What can happen is that players tend to learn and practise patterns that have either 2 or 3 notes per string, then one day they come across a set of patterns that has 3 notes per string and then they practise those and then they may stumble across 4 note per string patterns and practise those. What can then happen is they develop a practise routine that covers three sets of scale patterns. The key to all the pattern variations is in the major scale formula not the finger diagrams!
Before I elaborate on my opening statement it’s worthwhile quickly reviewing what we have discussed so far:
Before you can improvise or solo either at a simple level or advanced levels it really helps to be a good rhythm guitar player. Playing along a single string is a great way to learn intervals and start unlocking how to navigate around the guitar. The major scale formula was introduced so you can piece together scales and note groupings. The formula was discussed as being beneficial over learning scale patterns.
Here are links back to the previous articles and the topics we covered:
No 1. Be a bloody good rhythm guitar player!
No 2. Play single notes along a single string (observing intervals)
No 3. Memorise the interval formula WWHWWWH and experiment.
In the last article I left you focused practising on a single string (s). Hopefully you have experimented with this not just on one string but you have tried the concept on every individual string. Rocket scientists don’t disappear just yet, this single string approach makes these concepts more obvious. Even when discussing this with “some” experienced players and they see/hear intervals working along single strings they get a new angle on the instrument. As guitar players we tend to want to blast over these things. The next phase is to now expand this across multiple strings and or crossing strings.
When you start to cross strings the obvious patterns some of you have learn’t already from a teacher or book start to emerge. In general the place to start building scale patters are the low (tonal) strings. For instance start on the low “E” string and work down the guitar towards the high “E”.
The key concept I am trying to get across here is that by knowing the formula you are now capable of finding these scales yourself, most importantly is that you can also see how you can alter the direction of the scale by knowing the formula instead of the finger diagram or pattern. This is much advantageous than just memorizing a visual diagram from a picture on paper (which can be still helpful) but what we are creating here is a different visual diagram, one that imprints on your mind much more rapidly even though not obvious at first.
For instance if you working with G major, traditional patterns would play G then A along the low “E” string then move down a string to the “A” string and play a “B”. However with the formula in mind and single string practise you should be aware that you can keep moving along the “E” string playing common “3 note per string” patterns or even four! Coming from a formula perspective has empowered you with the choice of direction and opened you up to the many forms or directional patterns that the major scale can take.
Although this approach seems slow at first, it opens up the whole of the fret board and not just parts or positions, say C major in the third position. The quicker you can see the guitar as whole in a single key the better choices and music you can make.
This still takes hard work but I believe takes you to single note playing in a shorter and more melodic time frame.
This is the last in this series of “An approach to Improvisation” The idea of this series was to keep it simple and keep it directed at being able to navigate around the guitar and play some improvisation or create a guitar solo without having to know too much theory. I hope these articles went part way to helping you. If you got something from this (or didn’t) I would love to have any comments or questions that you may.
Until then…
Regards
Steve Webb
