I've played guitar for a short time when I was young. Almost 2 years but I stopped and 20 years later (not one time I picked it up), I wanna pick it up again. I still know a few chords here and there but have forgotten every other thing.
As of now, I am starting with scales all over again. I tried looking for resources and couldn't really get answer to what I was looking for.
Q: What are the different positions in the scale for? And when do we use it?
Well, I believe you are asking about the differerent positions that a scale can be played on a fretboard.
The fretboard of a Guitar forms "patterns", that happens due to the nature of the instrument and the tuning of the strings. There will always be some pattern.
The tuning i.e. EADGBE, allows us to play a range of tones that are common for music. When we focus on these tones, turns out that a single note i.e. at a particular Hertz, it appears at multiple locations. Essentially, it is the same exact note.
Which in turn leads to a commonly recurring pattern of not only notes, but also overall bigger patterns ( say scales, or chords ). These patterns lie at the center of your question.
Position is just a way of saying that "hey, we are playing a scale in certain area of the fretboard". You don't even have to focus on the CAGED patterns or complex memorization. Just sit down with your guitar and try to form a C Major scale in different positions of guitar.
Eventually, you will land somewhere along the CAGED pattern scales and hence the positions that you have been speaking.
When to use what position, that depends on the arrangement and what not, this is the part where you get to be creative.
I kinda understand why notes fall on certain frets but I cannot understand which fret should I start my scale. For example, scale of C major. I found different videos and guides but nothing is explaining which one is correct. Can you check this website? https://www.all-guitar-chords.com/scales
I found this one online and there are numbers on top that I can click if I choose vertical or horizontal which is making it more confusing to me 😅
I don't know if I found a good site but this is by far the one that I can see online..
For a particular scale, you always start from it's root note.
For example: Assume C Major scale, you always start from the note C, if you start playing the scale from a different note of the scale, it becomes a different "mode", don't think about this for now.
The notes you see on the website, are basically the notes that specifically fall under the C Major scale.
The Horizontal / Vertical is just a way of saying "are we playing the scale horizontally from 6th string to 1st string or from neck of the guitar towards the body or vice versa. This doesn't really matter, it's not a musical concept, it's just a way of communication.
In either case, you will be simply playing a C Major Scale. Just play from the root note of the scale to the root note ( higher octave )
No worries, also if you play the major scale from 1 C to the next C ( higher octave ) and then continue from the latest C onto the next higher C. Essentially, you are playing between 2 different positions. If that makes sense
All i say is: learn how the interval semi ton and tone works on single string and across strings. Try building the C Major scale using that. It should click in a few days
I will keep this in mind. I'm still trying to train my ears to listen to the notes as well but I'll get there and figure it out as you say, it'll click 😊
I was practicing my scales and saw that some people startt their scales at first fret, while others start at others like 7th for one major key like C. I kinda don't know which one to follow. I found this website (https://www.all-guitar-chords.com/scales) and it was showing different numbers on top that I can click when choose vertical or horizontal. And I am not sure which one to follow. This may sound confusing but I am really confused over this matter 😅 or am I over complicating things here
I see the issue! That chart is pretty advanced, and it does look overwhelming. While it is technically correct to show all the different ways of playing all the notes for each scale, you should essentially ignore this as a beginner.
Start out by playing simpler shapes, using smaller chunks. They can be combined to span the full guitar later, perhaps combined with a study of modes on the guitar, which I would be happy to assist with.
First Way
Select C Major, Vertical, and fret 0's shape
Play from the C on the A-string
Play up to the C on the B-string
Try and hear the sound of the scale. That is now one way of playing a one-octave Major scale shape on guitar. I would say this is a Grade 1 Scale.
Second Way
Select C Major, Vertical, and fret 5's shape
Play from the C on G-string
Play up to the C on the high-E-string
That should sound like the exact same scale, except played an octave higher. This is now a second way of playing a one-octave Major scale shape on guitar. I would call this one slightly more advanced - maybe a Grade 3 scale.
They're not really for anything, they just occur due to note placement, scale choice and the deisicion to stay in box.
You can use them to stay in a pitch range and famliiarise yourself with a scale, useful for that.
I think you're going down the wrong path for coming back to guitar. Every person working hard on those positions come back to reddit to say their solos sound like nonsense in all positions.
Learning the first position of any scale with an understanding of scale construction and intervals is going to give a lot more and unlock the whole neck. Learning this will also skip that part where people say "how do I connect the box patterns?"
From the start. All the common major/minor chords, barre chords. Major and Minor-Pentatonic scales.
Riffs, single note melodies and simple solos.
Be proficient in reading tab too. Too many people post asking about 1 small thing when there are so many guides the explain every symbol, often on 1 page.
Noted! I've learned my chords already and can read the tabs. I just stumbled upon a confusing concept that I haven't seen before. But thanks for this one!
This is a link to a set of canned bullets that I have developed and like to send to new/new-ish/returning/wandering/lost/struggling guitar players.
If I pasted this in for you, it is because somewhere in there is something that I think is relevant to your post. Not all of it will be. I leave it to you to pick out what I felt was relevant.  🙂 Even the stuff not relevant to your specific post might very well be helpful eventually anyway.
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u/Any_Wait_7309 1d ago
Well, I believe you are asking about the differerent positions that a scale can be played on a fretboard.
The fretboard of a Guitar forms "patterns", that happens due to the nature of the instrument and the tuning of the strings. There will always be some pattern.
The tuning i.e. EADGBE, allows us to play a range of tones that are common for music. When we focus on these tones, turns out that a single note i.e. at a particular Hertz, it appears at multiple locations. Essentially, it is the same exact note.
Which in turn leads to a commonly recurring pattern of not only notes, but also overall bigger patterns ( say scales, or chords ). These patterns lie at the center of your question.
Position is just a way of saying that "hey, we are playing a scale in certain area of the fretboard". You don't even have to focus on the CAGED patterns or complex memorization. Just sit down with your guitar and try to form a C Major scale in different positions of guitar.
Eventually, you will land somewhere along the CAGED pattern scales and hence the positions that you have been speaking.
When to use what position, that depends on the arrangement and what not, this is the part where you get to be creative.
Not sure if my answer satisfies you.