GUITAR SCALES

How To Read Scale Diagrams

Open Position Diagrams
Scale diagrams are like a snapshot of your guitar's fretboard showing 5 frets. The black dots show the
scale pattern as it appears on the fretboard. The numbers in the black dots show what fingers you should
use to finger that note when practicing the scale. The white dots at the top are open strings:

While this may look similar to a chord diagram, it's not played like a chord. You should practice playing it
one note at a time. Start with the lowest note on the low E string and play up the scale until you get to the
highest note, then go back down backwards.

Movable Patterns Diagrams

Some scale diagrams don't show you where to play them on the fretboard, only the pattern. They are
movable patterns which means they can be played anywhere on the fretboard depending on what key you
are playing in.
Throughout this section each scale pattern presented has two diagrams. The first diagram will show the
pattern with the suggested fingerings. Look at the example below:

Scale/Chord Relationship
The scale patterns are built around the open position chord that they are named after.

The second picture for each scale pattern shows the root and highlights the CAGED chord pattern that the
scale pattern is associated with. The white dots and black dots make up the scale pattern, but the black
dots show you the chord pattern the pattern is built around. Look at the example below:

This pattern above is the C scale pattern. With the CAGED chord highlight picture you can see how the
scale pattern relates to the C major chord form. Below is a diagram of the C major chord form. Can you
see the similarities with the C scale pattern?

Root Notes
You'll notice that there are 12 different key signatures for each scale. That doesn't mean you have to learn
the scale 12 separate times. You only need to learn the different scale patterns. You simply have to move
the patterns up or down the fretboard in order to change keys.
In diagram bellow you can see a visual representation of a pentatonic minor scale pattern. The root note
of the scale is marked by an "R".

Since the pattern is the same for any key we must simply match the root note to the note on the 6th string
that matches the name of the key. See the chart below.
Fret

10

11

12

Key

F#/Gb

G#/Ab

A#/Bb

C#/Db

D#/Eb

As scale pattern can have it's root note in a different place other than the lowest note. This pentatonic
major scale pattern has it's root note in a place other than the lowest note. It's the second note on the
bottom string as illustrated below:

Fret

10

11

12

Chord

(open)
G

G#/Ab

A#/Bb

C#/Db

D#/Eb

Since there are 12 different keys signatures you need to know the root of each scale pattern. You will see
that each scale pattern shares the same root note as the chord form that is associated with them. The root
is marked by a "R" in each chord pattern highlight diagram for each scale pattern like in the example
below:

Playing this scale pattern so that the root falls on the 5th fret it would be playing it in the key of D,
because the 5th fret of the 5th string (where the root falls) is D. Here it is tabbed out:

The scale patterns have roots on the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings, so being able to identify notes on these
strings is important if you want to be able to play them in all 12 key signatures. If you can't identify your
notes, then head over to Guitar 101 and work with some of the note memorizing exercises.

Practicing Scale Patterns With Diagrams

Take a look at the minor scale pattern diagrams below:

Now forget the fancy name and look at the actual pattern. Remember that it is a movable pattern, so we
can play this anywhere on the neck of the fretboard depending on what key we want to play in.

As an example let's say we wanted to practice the scale pattern in the key of G (or Gm). First we would
find our root note which would be the G note on the 6th string, because the second diagram above shows
us that the root note is on the 6th string (low E). We can either play the G note on the 3rd fret or an octave
higher at the 15th fret.
Okay, so we've found our root note and are ready to play up and down the scale-each note in sequence
from lowest note in the scale to the highest note in the scale and then back down again. This is how it
would be played:

See, if we know that the root note is on the 3rd fret, we know the rest of the notes in the scale pattern
follow in sequence:

Take a look at scale patterns like this: learning one pattern is like learning 12 scales, because you can play
the pattern in 12 keys.

C Scale Pattern
Here is the C scale pattern:

See how the open C chord pattern fits right in (take special note of the root note "R"). The scale pattern is
on the left and the open C chord is on the right.

To practice play the open C chord and then play the scale pattern, or any other way you want to play it.
Practice it over and over until you've got it memorized.

Here are a few riffs I put together using the open C chord with it's scale pattern. Notice how everything
seems to gravitate to the C chord, or at least the root note?

