#1
Originally Posted by:
greg.rushworth78
Hi, I am a relatively experienced guitarist, although I skipped a lot of the theory so while I can noodle my way around a solo and very confidently play chords et cetera. I never really understood scales properly. I was wondering which lessons you could recommend I could jump to to get understanding of solo and using scales? Do you teach the CAGED system at All or something different?
I've went through the foundation 1&2 but it was all very easy and nothing new to me (but great to see the solid structure of lessons and progression).
many thanks
Hey & welcome. There are several different paths to accomplish your goal.
This collection of tutorials covers the basics of improvisation: identify the key, target chord tones, build melodies. It starts very simple & basic to explain the essential elements, then adds complexity through the series. There are a lot of practical applications & play along examples.
https://www.guitartricks.com/collection/learning-to-improvise
This collection of tutorials covers the fundamental elements of music theory. So, it's more about the conceptual aspects of learning how intervals are built into scales, then melodies, scales are built into chords, chords into chord progressions, and so on. But there are practical applications & play along examples along the way.
https://www.guitartricks.com/collection/music-theory
These tutorials cover CAGED from 2 different application perspectives.
CAGED for Rhythm Guitar
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial/2614
CAGED for Lead Guitar
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial/2619
Some guitarists find CAGED a great way to visualize the fretboard. Others do better just understanding how scale patterns & chord shapes are directly related to each other, as in my improv tutorials. Both approaches lead to the same thing: conceptualizing the fretboard in order to make music.
I also have a series of tutorials on using scales to systematically build speed for solo lines in a rock style.
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial/287/
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial/928
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial/929
And then how to apply that to chord progressions.
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial/973
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial/980
I also have tutorials focused on blues & jazz lead playing if that's more your style. Hope that helps!
Christopher Schlegel
Guitar Tricks InstructorChristopher Schlegel Lesson Directory