Real Guitar Live #53 | Q & A – What Makes Minor Scales Minor?

One question that I have been asked over the years is, “How does the minor scale work?” This month I start with a presentation on the minor scale. I’ll show you how the minor scale works and how it relates to the major scale.

When we’re done we’ll open the discussion to all your guitar learning questions.

[01:24] What makes minor scales minor?

[11:18] Any advice for someone who has trouble getting the 3rd and 4th fingers on the left hand to work together?

[15:10] For the palm mute, do I strum all the strings after I put my palm across the strings?

[18:35] Tips for holding and playing the guitar with a larger gut.

[21:47] Can you demonstrate a basic Blues strum that you could use for old school Blues?

[27:47] What are your thoughts on practicing with a drum machine? Also, when do you start introducing a drum machine for practice?

[29:45] What is the best way to learn the basic and intermediate fingerstyle of a song?

[33:36] Do you have any tips to develop confidence in ear training and find chords perfectly?

[37:32] What are the intervals in the major scale?

[40:36] How do I select a good acoustic guitar?

Links:

Note Interval in C Major Scale

– Spider Walk Warm-Up Exercise

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Comments on Real Guitar Live #53 | Q & A – What Makes Minor Scales Minor?

  1. Terry says:

    Thank you for explaining the formula for Minor scales Tomas. That cleared up some confusion I had in gaining overall understanding.

    1. Tomas says:

      I’m glad to hear that Terry.

  2. LeeAnn says:

    When doing the spider walk exercise, do I need to worry about if my fingers are touching the strings above or below the string I’m picking? I’m still working on the coordination of getting my fingers to move, and I find that as I move my first finger down to the next string (like if all 4 fingers were on the Low E & I move my 1st finger down to the A), it’s often muted from the fingers that are still on the string above.

    1. Tomas says:

      Hi LeeAnn, Here’s a general principle: Only worry about touching other strings if 1)it’s muting a string you want to ring, or 2) if you want to mute it so it doesn’t ring.

      In this case you’ll need to practice to not touch strings you don’t want to be muted.

      I would recommend practicing without picking at first so that’s not an issue as I explain in the replay. Then when it’s fairly easy work on getting a better sound when you pick.

  3. Bruce says:

    thanks for the tip about the modified spider walk. i’ll see if that helps get my pinkie to cooperate so i can use 3&4 together for the 4-finger G and friends.

    1. Tomas says:

      Hi Bruce, Here’s where I put a bunch of warm-up exercises. https://realguitarsuccess.com/courses/supersonic-guitar-warmup-exercises/

      The spider exercise is on page 2 towards the end.

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