Now that you've seen my examples, see if you can come up with your own! This will help you to solidify
the pattern in your mind.

G Scale Pattern
Below is the G (pentatonic) scale pattern. It's in open position. You'll notice that all six open strings are
notes in the scale. To play this scale, start with the lowest note and play each note, one at a time in
ascending order, and then back down again.
The numbers are the suggested fingerings. Since half the notes in the scale pattern are open strings,
fingerings are quite simple.

I call it the G scale pattern because it is built around the G chord. On the right is the open G chord. On the
left is the scale pattern with the fretting notes of the G scale in black. The "R" marks the root note. The
root note is the "main" note for which the chord is named (G).

Okay, that's enough theory. How do we use the darn thing?

Below is a little exercise. The G chord is followed by the G scale pattern. It then goes back to the G
chord. Play through this a few times until you get the swing of it.

So what will this scale work with? Obviously you can play it over the G chord, but you can play it in any
song that is in the key of G.
The key of G means that the primary chord will be G. Common chords found in the key of G can be
found here.
Here is a song in the key of G to practice the G scale pattern with. It has a chord progression of G, D, Em,
C:
Here I am improvising over the progression with the G scale pattern I showed you above:

D Scale
This is the Open D scale pattern:

The D scale pattern is built around the open D chord. In the first diagram below is the D chord. The
second diagram shows how the D scale pattern is built around the open D chord.

This pattern allows us to add notes to a D chord voicing to create fills. Play along with the sample below
to get a feel for it:

The 5 Basic Scale Patterns In Open Position

These patterns can be used in your soloing and to play over their representative open chords. As usual I
have included at least 2 diagrams for each pattern. The 1st diagram shows the pattern with it's correct
fingerings and the second diagram shows the chord counterpart that they are associated with.

The A, E, and D style patterns have some notes that cannot be played in the open position with the same
patterns, therefore I have relocated those notes on adjacent strings (all are on the 4th fret). This may be a
little awkward for some people so I have included a 3rd diagram with these patterns without the relocated
notes. Spend some time comparing these patterns with their movable forms.
A tab example with audio shows the open scale pattern played off of the open chord it is named after.

C Style Pattern In Open Position

A Style Pattern In Open Position

G Style Pattern In Open Position

E Style Pattern In Open Position

D Style Pattern In Open Position

Moving Scale Patterns Around The

Fretboard
There is a big difference between a scale pattern and the actual scale. The actual scale is only 5
notes. When we are learning scale patterns we are learning the location of the notes from the
scale as they appear on the fretboard. The same 5 notes repeat themselves over and over on
the guitar's fretboard. What we need to be able to do in order to play from the scale is memorize
these fretboard patterns.

Remember that these are patterns. To play in different key signatures we move

the patterns around.

Below is the C Scale Pattern. It is called the C scale pattern because the basic chord that the
scale pattern is built around is the C open chord. It can be moved, as with all scale patterns to
any key. We use the root note (R) to tell us what key we want to play in. Want to play in the key
of E? Place the root note on a E note on your guitar's fretboard.

Examples
1. In the 1st diagram we see the C scale pattern in the key of C#/Db, because the root note is
on the C#/Db note on the 4th fret of the A string.

2. In the 2nd diagram we see the C scale pattern in the key of F, because the root note is on the
F note on the 8th fret of the A string.

3. In the 3rd diagram we see the C scale pattern in the key of A, because the root note is on the
A note on the 12th fret of the A string.

1.

2.

3.

CAGED Movable Scale Patterns Overview

The 5 Basic Patterns
The most commonly used scales by guitarists are called pentatonic scales. The word pentatonic gets it's
name from the Greek word "penta" which means 5 and tonic which stands for tone. That's what
pentatonic scales are: 5 tone scales. The reason they are so commonly used is because their patterns are
extremely well suited to the guitar's fretboard and allow a lot of musical freedom when you are playing
them.

There are only 5 basic pentatonic patterns. They are the C, A, G, E, and D. They are similar to the 5 basic
chord patterns, because they can be closely associated with their chord counterparts. These patterns
interlock with each other, meaning each pattern has notes that overlap with patterns adjacent to it.
These are the fundamental building blocks of your soloing and you will use the for many years to
come. These patterns are the same thing as the pentatonic major.
Memorize each pattern. You should be able to identify them by name and you should know exactly which
note is their root note (marked by an "R" in the pictures on the right).

