Chords Scales And Positions

Use a metronome with all exercises, and use a clean tone. If at anytime your hands or forearms cramp up or hurt, STOP shake out your hands and arms, then try to relax and start again, if you continue playing with the pain, you will probably develop tendonitis or a similar problem.

|------------------------------------------1-2-3-4--5-4-3-2----------------
|----------------------------------1-2-3-4------------------5-4-3-2--------
|--------------------------1-2-3-4----------------------------------5-4-3-2
|------------------1-2-3-4-------------------------------------------------etc
|----------1-2-3-4---------------------------------------------------------
|--1-2-3-4-----------------------------------------------------------------

play up to the 12th fret then back down use alternate picking (down, up, down, up etc) or hammer ons and pull offs

|-------------------------------1-2-3--4-3-2-------------------------------
|-------------------------1-2-3--------------4-3-2-etc---------------------
|-------------------1-2-3--------------------------------------------------
|-------------1-2-3--------------------------------------------------------
|-------1-2-3--------------------------------------------------------------
|-1-2-3--------------------------------------------------------------------


|----------------------1-3--4-2--------------------------------------------
|------------------1-3----------4-2----------------------------------------
|--------------1-3------------------4-2------------------------------------
|----------1-3---------------------------4-2-------------------------------
|------1-3-----------------------------------4-2etc------------------------
|--1-3---------------------------------------------------------------------

use your 2nd and 3rd fingers, start up at the fifth fret if this feels uncomfortable.

(Catapillar)
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|-------------------------------1-2-3-4--5-6-7-8etc------------------------
|-1-2-3-4--5-6-7-8--9-10-11-12---------------------------------------------

play on rest of strings, then go back down

When the next note lies right below roll your finger, don't lift your finger off the string but always make sure to mute the first note.

Ascending 3rds (key of Gmajor)
1st position
|-------------------------------------------------------------2---3--------
|----------------------------------------------------3---5--3---5----------
|------------------------------------2----4--2--5--4---5-------------------    
|---------------------2---4--2--5--4----5----------------------------------
|--------2---3--2-5-3---5--------------------------------------------------
|-2-5--3---5---------------------------------------------------------------
then descend (use in every key)


2nd position

|-----------------------------------------------------------------------5--
|--------------------------------------------------------5---7--5--8--7----
|-----------------------------------------4---5--4--7--5---7---------------
|-----------------------4-----5--4--7--5----7------------------------------
|----------5-----7---5-----7-----------------------------------------------
|-5--8--7-----8------------------------------------------------------------


-----7--5--8--|
--8-----------|
--------------|then descend
--------------|
--------------|
--------------|



3rd position

|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|----------------------------------------------------------7---8--7--10--8-
|------------------------------------------------7----9--7---9-------------
|-------------------------------7----9--7--10--9---10----------------------
|-----------7------8--7--10--8----10---------------------------------------
|-7--10--8-----10----------------------------------------------------------


--7------8--7-10--|
-----10-----------|
------------------| then descend
------------------|
------------------|
------------------|

4th position

|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|----------------------------------------------------------------10------12
|-------------------------------------------9------11--9--12--11-----12----
|-----------------------9----10--9--12--10-----12--------------------------
|----9----10--9--12--10---12-----------------------------------------------
|-10---12------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------10----12---|
--10--13--12----13------|
------------------------| then descend
------------------------|
------------------------|
------------------------|


5th position

|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------------------------11------12--11--14--12--
|----------------------------------12------14--12------14------------------
|------------12----14--12--15--14------15----------------------------------
|-12--15--14----15---------------------------------------------------------


--------------------------12-----14--12--15---|
--12------13--12--15--13------15--------------|
------14--------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------------|

Gmajor scale ascending in fours (pattern) This is a good way to connect scales, you can incorporate slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs.

|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|----------------------------------------------2--------2--4-----2--4--5---
|----------2--------2--3-----2--3--5--2--3--5-----3--5--------5------------
|-2--3--5-----3--5--------5------------------------------------------------


----------------------------------------------------------------------2----
----------------------------------------------3--------3--5-----3--5-------
-----------2--------2--4----2--4--5--2--4--5-----4--5--------5-------------
---2--4--5----4--5--------5------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


--------2--3-----2--3--5---|
--3--5--------5------------|
---------------------------| then descend
---------------------------| do this for all 5 positions
---------------------------|
---------------------------|

Gmajor scale in 4ths (intervals)

|--------------------------------------------------------------------2-----
|--------------------------------------------------------3-----5-------3---
|---------------------------------------2----4-----5--2-----4-----5--------
|----------------------2-----4----5--2----4-----5--------------------------
|----2-----3-----5--2-----3-----5------------------------------------------
|-2-----3-----5------------------------------------------------------------


