Guitar Scales 101 Course Preview

All it takes to become a better guitar player is a little Do-Re-Mi…as in, scales. For those guitarists who think, "Hey, I'm just writing originals; I don't need scales," Larry Baione, online instructor and chair of Berklee's Guitar Department, urges you to reconsider. Knowing and being able to play scales on the guitar will make you a much better guitar player and will help you get to know the fretboard like an old friend. Knowing scales - major, minor, pentatonic, and even a few of the modal scales - will open your ears to new sounds and give you creative ideas you may not have thought of otherwise, anywhere on the guitar.

The goal of Guitar Scales 101 is to learn the guitar fingerboard, or neck, and organize it using major scales, pentatonic scales, blues scales, and two other scales (Dorian and Mixolydian). "Number one, playing the scales is a time-tested method of becoming a better player by building technique—no matter what instrument," Baione said. Baione believes that scales are particularly important for guitarists, because notes don't occur in an easy linear pattern on the guitar, as they do on piano, for example. "Because of the way the guitar is designed, it's very hard to visualize finding the notes and navigating across and up and down the neck."

Interactive Practice Activities

Online readings are clarified by the course's many video segments, in which Baione explains concepts and then demonstrates them, so students can watch and then imitate the technique. "A video is worth a million words—especially with the sounds," Baione said. "You can pick up a lot of things by seeing live music. These videos are like seeing me live. Also, I think the video gives a more personal connection to me, as an instructor—not as a performer making a video."

The course is ideal for guitarists who have had at least a year of experience on the guitar, but extensive musical knowledge is not necessary. The course does include some music theory, but Baione presents it in context. "The theory presented is more physical than 'mind theory'—it's always related to the guitar, which they’re playing, and frets, which they’re pressing on. "He does ask that guitarists have built up some physical strength in their hands, however. "It's best to have had some experience playing chords and single lines, so that your fingers are strong enough to play notes and to have them sound. You also need enough technique on the instrument to move smoothly from one note to another." Of course, the lessons are designed to improve upon each guitarist's technique, whether you have only a year on the guitar or you've been playing chords for thirty years.

Baione's approach is based on the widely accepted guitar "Bible," William Leavitt's Modern Method for Guitar, which has sold more than half a million copies since it was first published in 1966. Course instructor Baione studied extensively with Leavitt at Berklee in the 1970s, and has been teaching this method ever since. Today, Leavitt's method and the foundation for this course—is also the foundation for Berklee's guitar curriculum.

If you've already been playing scales, this course presents a tried-and-true method of organizing them on the neck. "With the guitar, you can play one note in three or four different places," Baione said. "This approach is about both learning a scale and a fingering and being able to play the same scale at different areas of the guitar. This gives you choices for sounds and ranges of the melodies, builds more agility on the instrument, and raises awareness of being able to do other things and expand your choices in playing."

By the end of the course, students are able to play scales—and "see" them, as well—in three octaves, in several areas of the fretboard. Baione has been pleased with students' improvement. "Students say that it's as if the sun has come out and they understand the instrument more. They can see things on the instrument that they haven’t been able to see before."

Learn more about Guitar Scales 101 online course at Berkleemusic

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