Musicians Roadhouse

Al - How did you go about learning? I would love to learn the theory side. I took three years of lessons in college and I have done some self taught stuff but I am very sketchy on my theory. I have never found a good way to remember it. I bought the book "Fretboard Logic" and I have been reading it and practicing some of the CAGED exercises, but the back-to-square-one aspect of going through that program is kind of frustrating. The way it is set up, you can't really skip around.

Also, do people use this in application? I mean, obviously when writing or composing a piece of music they do. However, I take a lot of my solos and improv them. I have certain landmark areas that i play the same each time, but between those I usually just play around using a pentatonic base with half and full steps added as I feel (or mistakenly stumble into). I am comfortable moving up and down the neck but I don't think of the actual "form" as it moves up and down the neck. I've just learned through practice and trial and error where the relationships are in relation to Positions 1 and 2 (what CAGED method calls "G form Pentatonic" and "E form Pentatonic").

Hi ClassicRock88, I went about it by first learning the natural scales (Modes) in triplets per string form, and the relation between them. e.g. Am scale has the same notes as B locrian and C major, but these can, in the key of Am, simply be considered as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions of Am, but in my mind I'm playing Am, B locrian or C major, because it gives them a name to remember for each position.

Scales are the building blocks of chords, and this is what dictates the chords that must be played in a given key. They also give chords special names, like suspended 4th is when the 4th note in the scale is included in a chord, same with a 7th chord, the 7th note in the scale ( from where the chord is rooted) is being played in the chord.

Then I got into more exotic scales like the Harmonic scale family, and the Double Harmonic scale family, Japanese Hexatonic scales and Indian scales that can only be played at a certain time of day.

And Arpeggios are simply chords played one note at a time.

I work like you do while improvising, but to me its all shapes, not intervals. I'm listening to where it wants to go, its all about the melody for me.
Al