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Scales for all Positions

Revision as of 10:34, 27 May 2014 by Meambobbo (talk | contribs) (→‎Scale Maps)

Revision as of 10:34, 27 May 2014 by Meambobbo (talk | contribs) (→‎Scale Maps)

So we've looked at a few different scales in open and 5th position. Now let's put on our big boy shoes and learn how to play in any position.

Contents

PreReqs

Scale Maps

The Major and Natural Minor Scales can easily be reduced to 7 different shapes, that correspond to the player's position on the fretboard. The 7 positions are based on the position of the tonic note.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Root Notes
Major = M
Minor = m 
 |M|-|-|-|-|
 |-|-|m|-|-|
 |-|-|-|-|-|
 |-|-|M|-|-|
 |-|-|-|-|m|
 |M|-|-|-|-|

 |-|M|-|-|
 |-|-|-|m|
 |-|-|-|-|
 |m|-|-|M|
 |-|-|-|-|
 |-|M|-|-|

 |m|-|-|M|-|
 |-|-|-|-|-|
 |M|-|-|-|-|
 |-|-|m|-|-|
 |-|-|-|-|-|
 |m|-|-|M|-|

 |-|-|m|-|-|
 |-|-|-|-|-|
 |-|-|M|-|-|
 |-|-|-|-|m|
 |M|-|-|-|-|
 |-|-|m|-|-|

 |-|-|-|-|m|
 |M|-|-|-|-|
 |-|m|-|-|M|
 |-|-|-|-|-|
 |-|-|M|-|-|
 |-|-|-|-|m|

 |-|-|-|-|
 |-|M|-|-|
 |-|-|m|-|
 |-|-|-|-|
 |m|-|-|M|
 |-|-|-|-|

 |-|-|-|-|-|
 |m|-|-|M|-|
 |-|-|-|-|m|
 |M|-|-|-|-|
 |-|-|m|-|-|
 |-|-|-|-|-|
All Notes
for Pos. 
 |M|-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|m|-|o|
 |-|o|o|-|o|
 |-|o|M|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|m|
 |M|-|o|-|o|

 |o|M|-|o|
 |-|o|-|m|
 |o|-|o|o|
 |m|-|o|M|
 |o|o|-|o|
 |o|M|-|o|

 |m|-|o|M|-|
 |o|o|-|o|-|
 |M|-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|m|-|o|
 |o|-|o|o|-|
 |m|-|o|M|-|

 |o|-|m|-|o|
 |o|-|o|o|-|
 |-|o|M|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|m|
 |M|-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|m|-|o|

 |o|-|o|-|m|
 |M|-|o|-|o|
 |-|m|-|o|o|
 |-|o|o|-|o|
 |-|o|M|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|m|

 |o|o|-|o|
 |o|M|-|o|
 |o|-|m|-|
 |o|-|o|o|
 |m|-|o|M|
 |o|o|-|o|

 |o|-|o|o|-|
 |m|-|o|M|-|
 |o|-|o|-|m|
 |M|-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|m|-|o|
 |o|-|o|o|-|
Major Roots 
 |x|-|o|-|o|
 |*|-|o|-|o|
 |-|o|o|-|o|
 |-|o|x|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|o|
 |x|-|o|-|o|

 |o|x|-|o|
 |-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|o|o|
 |o|-|o|x|
 |o|o|-|o|
 |o|x|-|o|

 |o|-|o|x|-|
 |o|o|-|o|-|
 |x|-|o|-|*|
 |o|-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|o|o|-|
 |o|-|o|x|-|

 |o|-|o|-|o|
 |*|-|o|o|-|
 |-|o|x|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|o|
 |x|-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|o|

 |o|-|o|-|o|
 |x|-|o|-|o|
 |-|o|-|o|*|
 |-|o|o|-|o|
 |-|o|x|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|o|

 |o|o|-|o|
 |o|x|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|
 |o|-|o|o|
 |o|-|o|x|
 |o|o|-|o|

 |o|-|o|o|-|
 |o|-|o|x|-|
 |o|-|o|-|*|
 |x|-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|o|o|-|
Minor Roots 
 |o|-|o|-|o|
 |*|-|x|-|o|
 |-|o|o|-|o|
 |-|o|o|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|x|
 |o|-|o|-|o|

