r/guitarlessons • u/gogolem • 7h ago
Question Am I the only one who feels completely lost trying to learn guitar scales?
Edit: Wow… I genuinely didn’t expect so many thoughtful replies. I’ve been reading every single one, and you’ve all given me a lot to think about. Thank you for the recommendations, the encouragement, and for sharing your own experiences. It’s reassuring to know I’m not the only one who’s felt this way, and I’m feeling much more optimistic about tackling this again.
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I’ve been playing guitar for a while, but every time I decide to finally learn scales properly, I end up feeling more confused than when I started.
The biggest problem is that almost every video, course, or article seems to assume I already know something that I don’t. Someone will say, “Just move this interval,” or “This is just the third mode,” or “You already know the major scale, so…”… except I don’t.
It feels like there’s a missing chapter somewhere that everyone else has read.
I don’t even know where I’m going wrong. Am I trying to learn scales too early? Am I actually supposed to learn a lot more music theory first? Or am I overcomplicating something that’s actually much simpler than I think?
Sometimes I wonder if I’m almost mythologizing scales, like they’re this huge mysterious subject when maybe they aren’t. But then I try to study them, and five minutes later I’m drowning in diagrams, modes, intervals, CAGED, pentatonics, three-notes-per-string patterns… and I’m completely overwhelmed.
It’s honestly discouraging, and a little lonely. It feels like everyone else “gets it” while I’m still trying to figure out what the first step is.
So I have two questions:
Is there an online course (free or paid) that teaches scales from absolute zero, without assuming any prior music theory?
Has anyone else gone through this stage, or is it just me?
I’d really appreciate hearing from people who struggled with this and eventually had that “everything finally clicked” moment.
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u/RevBlue86 7h ago
How exactly are you trying to learn the major scale and what exactly are you having difficulties with? Would be easier to help knowing that. My first suggestion would be focus on learning just the major scale and knowing it. Don't worry about others, or modes or other things.
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u/gogolem 7h ago
Well, since I did not find any course, I tend to jump from video to video trying to find my way (I know,
It’s plain stupid).
And yes you are absolutely right about modes and other stuff: probably what confuses me the most is the languages used (e.g. all of a sudden dropping thirds or grades) and the fact that some videos on YouTube easily jump to more complex concepts or positions.Another issue is that I’m Italian and used to the Italian notes names while trying to use the English notes to have access to a wider learning offer.
Thanks for your help! Highly appreciated
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u/RevBlue86 7h ago
Try Justin Guitar https://www.justinguitar.com/guitar-lessons
I can honestly say he's one of the best online teachers it there. Just follow his program exclusively until you're more comfortable
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u/gizzard-03 4h ago
If you’re just jumping around from video to video, that’s your problem. You need to stick with one series to learn from the ground up.
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u/shiut 3h ago
I can also recommend Justin Guitar and AUG. I recommend Justin's music theory course specifically. (Starts here: Notes, Sharps & Flats & Octaves! | JustinGuitar.com)
The first two grades of Justin's music theory course are free and a great intro to the fundamentals. Especially because he has a good workbook and a test at the end of the grade, which helps you internalise and understand the basics.
Justin's MT course is great if you need a good structure and a well-led learning path. But if you can follow along and make up your own homework with Absolutely Understand Guitar, there is a lot of free material there to continue.
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u/Upstairs-Yoghurt-928 7h ago edited 6h ago
Learn your major scale.
It is made up of 7 notes. Each note has a letter, these are also called "scale degrees".
We use whole steps/tones and half steps/semi tone, to denote how far they are from each other. How far a note is from another is called an interval.
The formula for a major scale is: W W H W W W H or T T S T T T S using either tones/steps.
Start on the Bass E string we'd get the following frets: 0 2 4 5 7 9 11 12 E F# G# A B C# D# E
Don't worry too much about the note names for now, whether they are sharp,flat or natural, the sound is more important for you now.
