the other, what a difference!)

 

An easy way of looking at this is the "SHARPS PYRAMID". ( MGS ™ )

Black Letters = KEYS

Black Numbers = Amount of "#'s" in given KEY

Colored Letters = sharps that accompany that "Specific" KEY

Sharp's Pyramid, Thanks to Mike Strickland for this! :-)

Eventually this WILL become more clear to you.

Putting this all this INFO to "GOOD" use in next lesson!

 

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW!

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