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Guitar scales have their own peculiar tablature that can seem a bit unusual the first time you see it. The tab still has the same basic look as standard guitar tab that you might see in a song transcription – 6 lines, with the first string at the top and the sixth string at the bottom. However, the tab is condensed into sort of a chart form, and you play it from bottom to top.

This means you start by playing, in order from left to right, the frets indicated on the sixth string, then move up to the fifth, then forth, and so on. Once you get to the top, you can play the scale through backwards again. You might occasionally see a vertical scale chart instead of a horizontal one. It is played in much the same way – from left to right, starting with the sixth string and moving down to the first. Take it slow the first few times you try out a scale – there is no need to rush through it.

Now that you know how to read a scale chart, you might be wondering which scales you should focus on. If you’ve bought a book of scales, or found an internet site that has scale charts, you might feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of scales waiting there for you to learn. The most important scales for the beginning guitarist are the major scale, the minor scale, the pentatonic variations and the blues scale.

The major scale is one of the basic building blocks of music. It consists of 7 notes and repeats the root note an octave higher at the very top of the scale. The notes in a major scale are always patterned in a specific number of steps: 2 whole steps, 1 half step, 3 whole steps and a final half step. This holds true no matter what the root note of the scale is. Keeping this in mind, you should be able to play a major scale starting on any note on your guitar by stepping up by the proper fret interval for each note.

The minor scale is that group of tones you hear in a creepy movie when the bad guy steps into the room. This type of scale is very similar to the major scale, with the third note changed to a minor third instead of a major third. This is called a natural minor scale. The easiest way to remember the notes for each minor scale is to associate them with the major scales you already know how to play, as the minor will start on the 6th step of that scale. In a C major scale, the related minor is A, since this is the note that is found 6 steps in. To play an a minor scale, you play all of the same notes as in the C major scale, but starting on A instead of C. You also raise the seventh note a half step.

Minor and major pentatonic scales are probably the most widely used scales when playing solo guitar. Penta means 5, and these scales are naturally composed of 5 notes. Like a normal major scale, a pentatonic major scale starts at the root note of the scale. Using C as our example again, the difference comes in the intervals, or steps that are used in the scales construction. Pentatonic scales follow the pattern of root note, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th step. Using these 5 notes, you can construct a pretty decent solo in a major key.

Pentatonic minor scales are constructed more along the lines of the minor scale: root note, minor 3rd, 4th step, 5th step and then a minor 7th. If that seems a bit complicated, just picture the minor scale that you learned and pick out the corresponding notes. The blues scale, which is so named despite being used in everything from country to pop to heavy metal, is at its heart a minor pentatonic scale with a ‘blue’ note added at the top.

With pentatonic scales, once you know the key you are in you can stay within the boundaries of the major, minor or blues scale that uses that key as its root, and any of the notes you play will fit in with the track. Don’t worry about the chords that the other instruments are playing, or the changing bass line – as long as everyone is in the same key that you are, these notes will sound good as a lead line. Try it out with a few of your favorite CD’s by playing some lead lines of your own over the verses and choruses. This is a good way to have fun and build some confidence with the new scales you have learned.

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