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Melodic Soloing: Major Scale

Harness the Improvisational Power of the Major Scale

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Melodic Soloing: Major Scale
Rob Garland

Rob Garland

Educator

rock

Genres

About this course

TrueFire Foundry courses are independently produced courses presented by a hand-picked selection of top-notch artists and educators from around the world. Filmed in the educator’s own studio, Foundry courses bring fresh educational concepts and very effective teaching methodologies to TrueFire Students.

When first learning how to solo and improvise, most guitar players start with the pentatonic scale, which makes perfect sense because it sounds great and there are only 5 notes to get comfortable with. The downside is getting too comfortable with the pentatonic scales and not learning how to take sonic advantage of other scales, particularly the major scale.

Rob Garland's Melodic Soloing: Major Scale will pull you out of your pentatonic comfort zone and make you just as comfortable crafting compelling melodic solos using the major scale. To get you there very quickly, Rob shows you five easy, finger-friendly shapes that you can move up and down the neck so that you can improvise in any key, in any style.

The course is organized into two sections. In the first section, Rob shows you the five shapes and then demonstrates how to apply those shapes in a musical context.

"I'll clearly show you how to play each of the five major scale shapes. Then, I'll demonstrate some musical phrasing ideas against jam tracks that are included in the course. I'll expand on some soloing concepts, such as leaving space and developing a musical motif, and I'll give examples of bending notes within the scale and using rhythm to make your lines stand out.”

In the second section, you’ll learn how to find and utilize the scale in different keys within a range of musical genres.

“We'll also examine how to combine shapes within the major scale to make your soloing more fluid, and how to navigate a song using the scale as a key change within it. I'll also show you how the five major scale shapes line up with the five pentatonic shapes. Plus, the five major scale shapes also line up with the CAGED chord shapes, and this is really going to open up the fretboard for you once and for all.”

if you’re ready to expand your improvisational skills and start crafting memorable solos anywhere on the neck, in any key, and in any style — Rob Garland's Melodic Soloing: Major Scale is your ticket to success.

All of the key musical examples are tabbed and notated, plus Rob includes all of the jam tracks for you to work with on your own.

Grab your guitar, and jump on the path to diatonic freedom with Rob Garland!

What you'll learn

  • Improvise using shape 6 scale
  • Understand relationship between major and pentatonic scales
  • Add melodic variations to improvisation
  • improve fretboard navigation
  • Understand note relationships during improvisation
Release date: 07/12/2017 • 2h 01m runtime
late beginnerintermediateguitarelectric guitarsoloingimprovisation
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Sample lessons
Major Scale Shape 1 Overview
Major Scale Shape 1 Overview
Key of C
Major Scale Shape 1 Demonstration
Major Scale Shape 1 Demonstration
Key of C
Major Scale Shape 1 Play-Along
Major Scale Shape 1 Play-Along
Key of C
Improvising over a Jam Track Shape 1 Overview
Improvising over a Jam Track Shape 1 Overview
Rock Jam in the Key of C

What's included

47 lessons • 40 charts • 17 Jam Tracks

Melodic Soloing: Major Scale
Hi, I'm Rob Garland, and welcome to my TrueFire foundry course Melodic Soloing: Major Scale. In this course, you'll learn how to create melodic solos using the major scale.

Presented in five finger friendly shapes, the major scale is all you need to create melodic improvisation in any key, any style. The course includes phrasing tips and demonstrations of soloing over different styles of jam tracks, which are included in the course. The scale can also be used to play through key changes. Plus, the five major scale shapes line up with the five pentatonic shapes and five CAGED chord shapes, opening up the fretboard once and for all!
What Is the Major Scale - How Can We Use It to Create Melodic Solos?
The major scale is a seven-note scale ideal for improvisation because it contains the very same notes which chords (and therefore) songs are created from. This means the major scale can be used to improvise over an entire song. We'll begin by learning one of the five shapes then create melodies with it and improvise with it over a jam track.

Each shape is named after it's interval from the root of the scale, so Shape 2 would be based off the second note of the key. If we are in the key of C, Shape 2 would start on a D note and so on.

The major scale provides more melodic options than the pentatonic scale because it contains two extra notes but within it you will also find the five pentatonic shapes and the five CAGED chords shapes that also pertain to the key you’re in.
Major Scale Shape 1 Overview
This is called Shape 1 of the major scale, because it begins on the 1st note of the key, so in this case, in the key of C (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C), the note is C. This is a 2-octave shape containing the major scale from C to C twice in the same position, once then up an octave.
Major Scale Shape 1 Demonstration
Pay close attention to the fingering of the scale: One finger per fret, starting on the 8th fret (low E string) with the 2nd finger.
Major Scale Shape 1 Play-Along
Use the fingering that I used in the demonstration, one finger per fret. Play the scale using alternate pick strokes. Look at where the first octave begins and ends, and also where the second octave runs from. Say the notes out loud as you play them (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C). This will help you remember the notes on the neck. Play along with me at 72 BPM and 92 BPM.
Improvising over a Jam Track Shape 1 Overview
Here we're making melodies over a chord progression in the key of C improvising over the jam track. The chords are C-Em-Am-G, and the tempo is 115 BPM.

This is a I-iii-vi-V progression in the key of C, therefore all the notes in those chords are diatonic, meaning they are from the C major scale. I'll improvise creating melodies using Shape 1 in the demonstration video then you should try it.

Phrasing Tip: Come up with a melody/theme based around just a few notes and try to repeat it as the chords change, embellish it, and change the rhythm, but do it remaining inside the shape.
Improvising over a Jam Track Shape 1 Demonstration
Improvisation demonstration using Shape 1, key of C. The chords are C-Em-Am-G, the tempo is 115 BPM.Here we're creating an improvised melody based around just a few notes and trying to repeat it as the chords change, with embellishments and changing the rhythm, remaining inside the major scale Shape 1.Notice how I repeat the first melody idea and try to create a theme as the solo progresses rather than playing unrelated licks. Leaving space and playing rhythmic phrases help keep it interesting.

+ 40 more lessons

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Reviews

3 results

PowerPopKid

03/17/21

Recommend You Don’t Pass This One Up Like I Did

Wish I would have purchased this one sooner. Perhaps I was hesitant at first because it wasn’t shot at the TrueFire studios? I shouldn’t have been, this foundry course ranks as one of the most beneficialTrueFire courses I’ve ever taken. Rob lays it all out methodically, and if you stick with it, you’re likely going to see the connectivity of the fretboard in ways you hadn’t seen before. Rob has a way of knowing what you’re thinking or wished you could ask, and often provides that info as part of the lesson. My advice is to not rush or hurry through this course, just stick with each lesson until you’re convinced you’ve sufficiently got it under your belt. Sure to pay dividends in your playing, if like me, you needed a clearer vision of the connectivity of the keyboard and the major scale’s important role in it all.

vprice

Verified buyer

06/18/20

Great for learning to solo

Rob presents a simple system of 5 fingering patterns that cover the major scale over the whole neck. He provides guidance on ways to break up the scale patterns into phrases and how to build cohesive solos with rhythmic and melodic interest. He encourages thinking in terms of melody, not finger pattern memorization. The material is very straightforward and accessible to beginner or early intermediate players as well as the more advanced.

BRUNORO

Verified buyer

03/11/19

MELODIC SOLOING MAJOR SCALE

YES, I LIKE IT VERY MUCH. WHAT'S DISTURBING ME IS TOO MUCH DISORTION.

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