--2----5---|
----3------|
-----------|then descend
-----------| do this for all 5 positions
-----------|
-----------|

Here's a cool little (interval) 4th pattern, sounds good when you play it fast. The first two notes (4th interval) go forward, the next two go backward.

|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------2--4-----------------------------|
|-------------------2--------4--5-----2--------4--etc---------------------|
|----2--3--------5-----2--3--------5--------------------------------------|
|-2--------3--5-----------------------------------------------------------|

here's a strange little lick that I came up with

|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-/5-3-4------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------5--4--------2-----------------------------------------------|
|----------5--------4--2-----5--------4--2--------------------------------|
|-------------------------------5--3--------2~----------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Arpeggios Major
Keep playing this up to the 12th fret then descend down. Try using sweep picking as well as alternate picking, it's good for your right hand dexterity.

|-------------2--3--------------------------------------------------------|
|----------3--------4-----------------------------------------------------|
|-------2--------------3--------------------------------------------------|
|----4--------------------5-----------------------------------------------|
|-5--------------------------6etc-----------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

                                         or
|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
|-----------2--------------------3etc--|---------2--3---------------------|
|--------3-----3--------------4--------|------3--------4------------------|
|--1--5-----------5--1--2--6-----------|1--5--------------6--2------------|


                                       or
|------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
|------------4--------------------5--|----------4--5----------------------|
|-----1---4-----4--1--------2--5-----|----1--4--------5--2----------------|
|--2------------------2--3-----------|-2--------------------3-------------|
|------------------------------------|------------------------------------|

Comments

[DraVenD18]

does this increse the speed on your hand thats on the right(i play left hand)?

[Oswald]

This is confusing, why make such a big jump between the lines that represent the strings?

[SLASH SNAKEPIT]

some of it is good

[dougblevins]

hey i liked it a lot it works

[hardstarter]

too ez, hard to read, at first i though it was a lesson on how to read crappy tabs!

[Onetime]

So what, are these all the scales that musicians are telling me to learn, what's the meaning of them. If there's no meaning I just made some scales of my own.

[excitable1]

my advice to the writers of these lessons is ignore the idiots that shouldnt have a guitar..
imao..they can figure a computer out but they cant figure out basic tabs....lol..get some profesional lessons and stop hackin on the people tryin to help those with a i.q

[Tom_Dowler]

good lesson dude but i have such a short attention span and i've been playin 2 years now, when will i ever learn :'(

[Chatbeauty_85]

hm..... i´m a beginner playing the guitar and i´m trying to teach myself a little bit but frm these tabs i´m not able to learn it cuz it doesn´t say what fingers to use for what tab etc.. i guess u know what i mean... so it would be better for beginners to say how i have to change my fingers to switch the fret etc...

[The_Lobster]

All idiots who says the tabs display incorrectly:
Click the "print this page" link, and you'll get it perfectly!

... Great lesson! Keep up with the good work!
Joachim, Norway

[Owensboy]

Chatbeauty,
The problem is that there isnt always a set way to play stuff. Different people use different fingers to play different notes. Just go throught it slowly at first and see what you find most comfortable and then sped it up.

[Chex]

why the *** do u have to pick upwards and downwards? it just complicates everything and makes it 100 times harder

[VES]

This is pretty good, too bad the tabs got f**ked up though!

[Lickchop_2004]

this is like a speed and precision developer i guess. i think it helps. there are other ass wipes out there who dont appriciate the help tho

[puppetmaster666]

im just learning to to play the guitar and there is a part on this that confuses me. the very first excercise says 1-2-3-4-5 and you go up and down. but it says go up to the 12th fret? im just learning so can someone explain?

[Bilzzard_of_Ozz]

This is helping.

[The_Matrix]

these exersies helped me out...ive only been playin for a month so im not that good but i can play some stuff so thanks whoever wrote this

[nxlimit]

what do you mean "roll" your finger if the next note's below?

[nacho420]

i think this is a great lesson to improve speed and coordination. I used some of these scales before i even read this lesson. some of them are good to learn how to shred.

[BHD]

You guys, chil. Firstly, this man has made this lesson voluntarily. He's put alot of effort into it and you're swearing at him and telling him he sucks. You're the one who sucks. How much was he payed for this lesson? I'll tell you, jacksh!t. Have some respect you guys.

Also, if you can't read the tab, it's because the text has been squashed into a small space. Copy the tab into notepad and it'll come out fine. It's not the man's fault it came out wrong, it's the way the site was made.

