One of the biggest debates I see in blues-land is the debate about music theory…

And while I’m a big theory geek, and love it, I realize it ain’t for everyone. However, I do find that when you can find a use for it, it because… well, useful!

So here is how the granddaddy scale of all music theory works on the guitar. If you know this, you can do almost anything else.


    44 replies to "Guitar Lesson The Major Scale On Guitar"

    • Ricardo

      The biggest problem with Music Theory is calling it Music Theory.

      If we said “The Fundamentals of Music” or “The Basics of Music” things might be different.

      Then we could concentrate on how we apply the basics to playing our chosen instrument.

      Which we all start with as beginners.

    • Gary Lyon

      Great job Griff. After I finally “Got it” I would tell aspiring guitarists I could teach them how to play thousands of songs in less than 15 minutes. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but not that much when you think about it. Keep it up.

    • Walter

      Now, (sorry for posting so much) you mentioned that a major scale is NEVER used in “Blues”.

      Are you saying that there is no such thing as “Major Blues” music as opposed to “Minor Blues”?

      Now I’m really confused!

      • Ricardo

        You might use the Major pentatonic or Mixolydian with it’s b7, but avoid the use of the diatonic Major with it’s major 7.

        Usually a “Major” blues is actually a “Dominant” blues using 3 Dominant 7 chords, each a V7 chord of a different Key.

      • Tom

        Walter, I don’t think that is what he is saying. Sometimes there is confusion between scales and keys. You can play C major blues key but using the C major blues scale to solo. The major blues scale is a six note scale as opposed to the seven note major scale. By omitting the 4 and the 7 of the major scale and adding the flat 3 you get the major blues scale. One would still use the major scale to guide selecting the chords to play.

    • Walter

      Ok, now please show me how to improvise a melody or a solo using a major scale.

    • Walter

      In theory, Why do people put Cheddar Cheese on Apple Pie?

      • Ricardo

        I don’t. And nobody can dictate whether I choose to or not.

        Nor does music theory dictate what I must play.

    • Darryl Manire

      Hi..your right, that didn’t hurt at all!

    • Phil Marshall

      OK. The following is nothing to do with blues guitar. Arguably it’s nothing to do with guitar either, but hear me out ……

      In my youth, I was sent to piano lessons for a while. Never did me any good, or so I thought at the time. But I now think the best music theory you can get is to study the piano keyboard for a while. All the notes are laid out in front of you in the correct order. And the sharps and flats are in a different colour to make it obvious!

      In my minds eye I have the piano keyboard in front of me. If there’s a black key between the two notes, then I know it’ll be a whole step. If not then it’s a half step.

      OK. Got that? Now back to the guitar.

      • Ricardo

        Any two notes on a piano with one key (black or white) in between are a whole step apart.

        Any two notes on a single string of a guitar with one fret in between are a whole step apart.

      • Rod Woolley

        I followed the same path as you. I had a few piano lessons at around eight or nine years of age. I totally endorse what you said. I find that it really helps to visualize a keyboard sometimes in order to better understand some aspect of theory but from a different perspective than the guitar. I often refer back to a major scale in C, as found on the white keys, as a first step in understanding something. Early on for example, it helped me understand about relative minor scales, since the notes of the Amin scale are also found on all the white keys, but A becomes the root note (instead of C). That then helped me understand why on a guitar each pentatonic shape in a certain position on the FB covers both a major and minor scale , depending on which note you consider to be the root note.

        More recently when I started to use what I had learned about music on the guitar and started “tinkling the ivories” in beginner fashion once again, I was delighted to realise how easy it was to learn and play all the chords related to the notes of the scale of Cmajor, and suddenly I realised what should have been apparent and obvious to me long ago. Those chords sound right or good with a tune played in C, because they contain only notes taken from the scale of C, ie the white notes.

        Yes, using or visualizing a keyboard really helps at times!

        • Phil Marshall

          Thanks for that Rod.
          Incidentally, I have also played accordion and learned something from that too. The right hand plays the melody on keyboard while the left hand plays the harmony on a series of buttons, each of which is a chord. They are laid out in a particular order: Ab, Eb, Bb, F,C,G,D,A,E,B, F#, C# and so on. Without knowing the theory behind it, I soon learned that the chords you needed were always grouped next to each other. So if you are in the key of say C, the chords would most likely be F, C and G. And possibly Dm, Am and Em.
          At the time I knew nothing about 4ths and 5ths. But I had memorised “FCGDAEB” and still remember it now. If I am trying to improvise, once I have worked out the key, I recite FCGDAEB to myself and instantly know the three major chords that I need.
          Might be useful to someone.

