The Major Scale on the Guitar
Learning scales on the guitar is one of the most basic and important ways to sharpen your ears, gain familiarity of the fretboard, and train movements of your fretting hand. Scales are sets of pitches spaced at specific intervals within an octave and arranged in either ascending or descending order. While there are many varieties of scales, this post will focus on playing the major scale a few different ways on the guitar.
What is the Major Scale?
The major scale consists of 7 distinct pitches before returning to its origin pitch, but an octave higher (or lower, if descending through the scale). Due to the intervals that make up this scale, it’s generally considered to have a somewhat happy and uplifting quality to it. In the tonal system typically used in music in this area of the world, the smallest interval between any two pitches is known as a half step (e.g. C to C#). On the guitar, each fret is equivalent to a half step. If you skip over one note, the interval is a whole step (e.g. C to D).
The major scale contains a pattern of whole steps and half steps in a sequence: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. This pattern is what essentially defines the scale - regardless of the note on which you begin, this scale will always consist of this pattern of intervals. For example, the C major scale includes the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B, before returning to C an octave higher than where it started.
If you’re brand new to the concept of notes and music theory, it may at first appear that each of these notes are separated by a whole step due to the absence of sharp or flat notes. But the interval between E and F is only a half step, as is the interval between B and C.
For another example, let’s check out the Eb major scale. This scale contains the notes Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, and D. The interval between Eb and F is a whole step (remember - E to F is only a half step!), F to G is a whole step, G to Ab is a half step, Ab to Bb is a whole step, Bb to C is a whole step (B to C is only a half step), C to D is a whole step, and finally D to Eb, which is a half step.
Now that we have an idea of what the major scale is, let’s see how it works on the guitar.
The Major Scale on the Guitar
It’s a good idea to learn to play scales a few different ways on the guitar. We’ll cover the most basic scale shapes to get you started.
On One String
The simplest way to begin applying the major scale on the guitar is to play it on one string. Doing so makes it easy to follow the pattern of intervals that makes up the scale. We’ll pick up with our first example, the C major scale.
Starting from the C at the first fret on the B string (the second skinniest string), we’ll play through the series of whole steps and half steps that make up the scale. Each whole step requires moving your finger up the neck by two frets, whereas each half step moves up only one fret.
The next note, D, is the 3rd fret on the string, which is a whole step up from C. The next note, E, is up two more frets on the 5th fret. F is only a half step higher than E, on the 6th fret. G is a whole step above F on the 8th fret. A is a whole step up on the 10th fret. B is yet another whole step up on the 12th fret. And finally, we return to C on the 13th fret, a half step above B. Refer to the diagram below to see how the scale maps to the B string.
In One Position
It’s possible to play the same scale without moving your hand up the neck at all. To ensure we don’t run out of space, we’ll begin from a C that’s an octave lower than where we previously began.
Start by pressing down with your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the A string (second thickest string). This note is C, the first note of the scale. The next note, D, is played by pressing down on the 5th fret of the A string (same string) with your pinky. The next note, E, is played by pressing down on the 2nd fret of the D string (third thickest string) with your pointer finger. F is played by pressing the 3rd fret of the D string with your middle finger. G is located at the 5th fret of the D string (pinky). A is at the 2nd fret of the G string (pointer finger). B is at the 4th fret of the G string (ring finger). And finally, we return to C again on the 5th fret of the G string, one full octave higher than where we started.
Across Two Strings
The last scale shape we’ll cover here is almost a fusion of the first two shapes. It involves changing the hand position and playing the scale using 2 strings.
We’ll start from the same note as the previous shape - the C located at the 3rd fret on the A string. Play this first note by pressing down on the fret with your pointer finger. To play the next note, D, slide your pointer finger up to the 5th fret. Play the E by pressing down on the 7th fret with your ring finger, and then the F on the 8th fret with your pinky.
Next, to play the G, use your pointer finger to press on the 5th fret of the D string (4th string). Then slide your pointer finger up to the 7th fret to play the A. Play the B by pressing down on the 9th fret with your ring finger. And finally, play the C on the 10th fret with your pinky. Note how the pattern on each string is the same.
Learning multiple ways of playing a scale on the guitar ultimately leads to greater familiarity of the fretboard, while also helping you encode common shapes and movements around the fretboard into muscle memory. You can even try creating your own ways to play scales on the neck.
Further Study
When learning guitar, studying and mastering scales is no small task and will take lots of practice, time, and patience. If taking the journey alone seems intimidating, consider signing up for our group guitar class, the Guitarist’s Roadmap. This class is designed for beginner guitarist’s near Boston that have zero prior experience with playing an instrument. You’ll learn alongside like-minded individuals that are eager to acquire the fundamentals of the guitar while becoming integrated with a growing community of musicians. Click the button below to learn more.