How To Remember Scales on Guitar

20 May 2023 by Guest Contributor |

4,3 / 5,0 | Approximate reading time: 4 Minutes

How to remember Guitar Scales · Source: Shutterstock / Elnur

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Since the guitar gives you an enormous choice of playing the same notes and scales with different fingerings, getting to grips with all possible scales and patterns within a key can be a daunting task. A lot of things don’t seem very logical, especially at the beginning, and the abundance of scale fingerings that you’re supposed to master in all keys can seem quite overwhelming. In this guide, we offer five tips for remembering scales on guitar.

Luckily, there are a few ideas and tricks on how to master the many scales on the guitar and how to play over changing tonal centers. Generally speaking, most exercises are based on two basic principles: “one position – all keys” or “all positions – one key”. In this article, I’ll show you a few methods for remembering guitar scales.

Fretboard division in the CAGED system (C major)

Remembering Scales on Guitar: Fretboard division in the CAGED system and three-note-per-string pattern

At the beginning, it is recommended to divide the scale patterns into positions. On the one hand, these can be done according to the CAGED system, which means that each pattern is assigned a chord fingering (C, A, G, E, and D scheme). Based on the chord shapes and root note, you can quickly find the correct fingering in each key. Here’s an example in C major:

The division into three-notes-per-string patterns (3 NPS) is very practical, especially for playing scale sequences and runs, even if they require a few position changes and the shapes appear slightly diagonal. This is what the C major scale looks like in 3 NPS:

Three-notes-per-string pattern in C major

Scale Sequences on Guitar

Once you know your scale fingerings by heart, it is a good idea to play through a few sequences in order to master the scale. Simply speaking, a sequence is a series of notes that is repeated in all keys. These sequences can be either note groups (groups of three, groups of four), intervals (thirds, fourths, etc..), or harmonic structures (triads, fourths, their inversions, etc).

Here is an example of a G major scale in groups of four:

G major scale in groups of four

Horizontal Scale Exercises on Guitar

On guitar, playing “horizontally” means going through all the patterns within the keys on one or more strings, quite the opposite of vertical scale playing. Through these exercises, you learn to break up the static pattern thinking, which helps to elegantly link the various scale patterns together.

Here is an example of a horizontal sequence on the E and B strings in the key of A minor:

Horizontal sequence in A minor

Through the Keys in a fixed Position

In this exercise, we choose a fixed position, which we may only leave by one fret up or down. Now we write down all 12 root notes in any order, such as:

Eb G E G# C A F C# Bb Gb B D

The notes mark our root notes (or keys). Now we play these scales in the chosen position, plus/minus one fret, e.g. the Eb major scale, G major scale, E major scale, etc. in the third position.

Through this exercise, you’ll become extremely fit in all keys, which means that playing over changes will be extremely easy for you.

An example for third position would look like this:

Through the keys by position

Mastering Guitar Scales: Restricted Improvisation

This exercise is about getting to know the scale better – not only visually and motorically, but also through sound. To do this, choose your favorite backing track and improvise, but set yourself a limitation such as:

use only the G string
use only the G and A strings
use only pattern 3
use only the notes G, A, C, D (in C major), etc.

There are no limits to your imagination when choosing the restrictions. The point is to figure out what you struggle with, and then choose an exercise that helps you overcome these difficulties. For example, I know many beginners who are very reluctant to use pattern 4. Why not play a solo, but restrict yourself to that pattern only?

And with that, I wish you much success with your scale exercises!

More Tips for Guitar Beginners

Note: This article on guitar scales was originally published in German on bonedo.de.

Image Sources:

Fretboard division in the CAGED system (C major): Remise 3
Three-notes-per-string pattern in C major: Remise 3
G major scale in groups of four: Remise 3
Horizontal sequence in A minor: Remise 3
Through the keys by position: Remise 3

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10 responses to “How To Remember Scales on Guitar – 5 Tips for Practicing”

Max says:

20 May 2023 at 22:23

This might be a good resource to practice but there’s nothing about making it easier to learn. It’s basically: How to learn scales by heart? Just learn them by heart

Bud Floyd says:

-2

21 May 2023 at 12:21

as stated, this doesn’t give simple tricks to make remembering it easier.

Theodore McNeil says:

-1

21 May 2023 at 22:44

very informative, but it lacks the connection from theory to playing with out think what comes next.

Rob says:

21 May 2023 at 22:47

beginners find this article hard to grasp if they havent memorized their chords C,A,G,E,D to be able to recognize the pattern from the root note (light squares), thirds and fifths (light circles) in the patterns

Mat Swadi Awi says:

-1

21 May 2023 at 23:57

Very good tutorial tips

Guitardoor says:

22 May 2023 at 22:43

It’s a good resource for intermittent guitar players also thanks for sharing. I started giving lessons to someone recently so I will use this as a reference.

Danny Cottar says:

24 May 2023 at 23:30

Awesome.

Terry Lara says:

27 May 2023 at 01:38

great

Glenn White says:

7 June 2023 at 14:43

great resource, very much appreciated….however being a lefthanded learner it’s a little time consuming reading these charts for right-handed folk. Is it possible a lefthanded version could be made available?

Trillyen Scott SeV'ion says:

11 June 2023 at 06:34

love this . thank you.