Question:
A friend of mine has been playing guitar for 5 years, and has some crazy solos. Me, personally, i've only been playing about six months, self-taught... i know all the major and minor chords and am pretty good at barres, but he told me that the key to playing solos is to know as many scales as possible, and i, um, don't really know any. Could someone help me out?
Answer:
First of all, the key to playing solos is definitely not knowing as many scales as possible. They may be impressive but in the end, they're far to rigid. However, having said that, it certainly is important to know your scale basics. I'll see if I can give you a mini-lesson on scales. You have several different types of scales. Most are based on the idea of the major scale. The major scale is based on a formula of whole and half steps. A whole step is two frets up and a half step is one fret up. A major scale goes, from the root note (in a C major scale, the root note is the C), whole-step, whole-step, half-step, whole-step, whole-step, whole-step, half-step. The last half-step should bring you up to the note one octave above the root. This can be played anywhere you like on the neck of the guitar. The real interesting stuff comes in when you do the modes. The modes follow the same formula as the major scale, but start on different notes of the scale. The scale starting on the root (or first) note of the major scale is called the Ionian, the scale starting on the second note is called the Dorian, and so on, through the rest of the modes, of which there are seven. The other five are, in order Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian. So, for example the formula for the Dorian scale would be the same as the formula for the major scale except you would skip the first whole-step and add it to the end. Incidentally, the Ionian scale is the same as the major scale, and the Aeolian scale is the same as the scale commonly know as the minor scale. Hope I haven't confused you too much. Here are some examples that may help. In the key of C: Ionian scale (or major): C D E F G A B C Dorian scale: D E F G A B C D Phrygian scale: E F G A B C D E Lydian scale: F G A B C D E F Mixolydian scale: G A B C D E F G Aeolian scale (or minor): A B C D E F G A Locrian scale: B C D E F G A B
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