What to do once all major scale positions are memorized

[Chistopher]

Similar to Brian's recommendation above -I suggest learning to work patterns and scales up the fret board from the first fret up to 22/24 instead of working laterally from string 6 to 1 -its a much more rhythmic bouncing and fun way to play and start working in open strings.

This right here. The difference between lil guys and good players is you're ability to solo diagonally across the neck.

[Mincer]

Well, ideally, improvising isn't just stringing licks together. I mean, that is the way most rock players do it, but it isn't quite improvising in the way I think of it.

[ZiggyZipgun]

Think of your phrasing as a sentence. Most of your words are going to come from the pentatonic scale, with the occasional odd word from a major scale. If you want a sentence that's very conclusive, then you end on the root or sometimes 3rd or 5th. If you want a less finished sounding sentence, then end on one of the notes from the major scale that's not contained in the pentatonic. Stuff like that.

This! I like to think of improvising as "resolving notes you've already played." String some random notes together, and just try to find which notes you could play next to make the whole phrase sound intentional. Most of the notes in that phrase likely all coexist in some scale, and there are a lot of online tools to help you identify scales, keys, and chords based on the notes being played. Writing leads and melodies is typically just improvising, then taking the phrases that you really like, and stringing them together in a way that sounds coherent and intentional.

[NegativeEase]

Wait, you learned all the Minor pentatonic? then your done! start collecting bowling shirts and guitars!


I kid

Similar to Brian's recommendation above -I suggest learning to work patterns and scales up the fret board from the first fret up to 22/24 instead of working laterally from string 6 to 1 -its a much more rhythmic bouncing and fun way to play and start working in open strings. CAGED is a great example

Then I would pick a few modes and chromatic things to work on

[Gtrjunior]

Id suggest studying the CAGED system if you really want to understand how they all fit together.
Memorizing scale patters is great but if you don’t have a basis of how to effectively apply them it’s all for naught.

[Mincer]

The issue with always using backing tracks is that you don't get the experience of playing interesting chords to solo over. The chords and scales are 2 sides to the same coin.

[Demanic]

Well, now that you know the ingredients, you start learning how to combine them.
Listen to others and be inspired, not to duplicate, but to emulate.

[Aceman]

Make your own tracks if you want - but YouTube is full of them. Look up [key] Major Backing Track for Guitar.
- Find a single chord vamp, 1-4-5 progressions (Blues), I-vi-IV-V, whatever...

1. Just play. When you hit a cool lick or idea, beat that horse until it is dead.

2. Practice playing one scale position over the chords.

3. Practice using 1 form and changing scales each chord (Lot of motion). 1/4/5 progressions are great for this.

4. Practice using 3 forms and changing scales each chord (No of motion). 1/4/5 progressions are great for this.

5. Start learning some 3 notes per string forms for modes
- Learn the 1st form Major (Root on 6th string 1st finger)
- Learn the 1st form Mixolydian (root on 6th string first finger)

If you know those two forms - you can easily play Ionian Dorian, and Phrygian using the Major form, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian using the Mixolydian form, and if you don't use Lydian, life will go on. But using those two forms makes it fast and easy to use the Modes.
- Bonus - if you go to the A string, you get Lydian, Mixolydian and Aeolian with the Ionian form, and you get another version of Ionian, Dorian, and Phrygian on the A string with the Mixolydian form

2 finger patterns, all 7 modes, 2 forms/starting points for 6 of them!

[Mincer]

If you own a looper pedal, just loop a chord progression in a given scale and play over it. It may sound good at first it may not. Eventually you can work on phrasing and stuff, but first just get used to how all the notes interact musically.

If you don't have a looper, there amazon basics one is $30 and does a more than adequate job.

A cheap looper pedal is the key to understanding the relationship between scales and chords.

[Chistopher]

If you own a looper pedal, just loop a chord progression in a given scale and play over it. It may sound good at first it may not. Eventually you can work on phrasing and stuff, but first just get used to how all the notes interact musically.

If you don't have a looper, there amazon basics one is $30 and does a more than adequate job.

[Mincer]

Now start working on modes....

...and the chord progressions that use specific modes.

[GuitarStv]

If you want to learn to make your own lead lines, everyone says "memorize the pentatonic and then the major shapes"

Now that I've learned pentatonic, major, and minor, what do I do with that information?

Start writing lines!

Knowing the shapes of the scales isn't all that helpful if you're just playing them up and down . . . you need to start using the notes to write stuff that's interesting to your ear. That means timing and sequencing them in different ways, and knowing how to use the notes together.

Think of your phrasing as a sentence. Most of your words are going to come from the pentatonic scale, with the occasional odd word from a major scale. If you want a sentence that's very conclusive, then you end on the root or sometimes 3rd or 5th. If you want a less finished sounding sentence, then end on one of the notes from the major scale that's not contained in the pentatonic. Stuff like that.

Once you start to get comfy doing that, then think more closely about the chords you're playing over. If you're going over an Am - C - E progression or something, you can just wail away in Am and it'll sound OK for the most part . . . Am and C all have the same notes. The major third of E is G# though - and that note doesn't fit. If you target that note and make sure to hit it as the E goes by in the progression it will sound even better. For writing, I'll often come up with a cool chord progression where I want to find a riff to fit over top where this sort of note targeting helps a bunch. Or I might do the opposite where I come up with a cool riff and want to figure out a chord progression to go underneath . . . where I kinda do the same thing but in reverse.

[jeremy]

the major scale basically is the modes. same patterns just starting on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc...

[ICTGoober]

Now start working on modes....

[Securb]

build up some licks - simple little lines, doesn't have to be complicated. little runs with some bending, vibrato, hammer-ons, pull-offs. when I get stuck I bust out blues training books. since you know the scales, the blues licks should make more sense

It is funny I will be learning something overly technical and overthinking it and it hits me more often than not "Hey that is just a blues lick".