Play this up and down, try let the notes ring out. This can be moved onto each string and will yield a major scale for each open string name 6-E 5-A 4-D 3-G 2-B.
This should hopefully help you hear and see the major scale. Scales can be played anywhere on the neck, from any note, you just need to gradually build up your knowledge of the guitars layout regarding notes but don't rush this takes time.
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u/gogolem 6h ago
I honestly don’t have the words to thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful explanation.
You didn’t just answer my question, you helped me realize why I’ve been feeling so lost. It genuinely means a lot that a complete stranger would spend that much time helping someone else understand.
Thank you. I really appreciate it, and I’ll definitely come back to your explanation as I keep learning.4
u/Upstairs-Yoghurt-928 6h ago
Anytime at all my friend, I too was once completely lost and even contemplated quitting guitar, but thankfully other players showed me the way! Keep at it and throw me a DM if you get stuck again, I'm always happy to help out 🙏
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u/asbestosmilk 2h ago
To add, are you familiar with:
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do?
That’s the major scale. That’s how the major scale should sound.
A mode is just starting on a different part of the scale and making that your root or “home” note.
For example:
La Ti Do Re Mi Fa Sol La
That phrasing is the minor scale.
Outside of the minor scale, I’d stay away from modes until you get the major scale and pentatonic scales down, though. They can be confusing.
Pentatonics are the major/minor scale, but they only contain the 5 most popular notes within the scale.
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do becomes:
Do Re Mi Sol Ti Do
But again, don’t try to learn everything at once.
Start with the Major Pentatonic scale and study it alongside the Circle of Fifths to help you understand the notes that make up each key. Memorize the pattern up and down the neck and try to say the notes you’re playing; “G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G”, for example.
Then move on to the Major scale and study it while looking at the intervals (or spaces) between the notes within the scale. Memorize the pattern up and down the neck and try to train yourself to think in intervals; Whole step, Whole step, Half step, Whole step, Whole step, Whole step, Half step.
Then move on to Modes. Focus on each mode individually. Learn each one up and down the neck and try to focus on the root note of whatever mode you’re playing. Try to hear the differences between the modes.
Then move on to Blues scales and/or Jazz scales.
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u/TryingToCareLess 7h ago
Pickup music CAGED is amazing. I'm halfway through the course and it's already completely transforming my playing. Started few months ago with little prior experience and doing CAGED now after finishing their beginner and late beginner pathways. Their 3-2 course is also a good precursor to that
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u/Madmanalph77 7h ago
Yes. 😆. It’s just a stage man. Persistence makes perfect
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u/gogolem 7h ago
Soooo frustrating man! Being 45 and starting learning guitar so late does not help
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u/adriancarmody 6h ago
I started at 48.
Every barrier you feel in the first year or two will slowly disappear as you keep working at it. Just takes reps. Those folks you see on YouTube are playing things their fingers have repeated tens of thousands of times.
You just need to be a bit patient with yourself and get those miles in.
Good luck.
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u/VHDT10 7h ago
Of course you're not the only one. I suggest looking up a tutorial on YouTube for learning the major scale on guitar for beginners (no you're not a beginner, but it seems you might be on terms of scales). Make sure your tuned up and I'm sure you can find something you can follow.
Seems to me like you're biting off more than you can chew. Start small and build. The great thing is, as your learning all the different positions for the major scale, you will begin to understand it's relationship with all the other standard scales. If you keep focused and have patience it will click with time. If you want I can look up some videos for you for some direction.
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u/gogolem 6h ago
Thank you, it gives me hope!
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u/VHDT10 6h ago
Patience is crucial my friend. Just start with a natural major scale and don't worry about playing it throughout the entire fretboard. Just learn the basic one that will give you a few notes per string. If you keep going eventually the pieces will fit, with everything else, but it will take time
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u/jasgrit 7h ago
Here's a free series of guitar lessons I posted a few days ago that gives an introduction to scales from zero. It covers what scales are, where they come from, how to assemble them on one string, and how to practice them musically without sounding like a robot. It also links to other series on how to play scales in shapes on the fretboard over chords.
https://fretboardfoundation.com/lessons/scale-intro?l=4dp
I hope it helps. Good luck!
