Should I Learn Guitar Scales?

Do you really need to spend any of your precious time learning guitar scales and theory?

The argument that a guitarist who doesn't know any kind of theory will be in danger of losing their originality. They will not be able to be or sound like themselves, they will be caught up and constrained within the confines of rules and regulations. The one problem with that type of thinking is that you're at risk of not developing and advancing as a musician.

All basic lead guitar instruction courses at the root level will tell you to learn chords, scales and arpeggios because they know that you will gain a greater understanding of how the music process inter-grates and works together, you'll broaden your playing with new possibilities and concepts, instead of the reverse.

And here is the most important factor. A lot of self taught musicians tend to experience periods of self doubt because of not knowing what to play, which in turn can produce insecurities and lack of self confidence in your playing.

Knowledge is power, as they say, so if you want to progress your guitar playing to expert status as a lead guitar improviser or if you want to be taken seriously as a professional musician, there is no two way about it, you are going to need to set some time aside to practice modes, scales and learn notes on your guitar fretboard.

Here are a few pointers you may wish to keep in mind when getting started.

1. 5 or 10 minutes a day of disciplined practice will yield more results than ten years of picking up your guitar and 'noodling' about, sitting on the end of your bed.

2. Set aside 10 minutes for a practice session and decide before hand what it is you will do and learn. A lot of guitarists explain to me they practiced for eight hours a day and when I ask them, what did you learn - I am not generally given a clear answer.

3. Always use a drum machine or metronome when practicing since you'll learn in time that timing is everything.

4. You do not have to practice at the speed of sound when you begin. You'll find most guitarists who play fast, find out that speed isn't what music or guitaring is really about and end up going back to their roots and playing melodic phrases that satisfy themselves.

5. Do not beat yourself up because you aren't Steve Vai or Dave Gilmour after two weeks.

Also, something that isn't discussed frequently with regards to practicing guitar scales or modes or arpeggios is that it does not need to be drudgery and boredom. Spending 10 or 20 minutes a day working on the theory aspect of your playing will yield benefits far beyond what you can think of on your own. I do not think that there's a single musician on the planet who has spent time learning theory and said, I wish I had not have spent all that time learning all that crap.

Conclusion: If you wish to improve your playing or write songs which are original and express who you really are, you should think about opening yourself to some solid theory because the road to originality is via other people's stuff. If you have a good working knowledge of guitar scales, you'll determine what your favourite players are up to and be able to duplicate those phrases in all keys for yourself.