In this lesson I’ll explain scale formulas – and demonstrate how all the scales we use in popular music are built with a small number of predictable patterns. By understanding these patterns, we can quickly determine the fret distances needed to navigate any scale. Even if we don’t know the names of the notes on the fretboard, these patterns can help us quickly create the musical sound we’re after.
My focus will be on the scales most commonly used in popular rock, blues, country, pop, and folk music:
Remember, you can view an interactive fretboard map showing these scale formulas upon the fretboard using my FretMonster web tool… which includes various other exotic scales (i.e. modes) in addition to the common cast of characters listed above.
Over in my Practical Music Theory course I touch on some related topics that may help with this overall subject. Specifically, I recommend my lesson on Scale Degrees & Intervals if you’re interested in ways we refer to each note in any given scale. You might also want to see my Reading Music for Guitarists course, when it comes to reading fretboard diagrams — which is a way scales are often written up.
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