 |o|o|-|o|
 |-|o|-|x|
 |o|-|o|o|
 |x|-|o|o|
 |o|o|-|o|
 |o|o|-|o|

 |x|-|o|o|-|
 |o|o|-|o|-|
 |o|-|o|-|*|
 |o|-|x|-|o|
 |o|-|o|o|-|
 |x|-|o|o|-|

 |o|-|x|-|o|
 |*|-|o|o|-|
 |-|o|o|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|x|
 |o|-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|x|-|o|

 |o|-|o|-|x|
 |o|-|o|-|o|
 |-|x|-|o|*|
 |-|o|o|-|o|
 |-|o|o|-|o|
 |o|-|o|-|x|

 |o|o|-|o|
 |o|o|-|o|
 |o|-|x|-|
 |o|-|o|o|
 |x|-|o|o|
 |o|o|-|o|

 |o|-|o|o|-|
 |x|-|o|o|-|
 |o|-|o|-|*|
 |o|-|o|-|o|
 |o|-|x|-|o|
 |o|-|o|o|-|
Fingering
for Pos. 
 |i|-|m|-|p|
 |*|-|m|-|p|
 |-|i|m|-|p|
 |-|i|m|-|p|
 |i|-|m|-|p|
 |i|-|m|-|p|

 |i|m|-|p|
 |-|m|-|p|
 |i|-|r|p|
 |i|-|r|p|
 |i|m|-|p|
 |i|m|-|p|

 |i|-|r|p|-|
 |i|m|-|p|-|
 |i|-|r|-|*|
 |i|-|r|-|p|
 |i|-|r|p|-|
 |i|-|r|p|-|

 |i|-|m|-|p|
 |*|-|m|r|-|
 |-|i|m|-|p|
 |i|-|m|-|p|
 |i|-|m|-|p|
 |i|-|m|-|p|

 |i|-|m|-|p|
 |i|-|m|-|p|
 |-|i|-|r|*|
 |-|i|m|-|p|
 |-|i|m|-|p|
 |i|-|m|-|p|

 |i|m|-|p|
 |i|m|-|p|
 |i|-|r|-|
 |i|-|r|p|
 |i|-|r|p|
 |i|m|-|p|

 |i|-|r|p|-|
 |i|-|r|p|-|
 |i|-|r|-|*|
 |i|-|m|-|p|
 |i|-|m|-|p|
 |i|-|r|p|-|
Whole/Half
Patterns
  1. w-w
  2. w
  3. h-w
  4. h-w
  5. w-w
  6. w-w
  1. h-w
  2. w
  3. w-h
  4. w-h
  5. h-w
  6. h-w
  1. w-h
  2. h-w
  3. w
  4. w-w
  5. w-h
  6. w-h
  1. w-w
  2. h
  3. h-w
  4. w-w
  5. w-w
  6. w-w
  1. w-w
  2. w-w
  3. w
  4. h-w
  5. h-w
  6. w-w
  1. h-w
  2. h-w
  3. w
  4. w-h
  5. w-h
  6. h-w
  1. w-h
  2. w-h
  3. w
  4. w-w
  5. w-w
  6. w-h
* usually unplayed double notes

So that's a lot of information. Let's break it down. There are 7 notes in the common major/minor scales. Any one of those notes can be the lowest note available for whatever position you are playing in - that gives us 7 different patterns of notes if we restrict ourselves to a 5-fret "box". In any of these 7 patterns, the tonic note will occur in 1 of 7 places:

  1. 6th string, 1st note
  2. 6th string, 2nd note
  3. 6th string, 3rd note
  4. 5th string, 1st note
  5. 5th string, 2nd note
  6. 5th string, 3rd note
  7. 4th string, 1st note

For the major scale, these correspond to the patterns listed above.

Tonic Note Shapes

Major Minor 
 |1|-|2|3|-|
 |5|6|-|7|-|
 |3|-|4|-|5|
 |7|-|1|-|2|
 |4|-|5|6|-|
 |1|-|2|3|-|

 |3|-|4|-|5|
 |7|-|1|2|-|
 |-|5|6|-|7|
 |2|-|3|-|4|
 |6|-|7|-|1|
 |3|-|4|-|5|

Here are the potential locations of the tonic notes for the major or minor scales, with which pattern to use when the tonic note is located in that placement. Notice for the major tonics, the location of the tonic in terms of the lowest note of the sequence determines which pattern to use. For example, when the lowest note is the tonic note, you use pattern 1. When the lowest-pitched tonic note doesn't occur until the 4th string, you use pattern 7.

