Chapter 9 - Lesson 1: Common Scale Formulas
   from the book... A Crash Course in Guitar Theory

Some guitar players substitute one type of scale for another. This creates TENSION or mood changes. Most the time the substitutions relate to the scale it replaced.

The chart below shows the names of the some of the most popular scales, the formula (in comparison to the Ionian mode) and the RELATIVE.

 

NAME

DEGREES

RELATIVE

 

PURE MAJOR SCALE

1st. degree Ionian (pure major)	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7	major
2nd. Dorian	1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7	minor
3rd. Phrygian	1, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7	minor
4th. Lydian	1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7	major
5th. Mixolydian	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7	major, dominant
6th. Aeolian (pure minor)	1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7	minor
7th. Locrian	1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7	diminished, minor

 

HARMONIC

1st. degree

1, 2, 3, 4, #5, 6, 7

major, augmented

 

MELODIC*
*In jazz, the melodic scales change back to the church modes, when descending.

1st. Lydian augmented

1, 2, 3, #4, #5, 6, 7

major, augmented

 

PENTATONIC

1st. Major pentatonic

1, 2, 3, 5, 6

major

 

DIMINISHED

Diminished 1	1, 2, b3, 4, b5, b6, 6, 7	diminished
Diminished 2	1, b2, b3, b4, b5, 5, 6, b7	diminished

 

WHOLE TONE

All degrees

1, 2, 3, #4, #5, #6

major, augmented

 

CHROMATIC

All degrees

1, b2, 2, b3, 3, 4, b5, 5, b6, 6, b7, 7

any

 

BLUES

All degrees

1, b3, 3, 5, 6

major, minor

 

NEXT guitar lesson

Previous Lesson

Lesson Menu

---

Guitar Basics: Want to be a great guitarist? Master the basics...

  Guitar Lessons & More...

Advice Chord Charts Guitar Notes FAQ's, Free Lessons

Guitar Basics Books Triad Chords Submit a Link Guitar Music

Guitar Players Scales Software Tablature Guitar Theory

Intermediate Lessons Mental Exercise Monthly Newsletter Videos Web Sites

  Other popular guitar related pages...

	Guitar Players: Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, BB King, Wes Montgomery, Gary Moore, Jimmy Page, Django Reinhardt, Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Other Guitarist.		Guitar Strings: D'Addario Strings, Dean Markley Strings, Elixir Guitar Strings, Ernie Ball Strings, Fender Guitar Strings, GHS Guitar Strings, Gibson Guitar Strings, DR Guitar Strings, Martin Guitar Strings, Rogue Guitar Strings.
	Guitars for Sale: Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitars, BC Rich, Classical Guitars, Cordoba Guitars, Dean Guitars, Electric Guitars, Epiphone Guitars, ESP Guitars, Fender Guitars, Gibson Guitars, Hamer Guitars, Ibanez Guitars, Jackson Guitars, Jose Ramirez, Martin Guitars, Ovation Guitars, PRS Guitars, Schecter Guitars, Steel Guitars, Takamine Guitar, Vintage Guitars, Washburn Guitars, Yamaha Guitars.		Guitar Amps, Effects & More: Analog Delay, Boss Effect Pedals, Chorus Effects, Crate Amps, Digitech, Distortion Pedals, DOD Effects, Guitar Picks, Flanger, Marshall Amps, Maxon, Randall Amps, Reverb, Rocktek, Tube Works, Digital Recorders.

---

GuitarBasics.com © 1993-2012 Kirk Malay All Rights Reserved  Acceptable Use Policy  Privacy Statement  Link with me  Contact me