Pacman's sure-fire scale practice method

#505
MarshallNole said:
Thanks for the replies. Still getting used to referring to F as E# in this scale.
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I have been playing guitar off and on for 16 or so years (mostly off :( )
I recently started playing bass and really enjoy it. A friend has been helping me for about 6 months initially with guitar but now with bass.
I say all that to say I felt the same way you did when you said this.
I had this SAME conversation with him
Remember. There are 7 notes in a scale. A, B, C, D, E, F, G
I think of it as a note cannot be repeated in a scale.

For instance the F Scale. While A# is technically the same note as a Bb, you cannot have two As.
F, G, A, Bb, C D E F
I II III IV V VI VII ROOT
This may not be the absolute most sound way of music theory BUT it helps me remember.

He has also worked with me on learning I IV V VI or I V VI IV etc and not thinking about the names of the notes but where they lay in the scale.
By doing this if you learn the scale patterns of where the notes are you can realize that you can easily change keys.

I hope some of this makes sense.
 
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#506
Ran into some confusion while trying to get this method down. What is the correct fingering for this exercise? I feel as if I'm thrown off because I was advised that when playing a major scale I should have my middle finger on the root of the scale (same fret column). It gets especially tricky at the beginning because of the use of open strings.
 
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#507
With every box, you'll start on your first finger.

That said, it's a good idea to be able to play the major scale starting on your index, middle and pinky fingers. Don't get stuck in one method (which is kind of the point of this method).
 
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#508
E_3 said:
Ran into some confusion while trying to get this method down. What is the correct fingering for this exercise? I feel as if I'm thrown off because I was advised that when playing a major scale I should have my middle finger on the root of the scale (same fret column). It gets especially tricky at the beginning because of the use of open strings.
Click to expand...

One of the main points of the exercise is to help you learn and practice multiple fingerings for the major scale. The fingering you're familiar with (and that everybody learns first) -- i.e., that starts with your middle finger on the root -- is only one of several possibilities.

For example, play the G major scale the way you normally would, starting with your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the E string. When you get to the octave (5th fret of the D string), the root (G) is now under your pinky rather than your middle finger. Instead of shifting your hand to get your middle finger on the G to start over, you can just continue playing the G scale by switching to a different fingering that starts with the root under your pinky. There are basically three different fingerings (in a given position) for a major scale -- the third starts with the root under your index (first) finger -- and playing the scales across all strings and in different positions makes you switch back and forth among them.
 
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#511
E_3 said:
Ran into some confusion while trying to get this method down. What is the correct fingering for this exercise? I feel as if I'm thrown off because I was advised that when playing a major scale I should have my middle finger on the root of the scale (same fret column). It gets especially tricky at the beginning because of the use of open strings.
Click to expand...

Scott Devine has a few lessons that cover this fairly extensively with a method similar to Pacman's.
 
#512
MrLenny1 said:
Great stuff guys.
I still feel like an idiot on bass after all these years of playing/gigging.
If I live long enough I hope to learn how to solo musically/proficiently.
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I played guitar for years before learning "theory" of any kind.
I also felt like an idiot, and I don't think you or I should. It is never too late to learn.
But starting to learn it on guitar and then moving it to bass as I started playing bass has accelerated my understanding of how songs work and it has helped me with the fretboard and learning note position.
 
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#513
okay well I can play my scales with the standard fingering playing notes 1-8. I am going to start this practice method. What should I be looking for when playing these notes? It was mentioned that a pattern evolves... I feel like when I am practicing my scales in the traditional way I am just playing notes... not sure what it teaches except which notes make up each scale.
 
#514
Part of this is to highlight the fretboard patterns. Use your eyes and muscle memory to feel these patterns out. Like Pacman said there are only 3 boxes (patterns if I understand correctly) that appear. After running through these they should reveal themselves to you.

Additionally as noted above, Scott Devine does a nice job explaining this in a few of his videos on scales where he focuses on what fingers you start on. Those would be a nice addition to your practice.
 
#515
svb70 said:
I find this site an excellent resource as a musical reference. For beginners wanting to learn basics and experienced players wanting a reference.

When you view the scales for your chosen bass (4,5,6 string) don't forget to click on square boxes on low string to see shape.
musicopedia

I give Pacman's technique a huge thumbs up !
Click to expand...

That's a great tool however it won't work on my tablet. This one is also very good, works on Android, but doesn't give all the chords in the key on the same page. SmartChord app
 
#516
Bringing this one back!

Pacman said:
Continue moving these “boxes” up the neck in this manner. I generally practice this up one octave from where I started and then come back down again.
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Can I get some help with the section above? I can play all three boxes no problem, but am not exactly sure how to proceed afterwards. When you say "continue moving these boxes up the neck", i cant figure out what that means.
 
#517
nesbuddha said:
When you say "continue moving these boxes up the neck", i cant figure out what that means.
Click to expand...

You simply are moving the starting note up the neck , following the scale

Box 1 starts on the open E
Box 2 starts on the F
Box 3 starts on the G
Box 4 starts on the A
Box 5 starts on the B
Box 6 starts on the C ...
...and so on up the notes of C major

Note that each box is a different fingering pattern
When Pac Man asserts the are only 3 patterns
He means within the 3 note range along a single string
He does not mean not that there are only 3 'boxes'
 
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#518
mambo4 said:
You simply are moving the starting note up the neck , following the scale

Box 1 starts on the open E
Box 2 starts on the F
Box 3 starts on the G
Box 4 starts on the A
Box 5 starts on the B
Box 6 starts on the C ...
...and so on up the notes of C major

Note that each box is a different fingering pattern
When Pac Man asserts the are only 3 patterns
He means within the 3 note range along a single string
He does not mean not that there are only 3 'boxes'
Click to expand...
Nice explanation. The only thing I'd add is that an ideal way to do this is going up and down: That is, follow the first "box" from open E as far as you can go across strings in that position, then shift to reach the next note in the scale on the G string, and then come down a different way. When you get back to the E string, shift again to start on the next higher available note in the scale and go back up, etc.

If there's one thing I've learned from practicing scales up and down the neck, it's that learning how to go up is way easier than learning how to come down -- but both are equally important!
 
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