Three Mistakes You Must Avoid When You Learn To Play Scales On Guitar

You surely know that scales are something essential to learn for your guitar playing. However, there are very few guitarists who know how to practice them properly. As a result, it is very difficult for them to improvise guitar solos and they become very limited in how much progress they can make.

Here are 3 big mistakes you must avoid when you practice scales on guitar:

Mistake #1. Only Learning Scales In A Couple Of Positions

In order to fully master a particular scale, it is necessary to understand how to play it anywhere on the fretboard. If you only know how to play a scale in a couple of positions on guitar, your creative freedom will become very restricted.

To make sure you don’t run into this issue, work consistently to improve your fretboard visualization skills. Think of the guitar neck as a single scale pattern and become totally fluent with it.

Note: a lot of methods for learning scales actually make this harder than it needs to be. To quickly and effectively learn how to visualize scales on the fretboard, work together with an experienced guitar teacher.

Mistake #2: Learning Scales Without Knowing How To Apply Them

Learning more scales doesn't make you a better guitar player - applying the scales you know on a deeper level does.

When you learn any new scale, learn how to improvise with it and become familiar with its sound. Listen to guitar players who use this scale, create your own guitar licks with it and learn how this scale is applied in songs you love. When you feel confident enough with a scale to use it in improvising, you have mastered it on a deep enough level to learn another scale if you wish.

Note: this does NOT mean you must only practice one scale for years…just don’t overwhelm yourself with dozens of scales you never learn how to use.

Mistake #3. Not Following An Effective Process For Learning Scales On Guitar

You must have an effective process for: learning, visualizing and applying any new scale in your guitar playing.

Do NOT assume that “any system for learning scales is equally valid”. Many systems for learning scales on guitar are incomplete and damaging to your progress. The CAGED system is one such system. Using it creates A LOT of problems in your guitar technique and musical creativity.

Find out why the CAGED system is highly destructive for your guitar playing and a much better alternative for mastering guitar scales.

Don’t make these mistakes and you will see your guitar playing becoming better and better at a much faster rate.