Lesson 4 – More Scales + Scale Concepts

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• Jim Matulevich Apr 18, 2021

  Would it make sense to put the note names inside the green and blue dots? It might help those of us who have not totally memorized the fretboard become more fluent.

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  • Brad Bordessa (Admin) Apr 18, 2021

    Hmm… Good thought, Jim. There’s sort of two schools of thought here: #1 present all the information (notes in dots) at the possible expense of overthinking, #2 keep the focus on the sound of the 6th (plain dots) and sacrifice some information. I guess I was going for #2, but maybe that’s not as useful. I’ll ponder it. Stay tuned and thanks for the feedback.

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  • BARRY SAVAGE Apr 19, 2021

    There are, in my opinion, at least two points of view here which are personal and pedogogical although the two are not completely separate. From a purely personal point of view I prefer #2 because I would find #1 to be too cluttered for me wth no added benefits and hence would be very distracting for me. But this personal view comes from the fact that I already know the notes of the fretboard. It is possible that #1 might be useful for someone who does not yet know the fretboard notes. This leads to the pedagogical question which could be phrased as which approach (i.e. #1 or #2) would be the better choice as a learning aid? The answer, in part at least, depends on the level of the students taking this course. Perhaps offering both #1 and #2 and allowing the learner to make a choice might be a possible option.

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    • Brad Bordessa (Admin) Apr 19, 2021

      This was my first thought, Barry. I just have to figure out how to make it look nice!

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  • dg.giacomini Apr 22, 2021

    Beginner and Intermediate+ downloads? But, it might take up too much webpage space.

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    • Brad Bordessa (Admin) Apr 23, 2021

      The space isn’t a problem. I’m more worried about making it clear who should use what file.

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• Richard Lepinsky Apr 19, 2021

  Great course. I have always loved interval leads & melodies, but did not have the scales to go very far. Very helpful.
  Here is my latest original song – Grow Some Food .
  YT link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IILRosmwzhs

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  • Brad Bordessa (Admin) Apr 19, 2021

    Beautiful garden, Richard! Growing food is a great counterpart to music. Uncle George Kahumoku stopped us complaining about pulling weeds by saying, “It makes your fingers strong!”

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• Hope Morrow Apr 21, 2021

  So it seems clear that there’s a pattern for playing sixths on a major scale (and likely other scales as well) and that once I learn the pattern relative to the scale degrees, I’ll be able to start that pattern on any scale degree.

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  • Brad Bordessa (Admin) Apr 21, 2021

    Correct! The fretboard pattern is like an endless conveyor belt that wraps around from the nut to the 12th fret. Move to a different key and everything shifts up or down and recycles.

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• Val Slemko Apr 23, 2021

  I know most of fretboard notes so I’ve decided to write in just the notes I am least familiar with.

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  • Brad Bordessa (Admin) Apr 23, 2021

    This is a great hybrid approach that will serve as a reminder when you need it, but force you to still do some of the work from memory. It also allows you to customize the difficulty. For instance, I’m imagining only writing in the notes on key frets like 7th, 10, 12th. That way, you still have to figure out some notes, but you can find them fast from a closer reference point.

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• Peter Smith Apr 23, 2021

  The charts are great. Thanks. I pencilled in the note letters myself and transposed the names of the keys as I’m playing a baritone.

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• Vanessa Nugent Apr 24, 2021

  I keep hearing Peace Train by Cat Stevens as I play the scales.

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  • Brad Bordessa (Admin) Apr 25, 2021

    That’s a great example of 6ths in action!

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  • Leone Steele May 4, 2021

    Me too! Everyone jump on the Peace Train!!

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• Lisa Kljaich Apr 28, 2021

  Makes perfect sense. I still have to think pretty hard about which notes are which, but I see the pattern. Having fun! If you ever read your comments, you should contact me for an interview on my ukulele superhero series on YouTube. Lisa, The Ukulele Fool.

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  • Brad Bordessa (Admin) Apr 28, 2021

    I read my comments every day! Email sent.

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• John Romero Sep 24, 2021

  What a fun way to practice while learning the fretboard in different keys/scales. I’m starting to see/feel the sound of 6ths in songs I play.

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