In this lecture, I'm going to show you how to create a major scale going across the neck. This skill will allow you to start on any note on the guitar and create a major scale going up down or across the neck. I think this is an important step to understanding major scales. It can be very confusing looking at scale charts for the first time, and not understanding why you're supposed to be putting your fingers where the chart says. Before we can start creating scales, we have to learn two rules. The first rule was what I call the whole step rule.

When I'm creating a major scale going across the neck, I almost always use this rule. If you're creating a major scale and you need to go up a whole step, you can either go up two frets on the same string, or you can go down three frets on the next higher string. If I take any note on the guitar, let's say I take this number here, and I need to go a whole step higher. That's just part of the scale that I'm creating. I can go up a whole step or up two frets or I can go three frets down. On the next string, I consider this three frets down.

Because we're starting on this note, I move my finger over and then I count down three frets 123. So the distance from here to here is a whole step, just like this is. And that rule applies for whether I'm going from the sixth string to the fifth string, I can go from the five to the fourth string, the fourth to the third string, and it also applies when I'm going from the second string to the first string. This rule works for all sets of strings, except for when you're going from the third string to the second string. When you're going to the second string, you don't go down three frets, you only go down two frets. If I'm playing a note on the third string, and I need to go a whole step higher, I can go up two frets on the same string.

But if I want to go to a higher string, it's only down two frets, not three frets like the others. You can hear here D and E. is only down two frets, not three, like on all the other sets of strings. The second rule is the half step rule. If you're creating a major scale, and you need to go up a half step, and you want to go to the next higher string, then you need to get down four frets on the next string. This rule applies to all sets of strings, except for when you're going from the third string to the second string. And that case, you only have to get down three frets.

If I'm creating a scale, and I want to go up a half step, but like if I'm playing an A major scale, I get 123 D right here is the fourth as a half step from C sharp to D. If I wanted to go to the next higher string, then I would go 123 and then it's down four frets on that on string number five. So how I figured that out as I move my finger here was 3123, move my finger over and account down for 1234. And that applies for us. had that half step rule applies for all sets of strings, except for when you're going from the third string to the second string, it's, then that rule it's not down for that would be a unison. It's down three frets. So if I was 1121234, I could go 1234.

And that for that half step from three to four is down three frets, going to the second string. Now that you've learned the two rules of creating major scales across the neck, let me show you some examples. This is how I would build an A major scale. I'm going to start on this a, and I'm going to end up on this a right here. So we're going to go one, and it's a whole step two to two whole step two, three, so I can do that three frets down on the next string, that's three from three to four is a half step, from four to five is a whole step from five to six is a whole step. So I'm gonna do it three frets down.

Hair. So it's five, six, from six to seven is a whole step from seven to one is a half step from one to two is a whole step. So instead of going up here, I'm just going to play right here, from two to three is a whole step from three to four is a half step. Five to six is a whole step. Remember, the whole step rule is when you're going to the second string, it's only down two frets, so this is five, and then a whole step to six. Then from six to seven is a whole step.

So I can play that seven right there. And then we have one. I just created an A major scale, just by thinking about, do I go up a whole step, a half step? And then what does that look like when I go to the next string? In this example, I'm going to play an A major scale. I'm going to start here and I'm going to work my way up to this day up here.

So I could go 123 For 56712345 671-234-5671 I'm going to do that same exact exercise but I'm going to take a completely different path. I'm going to start here, and I'm going to work my way up to this a pair. So I'm going to go 1-234-567-1234 56712345671 grading scales isn't just about going this way across the neck or going up the neck at a diagonal. It's also about coming back. So I'm going to start here on this a and end up down here. So I could go 1765432176 543217654321 I'm going to do that same exercise, but I will take a completely different path this time.

So I'm going to go 1-765-432-1765 43217654321 now that you've seen some examples, I want you to create major scales all over the neck from any note, you just pick a note and then start creating a major scale. You can pick a starting point and an ending point, and then challenge yourself to see how many different ways you can create the scale. I think this can be a very fun exercise. Once you've gotten comfortable with creating a major scale up the neck and across the neck, I think it's time to start learning the five standard patterns of the major scale.