Scales

Scales provide the raw materials needed for composing music and improvising – but do you know your majors from your minors? Keith Gemmell gets into the modes.

Scales – the very word strikes fear into the hearts of many self-taught musicians. To them, scales are an instant turnoff, often evoking childhood memories of unsuccessful piano lessons. If you’re a guitarist, you probably learnt to play chords first, and as your technique developed, moved on to learning licks and riffs by ear, copied from your favourite players. You may be totally unaware of the fact, but many of those licks will be constructed from a scale of some description. For example, did you know that countless rock guitar solos are built entirely upon pentatonic scales?

This feature first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 13
Filed under Ten Minute Masters

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