ABOUT THIS LESSON: The Chromatic scale is the foundation of all chords, scales & arpeggios. It’s a wonderful tool for helping your picking technique, adjacent string playing and for use in improvisation.
Chromatic Scales

Guitar scales are the lifeblood of all the music you will play. In this subject area, you will learn the scale patterns that are needed for almost all music you will ever play. You will also learn how to best apply these patterns from a technical & musical standpoint both in fretted and open forms.
Every music student probably groans when they think of scales. Scales or “scale” from the Greek meaning “ladder” as that is how they constructed are synonymous with virtually all music. The main point to consider is that scales are not an end unto themselves. You are not learning scales just so you can play scales. You are learning scales so you can then uses them to play melodies all over the neck.
Believe it or not, most melodies consist of only two elements; scales and arpeggios. There are other things within this such as note sequential patterns. For the most part though, scales and arpeggios make up most of the melodies you will play. Why not try taking a nursery rhythm or simple song. Learn it and then consider what you are playing. The song “Three Blind Mice” is a good example. If you don’t know this song, look it up on the web. It’s a simple nursery rhythm for children although it’s a little tricky in parts as it contains note groupings of a triplet. If you examine how this simple song is constructed you will see that it really is just a collection of scales, arpeggios and fragments of both. This is an excellent example on how scales are used to create and play songs or melodies.
The chromatic scale and hundreds of other patterns are all found in the GMI – Guitar & Music Institute publication Scales You Can Use!
This full colour book can be bought either as a printed copy directly from Amazon, or as a PDF immediate download from the GMI Guitar Store.
Both books are exactly the same apart from the printed book including blank staff and TAB along with blank chord boxes for your own guitar scale ideas. The PDF book is 105 pages in total and the printed version is 152 pages in total.
To purchase the printed version of Scales You Can Use directly from Amazon click the link in the product box below.
To purchase the lower cost PDF format of Scales You Can Use! from the GMI online store and receive it immediately click Essential Guitar Scales – Scales You Can Use! This link opens in a new window.
We have plenty of other guitar courses on GMI from easy to difficult. You can access them without even signing up to the Guitar & Music Institute. If you do, however, sign up, you will be able to track your work and you will receive the latest updates on new courses, blog posts and lessons. Check out our own GMI guitar books which offer you low cost printed and ePublications to work from at home.
ABOUT THIS LESSON: The Chromatic scale is the foundation of all chords, scales & arpeggios. It’s a wonderful tool for helping your picking technique, adjacent string playing and for use in improvisation.
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