Scales, Positions and Arpeggios
When to read this: after Session 7, “Two-Octave Scales”, “How a Scale Climbs Its Ladder” (10 minutes); after Session 21, “The Fifth Position” (10 minutes); after Session 34, “The Two Arpeggios” (10 minutes). None of this reading is part of a session’s 50 minutes.
What You’ll Learn
Section titled “What You’ll Learn”This handout is about scales and arpeggios picked across the strings. You read it in three parts, each after the session that sends you to it:
- After Session 7: two-octave scales, and how a scale climbs its ladder.
- After Session 21: the fifth position.
- After Session 34: the two arpeggios.
Do not read a later section, or play anything in it, before its session.
Two-Octave Scales
Section titled “Two-Octave Scales”Little-finger work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total in the first two weeks at a new fret.
Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
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Open position — The open strings plus frets 1 to 4. The beginner course used it as far as fret 3; from Session 7 finger 4 (little finger) plays fret 4. (Session 7)
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First position — Where the fretting hand is in open position: finger 1 plays fret 1, finger 2 fret 2, finger 3 fret 3 and finger 4 (little finger) fret 4. (Session 7)
In open position the fret number is the finger number: fret 1 = finger 1, fret 2 = finger 2, fret 3 = finger 3, fret 4 = finger 4 (little finger).
A scale in two octaves runs from its home note up to the same note two octaves higher, and comes back down. You already play two scales like this: the pentatonic pair of Session 4, E minor pentatonic and G major pentatonic. They run through two octaves on the open strings and frets up to fret 3.
The G major scale of Session 7 is the first two-octave scale that needs finger 4 (little finger), at fret 4.
Copy of Session 7: G major scale, two octaves, open position
G major scale, two octaves, open position: up and down, quarter notes e|----------------------|-------------------|-------------------| B|----------------------|-------------------|-------0---1---3---| G|----------------------|---------------0---|---2---------------| D|----------------------|---0---2---4-------|-------------------| A|----------0---2---3---|-------------------|-------------------| E|------3---------------|-------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Pick: D U D U D U D U D U D U Finger: 3 - 2 3 - 2 4 - 2 - 1 3 Notes: G A B C D E F# G A B C D e|------0---2---3---2---|---0---------------|-------------------| B|----------------------|-------3---1---0---|-------------------| G|----------------------|-------------------|---2---0-----------| D|----------------------|-------------------|-----------4---2---| A|----------------------|-------------------|-------------------| E|----------------------|-------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Pick: D U D U D U D U D U D U Finger: - 2 3 2 - 3 1 - 2 - 4 2 Notes: E F# G F# E D C B A G F# E e|----------------------|-------------------| B|----------------------|-------------------| G|----------------------|-------------------| D|------0---------------|-------------------| A|----------3---2---0---|-------------------| E|----------------------|---3---------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 (2) (3) (4) Pick: D U D U D Finger: - 3 2 - 3 Notes: D C B A G
G major scale, in quarter notes: one note per click. The top G is played once. The last G lasts four beats: let it ring while you count (2) (3) (4).
In a scale or an arpeggio the pick alternates on every note, down then up, whatever the count: in quarter notes an upstroke falls on counts 2 and 4. In a tune the pick follows the count: down on the numbers, up on the &s.
This block is for reading here: play it in its session and in the week’s row, not from this handout.
The table gives the fifteen places of the scale, lowest note first.
| Note | String | Fret | Finger |
|---|---|---|---|
| G | 6 (low E) | 3 | 3 (ring) |
| A | 5 (A) | 0 (open) | — |
| B | 5 (A) | 2 | 2 (middle) |
| C | 5 (A) | 3 | 3 (ring) |
| D | 4 (D) | 0 (open) | — |
| E | 4 (D) | 2 | 2 (middle) |
| F# | 4 (D) | 4 | 4 (little finger) |
| G | 3 (G) | 0 (open) | — |
| A | 3 (G) | 2 | 2 (middle) |
| B | 2 (B) | 0 (open) | — |
| C | 2 (B) | 1 | 1 (index) |
| D | 2 (B) | 3 | 3 (ring) |
| E | 1 (high e) | 0 (open) | — |
| F# | 1 (high e) | 2 | 2 (middle) |
| G | 1 (high e) | 3 | 3 (ring) |
Finger 4 (little finger) plays one place only: string 4 at fret 4, the F sharp. It plays it twice in a run, once on the way up and once on the way down. Your hand does not move to reach it: one finger to a fret, and no stretch.
