the g major scale
 

Remember Lesson Three? We built a C major scale from scratch, and learned how to play it forwards and backwards. Now we're going to do the same thing starting from G, which will give us a G major scale. We're going to use the same formula we used for C. In case you don't remember, that formula is ROOT-WH-WH-HF-WH-WH-WH-HF. Once again, here are all of the notes on the guitar from which we will extract the exact notes that comprise a G major scale:

E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D D#

We begin with G, our root note. From there we go up one WHOLE STEP which brings us to A. From there we go up another WHOLE STEP, bringing us up to B. From there we continue up a HALF STEP, which leads us to C. Take another WHOLE STEP from C and you're at D. Another WHOLE STEP takes us to E. One more WHOLE STEP lands us on an F#, where we take one more little HALF STEP and are whisked off to another G. We're back home now, having traveled one OCTAVE. Here it is:

G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G

I have provided the fingering for this one as well. This time we'll go up TWO OCTAVES, because we can. Two octaves means that we actually go through the scale twice, proceeding up two G's from where we started. Like this:

G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G

And the fingering:

Remember that for now, except when you're playing chords, your fingering will be determined by what fret you're playing on. In other words, if your playing a note on the third fret, use your third (ring) finger. If your playing a note on the fourth fret, use your fourth (pinky) finger. USE YOUR PINKY!! Good luck!

"failure is the opportunity to try again more intelligently."-henry ford