Virtual Star Guitar Lesson 14
Have you already mastered Lesson 13 (and all of the previous ones)? Excellent! Let’s get started with today’s lesson. On first glance it may appear to be short, but it is a very important lesson. Ready?
In the previous lessons, we learned the G Major scale. We are going to continue with that right now. Here is the tablature for our G Major scale which should be familiar to you.
As you can see, it is written in quarter notes except for the last note which we hold for an additional beat. Remember the tempo marker? This tab is meant to be played at 90 beats per minute. That is the same speed we were playing in the last lesson. Give it a try along with me.
Audio Example C14_1:
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How did you do? Were you able to keep up? If not, keep playing this over and over with me until you can keep up. It is important that you are able to play at this speed before moving on. We will be using variations on this scale in future lessons.
If you cannot play the basic scale at tempo, you will have difficulty when we start adding changes. However, if you can play this at tempo you will not have any difficulties and the lessons will be a breeze. A breeze that requires lots and lots of practice of course! The point is that in order to be successful you must master each lesson before moving on.
Once you can play along with me, it is time to give it a try by yourself. Play through it a few times and really try to make it perfect. Are you hitting all of the right strings with the pick? Are you getting those fingers right where they need to be – close to the fret, but not over? Give it a few tries.
Audio Example C14_2:
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Alright. Keep playing this until you can play it without missing a beat. We will be using this scale to learn some new techniques. We will also be playing with variations on this scale. For example. Take a look at this tablature.
It is sort of a G Major scale, but not exactly. Can you spot the pattern? We start with the same note that we start a G Major scale off with, but instead of going to the second note next, we go to the third note and then we go back to the second note. We continue skipping a note and going back until we reach the top of our scale. Wow. Was that confusing or what? Like most music, it is very hard to describe in words, but you will hear the pattern with your ears. Take a listen and then give it a try along with me.
Audio Example C14_3:
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Can you hear the notes going back and forth higher then lower? Keep playing this along with me until you get the hang of it. Then it is solo time. We won’t have a rhythm guitar playing on this one, but we will use this modified scale example in our solos in the future. OK. Here you go.
Audio Example C14_4:
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How did you do? Keep playing this over and over with me or by yourself until you can play this without missing a beat. We will be increasing the tempo in the future so learn it well at this speed for now.
That is it for this lesson. Practice. Practice. Practice.
Continue on to Lesson 15…
View the Virtual Star Guitar lesson index…
Do you have any questions or comments on this lesson? If so send me an email and I will respond shortly. rbrewer@myguitaruniversity.com