If a note buzzes: (1) move the fingertip right up behind the fret wire; (2) stand the finger on its tip; (3) only then add the smallest extra pressure that clears the buzz.
One check of the scale: inside the “G major scale” row on a practice day of a week in which that row plays quarter notes, at the figure the row has reached that day, record the scale up and down from its quarter-note block in Session 7. Then play the recording back and follow it on the block above, note by note. Pass: all 29 notes with no wrong note, 3 runs in a row. If not: try again on the next practice day, inside the same row, while it still plays quarter notes.
How a Scale Climbs Its Ladder
Section titled “How a Scale Climbs Its Ladder”Every new scale climbs its ladder in two stages. First you play it in quarter notes, one note per click, starting at the figure of the week in which the scale is new. Then, in the week its row says so, you play it in eighth notes, two notes per click, starting at half the figure the quarter notes reached. The figures of each week are in that week’s session, and this handout gives none.
Each week’s session gives the figure the scale starts at that week, and from there it rises only by the rule below. Never play the scale faster than that week allows.
Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row. In the week a hard new skill is first played, its tempo rises by one step at most. Any other tempo rises by two steps at most in one week, and by one step at most in a lighter week.
A run is clean when every note or chord lands on its count, every string that should sound rings, and you do not stop.
To change from one note per click to two notes per click, halve the number first: two notes per click at 40 is exactly as fast as one note per click at 80.
A scale’s ladder ends when it reaches 60 BPM in eighth notes. In the session after that, the scale’s own row ends and its card joins the pile of the Rotation row. From then on you play it from memory when you draw its card.
The Fifth Position
Section titled “The Fifth Position”Little-finger work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total in the first two weeks at a new fret.
Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
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Position — A place on the neck for the fretting hand in which each finger has its own fret, four frets in a row. It is named by the fret that finger 1 plays. (Session 21)
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Fifth position — The position in which finger 1 plays fret 5, finger 2 fret 6, finger 3 fret 7 and finger 4 (little finger) fret 8. (Session 21)
A position is named by the fret that finger 1 plays: in fifth position finger 1 plays fret 5 and finger 4 (little finger) plays fret 8. A scale moved to a new position keeps its note names and changes its strings and frets: A minor pentatonic is A, C, D, E, G in open position and in fifth position.
Move your whole hand along the neck, thumb travelling with it. This is a shift, not a stretch.
Stop when finger 1 is over fret 5.
If it pulls, stop that item for today; if it aches, stop playing for today.
In fifth position, fret 5 = finger 1, fret 6 = finger 2, fret 7 = finger 3 and fret 8 = finger 4 (little finger).
Copy of Session 21: A minor pentatonic, two octaves, fifth position
A minor pentatonic, two octaves, fifth position: up and down, quarter notes e|----------------------|-------------------|-----------5-------| B|----------------------|-------------------|---5---8-------8---| G|----------------------|-----------5---7---|-------------------| D|----------------------|---5---7-----------|-------------------| A|--------------5---7---|-------------------|-------------------| E|------5---8-----------|-------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Pick: D U D U D U D U D U D U Finger: 1 4 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 4 Notes: A C D E G A C D E G A G e|----------------------|-------------------|-------------------| B|------5---------------|-------------------|-------------------| G|----------7---5-------|-------------------|-------------------| D|------------------7---|---5---------------|-------------------| A|----------------------|-------7---5-------|-------------------| E|----------------------|---------------8---|---5---------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 (2) (3) (4) Pick: D U D U D U D U D Finger: 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 Notes: E D C A G E D C A
A minor pentatonic in fifth position, in quarter notes: one note per click. The top A is played once. The last A lasts four beats: let it ring while you count (2) (3) (4).
This block is for reading here: play it in its session and in the week’s row, not from this handout.
The table gives the eleven places of the scale, lowest note first.
| Note | String | Fret | Finger |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 6 (low E) | 5 | 1 (index) |
| C | 6 (low E) | 8 | 4 (little finger) |
| D | 5 (A) | 5 | 1 (index) |
| E | 5 (A) | 7 | 3 (ring) |
| G | 4 (D) | 5 | 1 (index) |
| A | 4 (D) | 7 | 3 (ring) |
| C | 3 (G) | 5 | 1 (index) |
| D | 3 (G) | 7 | 3 (ring) |
| E | 2 (B) | 5 | 1 (index) |
| G | 2 (B) | 8 | 4 (little finger) |
| A | 1 (high e) | 5 | 1 (index) |
Three fingers play this scale: 1, 3 and 4. Finger 2 is not used. Finger 4 (little finger) plays fret 8 on strings 6 and 2: four notes in a run, two on the way up and two on the way down. On strings 5, 4 and 3 the scale uses frets 5 and 7 only, with fingers 1 and 3.
