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  #16  
Old 12-15-2014, 02:53 PM
dgonz dgonz is offline
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Don't waste too much time on just playing scales. Do you know what you'll get better at by all that time? You'll get better at just playing scales, and nothing else.

Play "songs". Run through scales or finger exercies, just to warm up or more if you're building up speed with a metronome. But just playing scales all the time is pretty pointless. It's better to riff and solo, at least that's more creative and more useful.
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  #17  
Old 12-17-2014, 11:19 AM
amyFB amyFB is offline
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I have a CD from the Jamey Aebersold collection that contains a jam-along track for major and minor scales, with a few blues scales mixed in as well.

each track runs anywhere from 2 min to 6 min depending on the key. F & Bb are long tracks; horn player's bias in the jazz context of Aebersold's resources.

I put the playlist on random play in iTunes, and give 10-20 min of scale practice to whatever randomly shows up.

sometimes i practice arpeggios instead of scales, sometimes i mix them up,
other times i work on running from fret 1 to 14 in one key and back down, smooth and clean. (hah! that'll be the rest of my life )

in any case, even just 10 minutes is a nice warm up for my hands and muscle memory before I move over to song practice.

yours in tune!
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  #18  
Old 12-18-2014, 12:14 PM
Pualee Pualee is offline
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I have actually been wondering this same issue (scales/modes/arpeggios/chord voicing/etc). Basically I want to be able to improvise very well over a song, and also have some new rhythm concepts.

However, the ability to work on that is very limited. I have a lot of obligations and practice time of 30 minutes per day is pushing it...

What I have decided (and only recently implemented), is that when I work on a song, then for the key of that song, and that key only, I work on scales (pentatonic and diatonic), and work out target notes, voicings, etc. I use a lot of fret board patterns, so the work is not wasted when I go to another key. Eventually it builds, because I can recognize the similarities between keys. I think this approach would not be so valuable if I played only 1st position stuff... it is so easy to transpose on the guitar... so I take advantage of it.

I hope this works out so I can improve a little bit. I'm looking forward to the days when my responsibilities aren't so demanding... I'd really like to practice A LOT more.
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  #19  
Old 12-18-2014, 02:24 PM
mrkpower mrkpower is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pualee View Post
I have actually been wondering this same issue (scales/modes/arpeggios/chord voicing/etc). Basically I want to be able to improvise very well over a song, and also have some new rhythm concepts.

However, the ability to work on that is very limited. I have a lot of obligations and practice time of 30 minutes per day is pushing it...

What I have decided (and only recently implemented), is that when I work on a song, then for the key of that song, and that key only, I work on scales (pentatonic and diatonic), and work out target notes, voicings, etc. I use a lot of fret board patterns, so the work is not wasted when I go to another key. Eventually it builds, because I can recognize the similarities between keys. I think this approach would not be so valuable if I played only 1st position stuff... it is so easy to transpose on the guitar... so I take advantage of it.

I hope this works out so I can improve a little bit. I'm looking forward to the days when my responsibilities aren't so demanding... I'd really like to practice A LOT more.
so you work on scales by songs? song by song to approach different scales.
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  #20  
Old 12-18-2014, 02:35 PM
Pualee Pualee is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrkpower View Post
so you work on scales by songs? song by song to approach different scales.
Honestly, yes.

I'll play the scale using the 5 CAGED scale patterns. They start and stop in a different place based on which key I am in. If the song *needs* diatonic notes, then I am working on including those, otherwise I keep it to the pentatonic.

The key determines where the 5 patterns fall... they are the same patterns, but they land in a different place by key. Also, some songs use different chord voicing's, and maybe a capo. This throws everything off. I might want to know which pattern I am in while playing a D major shape with a capo on 5... but I'm playing with chord shapes from G, or A, or D... each one starts the pattern differently.

Trying to limit hand movement, I need to know what chord voicings I am using (maybe a 5th down the neck), and where my scale is relative to that chord - and where is my next chord - I want to end the lead run near that next chord's voice.

Visualizing this (for me) is difficult right now, so I kind of practice it per song...
1. What is the key of the song?
2. Where will my capo be (or open) - part b, what chord voicings are used
3. Where are my scale patterns, where can I jump in and out of a lead run (you lose some of the patterns when you capo up - which ones you lose is based on what key you are playing)
4. Do I need diatonic, pentatonic, is it major/minor

I hope this makes some sort of sense.
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  #21  
Old 12-23-2014, 04:04 PM
SteveHung SteveHung is offline
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Here's my advice on practicing scales, and i'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me, but this is something that definitely worked for me:

When I practice playing a song, writing a song, more conceptual stuff, I sit down with my guitar and put my 100% attention towards it.

However, for the more mechanical muscle memory type of practice like scales, arpeggios, and practicing trills, hammer on, etc, I usually practice them on the couch while watching television. Stuff like scales is just muscle memory. As long as you're using the correct fingering, picking pattern, and positioning, you can practice scales while watching TV, which saves more time for when you need to practice on stuff that requires your serious 100% attention.

Those that say you don't need to practice scales, i don't know what they're talking about. That's only true if you only want to be a singer -songwritter that only strums chords. Even if you're not a flash lead guitarist, learning scales is important to understand where basic melody comes from. Even most simple guitar riffs are derived from scales.
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