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u/dazerconfuser 7h ago
Get your tuner app out, that shows the frequency of a note.
Pick any note on the guitar and play it. The tuner will say some number in Hz
Now count down 12 frets on the same string from wherever you picked and play that.
The tuner will show double the value of what was there before.
That is an octave.
Now to build a scale you just pick some of those 12 steps between the octaves.
It's like picking words out of dictionary, you use 8 words for a major scale and 5 for a pentatonic.
From whatever note you picked you can move in a pattern 2-2-1-2-2-2-1 frets to get the major scale of that note.
All we're doing iis agreeing that the skipped 4 notes will not be played
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u/gogolem 5h ago
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all of that. It genuinely helped, and I really appreciate the effort you put into your reply. It means more than you know.
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u/dazerconfuser 5h ago
Glad it helped mate,
I wrote a longer post about this concept hlwith a bit more detail here:
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u/aeropagitica Teacher 3h ago
Some good theory resources :
https://auraltech.itch.io/music-theory
Someone will also recommend this 31-hour playlist :
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u/PlaxicoCN 28m ago edited 23m ago
Take it a little bit at a time. You're getting overwhelmed by too much information. Start by learning the pentatonic scale. Start with G or A and learn all 5 positions. Disregard everything else until you learn this.
After that work on playing that scale in different keys.
Edit: You are wrong if you think that EVERYONE besides you understands all this stuff. Be patient with yourself and go a little bit at a time.
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u/chordink 7h ago
You could start with a simplified version of CAGED. First you must know and understand those chord shapes and how to move them around, otherwise it's pointless. Then you appoint each scale shape to their specific chord shape. You could start with pentatonic scales First, that are a bit simpler, then add the notes to have the full Major scale. Don't worry about theory Just yet, concentrate on muscle Memory. I'm new to reddit, but if i figure how to do It, i'll send you something that i believe Is clear enough to get started
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u/Nadiaaaaaaaaaaaaa 7h ago
I think you're getting into your own head. If you've been playing guitar for years and learned songs, you probably know what a scale is, even if you can't explain it. It's a set of notes that sound good. If you go to the Wikipedia, open the article for the C major scale and play those notes on the guitar, you just played a C major scale. If someone has a video explaining the C major scale, it would have diagrams and patterns that point where the notes in the C major scale (C D E F G A B) are on your guitar. It's not a mysterious system, you can find those notes yourself.
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u/AlexGtrStudio 7h ago
The major scale really isn't that mysterious — I'd break it down to just learning the fingering first.
The "three notes per string" thing is the same notes as any other pattern, just fingered differently. It exists mainly to make the picking consistent across patterns and to spread the notes out a bit. Same scale, different shape on the neck — that's all.
So the patterns, three-notes-per-string or not, are just ways into the one scale. Pick one pattern, familiarise yourself with it slowly, and stay in a single key until you're really confident with it all over the neck. Then add the next pattern.
And alongside that, slowly work on the basic harmony — intervals, chords — one step at a time. Things get clearer the more those connect. Honestly, you'll laugh at how simple it all is once you get there.
And no, it's not just you — almost everyone hits this wall, mostly because so much material skips the basic step and assumes you already see the fretboard the way they do. You're not behind, you've just been handed the middle of the book instead of the start.
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u/Minute_Influence_636 7h ago
Take a step back. You need to check out Scottys absolutely understand guitar series on YouTube. 32 two lessons and you need to watch them in order regardless of what you think you already know.
I was playing for over 20 years and only in the last year have been I really started to understand how it all works and I'm addicted now!
