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One of the most crucial aspects of fingerstyle playing is knowing your moveable scales. Finding the Major and Minor scales on the fretboard (especially the Minor Pentatonic) is important to your learning as well as building playing skills. The Major and Minor scales are chromatic scales (each note of the scale is played). The Minor Pentatonic is not chormatic (Penta means Five so only five notes from the scale are played).

In finding the Major Scale, we are going to look at two ways of approaching it. The first way is finding it by building one note after another in our head using our understanding of Intervals and Fretboard Relationships. The second method of approach will be looking at a Moveable Pattern for the Major Scale and Minor Scales. We will look at the Major and Minor Pentatonics in an upcoming lesson. This may seem like a lot for now but it's not.

For this part of the lesson, we are going to use the A Major Scale. You will remember that the A Major Scale (TTSTTTS) is comprised of:

Tone - Tone - Semi Tone - Tone - Tone - Tone - Semi Tone

( W-W-H-W-W-W-H )

A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G# - A

(Refer to our lesson on the BEADGCF and FCGDAEB to build this in your head).

Building the Major Scale on the Fretboard from the 6th String

First we find the Root Note of the Musical Scale on the 6th string. This is the starting point for the pattern. It doesn't matter what note you choose to start with, the pattern will always be exactly the same as long as you are starting on the 6th string.

For the second note in the Musical Scale we move up to B which is a Whole Step (W).

Since we are now spanning five frets with our hand, instead of moving another fret on the same string, instead we move up one string to the same fret that we started with on the Root Note. Keep in mind that this is one HALF STEP above the Major 3rd we last fretted on the 6th string.

The 4th degree of any musical scale, is on the same fret and one string up on the fretboard. This is one of the tricks for helping you remember pattern of the Major Scale on the fretboard.

So far we have completed (TTS) of the Major Scale pattern. We now move one Whole Step again or two frets to find the 5th degree of the musical scale.

A "Perfect 5th", the 5th degree of any musical scale is one string and two frets up on the fretboard. Another "mental note to self" on the Major Scale Pattern.

The 6th degree of the scale (a Major 6th) is one more Whole Step or two more frets.

Again we are already spanning five frets so we move up one more string. The Major 7th is 11 intervals above the Root Note. We also know from our lesson on intervals that if we move up two frets and up two strings that we will find the Unison, the Root Note one octave higher. Therefore, the Major 7th is one half step (one interval) BELOW the Unison.

Finally we are here. We are at the Unison. The Root Note one Octave higher. Up two strings and up two frets from the Root Note.

You have now built the Major Scale for any key on the fretboard, one note at a time. Studying this pattern will also help you find notes on the fretboard.

Instead of continuing on with the step by step process (you can do that on your own), here is the Major Scale Pattern for the Fretboard. You will see that is spans two and a half octaves. Study this pattern and memorize it. You will always be using it in your musical growth and learning.

Here is the moveable Major Scale pattern one more time, showing all the notes of the "A" Musical Scale. The one other thing I would point out is the open E Major Scale. In this case, the Root note and the Perfect 4th would be the open Low E String and the open A String. The pattern would still be the same. Below is the same pattern, but compressed into a slightly tighter pattern (4 frets instead of 5)

The key to quick picking of a guitar in the "flatpicking style" is to:

• hold the picking hand/arm loosely with the wrist slightly canted forward. This ensures the pick is tilted ever so slightly forward (i.e. NOTparallel to the guitar string, but is at a slight angle to it)
• keep the pinky finger against the pick guard
• tilt the top of the guitar slightly towards your body so as you pick upwards you're coming slightly from behind the string and as you pick down you're pushing ever so slightly into the sound hole.