Every area of study has its own language. This page explains certain key words that we will be using throughout the series. I'm not assuming any prior knowledge about music and scales at all, so the explanations will be completely non-technical.
An interval is the space or distance between any 2 notes. Intervals can be described in various ways: a third, a tone, a step, and (on a guitar) a fret are all terms that people use to talk about music intervals. Since this is a guitar site, in this series I will describe intervals by the number of frets involved.
An octave is a 12 fret interval. This is a very important interval musically, because the 2 notes will have the same sound and feel when you play them, even though they are not the same pitch.
The simplest example of octave notes on a guitar is when you play a string open (no left hand fretting) and then the same string at the 12th fret. (This fret is often dotted on the side of the fretboard to help you find and play it)
Play this set of notes:
(highest pitch string)
1 E |--0--12------------------------------------|
2 B |---------0--12-----------------------------|
3 G |----------------0--12----------------------|
4 D |-----------------------0--12---------------|
5 A |-----------------------------0--12---------|
6 E |------------------------------------0--12--|
(lowest pitch string)
The first two notes are both E notes. The E note at fret 12 is one octave higher than the open E note. On string 2 the open note is B, and the fret 12 note is also B, one octave higher. And so on.
Acoustically an octave is created by a 2:1 proportion of harmonics. Fret 12 of your guitar is midway between the two bridges of your guitar. Playing at fret 12 makes your string half the length of the open string, and thus raises the pitch one octave.
A scale is any set of notes that leads from one note to a second note an octave higher or lower. If you start at the low note and finish at the high note, you have played an ascending scale. And obviously, going from high to low creates a descending scale.
All of these examples are scales. Try them out.
eg1 |--0--12-----------------------------|
eg2 |--0--7--12--------------------------|
eg3 |--0--7--11--12----------------------|
eg4 |--12--7--0--------------------------|
eg5 |--0--2--4--6--8--10--12-------------|
eg6 |--12--11--10--9--8--7--6--5--4--3--2--1--0--|
Some points to remember. First, there is nothing in those examples to tell you which string to play. The scale is created not by particular notes but by the 12 fret gap, so you will play a valid scale whichever string you choose. So you should try the examples on different strings. If you listen carefully you will start to hear how the patterns are all the same, even though the pitch may be higher or lower.
Secondly, if you compare example 2 and example 4, you will see the notes played are the same. The only difference is the direction of the scale. So we have played the same scale in both examples. One is ascending, the other descending.
Try creating your own scales according to the above principles. Start with any open string, end on fret 12 of the same string, and in between play as few or many notes as you choose. Or start at fret 12 and play a descending scale, finishing with the open string.
A root note is the main note of the scale, and is usually the note you start and finish with. If you play these notes...
1 E |--0--12------------------------------------|
...your root note is probably E. And if you play these notes...
2 B |---------0--12-----------------------------|
...your root note is probably B. (I say probably because if you get as far as studying the different modes of a scale, you will find out that there are exceptions to this principle. But for the rest of this series, the root note and first note will be the same.)
Finally the root note sets the key for your music. The key is simply the overall range of your music. If you take your music up or down a step, you have changed key. For example, here is the first line of “Mary had a little Lamb” in 3 different keys. If you play the tune, hum or sing it as well. That will give you a better feel as to how the key varies.
1 E |--4--2--0--2--4--4--4---------------------|
1 E |--6--4--2--4--6--6--6---------------------|
1 E |--8--6--4--6--8--8--8---------------------|
Same tune; 3 different levels.
Our next lesson gives us a creative picture to help us out before we get too bogged down in the details!
(Need help interpreting the guitar tab symbols used throughout this site? Click here)