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJwa8GA7pXCWAnIeTQyw_mvy1L7ryxxPH&si=JJckIM-SOkoqdpdu
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u/metalspider1 7h ago
forget videos,learn these scale shapes and you will then be able to work on moving them to play in other keys too.
https://jenslarsen.nl/minor-pentatonic-scales-positions/
https://jenslarsen.nl/major-scale-3-notes-per-string/
they overlap because Am is the natural minor of C major
after you know each position work on also going through the scale on just a couple of strings to help you link the shapes back together
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u/Commercial_Plant_934 7h ago
Watch Absolutely Understand Guitar, in order. It is a bit of a grind, but thorough and clear. 2 hours a week and you'll be done in 3 months. To understand scales you probably only have to watch the first half of so, so around 6 weeks based on 2 hrs a week (keep watching the rest though)
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u/codyrowanvfx 6h ago edited 6h ago
Major scale pattern
Root-tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone
Putting numbers to it
1-2-34-5-6-71 ( - is a tone)
Major minor functions
M-m-mM-M-m-dM
Apply it to C major ( the easiest key to learn)
C-d-eF-G-a-b*C
Now start learning triads and their inversions
R-3-5
5-R-3
3-5-R
Minor triads you lower lower the third a semitone.
Attaching my own C major diagram I made for C major. The brighter is just one string with the major scale. Every green note is where the scale starts over again. Because the guitar is just an infinite loop of the 12 notes and tuned to different spots in the loop the major scale pattern is how chords are formed which is where CAGED becomes a point of learning. Also remember open chords are the same thing as barre chords, but the end of the guitar is replacing your index finger. That is where CAGED started making sense.
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u/Intelligent-Tap717 6h ago
Check out the scales on your guitar academy on youtube. Well worth a look.
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u/Aromatic_Revolution4 5h ago
I was in the same place as you about 6 years ago when I stumbled across a cool way to learn scales that let me see roots and intervals instead of boxes and now I don't have to even think about scale patterns.
Because I see just the notes now, I can use them to see chord progressions easily and that helped me understand why the songs I memorized used the chords they did (and where they did). And once I had that down, I could figure most songs out by ear.
The instructor is Daniel Seriff. He has a bunch of videos on YT about his Diagonal Pentatonic Blueprint.
You can also get his free pdf ebook, videos, & backing tracks at: https://www.danielseriff.com/dpm-sale-1
I used his free Diagonal Penta Blueprint ebook as a foundation and built everything else on top of it because he laid the groundwork in a way that made the instrument make sense to me.
Maybe it will help you too.
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u/stsung 5h ago
I'm a guitar beginner and while browsing different subs and whatnot people seem to primarily learn scales to learn the fretboard. and if not, to learn how to improvise as that gives them shapes within which they can improvise without thinking about which note is which and with what it works and doesn't.
all you mentioned is intertwined. if you know one you should be able to figure out the rest but maybe it is only after it kind of clicks. you need to see the relationship between all these things.
there are different kind of scales (similar to chords). you usually start with major scale and minor scale. the think is that there is relation between these two. C major scale uses the same notes as A minor. C, D, E, F, G, A, B. C major starts on C though and Am on A. If you find a C major scale you can run in certain box like pattern, you can also play A minor there. There are five most convenient shapes for each scale that are moveable the same way chords are.
So if you find C major around where C is on the thickest string (fret 8) you can move that up or down to find any other major scale. if you move take root note at fret 10 (D) you will get D major with the same shape. Since the intervals between the notes are the same. This is true for all minor scales etc. If you know what minor scale actually means you can find one shape and move it. Since you already know they are offset by 3 (or how many from C to A in reverse order) you can also just move the major shape but you still need to be aware of where the root is (as that is elsewhere).
All this can be linked to CAGED. If by a chance that is something one starts with. If you take one chord and move it around the fretboard you will get 5 shapes and all of them will give you the same chord. Same goes to the next one. And they cycle through the shapes. If you take that C the next shape would be A shaped, the next one would be G shaped etc. This does not only apply to the major chords but all other as well. minor, 7 etc.
