Can anyone recommend a great book of scales in tab format?

shotgunn

shotgunn

Fractal Fanatic
I have the Guitar Grimoire and it is excellent. However, I'm looking for something with tabs (easier for my brain) that is equally diverse in the number and types of scales.

Thanx!!!


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I don't have a recommendation for a good book on scales... but I have a warning about a bad book on scales (which can also be a valuable reference).

"Everything about guitar scales", by Wilbur M. Savidge - when I saw this book, I thought it was exactly what I was looking for. It looked exhaustive to the point of obsession, and crystal clear, with 157 pages of very nice scale patterns shown three different ways: standard notation, tab, and a pictogram of the guitar neck. Perfect, right? Well, wrong! The book contains numerous mistakes. Incorrect notes in scales (which I had to verify from different sources). There's nothing worse than inaccuracies in a book intended for learning (how are you, the student, supposed to know what's right and what's wrong).

In short, after finding a dozen errors or so, I determined I could not rely on that book for anything. It's been gathering dust ever since. So save your money, and buy something else.
 
This is the problem with guitar method books. A lot of them have mistakes. I don't want to sound ignorant or full of myself, but I wouldn't trust picking up something at random. I don't use books, not for a very long time, so I don't have any advice.

Scales are easy. I'd suggest doing the three notes per string major scale. They're seven of them. Memorize them. Practice them every day. DON'T learn ADDITIONAL traditional modes. They're built in.

Keep it simple and start there. You can't do it all at once. Take your time and be patient. All the other minor scales, synthetic, exotic and altered modes can come later AND WILL ONLY MAKE SENSE after you digested the major scales.
 
FYI: If you select a number in the "patterns" column then press "get" it will show the tab for the scale you've selected.
 
Learn the major scales in all the positions,normal and 3 notes per string is a good start.I had 1 good teacher that was teaching me theory and to read last year ,Had to take some time off, My mind was becoming mush.Plus I think its harder as you get older.You can find lots of great stuff on You tube. Baby steps and slow to start
Ok forget to mention ,I telling you something I haven't done completely yet ,LEARN THE NOTES ON THE NECK!! And Intervals
 
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Thanks Ben! BUT the example you show is wrong, from my point of view, in more ways than one. Either that or it's just confusing. Same with Bobby Gs. Not that it's so wrong, it's just very confusing. You have to know what you're doing before you know whether it makes sense or not.

First off those 3 notes per string that Ben linked are either mislabeled or something. OK, the number is the root of the mode. But that's what I'm saying. EACH SCALE has all the modes in it. You should back up a few steps and look at the ROOTS OF THE MAJOR SCALE. The first one on that page I call pattern 7 because it starts on the 7th degree of the scale. The ROOT is the very next note on the 6th string.

If you learn it FIRST that way then you can SEE all 7 modes in each scale pattern. It doesn't make any sense to reference the Dorian mode as having ONE LOCATION on the fretboard. That turns your mind in to a tailspin and makes you have to jump all over the neck to play two or three different modes.

SIMPLIFY, simplify simplify. Most guitar books, teachers and students see complexity. The better players (I believe) can look at the overall fretboard and reduce to it's simplicity, which is easier to add complexity to. It's harder to start with a complexity.
 
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I totally agree with you henry that lots of teachers and students over-complicate the fretboard. Myself included, really. I sometimes have to stop myself and tell myself not to over-think things.

Vinnie Moore has a great lesson on modes. Vinnie Moore(Great lesson on Modes)-part 1/3 - YouTube

I think the problem with modes is that they're often not explained very well, leading to confusion on the student's part. The student walks away thinking that the concept is hard and/or they're not good enough to do it. Totally false IMHO!!!
 
Hire a reputable guitar teacher in your area that you can connect musically with (interview & inspect). One versed in music theory. This way you are not just shown the scales but how to APPLY them and make them work for YOU!

Thank me later....:D
 
Ben Randolph said:
I totally agree with you henry that lots of teachers and students over-complicate the fretboard. Myself included, really. I sometimes have to stop myself and tell myself not to over-think things.

Vinnie Moore has a great lesson on modes. Vinnie Moore(Great lesson on Modes)-part 1/3 - YouTube

I think the problem with modes is that they're often not explained very well, leading to confusion on the student's part. The student walks away thinking that the concept is hard and/or they're not good enough to do it. Totally false IMHO!!!
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Yes! It's totally false. As a matter of fact modes are so ridiculously easy, that guitar players often think it CAN'T be that easy, so they try and add layers of complexity to it to try and make it deep and then they get into serious deep water.

