Guitar Lesson Two

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Major intervals

Intervals are the spaces between the notes. For a major scale (do re me fa so la ti do) the intervals are: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. We can write them like this:

W W H W W W H

On the neck of the guitar each fret represents a half step, so notes that are separated by one fret- in other words, frets not next to one another but with a fret between them- are a whole step apart. The notes at frets 2 and 3 for instance are a half-step apart. The notes at frets 2 and 4 though are a whole step apart.

We can easily play a major scale from any open string!

The name of the string is also the name of the major scale that starts with the note that you hear when you strike that string . For instance, an E major scale (written as EM, EMaj or E ) from the 6th string starts with the open E. Then put your pointer finger on the 2nd fret and play that note, which will be a whole step from the open string. . Next put your pointer finger on the 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th fret in that order. Lastly, put your finger on the 12th fret (the one with two fret markers usually). That is the octave, so you have played all the notes in the major scale! Practice this on all six strings.

We don’t have to start at the open string…

For instance, we can start at the 3rd fret of the 5th string, which is a C. If you follow the same pattern – W, W H, W, W, W, H – you will be playing a C Major scale! In this case, starting from the 3rd fret of the A string, the frets would be: 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 15 (15 is the octave C) And you can spell that scale easily, as C has no sharps or flats. C Major scale is spelled C, D, E, F, G, A, B C. Try it yourself!

You can also spell a C Major scale from the first fret of the B string. See if you can follow the pattern and spell the C scale from there too!

Your challenge: smoothly play a major scale from every open string so that each of the notes you play is the same length as every other note and they move smoothly up and down the scale. Play a C major scale up the B string from the 1st fret of the B string and up the A string from the third fret.