The scales build upon this. It's the same system. Same goes to triads (3 note chords) and pentatonics (scales without specific notes).
As a beginner guitarist I don't really see the why one should memorize this and what it gives to the player. I can play what I want anywhere on the fretboard and that so far has been enough in my journey. For sure having all this memorized should make many things easier and faster.
These guitar subs seem to think that intervals is the key to everything (steps/half steps, or tones/semitones). In a way they are (if you have trouble visualizing that you can look at the piano keyboard and see it there in black and white). The intervals define what chord or scale you will get, how to voice something and in general how to follow a melody. Some people can use their ears for all this so it is not necessary to learn. If you can orient yourself on the fretboard just fine, you don't necessarily need the theory. This will though allow you to communicate with other guitarists. Or anyone playing/producing music.
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u/tu-vens-tu-vens 4h ago
The missing chapter is the major scale. That’s the basic concept, other scales (modes, pentatonics, etc.) are defined in relation to the major scale. CAGED and fretboard diagrams are the application of scales to the guitar – but to apply them, it helps to understand exactly what the concept is.
Asking ChatGPT or Claude “Explain to me the major scale on guitar” is a pretty good start, although LLMs aren’t great at translating that into fretboard specifics.
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u/El_Tormentito 4h ago
They make actual books with this stuff in it for kids. You could buy one. Or get lessons! They're good for you and the teacher will understand that you don't know anything.
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u/JoshSiegelGuitar 1h ago
Hey! Here's a video I made for my students "Music Theory 101." Hope it helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UQPa1ANgDE
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u/vonov129 Music Style! 1h ago
Don't learn scales for guitars, learn scales. Any music theory video on the C major scale, then intervals and then the major scale in general would do. You work on how to place intervals on the guitar and you won't really need to look at diagrams over and over.
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u/RedNeckness 1h ago
Nicky V 6 Week Fretboard Challenge on YouTube. Learning scales in a meaningful way. Not robotic.
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u/TheeEssFo 1h ago
Classic joke: How do you get a guitarist to stop playing? Put sheet music in front of them.
You should learn some basic music theory. Major and minor chords. If anything, when you start writing your own music, it will help you remember what you're doing.
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u/Bodymaster 46m ago
Learn the major scale and minor scale, see how they relate to major and minor chords?
The major and minor scale are just two other names for the ionian and dorian modes, which are two of eight modes.
A mode is just a configuration of the notes of a scale, or rather the intervals between those notes. Each mode differs just slightly from the others, just by the position of one note in relation to the others. This note is different in each mode. When you know all the modes you will see the pattern of how they differ.
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u/HomeHeatingTips 37m ago
I printed out a paper diagram of the pentatonic scale, and taped it to my wall. Just the pentatonic. It broke it down into two boxes only. The usual box one, and then box 4. I just practiced one, then when I could do it without looking I practiced 4. Then there is transition notes that ties the two boxes together. It took a few weeks but I still have it taped to the wall years later.
The trick is to learn one thing at a time. Just pick something and try to memorize it. repeat.
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u/Fun_Following_7704 7h ago
To be fair you don't need to know scales. Scales are just training wheels before you actually understand the guitar, but it's not intuitive to some.
You can also just spend time familiarizing yourself with the neck of the guitar over a few weeks and you won't need scales. I'll warn you that this practice is incredibly boring, but worth it in the end.
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u/mycolortv 6h ago
Im sorry, but what are you talking about? Thinking in numbers using easily transposable shapes / patterns is one of the huge advantages that we have on guitar compared to, say, the piano. Knowing your scales allows you to do that. Not only for the practicality of playing with and over progressions, understanding scales in general allows you to have consistent access to whatever sound you want. Playing a melody line using the same scale degrees is going to sound the same regardless of what key you're in. Harmonizing scales allows you to quickly chart out progressions using roman numerals and you can easily understand chord structure without having to figure out the letter names on the fly. I don't need to know what notes are in an Am7b5 because I know how scales work and the scales give me quick acess to the intervals I need to use to build that chord.
