How to find notes on Guitar

Class Objective- Understanding scales.

Title : Scales
Objective : Understanding the scales.

Concept A : what is scale?

I. Group of notes played in a sequence is called a scale.

II. A scale typically has 5,6,7 notes in it .
III. There are two main types of scales namely major scale and minor
scale.
IV. The scales can be defined by its formula.
V.

Concept B : Major scale

I. The formula for major scale is given below .

II. Root is the first note of a scale i.e ‘Sa’ or ‘Do’.
III. Root repeats after 7 seven notes but it is one octave higher.

Root ,tone ,tone ,semi-tone ,tone ,tone ,tone ,semi-tone(Root)

Some important terms :

Tone - when we move one full step ahead for example from A to B is
called tone . In other words we say the whole step .

Semi Tone - when we move one half step ahead i.e from A to A# is
called a Semi-tone. In other words we say half step .

Sharp - when the note is played a half step forward is called sharp. It is
denoted by ‘ # ’ .

Flat - when a note is played a half step backward it is called flat. It is

denoted by ‘ ♭ ’.

Octave - A group of eight notes is called an octave. Mindwell the root

repeats two times.
Concept C : C - Major scale

I. The root note is C .

II. It repeats after 7 notes and one octave higher.
III. It follows the given formula.

C D E F G A B C
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa
Root tone tone semi-tone tone tone tone semi-tone
(Root)

Click here : cick here to see how to play C major scale

Concept D : C - Major scale in three octaves .

I. The lowest note can be played is E i.e sixth string open i.e ‘Ga’ or ‘Mi’.
II. The highest notes we will play here is on 8 th fret on high E string.

Click here : click here to see how to play C major scale in three octaves

Concept E : minor scale

I. The 3rd,6th and 7th fret are flat for a minor scale
II. The formula for the minor scale is given below.

Root ,tone ,semi-tone ,tone ,tone ,semi-tone ,semi-tone ,tone(Root)

Concept F : C-minor scale
I. As we can see the 3rd , 6th and 7 th notes become flat.
II. Try to play the minor scale with correct finger by yourself.

C D D# F G G# A# C
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa
Root tone semi-tone tone tone semi-tone semi-tone tone
(Root)
Practice A : MCQs

1. How many notes are there in an octave?

A. 12
B. 7
C. 8

2. Which of the following notes is not in C major scale?

A. E
B. F
C. G#

3. Which three notes are flat in a minor scale?

A. 3rd,4th,5th
B. 3rd,6th,7th
C. 3rd,5th,6th

4. Which string can be called a low E string ?

A. 6th
B. 3rd
C. 1st

5 . Which is the lowest note we can reach on guitar for C-minor scale?

A. E
B. F
C. G

Answers to practice A : (1-C , 2-C , 3-B , 4-A , 5-B)

SELF-ASSESSMENT :

Good I was able to understand the scales and played it

correctly.

Fair I was able to play the scale accurately from the tabs but
cannot understand the notes.

Bad I was not able to locate notes correctly .