Fun with the G major scale

[Sam]

My favorite scale to noodle around in is G major. It tastes as good in G as it does in E minor(G's natural minor). Plus it's right in the middle of the fretboard. When played in the Ionian-ish mode pictured below, I like its symmetric-ness. ((I suppose with those last three notes, it's not technically Ionian since I'm not stopping on G, but who cares?)) The fret intervals are (Low E) 2-2, (A) 2-2, (D) 1-2, (G) 1-2, (B) 2-1, (E) 2-1. ()Nice and clean. See below (and forgive my charts. The numbers are fingers and I had to put them behind the frets due to using Excel for this.):

I was doing some warm-up scales the other day and happened upon some more major scale symmetry that kind of freaked me out. If you play 4 notes per string, instead of the 3, the fret interval symmetry goes right up the neck. For all I know, there's some music theory that explains this. In any event, this really opens up the fretboard for soloing and gives you a great understanding of moving the G major scale around on the neck. Check it out:

Now the fret intervals go (Low E) 2-2-1, (A) 2-2-1, (D) 2-1-2, (G) 2-1-2, (B) 1-2-2, (E) 1-2-2.

Playing this beast is easier said than done. I am starting the easy way, sliding up to the 4th note every time. For a good hand stretch, I will also practice using all four fingers on every string.

[Shawfey]

I personally need all the help I can get because I am stuck in Minor Pentatonic world. Keep em rolling.