I had no idea about those five root patterns; and half-way through the first exercise I was just flying through the diagrams laughing because I knew checking the answers would be a mere formality.
I just knew as I was scribbling them in that they were correct.
The teaching method is absolutely genius in it's simplicity.
It occurs to me that he's going to teach me how every single scale will arise from those 5 simple root-relationship patterns; I mean, duh: they're of the roots afterall; which dictates key
So the major built off of pattern 1 is gonna look like x; and the minor like y; and so forth
Those 5 simple patterns truly are the holy grail, the foundations of everything.
At least that's what I'm surmising from the leaps in logic I'm making.
lol: we shall see;
but yeah man: thanks much this was more than a missing link for me.
(apologies for the belated reply)
Originally Posted by: Slipin LizardWell, since no one has responded yet, I'll try to help you out a little. I just want to make it clear that I have a pretty limited understanding of music theory, and I'm not a huge fan of it anyways... its great when it makes sense to you, but it often degenerates into huge, technical discussions that really have nothing to do with playing the guitar better... so with that said, here goes:
I think you're going to get confused quickly if you start looking at & describing scales counting in this way. From what I understand, you normally keep counting from the "tonic" or root note of the scale. So your major scale is Unison, Maj 2nd, Maj 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Maj 6th, Maj 7th.
There's nothing wrong with thinking in terms of "whole steps" or "half steps" (or "tone" & "semi-tones" if you prefer), especially if it avoids confusion.
I believe its called a "perfect 5th" when it spans 7 semi-tones, as opposed to augmented or diminished that would add/subtract a semi-tone respectively.
I would STRONGLY recommend that you pick up this text book:
http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Fretboard-Workbook-Understanding-ebook/dp/B002G1ZHNQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358137920&sr=8-1&keywords=guitar+fretboard+workbook
Its super cheap, and will really help clarify the theory basics for you... not just in your head but also visually on your guitar as well. I've recommended it to other members who have really liked it. Its by far the best book on theory for guitarists I have ever come across. Hope this helps!
