Electric Guitar Lessons: How To Sound Like A Rockstar

Lesson 3) Learn Electric Guitar Scales

Guitar scales are essential for any electric guitarist to know, they form the basis of solos and riffs and enhance our musicality.

What’s a scale?

A scale is a group of musical notes which work well together.

There are loads of scales in music. However, the 4 main scales you must-know are:

• The major pentatonic scale.
• The minor pentatonic scale.
• The major scale.
• The minor scale.

Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales

It’s important to know the full major and minor scales, but first things first, we want to get to grips with some pentatonic scales.

The two main pentatonic scales are:

• The major pentatonic.
• The minor pentatonic.

Let’s learn them.

The Minor Pentatonic Scale

This scale has a great bluesy sound to it and can be used in a variety of genres.

Here’s the chord box:

If you only ever learn one scale, make sure it’s the minor pentatonic scale. This scale is SO useful.

How do I play this scale?

Just like power chords, you can move this scale shape ALL over the fret board. All you have to do is change the root note.

For example, let’s say you wanted to play a A minor pentatonic scale, you would start this scale pattern on the:

• 5th Fret.

Or, let’s say you wanted to play this scale in the key of B. You would start this scale pattern on the:

• 7th fret. This would become a B minor pentatonic.

By moving your root note, you’re changing the key of the scale.

To learn more guitar scales, go here:Learn Guitar Scales In 8 Easy Steps

As a challenge, try and play this scale on the following frets:

• 3rd fret. (G note.)
• 5th fret. (A note.)
• 8th fret. (C note.)
• 10th fret. (D note.)
• 12th fret (E note.)

The Major Pentatonic Scale

Whereas the minor pentatonic has a darker sound, the major pentatonic has a bright, happy sound. You must-know this scale if you want to become a versatile guitarist.

As this is a moveable shape, you can play this scale anywhere on the fret board. However, it must start on the low E string.

The main keys you should play this scale in are:

• G. (To play a G major pentatonic start it on the 3rd fret.)
• A. (To play a A major pentatonic start it on the 5th fret.)
• C. (To play a C major pentatonic start it on the 8th fret.)
• D. (To play a D major pentatonic start it on the 10th fret.)
• E. (To play a E major pentatonic start it on the 12th fret.)

Once you’ve mastered these keys, try and move this pattern to a different fret on the low E string. (6th string.)

Here are the root notes for the E string. (6th string.)

Remember, to play this scale in a different key, you MUST change the starting note. For example, to play this scale in the key of ‘B’. Start it on the 7th fret.

Once you’re happy with both pentatonic patterns, it’s time to move onto the major and minor scale.

Major Scale

Can you see how the full major scale uses more notes than the major pentatonic?

The major pentatonic and the major scale often get treated as two entirely different scales, however, they’re not.

Both scales use the exact same notes, however the pentatonic uses less. Think of a major pentatonic as the smaller brother of the major scale.

The Minor Scale

The minor scale is a larger version of the minor pentatonic scale. Like the minor pentatonic, the full minor scale is ideal for dark and moody music.

When Can I Use These Scales?

Scales are essential as they help you to create solos and melodies. However, you must know WHEN you can use them.

Here are a few tips which will help you:

• If something is in a major key. Use a major scale or major pentatonic.
• If something is in a minor key, use a minor pentatonic or minor scale.

Lesson 4) Learn To Play Awesome Guitar Licks

Guitar licks form the foundation of guitar solos. Without guitar licks, guitar solos would be incomplete.

What’s A Guitar Lick?

A guitar lick is a fragment of a scale which can be used in a solo or guitar riff. In this lesson, we’re going to learn 3 essential rock licks. Let’s get stuck in.

Lick #1 The Fast One

This lick is FAST. So make sure that you practice this one slowly.

You could use this killer guitar lick over:

• Anything in the key of A minor.
• A blues in the key of A.

Here’s the tab:

To play this lick correctly, you must know how to alternate pick. To learn how to do this, watch this video:

Lick #2 The Bendy One

This lick contains a few essential bends, so make sure you take your time getting those bends right. Angus young from AC/DC has been known to sneak this lick into his solos.

Here’s the tab:

This lick based arond the A minor pentatonic and can be used over anything in the:

• Key of A minor.

Or:

• Over an A blues.

You must know to bend if you want to learn this lick, watch this video to learn how:

Lick #3 The Smooth One

This lick is based around the A major pentatonic scale and uses hammer on’s and pull off’s.

To learn hammer on’s and pull offs, check out this video:

Here’s the tab:

You can use this lick over:

• Anything in the key of A major.
• Anything in the key of F# minor.
• An A blues.

How do I practice guitar licks?

The best way to practice guitar licks over a backing track. Here’s a backing track in the key of A to practice all of these licks over.