VETERAN III

                                                                     Level 10

MAJOR SCALE

"MAJOR" = pattern of spaces between notes

E

"SCALE" = series of notes

F

F#

G

G#

A

A#

B

C

C#

D

D#

E

x

x

x

x

x

Instead of playing all of the notes, you skip particular ones to create gaps, or "intervals".

Starting with the open E string, try playing the pattern above. Notice how it "resolves" and sounds complete to the ear when you reach the second E.

MAJOR SCALE

W

H

hole step:

alf step:

To build a major scale, you need two types of intervals:

G MAJOR SCALE

This is a "G major scale" because the root note (also called the "tonic") is a G.

MAJOR SCALE

Try playing through this pattern, starting with the first #1 note on the low E string.

 

e---------|--------|---------|--------|

B---------|--------|---------|--------|

G---------|--------|---------|--------|

D---------|--------|---------|--------|

A-----4---|----4---|-4-5-7---|4-5-7---|

E-5-7---5-|5-7---5-|---------|--------|


e-----------------|-----------------|

B-----------------|-----------------|

G-----------------|-----------------|

D---4-------------|---4-------------|

A-7---7-5-4-------|-7---7-5-4-------|

E-------------5---|-------------5---|


e---------|--------|

B---------|--------|

G---------|--------|

D---------|--------|

A---------|--------|

E-5-0-5---|5-0-5---|

Are You Sleeping?

(or “Where is Thumpkin?”)

 

Use the major scale to navigate through the tab.  Think of each note as a “rung” of a ladder, going up and down the pattern.

 

 

 

MAJOR CHORD CONSTRUCT

your major chords are built from this scale

x

x

x

x

x

#1

#3

#5

E

B

E

G#

B

E

SUSPENDED CHORDS

to create an interesting "suspended" chord, move the 3rd note in a chord to the 2nd or 4th position

x

x

x

x

x

#1

#3

#5

suspended chords create SUSPENSE or TENSION, and they want to "resolve" back to their original form

SUSPENDED CHORDS

Asus4

Asus2

On the B string,
The C# is moved UP to a D.

On the B string,
The C# is moved DOWN to a B.