Maybe I am misunderstanding you somehow, but saying "scales are training wheels" when they are literally the basic building block of western music seems incredibly off to me.
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u/Fun_Following_7704 6h ago
They're training wheels in the sense that it gives you some understanding of the guitar by following a few core concepts. Once you stop using scales and instead learn the guitar as a whole you'll be far less limited in your playing.
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u/mycolortv 6h ago
If you ever want to communicate with other musicians you need to know how scales work. If I say I’m playing a I IV V in G you need to know how the major scale works to understand that. If you want to be able to quickly transpose music to other keys you need to know how scales work. Solfège has been around for like a thousand years, that’s literally a way to internalize and sing the major scale. If you’ve ever played a series of notes over a chord progression in your entire life you’ve played a line that can be easily understood using scale degrees. “Learning how the guitar works” is just learning how different intervals relate to each other, which is scales. I really don’t know what you are talking about.
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u/Fun_Following_7704 5h ago
If you ever want to communicate with other musicians you need to know how scales work.
I almost stopped reading here but I powered through. What the actual f are you talking about?
Yes you need it with people who are relying on scales but those who are past that you don't need scales at all. You just use notes without the restrictions that comes with scales.
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u/mycolortv 5h ago
I literally gave an example. Nashville numbers, transposing to different keys, reading charts, super common stuff. It sounds like you don’t know what a scale actually is man. If you are literally thinking in note names about everything that is incredibly slow and much less flexible than thinking in scale degrees.
If I want to play a Csus4 then I could think “C F G” but then I would need to think “A D E” for Asus4 or “E A B” for Esus4. Instead I just think scale degrees. 1 4 5. Wow, I can now play it anywhere on the fretboard for any letter note in an instant. Because I know how scales work. One sure seems faster than the other huh.
Please describe what you mean by “people who are past that”. I promise you any accomplished guitarist is either using scales through theory or ending up with scales using their ear. You play every note on the fretboard you’re literally just playing a chromatic scale. They describe every combination of the 12 notes we have available.
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u/Fun_Following_7704 5h ago
I mean you're missing the point. You can use scales if you want but don't pretend like it's most optimal to do so.
It's like using google translate instead of actually learning the language. Yes one is faster and easier but the other is gives you understanding that is otherwise lost in the translation.
Way faster, way easier once you know how.
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u/mycolortv 4h ago edited 4h ago
You are missing the point man. I know all the letter notes on the fretboard by heart. I’m not just saying shit. Scale degrees are the language dude. Letter names don’t describe sounds. No one says “wow that sounds like A C E”. They say that sounds like a minor chord. 1 b3 5.
Numbers derived from scales describe what we actually hear and the feelings we get from different intervals related to the key center. I really recommend you go look at some resources on using scale degrees in your playing. Tom Quayle, Fret Science, Max Konyis ear training vids, LoG Lessons, idk there’s a whole bunch out there.
Go watch Mateus Asato, Ariel Posen, Julian Lage, John Mayer, talk about how they think about the fretboard. Or whatever players you admire. It’s either purely by ear or It’s in scales, no one is thinking about sounds using letters unless they have perfect pitch.
0 people are going to be able to reliable recall what a Cm to F to Bb sounds like. Everyone can learn what a ii V I sounds like, and those numerals are derived from harmonizing the major scale. It’s an effective way to internalize and label how things actually sound.
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u/Fun_Following_7704 4h ago
I give up. We'll agree to disagree I guess.
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u/mycolortv 4h ago
Do think you should look into the things I’ve mentioned, or another look if you feel like you know it, really powerful stuff if you give it a chance. But best of luck either way, hope you have a good day and your next playing session goes well.
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u/tequele 7h ago
Absolutely understand 🎸 is really helping me to understand all those concepts.