Guitar help:?

Question

What good are scales for? can they help you create leads? which scale do i play for a certain key? (if there playing in "D" then do i play a "D" scale?) Whats the difference between scale? (major, minor, ionian, diatonic, Aeolin, etc), and which scale is better to play when?

Answer 1

the different scales are just different ways to play a set of notes in a certain key. on guitar i generaly just use basic penatonic scales. minor is more of a sad sound, major is more of a happy sound, besides that each different one will give many different sounds depending on your play speed and which notes you play on the scale.

in actual guitar songwriting they are almost only used for leads, and sometimes bridges and intros.

Answer 2

Minor Scales are used with minor chords, and obviosly everything else is of that nature, all of the modes are only deminished versions of certain minor/major scales, yes, they are for leads/solos.  I suggest learning the minor pentatonic scale first, as it was my first, and easiest to learn, I also still use it ALOT to this day.

Answer 3

Lots of questions, yes?

Scales are good for everything from developing speed and dexterity to creating lead, melody and harmony lines. You will have to learn from experience and education which scales work with which keys. Just try some out. Yes, a D scale works with the key of D. That would be an Ionian scale, and it works with any major key.

The site below is a great guide to scales.  (Note that when they say "w-h-h-w" and similar, the "w" stands for one whole step, and the "h" is one half-step):

http://www.grovelandsoftwarelabs.com/mod...

While you're at it, may just as well go whole hog. The following site will help you to work with intervals, a very important part of leads and scales.

http://www.songtrellis.com/concepts/inte...

Pay close attention to these sites and you will be well on your way to a degree in music!

Kabum