Remember that these are patterns. To play in different key signatures we move the
patterns around.
The pictures on the left are the patterns with their suggested fingerings. The pictures on
the right are the patterns with their CAGED chord counterpart they are
associated with highlighted.
Click Here for a printable version of the 5 basic scale patterns, which is handy to have while you
memorizing these patterns.

C Scale Pattern

Here is the scale pattern played in the key of C#/Db, because the root note appears on the 4th fret of the A
string.

As with all patterns it can be transposed to any key. The pattern remains the same. Here is the same
pattern in the key of F, because the root note appears on the 8th fret of the A string which is an F note. For
more on moving patterns around click here.

Notice that it looks the same when played. The only difference is that the pattern is being played higher
up on the fretboard:

A Scale Pattern

Below is the A scale pattern in the key of C#/Db, because the root note appears on the 4th fret of the A
string.

G Scale Pattern

Below is the G scale pattern in the key of C#/Db, because the root note appears on the 9th fret of the low
E string.

E Scale Pattern

Below is the E scale pattern in the key of D, because the root note appears on the 10th fret of the low E
string.

D Scale Pattern

Below is the D scale pattern in the key of B, because the root note appears on the 9th fret of the D string
which is a B note.

In the table below is the Pentatonic Major scale in all 12 keys with each of the 5 scale patterns in
tablature.
G#/Ab

A#/Bb

C#/Db

D#/Eb

F#/Gb

There are two types of pentatonic scales: pentatonic major and pentatonic minor. They both have the same
5 basic patterns, but the chords that the patterns are associated with are different. The C major pentatonic
pattern is the same as the A minor pentatonic pattern. The A major pentatonic pattern is the same as the G
minor pentatonic, and so on. Here are the Pentatonic Minor Patterns

Quiz
1. How many basic scale patterns are there?

8
5
7
12
2. Basic scale patterns are also called pentatonic scales.

True
False
3. How many different notes are there in each basic scale pattern?
put your answ

CAGED Minor: The 5 Basic Minor Scale

Patterns
You might as well print out this page, because the patterns on this page are mandatory for every guitarist.
They are the fundamental building blocks of your soloing and you will use the for many years to come.
These 5 basic minor scale patterns are the same exact patterns for the major scale patterns, except they are
associated with different chords. These patterns are the same thing as the 5 pentatonic minor positions,
also.
The pictures on the left are the patterns with their suggested fingerings. The pictures on the right are the
patterns with their CAGED chord counterpart they are associated with highlighted.
Memorize each pattern. You should be able to identify them by name and you should know exactly which
note is their root note (marked by an "R" in the pictures on the right).

C Minor Scale Pattern

A Minor Scale Pattern

G Minor Scale Pattern

E Minor Scale Pattern

D Minor Scale Pattern

The CAGED Diatonic Major Scale Patterns

Diatonic scales are the same thing as the pentatonic scales except we add two addtional notes for a total of
7 different notes making up the scale instead of 5 as is the case with the pentatonic. The scale patterns that
are presented on this page make up the major scale.
Each pattern has three diagrams. The first diagram shows the pattern and it's suggested fingerings. The
second diagram shows the pattern with it's CAGED chord counterpart that it is associated with
highlighted. The third diagram shows the pentatonic scale pattern highlighted in black.

C Scale Pattern

If you play it like it is in the diagram you would actually be playing it in C#. To play it in the key of C, we
would just slide everything down one fret:

A Scale Pattern

G Scale Pattern

E Scale Pattern

D Scale Pattern

The CAGED Diatonic Minor Scale Patterns

The scale patterns that are presented on this page make up the natural minor scale.
Each pattern has three diagrams. The first diagram shows the pattern and it's suggested fingerings. The
second diagram shows the pattern with it's CAGED chord counterpart that it is associated with
highlighted. The third diagram shows the pentatonic scale pattern highlighted in black.

C Natural Minor Scale Pattern

A Natural Minor Scale Pattern

G Natural Minor Scale Pattern

E Natural Minor Scale Pattern

D Natural Minor Scale Pattern