For open position C Major, the tonic is located at position 6 in the above pattern. So you'd use pattern 6. For 5th position C Major, the tonic is located at position 3; and we use pattern 3. For G Major, open position is pattern 3 and 5th position is pattern 7.

For minor scales, you can use the same logic, but add 2. So when the lowest note is the tonic note, you use pattern 3 (1 + 2). When the tonic note is the 7th note in the pattern, you use pattern 2 (7 + 2 [-7]).

For A Minor, open position is pattern 6 and 5th position is pattern 3. For E Minor, open position is pattern 3 and 5th position is pattern 7.

You'll notice C Major and A Minor (as well a G Major and E Minor) use the same patterns for the same positions, which only makes sense as they are relative major/minor's and contain the exact same set of notes.

The tonic note patterns above are 2 of the actual scale patterns, but you shouldn't think of them like that. They are simply constructed by mapping all the root notes from the prior pattern. So what if our tonic note occurs in one of the unmarked fret locations above? For example, what if the tonic note was located on 6th string, 4th fret (relative to the shape, not absolute to the fretboard), between the "4" and "5" above? That simply means you are basically in no man's land, between two possible positions that will make sense. If you try to use pattern 5, there are two notes below the tonic, each separated by whole steps. This means the 6th string has a w-w pattern, requiring 5 frets to cover all 3 notes. If you position your tonic as the 4th fret in your pattern box instead of the 5th fret, you cannot reach the note 2 notes below the tonic without shifting position 1 fret. Similarly, if you used pattern 4, you'd notice you can't play the note above the tonic on the 6th string without getting outside the pattern box.

C Major Layout on Fretboard

      |o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|
      |o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|
      |o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|
      |o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|
      |o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|
      |o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|
Fret # 0     3   5   7   9     12    15  17  19  21    24

Scale  6------   3-------- 7-------- 4-------- 1--------
Map          4-------- 1-------- 5--------   2------
#        5--------   2------   6------   3--------

The scale map #'s are ordered as the number of notes lower than the root note + 1. Another way to look at it is if you start playing the pattern ascending from the lowest note, how many notes do you play before reaching the tonic. For the key of C Major in open position, there are 5 lower notes, so the pattern is #6.

As you ascend positions, this necessarily moves the tonic note lower by 1 note. This means the patterns actually occur in reverse as you ascend the fretboard, as you can see in the diagram above.

G Major Layout on Fretboard

      |o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|
      |o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|
      |x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|
      |o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|
      |o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|
      |o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|-|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|
Fret # 0     3   5   7   9     12    15  17  19  21    24

Scale  3-------- 7-------- 4-------- 1-------- 5--------
Map          1-------- 5--------   2------   6------
#          2------   6------   3-------- 7--------

All we've done is moved the patterns leftward by 5 frets...or raised them by 7 frets. Going from C to G is a P4 downward and P5 upward, which correspond to -5 and +7 frets.

E Minor Layout on Fretboard

      |x|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|x|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|
      |o|o|-|o|-|x|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|x|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|
      |o|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|x|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|x|-|o|o|
      |o|-|x|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|x|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|
      |o|-|o|o|-|o|-|x|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|x|-|o|o|-|o|
      |x|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|x|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|o|
Fret # 0     3   5   7   9     12    15  17  19  21    24

Scale  3-------- 7-------- 4-------- 1-------- 5--------
Map          1-------- 5--------   2------   6------
#          2------   6------   3-------- 7--------

The only change here from G Major to E Minor is to reposition the roots. All the notes are the same. Notice with the minor roots, our method of determining which pattern is a bit different. Before we looked at the location of the tonic note in reference to the lowest notes for the position. We can do the same thing here, but we have to add 2 to get the major root. For example, in open position, the low E is the lowest or first note of the pattern. Add 2 to get the 3 pattern, which corresponds to the major root, G, as the 3rd lowest note in the pattern.

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Last edited on 11 June 2015, at 21:40