        • Ricardo

          As Griff demonstrated, the two octave Major Scale pattern across the neck will be the exact same pattern for any key.

          Each Major Scale on the piano will be a different pattern of white and black keys, i.e. 12 different patterns.

          The first 2 notes of C Major will be white keys with a black key in between.
          The first 2 notes of C# Major will be black keys with a white key in between.
          The first 2 notes of B Major will be a white and black key with a white key between.

          I ain’t saying the piano ain’t useful. There’s a reason why all Music majors are required to take piano.

          But as guitarists realize, patterns rule.

          Transposing something on the piano that you worked out in C Major requires using different fingering patterns.

          Transposing on the guitar might be just a matter of moving the same fingerings up or down a certain number of frets.

      • Ian Richardson

        Good advice Phil. Because basically speaking you can look at the 6 strings on your guitar as 6 piano keyboards side by side. Just starting on a different note..obviously the first and sixth being the same in standard tuning.
        There are of course reasons it is tuned the way it is in standard tuning but that’s a whole other story…All pure theory of course, it wouldn’t work otherwise.

    • Ricardo

      The half-steps in Major are always from 3 to 4 and 7 to 8.

      Only C Major has the natural half-steps E-F and B-C at those locations.

      All other Major Scales will have different notes at those locations.

      C D E F G A B C = C Major

      Half-steps in Major are 3-4 and 7-8. That’s E-F and B-C.

      A B C# D E F# G# A = A Major

      The 3-4 half-step is C#=D and the 7-8 half-step is G#-A.

      There is no E-F or B-C in A Major.

      • Ricardo

        This was supposed to be a reply to Don, below.

    • Louis Ogden

      Great lesson, Griff. One of the most useful things in theory for me is ‘the circle of fifths.’ Going clockwise, starting at C (has no sharps) then go to the fifth which is G (has one sharp), etc. Going counterclockwise, it can be called ‘circle of fourths’ – C to F which has one flat, etc.

    • Alexander Aliganga

      Excellent lesson Griff, I love theory and hopefully you’ll have plenty more lessons like that in the future. Thanks again,
      Alexander

    • Jim Russell

      Griff, an excellent lesson as always. I fully understood it as you told it but It’ll take a lot to memorise.
      I’m going to put it in my daily practice I promise, it really makes sense but the more time consuming part and the hardest part is in making sure I can do it in any key.
      You’re a gem, thank you.
      Jim

    • peter a hancock

      Great lesson!!!!

    • Don Craig

      Why do you make a whole step from B to C# and then a half step to D? Why not a half step from B to C and a whole step to D? If you want us boffins to give it a go, please explain these things.

      • Wayne V

        Remember the Major Scale Rule: Always step, Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Whole-Half. The key of C is the only major scale that has no sharps or flats. So if you start on ‘A’ then you have: ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C#’, ‘D’, ‘E’, ‘F’#’, ‘G’, ‘G#’, ‘A’. As my piano teacher taught me years ago “B-E sharp or C-F flat” are the same two notes. Now try the Major Scale rule in the key of ‘E’. It is: ‘E’, ‘F#’, ‘G#’, ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C#’, D#’, ‘E’. Notice that the key of ‘E’ has 4 sharps, while the key of ‘A’ has only 3 sharps. That is why the keys are shown as a Circle of Fifths and each clockwise step has one more sharp or one less Flat note. Key of ‘C’ has zero sharps/flats, ‘G’ has one ‘F#’, key of ‘D’ has 2, ‘F#’ & ‘C#’, key of ‘A’ has 3, ‘F#’, ‘C#’, ‘G#’, key of ‘E’ has 4, ‘F#’, ‘C#’, ‘G#’, ‘D#’; key of ‘B’ has 5, ‘F#’, ‘C#’, ‘G#’, ‘D#’, ‘A#’. If you go counter clockwise from ‘C’ you will add one flat for each fourth you travel, key of ‘F’ has 1 flat, ‘Bb’, key of ‘Bb’ has 2 flats, ‘Bb’, ‘Eb’, key Eb has 3 flats, ‘Bb’, ‘Eb’, ‘Ab’; key of ‘Ab’ has 4 flats; ‘Bb’, ‘Eb’, ‘Ab’, ‘Db’; key of ‘Db’ has 5 flats, ‘Bb’, ‘Eb’, ‘Ab’, ‘Db’, ‘Gb’. The sharps and flats listed in 10 major keys are the 5 Black keys on the piano. Notice that ‘F#’ = ‘Gb’, ‘C#’ = ‘Db’,
        ‘G#’ = ‘Ab’, ‘D#’ = ‘Eb’, and ‘A#’ = ‘Bb’. Therefore there are only 5 black keys which can play 5 sharps and 5 flats, whether you call them sharp or flat depends on the ‘Key’ you are in. Keys ‘B’, ‘E’, ‘A’, ‘D’, ‘G’ use sharp designation and the keys ‘F’, ‘Bb’, ‘Eb’, ‘Ab’, ‘Db’ use ‘Flat’ designation for the same 5 notes.

