Theres got to be an easier way....help!

Ok i got the feeling im on the wrong track all the sudden. I been studying theory scales for last 5months, but have been playing guitar for 8 years, so yea i made a mistake. I been trying to memorize the major scale and minor penatnoic in each key. I read somewhere that you shouldnt be playing the root for each postion, that its a waste of time. So whats some advice? should i work on playing the same scales all day for hours and jamming. i dont want to learn any more theory. and are modes really all that neccary. i mean if i just get really familiar with the boxes, and relative/minor cant i learn tone by just expierence with improving on jam tracks. theres got to be a easier funner way that i can understand. theres just to much info and theory to learn.

im no help here but modes can be nesseceray..i see them as buckets of paint with there differnt colors..like phrigian has that spanish sound and i think the mixolydian has a jazzish sound(not sure bout that one) u gotta paly them ALLOT to hear the different sounds

Pentatonics are not really scales...if you're playing them up and down all day, you're not really accomplishing anything. Pents are meant to be used in leads - the 5 forms just show how/where to run up and down the neck to locate the same 5 notes (patterns if you will), and tie your lead/solo together in the same key.
Check my lesson site out - may help clear this up and give you some ideas.
-Bob
http://guitar-wav.com

thoery is way to confusing, lot of my friends say its bull ****, its either you got it or you dont. So if im wasting time practing the minor pent and major scale all day and jamming with them, trying to memorize there exact location in each key then what should i be doing. minor pent seems to go with everything i play like blues, and rock. still dont forget to asnwer my first post guys.

This site could realy help me...thanks dude.

You definitely don't need to know buckets and buckets of theory to be a good player. It helps, but even the most knowlegdable theorist shouldn't think to much when playing. To apply pentatonics to playing over a jam tracks, here's the order you should know.

1. What key the Jam track is in. (i.e. E major, A minor.)
2. What are the chords in the jam tracks. (you should start off with 3-4 chord vamps).
3. Match the pentatonic scales with each chord.
Major pent over a major chord.
Minor pent over a minor chord.
Match of chord and pent.


example chord progression.
||: Gmaj // Em // Cmaj7 // D7 :||
G maj pent // E min pent // C maj pent // D maj pent


Now just play and that's it.

Originally posted by noticingthemistake
You definitely don't need to know buckets and buckets of theory to be a good player. It helps, but even the most knowlegdable theorist shouldn't think to much when playing. To apply pentatonics to playing over a jam tracks, here's the order you should know.

1. What key the Jam track is in. (i.e. E major, A minor.)
2. What are the chords in the jam tracks. (you should start off with 3-4 chord vamps).
3. Match the pentatonic scales with each chord.
Major pent over a major chord.
Minor pent over a minor chord.
Match of chord and pent.


example chord progression.
||: Gmaj // Em // Cmaj7 // D7 :||
G maj pent // E min pent // C maj pent // D maj pent


Now just play and that's it.

I'll agree with Noticing the Mistake on his post, but will add that "most" rock leads will follow the min pent associated with the root chord - in the example above, this would be G - thus G min pent through the entire chord progression. A maj pent over a maj chord is seldom heard in metal leads....but you'll find them in alot of country rock (Allman Bros, Outlaws etc) tunes.

Practice your pent leads with a jam track (I have plenty on my site), listen to Dimebag Darrell and David Gilmour leads (kings of the min pents) and you're off.
-Bob
http://guitar-wav.com