Hola

he techniques team have
attempted to cram as much as
possible into the 30 pages you
have in your hands. As well as a
complete run-down of all the most
useful and useable scale shapes in
several positions, we've included
soloing tips, a little music theory,
plus some chord sheets and tab
exercises to try the scales with.
Don't use these scales in isolation
though - the book is primarilyintended for reference. The only
time a scale becomes worth
listening to is when
you make a great
solo out of it...

FINDING SCALES

HOW TO USE YOUR TG

ULTIMATE

EA

EA

SCALE BOOK
FRETBOXES EXPLAINED
Notes in pink circles are Included
when scale notes lower than the root
note are conveniently placed without

the need to change hand position.

The fret
position for ascale is given
by a number
at the top left.

Notes in black
circles indicate
root notes
for each.
given scale

Vertical lines represents the
strings - the nut end of the guitar
is at the top of the diagram.

F

An 'o' above a string
means the open
(unfretted) note
should be played.

A number one
in a circle
refers to the
first (index)
finger. A
number two
represents thesecond finger.

A number three
in a circle
refers to the
third (ring)
finger. A
number four
represents the
little finger.

Horizontal lines
represent the frets.

retboxes are commonly used to
represent chord shapes, but can also
be used to display scales. They work on
a simple grid system - the strings run
vertically and the frets horizontally.
The headstock and nut of theguitar
would be at the top of this diagram
Each finger on the fretboard hand (the
left if you're right handed) has a
number, the index finger being
number one.
Scales are not necessarily played at
the nut end of the guitar, so to save
space there is a number to the left of
each fret box which represents the
lowest fret played in each example.

sharps version
hen a scale does not
includeopen
strings, it can be moved
up or down the neck. The
diagrams above show the
sharp and flat versions of
note names on the two
bass strings - every
fretted scale in this book
has a root on the fifth or
sixth string. To find a
scale, move its root note
(shown in black on the
fretbox) to the position on
the neck that corresponds
with the key you need.

W

Open blues scalesGETTING STARTED
WITH SCALES

F

or guitarists, scale shapes are
mainly used to improvise solos - the
scale gives yon a template of which
notes are likely to work over a given
chord sequence or key. Major and minor
scales are also used for the purposes of
sight-reading, so you can learn which
notes are 'correct' in a given key.
To get you started, below are six
open string versions ofthe guitarist's
favourite shape, the pentatonic.

Major & minor pentatonics

HE blues scale uses all of the notes of the minor pentatonic
scale, with one added note - the flattened fifth. It's actually
no more difficult than the minor pentatonic, and is
beneficial from a practice point of view because it gets all ofyour
fingers working.

BLUES IN ACTION

ENTATONIC, ie five-note scalesare often the first step on
the way to playing blues and rock solos. The minor version
I is built using the root, minor (flattened) third, fourth, fifth,
and minor seventh of the musical scale. The major pentatonic uses
the root, second, third, fifth and sixth intervals - it's actually a major
scale with the fourth and seventh notes missed out.
The two chord sheets shown below should fit withthe E minor
and E major pentatonic scales respectively (above, left).

Many classic blues licks are made up of fragments of the blues
scale, played with varying rhythms and rests. The most common
blues key is E, and from this key the most common scale shape is
the open version (top, left). You can hear this exact scale in a host of
classic blues and rock numbers - just check out...