    • Michael Chappell

      Hey Griff,
      Great lesson and refresher.

      I just got looking for the BGU Major & Minor Blues Scale Boxes such as Minor Boxes 1-5 and the Major Boxes 1-5 seems close to the major pattern you used for this lesson. The chart shows the Red notes being the Root notes and the Blue Notes are the Blues notes and if you leave the blue notes out then you have the Pentatonic boxes and your explanation is great. So as I was a bit rusty on the major scale and used this Box chart, I suppose that would be a good refresher?

      Nice lesson here,

      Thanks
      Michael -Sydney- Australia – Sept 18, 2019.

    • Mike G.

      How could you even talk guitar ,without some basic theory. Or be able to play with other people. When you guys coming to the east coast to play?

    • Chris CLEMANS

      This is one of your best lessons!! Thank you

    • Tea

      I love this, now i understand it much better.

    • DaveyJoe

      Great lesson Griff! 2and1/2 and 31/2. Got it!
      9/17/19

    • Jim P.

      Thanks Griff. I love your theory lessons. You explain it so well. I actually have your theory course and finished it a long time ago. Could you do some more theory online lessons relating the major and minor pentatonic scales to the major scale with logical explanations as to how and why they work. Also, can you talk about the minor scale as opposed to the major scale and discuss it’s significance/importance? Thanks.

      • Jeff Kent

        The ONLY difference between the major scale and the minor is the 3rd. If you *flat* the third in the scale it becomes the minor. All the other notes are the same as the major scale. It’s the 3rd that determines whether it’s major or minor.

        The minor pentatonic is the same as what Griff demonstrated above except you leave out the 2nd and 6th and flat the 3rd and the 7th.

        The major pentatonic is the same as what Griff demonstrated above except you leave out the 4th and the 7th.

        • Ricardo

          If you only flat the 3rd of the Major, you have the Melodic minor.

          The Natural/Pure/Relative/Aeolian minor will also have a b6 and b7.

          • Keith

            It’s a little more complicated than that, but you are right: he forgot them.

    • Cliff Walker

      Learned the major scale when I was 4.
      Root-w-1/2-w-w-w-1/2-root. Learning it on a fret board, either 3 notes per string or 4 notes moving up and down the board is a challenge, but opens the neck and the boxes begin to blend. So much more fun slip sliding away.

      • Karl

        Cliff, I think it’s a bit clearer if you say “start with the root; then move w – w – 1/2 – w – w – w – 1/2.” That last 1/2 will have you back at the root but an octave higher. If you repeat w – w – 1/2 etc. then you’ll wind up another octave higher.

    • Richard Freitag

      Thank you so much. This makes sense to me the way you modeled it and explained it.

    • tony

      I once discovered a lady bass player on line once upon a time and she said if you can figure out how to play twinkle twinkle little star , here comes the bride and somewhere over the rainbow you could play almost anything . Its all in a major sound .

      • Grant

        Very true!

      • Wayne V

        The first 2 notes in ‘Here Comes the Bride’ are a fourth apart, in ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ the first 2 notes are a fifth apart and in ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ they are an Octave apart, so there three songs are good pitches to help you memorize the Major 4th, Major 5th and Octave steps of the Major Scale.

    • Donovan Hulbert

      Theory is not boring if someone explains it to you well enough to understand it. If they are bad at explaining it, it will be a horrible thing to go threw. Griff does well at it.

    • Rob

      Very timely for me. I’m working on Joe Satriani’s “Just Look Up”, which , near as I can figure, is in E major.
      I love the major scale in rock.
      i.e. Allman Brothers ‘Jessica’, ‘Blue Sky’. Santana’s ‘Samba pa ti’
      Thanks much.

    • Sean Salins

      Griff, excellent synopsis and I agree…very valuable. Thanks for all you do!

    • James Edwards

      Hey Griff, just curious, what model is that tweed colored Fender amp in the background?

      • Griff

        It’s a deluxe reverb reissue, but its covered in a creme tolex.

    • Chris Roper

      If only the”anti-boffins” would give it a go, the world would be a better place…..or wot? That includes my son and his son who thinks theory is for learning piano and that guitars take care if themselves!!
      Cheers, Mr Hamlin.

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