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How do you play scales up and down the fretboard?

3/16/2017

 
I'll give you an example with the minor pentatonic scale. This will be the most common explanation, no 'snake oil'.

Let's take G minor pentatonic. G minor pentatonic contains the notes G, Bb, C, D and F. If you express those as scalar intervals, you have 1, b3, 4, 5 and b7. If you find every instance of those notes on the fretboard, it looks like this:
Picture
So those are all the notes of the scale over a 12-fret range from fret 3 to fret 15. 12 frets is one octave. This pattern will repeat if you go higher than the 15th fret. So this is the complete picture for G minor pentatonic.
If you were playing 'all over the fretboard', in G minor pentatonic, you'd be hitting all these notes. It's this 'map' which you would have to know or 'internalise'. Internalise is a better word, because you're talking about muscle memory, not just knowledge.
The most typical (and totally adequate) way to learn the entire map is to divide it up into 5 sections, sometimes called 'boxes' or 'positions'. Here is the same map of notes divided up into those 5 sections:
Picture
A guitarist would typically learn each one of these patterns as a separate entity at first, and practice using them to improvise. Over time, the patterns become more familiar, and eventually they start to merge together as the guitarist improvises lines that flow from one pattern to another. The mind is capable of doing a lot of the 'stitching together' without necessarily focusing on it.
However, you can also devise exercises and routines to deliberately speed up the process of merging the patterns. An example would be practicing 'diagonal' patterns, which cut across the fretboard from position to position:
Picture

These diagonal patterns are actually extremely usable - but I would still recommend starting with the 'box' patterns.
Or 'horizontal' patterns, which travel up individual strings or pairs of strings (back to G minor):
Picture

If you practice the note set for any given scale (whether it's pentatonic or based off the major/minor scales and modes etc) in this way, then you'll be able to play it all over the fretboard.
I've created a course called 'Technical Training' which is free to use and it's found at  Technical Training. It is designed for blues guitarists who want to increase proficiency in the minor pentatonic and it has video demos of all the practice exercises etc.
This 5 position system is something you might also come across described as the 'CAGED' system. I would recommend getting it under your fingers practically before getting too stuck into the theory of it.

Exercises for developing the mechanics of alternate picking

10/8/2013

 
First, a disclaimer - I am not a 'speedking', just a regular guitarist, so I do not claim possession to any superchops.  This article represents the extent of my knowledge and opinions regarding developing a good alternate picking technique.  It will be subject, I hope, to further refinement in the future.

If you are looking to develop speed, fluidity and accuracy in your alternate picking technique then hopefully some of these exercises will be useful!

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How the guitar affects the spine and posture, and what to do about it!

9/8/2013

 
In the video I explain a bit about my own experience with guitar related shoulder and back pain, and my opinion about the best way to approach solving these problems.

As you find at the end of the video, the process I am recommending is 'Sun Salutations', also known as 'Surya Namaskara'.
This is a yoga method in which you move through a series of different postures.  The benefits of this practice are really too many to list, as it affects the entire body.  In terms of what we are looking to do in correcting postural problems caused by guitar practice, Sun Salutations is a complete, holistic solution.  It strengthens and stretches the muscular system in a way that leads towards postural strength and balance.

As explained in the video, there is a tendency for yoga to be sought (and therefore presented) as a series of 'spot-fixes'.  For example you may find videos of finger stretches and wrist stretches for musicians, and other localized poses and stretches.  Although these may bring some temporary relief, a lot of the time problems in one area of the body are offshoots of deeper problems.  For example, a postural issue could lead to inflammation in the shoulder, which then causes pins and needles in the fingers and hand.  In this case, stretching the fingers will not help.

This is why I would recommend learning the sequence of Sun Salutations.  When you practice it regularly,  you will begin to gain insight into your entire system and how it functions, and it will move you step by step towards a healthy, relaxed and strong posture that will support your guitar practice.

Here are a few good links to get you started:

http://www.sivananda.org/teachings/asana/sun-salutation.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPjvfqKiijA

Play by ear! - why 'transcribing' is so important

4/27/2013

 
In this article I discuss why 'transcribing' - the ability to work out music just from hearing it, is the most important skill when it comes to developing your creative ability.

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Blues Chords!  The Guitar's CAGED System - A Practical Exercise

4/26/2013

 
This video demonstrates a little exercise I made up a while ago for getting to grips with the CAGED system.

It takes a short time to understand what CAGED is about, but a little longer to actually experience it as part of your playing.

This exercise is pretty simple, it's a blues progression that uses all 5 shapes of the 7th chords.  It's a way of getting the shapes under your fingers, and also, learning the flow from one shape into another in a seamless way.

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Blues Solo!  Using the major pentatonic to create 'sweet notes'

4/24/2013

 
This is a little tune I made up to demonstrate a 'sweet' or 'major' blues.

The melody mostly uses the major pentatonic.

In the backing, there's a ii-V turnaround, but this works equally well (if not better) over a standard blues.

There's a little discussion which explains the theory below, as well as a pdf transcription of the melody.

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Practical Theory for Guitarists - Understanding Guitar Part One

4/21/2013

 
This series of lessons aims to teach practical music theory to guitarists in a guitar-based format.  Part 1 explains the idea of a key, chords in a single key, and the major scale.

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How to Blues Solo - hitting the right notes using 'Target Notes'

3/7/2013

 
In this video tutorial I explain how to start to hit 'safe' or 'right' notes when playing the blues.

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Horizontal Scale Practice - Minor Pentatonic

10/2/2012

 
In this video tutorial I demonstrate and describe how to practice scales horizontally - so you can master moving along the length of the guitar.

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5 most useful free guitar apps for Android

9/26/2012

 
Tuning, drum machine, metronome, backing tracks and a chord and scale finder.

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    Luke Mosse

    Guitar instructor and musician based in Bristol

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