I think this tutorial is great. You can really get some speed into your technique by this stuff. I'm really practicing them. I'm playing these things more than songs now. I think you should definetely try it. The tabs aren't ***ed up, copy them into notepad guys, it's worth it.

[five0]

If you guys have problems with the ads, just copy and paste the tab into notepad

[Wojdude]

For all of those begginers out there who dont understand the meaning of this tab i will try and explain a little bit.

Firstly if the tab looks big highlight it and copy it into another text editor. This will make it look like a normal tab again.

For those of you who dont know what fingers to use i believe the idea of this tab is to develop all 4 fretting fingers.

The 1-2-3-4 tabs help you to develop your little fingers strength. You should practice all of these tabs slowly to begin with so you get a feel of fretting notes. Once you get fluent in these tabs you can start adding speed to them. After that try developing the patterns in your own way. Believe me, if you spend a few weeks or so practiceing scales and tabs like these your speed and accuracy will increase dramaticaly!

Just remeber to put ur fingers directly on the frets and try to use as little force as possible so you dont get pain. If you relax your hand you will be able to move faster as you get mroe profficient and will avoid injury later on.

For those of you who dont know about hammer-on's and pull-off's you should look at some beginer lessons on this site. Techniques like this can be difficult to learn without a visual aid such as a teacher or video so you should try and search the internet for something like "free guitar video lessons".

I would recomend spending 10mins everytime you practice on scales and "catapiller" techniques. You can use them as a warm up, you will soon start noticing the difference in your playing if you practice these regularly

Jsut remember to start slow and get the basics correct before you try and go speeding away like van halen.

[fenderNthusiast]

if ur pissed off about the space between the strings, copy the tab and paste it into notepad. When it was written out, it would have been perfect but the ads shove everything over and fecked it all up

[mtboarder12]

thank YOU 2 whoever 2 spaces up. You guys only poser musicians get all pissed off when ever thangs dont go "your" way serously and OSWALD omg MAN SEROUSLY GET A LIFE OTHER THAN COMING INTO THESE AND JUST PICKING SHIT WITH EVERYONE GODDAMN MAN GET A LIFE!!!

Anyways thanks a bunch I defentaly started using this and along with some of the other techniqus on this site i am improving a lot.

[whimsicle_im]

hard to understand.. o.0
where did the 12th fret come from?
*faints* :o

[iamrulian]

It wont let me post this in one comment, so i'll post in two: Part 1:

Scales arent that hard to learn, but kinda hard to explain. But basically to learn a scale, you need to know a little bit about music theory, or simply look at a Piano. On a Piano you will see keys, white keys and black keys. If you notice that between most white keys are black keys. Well, basically each key white or black, when next to each other is a half step from one key to the next. In our music there are 8 notes (not true in Easter music, they have 12, i'm sure after this you can figure out why) . A,B,C,D,E,F,G, between these notes are half notes, known as sharps of flats. A, #a, B, C, c#, D, #d, E, F, #f, G, #g. So on a piano, the white keys would be the letters, and the black keys would be the #letters.

Now i'm sure you've noticed by now i've seem to have missed have notes between the B and C, and the E and F keys.

the reason there are no b# or e# is because in wester music, going from b to c or e to f is known as a natural half step. Reason: on a piano the keyes follow as such:

|C|D|[E|F|G|A|B|C| but there are black keys that are the half steps making it like so:
|C|{c#}|D|d#|E||F|{f#}|G|{g#}|A|{a#}|B||C|

no
tice that there are no black keys between B & C, and E & F, this is what make things screwy because it's not really even. The same is true on a guitar, so when you hit a B, and you want to go a step higher, your actually looking for a C#, instead of a C. Basically this is where music theory kicks in.

*** >>>.. Scales are basically patters of notes and half notes. Depending on the key your on, the notes are going to be different. So a major patern is basically this: root-note-note-half note-note-note-note-half note: So when someone says A Major scale, they say make A the root and apply the pattern A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A, So on a A major scale, C's, F's and G's are sharp.

[iamrulian]

This is where scales apply to chord construction and all that good stuff. knowing major scales, you can construct chords, A major chord is assembled with a pattern of root, major 3, perfect 5ths, (major 7th) kind of), but basically the 1, 3, 5 position on a major scale. So to construct an A chord, you use a major a scale to find the notes you need to achieve the chord, A- Root 1, 3rd - C#, 5th - E: so take a look at your major a chord of A, look at the threat number and take a look at the string, you have second position(second thret) on B, G, D,
e---..
B-2---..
G-2---..
D-2---..
A---..
E---..

what does this mean, well, think about which notes your hitting, on the B string, the threts would go as in a piano, B, C, C#, D, D#
so if B is open, a 2nd threat would be a C#, that is our 3rd in the major a we want to make. on the G string, same rules apply like on a piano, G, G# A, A#, B.... So 2nd thret is A on the g string, that's our root, and on the D string, D -open string, D# - 1st thret, E - 2nd thret, so on the D string we find our last piece E. And since the notes correspond to the Major A scale, we have a Major A Chord. Simple huH? hahaha, anyway. Since it doest specify which A, C#, or E, you can make a Major A other positions on a guitar. Thus why there are so many chords out there, and why you cant possibly memorize them all.

