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C to D is a whole-tone
D to E is a whole-tone
E to F is a semi-tone
F to G is a whole-tone
G to A is a whole tone
A to B is a whole tone and
B to C is a semi-tone


So if you where playing this on a guitar and you where using just one string, you would go 2 frets 2 frets 1 fret 2 frets 2 frets 2 frets 1 fret.
If the note you started on was C, then you would have played the C major scale, and if you had started on a D you would have played the D major scale. Whatever note you start on, as long as you play the same pattern of note intervals, it would be the major scale of that first note.
I think it’s a good thing to mention sharps and flats.
A sharp is one semitone up, so if you where playing a G note, and then played one fret higher, that would be G sharp, or G# as it’s written.
A flat note is one fret down, so G# would be the same note as A flat, also written as Ab. Normally the lower case b is smaller and to the top right of the note name.

The second lead guitar lesson – Applying the major scale to the fretboard

To learn to play lead guitar with this information, lets start with the note names of the guitar strings, so we’ll have a good grasp of where in the C major scale each string is.
What we’re trying to do here is create five separate but interconnected lead guitar scale patterns staring at the nut, and working our way up to the twelfth fret.
The twelfth fret is an octave higher than the nut, so all the patterns just repeat themselves from there.

Here are the note names of the six guitar strings, provided you’ve used standard guitar tuning.

The sixth string is E (this is the thickest string, or lowest sounding)
The fifth string is A
The fourth string is D
The third string is G
The second string is B
The first string is E


So if we start on the sixth string, and we’re working out the C major scale, we know that between E and F there is only a semitone interval, so we then play the first fret on the E string.
Next note we’re looking for is G, and between F and G there is a whole-tone difference, so we play the third fret on the E string and so on.

Now the idea is to create five small patterns, each covering a distance of three to five frets (It varies according to the pattern).
The scale patterns should be playable without having to move your hand too much up and down the neck of the guitar when playing any one pattern.
Some of the patterns will have overlapping notes, but that’s fine, as long as you memorize them easily.

So far we’ve worked out the first three notes on the sixth string.
To help you along a bit, I’m going to write out which frets are played on which string for the first position guitar scale in the key of C.
A “0″ will mean the open string, and the frets will be numbered 1, 2, and 3 etc.

6th string is 0, 1, 3.
5th string is 0, 2, 3.
4th string is 0, 2, 3.
3rd string is 0, 2.
2nd string is 0, 1, 3.
1st string is 0, 1, 3.


I’ll leave it up to you to work out the rest of the fretboard in C major, as long as you know the intervals between the notes, you should do okay.
Here is something I want you to keep in mind when practicing lead guitar scales. When you’re picking the notes, try and use alternating strokes, in other words down up down up and so on.
The most important of all though is to have fun and enjoy.

By: Andrew Gavin Webber

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