The 5 Essential Guitar Scales - Guitar Lesson

In this lesson, we're going to cover one of the first parts of learning how to play lead guitar. I'm going to show you the 5 essential guitar scales. These scales are the ones you'll find yourself using the most in your lead guitar playing. For all of these scales, we are going to be using A as our tonal center. This means that the root note of all these scales will be an A.

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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:12 5 ESSENTIAL GUITAR SCALES
0:42 THE MAJOR SCALE (IONIAN)
3:37 THE MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE
6:07 THE NATURAL MINOR SCALE (AEOLIAN)
9:18 MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE
10:46 THE BLUES SCALE

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[MusoraMedia]

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[MusoraMedia]

Hope this lesson helps get your lead guitar playing off the ground. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about this video.

The Major Scale - 00:39
The Major Pentatonic Scale - 03:34
The Natural Minor Scale - 06:04
Minor Pentatonic Scale - 09:15
The Blues Scale - 10:43

[joevokey]

I'm an upper beginner, imo. The way you showed how to play A major blues scale just opened up a whole new world to me. I'm creating my own blues songs with this scale. You're amazing! Can't thank you enough!!

[yeadontwearitout]

I got carried away and ended up playing the beginning of Hall of the Mountain king by ear after a few minutes practicing the Aoleon scale. Felt like discovering the golden ratio by accident; the thought and procedure that goes into composing classical music is incredible

[smolpp]

His name really Nate Savage? That's badass

[mahogmini]

As always, clear, detailed, and simple instruction. Definitively one of the very best instructors on the web. Thanks Nate, you rock!

[Skypie]

I've been playing guitar & string instruments for 40+ years. Have taught many how to start playing. Nate's scale video based in A, is the best video & lesson, period. Beginners need to see/hear, not understand formula & notes. Its too overwhelming to absorb so much info. Starting with A Major/Ionic/Diatonic lets beginners hear/see: do, ray, me, fah, so, lah, te, do...then minor, blues, etc, etc. We forget how to start with extreme simplicity for beginners so they don't drop off with frustration👍🎸🎼🎶🎵

[lucasargandona]

10:00 I think that’s everyone’s first scale they learned: The A minor pentatonic scale

[RaveGamingCommunity]

What I like is you can do the Major scale here this is one way of two.
Example you can start at A 5-7, 4-5-7, 4-6-7 this is where you come to the fork in the road.
you could finish with 4-6-7, 5-7, 4-5 or you could play7-9-11, 7-9-11, 9-10 strange how this road meets :) The reason I point out this scale or the fork in the road is because it gives you more options :P EnjoY!

[EspieePH]

I only knew how to do the blues and major before watching this video. Thank you!

[cynthiahunter]

Finally working on my scales...thanks for sharing this lesson Nate :)

[wiganat]

Great presentation. I took lessons when I was 10 but only learnt C and G major scales in one position so I thought it's about time I took time to learn my scales. I really feel I have missed out just learning chords for songs!

[iwjdndk]

This is the only guitar tutorial ive seen that doesnt make me frustrated and ive been playing for around two years

[dbreardon]

As of tomorrow, I will be 1 month into playing guitar! I've learned all the Pentatonic shapes across the entire fretboard using A minor. I will take some practice but now I should be able to play all the other minor pentatonics pretty easily (Just shift the entire fretboard for the minor A to whatever other minor I want to minor - shift everything by 3 fret up the neck from the 5th, G everything down two frets from the 5th fret). And for Major pentatonics, just shift the entire fretboard (well open through 11) down the next from the minor of the same.
I haven't attempted it yet so probably easier said than done but the shapes are all the same, just a lot of shifting of the fretboard)

[fredsmith]

Nice, just got me a new guitar. Had a mess about on and off when i was younger, LOL now im a little older and have got me a new guitar, thought id give it a blast again. Really good teaching i will have a go at this when all are out the house...

[guitarmechanics]

The "shapes" are, of course, named for the 5 chord shapes in "home position" or in "open" position. The key is determined by the letter name of the Tonic Root point or note. The first scale shape you show here is that of the E "shape" in that, if you bar at the 5th fret and finger a chord that looks like an E in open position (it's Home Position) it is an A major chord played with an E form chord shape so... the scale shape is also an E Shape or Form. Great job. You might want to show the octave to octave points connected with all 5 shapes. (obviously there are 5 variation of this) It is after all just interval numbers and the faster a student can see this in their "mind's eye" that is when to "lights come on". Once again, in the spirit of this wonderfully free environment, this is just a little mention of some things that I hope help all of your viewers get a "birds eye view" of the neck. E, A, and D Shapes start on the named strings E, A, And D. E shape shares it's Tonic Root note with the G shape and C shape shares it's Tonic Root note with A shape. Keep on keepin' on Nate and, as always, my positive wishes to all students (after over 40 years of teaching guitar at the privately and at the college level) good practice and good times for one and all. Nate... you're one of the good ones my friend. Sincerely, The Crazy Professor (Neal Grandstaff)

[udayshinde]

Thank you Nate for this lesson. It is must for beginners. Thanks a lot.

[clight]

Good lesson, I am 65 and this will help me stay alert.

[bashdachivo]

Best thing i took away from this video was the similar patterns in a guitar scale! Also the one note difference between the minor pentatonic and the blues scale! Thanks guys.

[nico.]

One of the best channels ever, thanks so much!