Breaking the Mold - Rethinking Guitar Scales

[electricray3]

Great lesson i want more!!

[chaplainjerry]

Great video and I look forward to watching more!

[ronkroes]

Thanks for this lesson. It gives me a different look on scales

[kucerarichard]

awesome



[ChrisVGuitarist]

Taylor T5 soooo Beautiful! I want it so bad!

[scraggo]

combining positions - awesome idea. those patterns (symmetries) are very helpful

[krensky60]

I am not sure I understand how to take this lesson up the guitar neck like you did.

Thanks

Jane

[ztogo]

Great job. Very clear and concise.

[rumlerj]

Love, love, love that Taylor has started a lessons forum and page using the web! I play a Taylor GS, and I'm always looking to improve and learn. Thank you Wayne! I will be checking back often. Keep the lessons coming!

[MrJoeDestin]

Nice Job, thanks



[TaylorQualityGuitars]

Remember, this is not a replacement for standard positional playing.You can study your existing scale forms in the different positions in order to locate and visualize the symmetry & shapes thus giving you the ability to then enjoy freedom from the limitations of standard positional playing. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask either on this page or via my email. We'll do more of this in

future lessons as well as get to many of your suggestions such as

what are modes? - Wayne

[TaylorQualityGuitars]

I chose the reverse/opposite approach because this is the exact perspective a student has at a lesson while he/she is listening, visualizing and trying to absorb not only shapes and patterns, but even the proper string order from low to high. - Wayne Johnson

[TaylorQualityGuitars]

3 diff scale diagrams to consider

1) Reverse or opposite: Face to face — student viewing a teacher or video. This is what we see live or on a screen and what I’ve used.

2) Upside-down: From playing position. Flip guitar upside down, strings facing you so that low E is closest to the ground. This is conventional.

3) Mirror image: Like looking in a mirror. To me, this is the most accurate visual. Everything meshes up perfectly if the person you’re watching (teacher, live or video) is a lefty!

[TaylorQualityGuitars]

Regarding the orientation of the scale diagrams in the W&S article, this was totally my doing and not a miscommunication or misprint. I know this is an unconventional approach. Depending on the feedback, perhaps we’ll change it next time around.

-Wayne Johnson

[pks4000]

Taught me more in 8 minutes than the last 8 years of hunting and forming new chords for song writing. The symmetry of 6 2 and 1 st stirngs was amazing .never realized that .

even tho I played the notes a thousandthimes before.

Thanks a bunch for the lesson,

John Burrows Boston MA

[LJG781]

Taylor fabulous guitars, great people to demo them, Wayne Johnson, Marc Seal, Dolye Dikes. plus many more..... you need one more..... Sungha Jung, I think he plays a lakewood, got to swing him over to our side...... Lee

[COGBach]

Technique and hand position are vital to how you play the guitar not just classical guitar. Your technique is how you are physically able (or not able) to play the notes you want to. For someone to post a tutorial on youtube that other people learning the instrument will copy with such obviously poor left hand technique is unprofessional and shouldn't be accepted. I ' ve never heard you play either but i wouldn't be so condescending as to suggest anything by that.

[tennesseeron]

Read the article and love it. I had to read some of it more than once to get the full benefit but just the general message in valuable to me. Hope to be able to walk my fingers up the fretboard and you show the best way for me yet.

[COGBach]

Very poor hand position and technique baby finger moves too far away from strings. Shouldn't be teaching as he would fail the scale section of any classical grade guitar exam with such poor technique. 

[BenEvolencetto]

obviously classical guitar places much higher emphasis on technique than jazz or any other style. To say that someone should be disqualified from teaching on the basis of not having classical technique is arrogant & ludicrous. Many classical players are woefully ignorant when it comes to theory/and improvisation. Should they be disqualified from ever imparting knowledge about the instrument.? I've never heard you play but Wayne J has probably forgotten more chops than you will ever know

[EagleTreeMusic]

@COGBach - Bela Bartok said it didn't much matter to him if his students played with their toes, as long as it sounded good!

[JonnyFeltonMusic]

I am not looking to start an argument or anything but in my opinion scales are harder on a piano than on a guitar, guitar scales are all about symmetry and once you know the scale shape you can play around that scale shape. On piano however you need to know the notes or at least memorise the intervals for each scale. I am not trying to put this down at all I just think this guy is very biased. I do however like what the video is promoting.

[scubadaz1973]

very nice approach but it`s either C major or C Ionian not C scale

[superskwrl]

I love this guy!! He reminds me of my dog.

[Dougboy1970]

can't wait to get this issue...i've never liked positional scales because they do feel limiting, but I also am not quite smart enough to memorize the entire fretboard for each string for every scale. This approach should go a long way into helping me visualize and learn faster! Thanks!

[12stringsforme]

Looking forward to the Summer 2011 issue in my mailbox, as well as a future video on modes. I still haven't found a good explanation of modes or what they are for. Everyone says the same thing about them (which is very little).

[LJG781]

nice tip.....definitely gives a different approach to scales, .... thanks, can't wait for my summer issue of wood and steel, will look for your article.... P.S. proud owner of three taylors......Lee

[ku42]

i want a taylor!! plz