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Major Scales in Open Postion
Lesson #477 • Mar 14, 2023
In today’s lesson I want to return to the topic of the major scale, with a focus on the 5 major scales you can play in open position. I’m specifically talking about the major keys of C, G, D, A, and E — which I’d consider the most most common keys used on guitar. While I’ve done a few lessons in the past looking at the major scale patterns up the fretboard (e.g. playing scales using the CAGED chord shapes), I’ve never done a proper “start here” lesson… until today!
This one goes out to Song Notes community member John, whose question on this topic spurred me to create this video.
Instructional PDF 2 pages
Lesson Discussion
Zoomed Videos Teaching Each Scale
Here’s a zoomed-in video walking you through the major scale for the five most common keys. Generally, I’d consider these to be ordered from simplest to most difficult — as there’s an increased reliance on your fretting hand’s pinky for the A major and E major scales. Dig in and enjoy!
C Major
G Major
D Major
A Major
E Major
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Hey there! My name is David Potsiadlo, and I'm the creator of the 400+ weekly lessons here at Song Notes, going back to 2013. Here’s my guitar story »
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