And the trouble with finding a good teacher is most are as lost as you, adding several steps. I rarely find a teacher or good PLAYER who doesn't have massive confusions here. And yes, it's ALL in application.
 
"Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" - Nicolas Slonimsky.
Add "Chord Chemistry" - Ted Greene, and you are off to a decent foundation IMO.

Print out TAB sheets, transcribe it over yourself. IMO, re-scribing is an immense aid for "memory burn-in."
 
Slonimsky's book is WAY overkill. Decent foundation! OMG. That's very advanced stuff there. And they're not scales per se. They're treatments and interpolations and permutations. Not necessarily a lot of useful and applicable stuff. The guy wants a book of scales in TAB. LOL. IMHO of course!
 
henryrobinett said:
Slonimsky's book is WAY overkill. Decent foundation! OMG. That's very advanced stuff there. And they're not scales per se. They're treatments and interpolations and permutations. Not necessarily a lot of useful and applicable stuff. The guy wants a book of scales in TAB. LOL. IMHO of course!
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well Henry (ps I keep thinking your name says Bobbet, arrrrrrg that hurts)---you seem to "know" your stuff, care to share, or point us in the RIGHT direction? I would love to learn a bit more, but everytime I hit the scale books, I play the notes then my brain turns off. I just cant translate scales to music after playing by ear for 25 years.
 
symphx said:
well Henry (ps I keep thinking your name says Bobbet, arrrrrrg that hurts)---you seem to "know" your stuff, care to share, or point us in the RIGHT direction? I would love to learn a bit more, but everytime I hit the scale books, I play the notes then my brain turns off. I just cant translate scales to music after playing by ear for 25 years.
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Pretty much what I said earlier. Start with the 3 notes per string major scale. Make sure you take notice where the ROOT of the scale is. There will be 7 scale patterns each start on one of the 7 degrees of the scale. If you think of these degrees or steps as that rather than MODES you'll be better prepared.

I'd practice slowly and deliberately with alternate picking. That would mean alternate. Not doing a down stroke when you play the next string. That makes a triplet rhythmic feel whether you want it or not. These are three notes per string, not necessarily triplets. After you've memorized them I'd use a metronome.

One thing I'd caution - Learn them ALL comprehensively as soon as possible. YOU DON'T want to know some better than others. These scales cover the entire fretboard. The primary purpose is to know your fretboard completely. So they should be practiced every day for a while.

That'll be $50. :)
 
Another thing I think is very useful: having BOOKS is useless. Having a BOOK OF SCALES does little until you gobble them up. Guitar is all about DOING and INGESTING. You can't play thinking that you have a book that has just the right scale in it somewhere. The only way they're useful is when you memorized them and applied them over and over and over and over and over again. It will sound like crap in the beginning. How can it not? You're learning them. You may have to suffer through critical assholes saying, "you're just playing scales and sound like shit!" Well you are just playing scales. It'll take a while before those scales start NOT BEING SCALES and become music. That's a frustrating transitional period.

But stick with it because the foundations of music and the guitar are found in them. And the scales are merely the beginning. They ARE the foundation quite literally.
 
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Guthrie Govan - Creative Guitar
One of the best (if not the best) books for guitarist and musicians. Talks about theory, tone, technique, anecdotes of guitarists... and written with humour. I can't recommend it highly enough. Great for all players, noobs or pros!
 
henryrobinett said:
Slonimsky's book is WAY overkill. Decent foundation! OMG. That's very advanced stuff there. And they're not scales per se. They're treatments and interpolations and permutations. Not necessarily a lot of useful and applicable stuff. The guy wants a book of scales in TAB. LOL. IMHO of course!
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About five minutes or so after I posted, I realized I did not preface what I wrote with: "Also.." or "In addition to.." I was lucky(?) to have a father who is a Jazz musician, a school friend guitarist whose Dad was an active professional guitarist, etc., so when I would read anything, I had people to turn to for some "practical application and translation." Not to mention having people to jam with every day after school, plus getting to hit clubs to jam. Having someone to interpret and such is vital, as has been suggested.

Looking back, those are my favorite books. If only I had taken the time to digest them back then. I suppose I am trying to make up for my own shortcomings by suggesting my "Wish I had" *regrets* ;) lol...
 
I wonder how one can prefers scales in tab format rather than simple dotted graphics :D
 
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