Other scales are basically other patterns but all that follow the piano's lineup of notes going from C,c#,D, D#, E, F, f#, G, g#, A, a#, B, C-octave. I could go into minor scales and all, but this is just a reply to a forum, but i think you have enough to kinda grasp the concept of scales which can be quite illusive, but i hope you find now why they are so important. specially since i havent even touch harmonizing.

[peroxidebasser]

you are my new best friend.

[Mispeled]

Chex:
why the *** do u have to pick upwards and downwards? it just complicates everything and makes it 100 times harder

You can pick a lot faster that way. Takes a lot of practice (especially if you've been picking just one way) but it's a lot better in the long run.


Good article, by the way, and thanks iamrulian.

spam deleted

[Ricko]

very good job, keep on track

[slayerman]

i think iamrulian should write a lesson

[i like cheese]

yo ho ho.....ahhhhh i confuzled but i tink i undrstnd

[flipfox_redoubt]

folks, these are just exercises made to develop the speed of your left in changing positions and at the same time adding speed and accuracy your right hand picking...
the notes in these exercises are not just random, they are from scales..
if you don't believe me, check the majot scales and pentatonic scales(major and minor)

[Washburn_29]

In the asneding 3rd when the postion changes what does that mean?

[fallinsuburbia]

thank you dude(or chick) who wrote this.

[noobtoguitar]

don't really care what anybody else thinks... I want to sound good and guitar eventually and I really appreciate the simple excersies that even after three days are increasing my speed and accuracy, strengthening my fingers, and increasing my strech. someday I will play well thanks to simple lessons like these...

[imanubguitarist]

-----
7-7-7-7-7
-----
5-5-5-5-5
----- can some1 tell me how yo play this?

[dan_the_pie]

**** cakes you all are!!-yoda ferguson

[d3$!]

One question... however stupid it might seem.. the 1-2-3-4 stuff.. is it the fret number or the finger number? (it's otherwise a great lesson, i'm just clueless)

[silvadolla]

that is most certainly the fret number! "5" is not a fingered number!

Fretting hand

1 - Index
2 - Middle Finger
3 - Ring Finger
4 - Pinky

Picking Hand

P- Thumb
I- Index
M- Middle Finger
A- Ring

However, this is certainly not a picking exercise. usually, if fretting position is indicated, you will see numbers above the notes (not on the tab itself).

[silvadolla]

erm, i meant to say, this is not a finger picking exercise

[silvadolla]

d3$!, i suggest you read up on how to play tablature, it will save you a lot of stress

[DNRDustin]

i think this is along the lines of the first guitar lesson i ever had. so its a total blast from the past. i love playin these little licks, gets the juices pumpin and the fingers warmed up. however, i do think you should have made reference to minor and major pentatonics. they are a the key part in just about every scale & solo..... well ever. so for all you beginners, check out pentatonic scales. 5 corasponding notes that can be played in pretty much any pattern up and down the entire neck. also if you really suck that bad at ringer placement, READ UP ON IT. thanx thats all i have to see

[eklipt]

Awesome lesson. Ive seen the little 1234 down and up before but hated them and could never bring myself to practice them the tripplets (i believe thats what they are) are fun and increase playing ability, i love it. Thanks a ton for taking the time to write and tab all this out and pay no attention to the idiots who take people like yourself for granted.

[Metallica rulz]

doesnt second position mean u start from second fret...then why does it go up to eight fret

[ninja450]

its great for warm up, but its titled 'Chords Scales And Positions' but he mostly only explains how to play the licks. 3 outa 5

[ninja450]

Oh!!, i forgot... could some one explain that
"(Catapillar)
When the next note lies right below roll your finger, don't lift your finger off the string but always make sure to mute the first note." I dont understand that one

[jake_slain]

hei,i'm a beginner or a novice i should say..hot to look at the scales?all i can see are six dashing lines and numbers on it..cn u please explain to a kid in simple words?how to look at the numbers anywawy?

[jake_slain]

i"m a beginner..how to look at the numbers anyway?i know that the six dashing lines are the six strings right...

[fuk_yu_92]

Ya