If a note buzzes: (1) move the fingertip right up behind the fret wire; (2) stand the finger on its tip; (3) only then add the smallest extra pressure that clears the buzz.
One check of the scale: inside the “A minor pentatonic at fret 5” row on a practice day, at the figure the row has reached that day, record the scale up and down from its quarter-note block in Session 21. Then play the recording back and follow it on the block above, note by note. Pass: all 21 notes with no wrong note, twice in a row. If not: try again on the next practice day, inside the row of that day’s plan that plays this scale, while it still plays quarter notes.
The Two Arpeggios
Section titled “The Two Arpeggios”Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.
- Arpeggio (as a technical exercise) — The notes of one chord played one at a time in order of pitch, going up and then down, like a scale made only of that chord’s notes. The G major arpeggio goes up G, B, D, G, B, D, G and comes back down by the same notes. (Session 34)
Each arpeggio has one block, in quarter notes: an arpeggio is never played in eighth notes in this course.
Copy of Session 34: G major arpeggio, two octaves
G major arpeggio, two octaves: up and down, quarter notes e|----------------------|-----------3-------| B|----------------------|---0---3-------3---| G|------------------0---|-------------------| D|--------------0-------|-------------------| A|----------2-----------|-------------------| E|------3---------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Pick: D U D U D U D U Finger: 3 2 - - - 3 4 3 Notes: G B D G B D G D e|----------------------|-------------------| B|------0---------------|-------------------| G|----------0-----------|-------------------| D|--------------0-------|-------------------| A|------------------2---|-------------------| E|----------------------|---3---------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 (2) (3) (4) Pick: D U D U D Finger: - - - 2 3 Notes: B G D B G
G major arpeggio: one note per click. The top G is played once. The last G lasts four beats: let it ring while you count (2) (3) (4).
G major arpeggio, the fingers: finger 3 plays G on string 6 and D on string 2, both at fret 3; finger 2 plays B on string 5 at fret 2; finger 4 (little finger) plays the top G on string 1 at fret 3, as it does in the G chord.
Copy of Session 34: A minor arpeggio, up to the open first string
A minor arpeggio, up to the open first string: up and down, quarter notes e|----------------------|-------0-----------| B|----------------------|---1-------1-------| G|------------------2---|---------------2---| D|--------------2-------|-------------------| A|------0---3-----------|-------------------| E|----------------------|-------------------| Count: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Pick: D U D U D U D U Finger: - 3 2 3 1 - 1 3 Notes: A C E A C E C A e|----------------------| B|----------------------| G|----------------------| D|------2---------------| A|----------3---0-------| E|----------------------| Count: 1 2 3 (4) Pick: D U D Finger: 2 3 - Notes: E C A
A minor arpeggio: one note per click. The top E is played once. The last A lasts two beats: let it ring while you count (4).
A minor arpeggio, the fingers: finger 3 plays C on string 5 at fret 3 and A on string 3 at fret 2, the move it makes between the C chord and the Am chord; finger 2 plays E on string 4 at fret 2; finger 1 plays C on string 2 at fret 1.
The A minor arpeggio runs from the open string 5 up to the open string 1. It is not a two-octave arpeggio.
Both arpeggios are picked by the rule printed under the first block of this handout, in “Two-Octave Scales”: the pick alternates on every note.
You play each arpeggio one note per click: at 60 BPM in Session 34, and up to 70 BPM in that week’s row. 70 BPM is the figure of exit criterion E13. Raise the metronome 5 BPM at a time, and only after three clean runs in a row.
One check, in the words of exit criterion E13: inside the “Arpeggios” row on a practice day on which the row has reached 70 BPM, play each arpeggio up and down from memory, one note per click at 70 BPM, and record it. Then play the recording back and follow it on the arpeggio’s block. Pass: each arpeggio 2 times in a row with no wrong note. If not: inside the same row, go back to 60 BPM and play each arpeggio three times from its block, then once from memory, and try again on the next practice day of Week 34. After Week 34 the end-of-course assessment takes the same check.