Blues Guitar Scales – 4 Easy Tips!
Are you a new guitarist who is looking to learn more about guitar playing? Do you want to make it big in the music industry? Achieving this is not a walk in the park. If you are just starting out and you want to make a name for yourself in the field of guitar playing, you will have to start from scratch. And by scratch, I mean learning all of the basics of playing the guitar. You probably know by now that studying and learning blues guitar scales can be one of the most boring part of practicing the guitar. At first, it is bearable, particularly when you are just starting off with the basics. But once you get to the more complex parts, it is not only boring but very time-consuming as well. You might think of quitting at this early stage, but it would not get you anywhere. To help you cope up with learning blues guitar scales, here are some tips that you may use.
Tips on Learning Blues Guitar Scales Easily
- Sing your scale – learning guitar scales is very tricky, since you not only get your fingers to memorize the position of the notes but you also have your ears get accustomed to the sound and intervals produced by the scale. One of the easiest ways of doing this is through singing each note while you are playing it. You do not have to be a good singer to do this. A simple “La” will work just fine for each note. When you do this, you can predict what the next note is, thus you can get your brain to program with how the sound and intervals of the scale work.
- Learn the scale on one string – Of course, if you are more experienced with playing the scale on multiple strings, then be my guest. Nothing is wrong with the natural way of playing, but if you want to get more used to a scale, you can easily learn it through a single string. In doing so, you not only speed up your personal understanding of how the scale works but you also get to try ways of connecting it with other licks.
- Learn the scales using your fretting hand – adopt the famous “monkey grip” used by greats such as Joe Satriani or Steve Vai. This is where you reach around using your picking hand and you grasp the strings on the guitar neck to stop feedback and silence it. Try and use your fretting hand and run it up and down your scale. When the notes are quiet, it means your legato is not good enough. Work on it and try to make the loudest sound possible with each note using your pick. Over time, you will find that your fretting hand memorizes the scale shape.
- Practice an octave one at a time – When you start at the low E string, simply play towards the D string. When you cut it in half, your ear can easily memorize the sound of your scale. With a new scale, finding the proper position with your finger may be a bit of a struggle, and your sound may become disjointed. But by breaking it down, you can manage each chunk and speed up in the long run.
When you utilize these four tips, you will definitely master playing the blues guitar scales in no time.
