Why bother learning guitar scales?

Let’s be blunt: Playing technical exercises in any musical instrument is boring without understanding its context. There’s no point in learning a scale or a guitar solo from guitar magazines and sheet music without understanding what it is, why it is needed, and how it is used. If we are to understand the guitar, we have to unlock the theory behind it, and one of the best ways to do that is to master the topography of the fretboard.

Knowledge of fretboard topography is essential for becoming a competent guitar player for many reasons. Guitarists can easily learn and write music in any key with good fretboard knowledge. Improvising licks and solos in a middle of a song as well as playing scales and chords in any position can be easily realized without unnecessary memorization using fretboard knowledge.

The Basics

First thing to understand is that the guitarist must know the tuning of his guitar. Assuming that the guitar is in standard tuning, the notes of the open strings are (from bottom to top) are E2, A2, D3, G3, B3, and E4. These open strings serve as the initial reference points to playing anything from the most basic of chords needed by singer-songwriters to the most complex solos by virtuoso instrumentalists.

Second thing to take note is remember first that the guitar’s frets divide the fretboard (or fingerboard) into semitones. This means that if you have a 22-fret fingerboard you have 23 semitones from the open string to the last fret. Keeping that in mind, every position in the fretboard can become a reference point, depending on what you’re trying to play or achieve. Fret markers or inlays (usually in the form of dots) on acoustic steel-string and electric guitars help guitarists identify divisions on the fretboard. Frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 17, 19, and 21 each have a single dot while frets 12 and 24 have two dots.

Scales = Patterns of Intervals and Semitones

Now, what’s the deal with knowing these facts? The frets themselves allow us to measure intervals. In the case of the guitar’s fretboard, a semitone (S) is an interval equivalent to a two-fret distance and a whole tone (W) for a three-fret distance. For example, using fret markers as a guide, the interval between the first dot (3rd fret) and the fret immediately to its right (4th fret) is a semitone while the interval between the first dot (3rd fret) and the second dot (5th fret) is a whole tone. What value may we gain for this you may ask? We can now work on various scales in any position and in any musical key.

To expand further on this concept, the guitarist must know the formula for the scale he/she is working on. For example, a major scale has the interval pattern of:

Having this knowledge, one can start at any point in the fingerboard, remembering the fact that a whole tone (W) has a three-fret distance and a semitone (S) as being a two-fret distance, and work on the scale by stopping each note with one finger at a time. An example of a finger pattern is shown in this tab below:

Fig. 2. An example of an A major scale finger pattern for guitar in standard tuning (notation and tablature). *Click on image to enlarge

With this finger pattern, we now are able to play a major scale pattern that covers all strings using a simple and easy to remember three-fingers-per-string approach. Take note, however, that there are different fingerings that will reproduce the exact scale, but the point is that we made use of the formula for the major scale and applied that knowledge to the fretboard to come up with a certain fingering. This fingering can then be transposed up or down the fretboard to get major scales in all 12 keys. We can play C major (Fig. 3) by transposing the very same fingering up a minor third from A (from 5th to 8th fret) or down a perfect fourth to come up with E major (Fig. 4).

Fig. 3. Same finger pattern in Fig. 2 starting at the 8th fret for a C major scale for guitar in standard tuning.

Fig. 4. Same finger pattern in Fig. 2 starting at fret zero (open position) for an E major scale for guitar in standard tuning.

Let’s take another example. This time let’s have a blues scale in A:

The formula for this blues scale (in intervals) is minor 3rd-W-S-S-minor 3rd-W. We can transpose the same fingering down or up the fretboard to come up blues scales in other keys.

This knowledge helps guitarists perform licks, riffs, and solos that can be used to either learn or write songs. For example, the blues scale can be used for numerous songs such as “Carry on Wayward Son” by Kansas. By knowing the key signature changes, namely A minor, E minor, and F# minor, guitarist can learn the riffs and licks as well as play solos for the said example. Knowing which notes to come up with an interesting lick, however, is another topic not within the scope of this article.

Just like knowing the streets and corners around a city, knowing the guitar’s fretboard topography and applying some basic music theory to it leads to practical knowledge and skill that guitarists can use to navigate around songs or end up creating new ones. For more information, it would be best to grab some music theory reference materials and analyze what all that theory means to a guitar. Knowing the concept of fretboard topography, however, is not the end of it all … so better grab that guitar and start practicing.

By Mark A. Galang
Mark is a composer/arranger, studio musician, and freelance writer currently residing in the Metro Manila, For more info about him as well as downloadable compositions/recordings visit his website.

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