Mastering the Major Scale: Three Notes Per String

By alex windsor

The major scale is, by far, one of the most recognizable sounds in contemporary music. Many of us learn the notes of the major scale early on in our musical journey. In fact, some of us even remember singing along to “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music (1967) before realizing we were singing a major scale! Knowing how to locate the notes of the major scale is an essential step in memorizing the guitar fretboard. In this lesson, we will discuss one way to incorporate the major scale into your warm-up routine.

First, let’s determine what makes a major scale. We will be using the key of G Major throughout this lesson, so our starting (root) note will be G. From there, we can figure out the next notes by following this formula (remember that a whole step is two frets and a half step is one fret)

whole step – whole step – half step – whole step – whole step – whole step – half step

In the key of G Major, the notes in this pattern are G-A-B-C-D-EF#-G. These are the only notes we will be playing in this exercise. Also, we will only be playing three notes on each string, then continuing with the next notes on the next string. Begin with the G note located on the third fret of the sixth (low E) string, followed by A on the fifth fret and B on the seventh fret. Next, move up to the fifth (A) string and play the note C on the third fret, D on the fifth fret, and E on the seventh fret. Move up again to the fourth (D) string and play the note F# on the fourth fret, G on the fifth fret, and A on the seventh fret. Continue this pattern all the way up to the note C on the first (high E) string and play the pattern back down. Use the tab in Example 1 as a guide.

Example 1

Next, we are going to shift up to the fifth fret of the sixth (low E) string and continue playing the notes of the G major scale, with three notes per string, but beginning on the note A. From there, we play the note B on the seventh fret and the note C on the eighth fret. Move up to the fifth (A) string and play the note D on the fifth fret, E on the seventh fret, and F# on the ninth fret. Move up to the fourth (D) string and play the note G on the fifth fret, A on the seventh fret, and B on the ninth fret. Continue this pattern all the way up to the note D on the first (high E) string and play the pattern back down. Use the tab in Example 2 as a guide.

Example 2:

Next, move up to the note B on the seventh fret of the sixth (low E) string. We play the note B on the seventh fret, the note C on the eighth fret, and the note D on the tenth fret. Move up to the fifth (A) string and play the note E on the seventh fret, F# on the ninth fret, and G on the tenth fret. Continue this pattern all the way up to the note E on the twelfth fret of the first (high E) string and play the pattern back down.

Keep moving down the fretboard by starting on the next note of the scale on the sixth (low E) string: C, D, E, F# and finally back to G. Once you feel comfortable in this key, pick a different key and practice the pattern.

For best results, try to use alternate picking and one finger per note on your fretting hand. See Example 3 for finger positioning.

Example 3: