Guitar SCALES for BEGINNERS (music theory)

[@keyboarddeserter]

That explanation of how the scale modes are derived from other scales has just changed my world haha thanks

[@laureness]

Definitely not for beginners who have no music theory background, but as someone who knows a little bit of guitar theory this was a really helpful reference. Thank you!

[@santiagolombardi1010]

I agree

[@sirnatanielson]

I've been playing for 18 years, mostly a rhythm player. Those visual graphics REALLY helped clarify and make sense of basic scales. Instead of just camera showing the scales by playing them backwards and upside down, it made it more sense explaining the modes to the scales. Awesome

[@verdigo5892]

18 years...As a beginner the video is completely useless.

[@googleaccount2397]

I thoroughly enjoy your order of operation teaching style. There are no frills, no filler, no introduction with channel advertisement. You just give information that is important and explain why it is important. When you did the robot voice and impression of every other music teacher in the world, I laughed. Its funny because its true.

[@chrisowens7612]

It took me 4 sessions with this video to finally understand it but you are an amazing teacher. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@williammaple8857]

I just starting playing… What on Gods green earth did I just watch. I don’t understand what I just learned 😂

[@AlvanNoah]

On g We together 😭😭

[@sharatchandran72]

😂same boat here

[@pewdiepieyepthomi5174]

How's your progress now? I just started playing too so I'm curious

[@mlilac]

Dunno about you, but I learned that C is the most important scale because the notes sound good :D

[@flouisbailey]

@@williammaple8857 with you Bud

[@moxxy3565]

"Each mode has it's own unique sound." What my brain hears for every mode: Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo

[@Phaseish]

idk if you are joking or not, but the reason why you prob can't hear it , and I couldn't hear it either, is because you have to listen to music that is using that tonal center, and not just borrowing chords from the modes aka modal mixture. so either with a drone playing the root and than you play the scale. or something like modal jazz , and Flamenco, and looking up songs that are in the tonal center, like lydian, sarais forrst from zelda, there are many videos that show the tonal center, that you can start using relative pitch for. Phyrgiain, and Phyirgian dominaant is by the far the easier, because it sounds foreign and exotic from the start. I think Dorian is probably the hardest unless you have listneed to a ton of jazz and its very close to minor beides one note.

[@madyem4672]

Lol!

[@shinjonmal8936]

Are you tone deaf?

[@lifescience0208]

@@moxxy3565 bro u need to do ear training

[@jungleebushcraft]

My brains says dont dont dont dont dont......

[@miguelserrano1892]

mike thanks i am a beginner started late im 54 and love how you explain music theory. learning guitar has been a challenge, i not only want to play guitar your teaching has made me want to understand what i am playing and how to eventually construct my own music. i describe it like putting on a new pair of glasses and its becoming more clear for me.

[@groehlfan1]

As an absolute beginner to the guitar, I can say I get it. At first I was completely lost but I hung in there and it made sense when I saw the circular diagram. Mind blown. Great job on explaining a difficult subject!

[@tetragem1887]

i’ve been playing music for years and this video opened my head. i’ve been to school and still learned probably more in this about theory than anything else. the single info bit about how all modes are just derived from ionian make music and understanding it much easier.

[@palashroy-hl2gh]

Master of scale ❤❤❤ I have been playing C major scale 23 years but today I learned something new from you thanks.

[@BushcraftingBogan]

This was perfect! Perfectly explained. As a beginner I immediately began playing like Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townsend! After watching this I lit my guitar on fire and smashed it on the floor. Thank You!

[@lenavoyles526]

Far and away the best explanation I have seen. This blows the other approaches out of the water, at least for someone who is primarily a visual learner. Physically displaying the chromatic scale at the top and then deriving all the other scales from that was game changing for me. Coming from a woodwind background rather than a keyboard background, when others would just dive right in with "This is C Major! This is all that matters!" I was left wondering, "But what about all the other notes?!"

[@life.as.a.duck.336]

THIS IS FANTASTIC, IT MAKES SENSE FINALLY

[@SolMarTraders]

my head just expanded like 1000x with this. after playing guitar as amateur without any understanding of the instrument since +20 years, this video have cracked my brain and opened a whole universe. thanks Mike George!

[@nicholasboyle7276]

I’ve been playing guitar for 8 years and never had scales explained so well. THANK YOU

[@AaronAnsuini]

I’ve spent YEARS trying to learn this. No one EVER explained how anything was connected, so I’ve never been able to confidently incorporate any theory into my playing-I just learn songs and separately learn random bits of “theory”. The way that you explain everything not as separate things, but as parts of a whole that follow a logic… it FINALLY makes sense. I can see it in the songs that I play. Holy shit, thank you.

[@ricktomaski603]

You, Mike are a gift! Thanks for these tutorials. I'm a visual and hands on guy, so you have hit both of my learning styles in one of the most beneficial tutorials that you have. Now, time to do my part and implement this 16:11 into everyday practice. THANKS!!

[@mikegeorge360]

Very cool -- thank you, Rick. I'm glad this is helpful!

[@turbotop63]

Genius teacher - you have compressed what's important in music unbelievably!!

[@muradi9058]

Incredible visual representation of what's happening, thank you for your effort to make this.

[@havenneak8846]

i am a new acoustic guitar [ YAMAHA]. THANK YOU FOR THAT WAS AN EXPLAINED AS WELL. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ALWAYS

[@jonchristianmanuel5508]

This seems like a really informative video, but still lost in some concepts, when is it the approiate time to re-watch this? Because I am completely lost as as beginner

[@shanemeely5959]

I'm with you, what's less than a beginner and where can I find those videos

[@danielvanstaden8247]

If you watch andrew huang's video on music theory then come back to this, it will make more sense

[@M.Esfahani]

To me, as a beginner, this definitely is not for beginners since I didn't understand most of it, but I still learned some thing! Thank you 🙏

[@omgabaddon]

Finally someone explains it completely and in a way that's understandable. Thank you. I hope there's a video to learn the fretboard at some point.

[@lenn0nyeatzzz888]

This is an amazing tutorial you got me out of a rut I was in were it felt like I couldn't improve and even when I tried to learn scales it never made sense

[@JeffWok]

DUDE! You just earned a sub. I'm freakin old and you just made me see the forest and the trees together. Crazy, nothing else has ever made sense. Thank you

[@Blalack77]

Man... My grandpa was a hellacious guitar player. His style and idol was Chet Atkins - which, at least to me, always seemed fairly complex. My grandpa used to play two songs at once on the same guitar - one song on the low strings served as the bass and the other song on the higher strings was the lead (or whatever - also not very good with notation and nomenclature). If I remember right, one was the Battle Hymn of the Republic and the other was I Wish I Was in Dixie - so like doubly dueling and opposing songs lol. But I've always been interested in guitar and my grandpa taught people guitar for years. The only issue was, I was nervous and squirmy and supposedly had ADD. I remember sitting down with my grandpa dozens of times trying to learn and he always started with scales and I remember - for whatever reason - it didn't make sense to me and I didn't understand how it all fit together - like I didn't understand the importance of scales. And that was a success killer for me back when I was a kid - if I didn't understand the broader picture, I couldn't focus on learning the basics (which applied to everything - math, science, music or anything else) - it just created an immovable block for me... But I still managed to learn some chords and songs on my own (I remember learning OCMS - Wagon Wheel and The Animals - House of the Rising Sun was the breakthrough - when I could recognize a song in my playing, I was off to the races for the next several years) and maybe, perhaps _almost_ surpassed the "novice" stage to some degree - though without any knowledge of theory or scales, etc. Now, it's been a few years since I played guitar, my grandpa passed away in 2021, all of his stuff went to my dad - including dozens of old and highly valuable guitars (his prized Gretsch among them - and my _great_ grandpa's old 12 string), my dad gave me my grandpa's old Martin (since he knew I'm the only grandkid with any interest in guitar - and I told him I just wanted one of his simple, plain guitars to remember him by) - and since I hit that "intermediate" roadblock several years ago and realized it was time to invest in theory and I now see the importance of scales and other fundamentals - and now that my master guitar picker and guitar teacher grandpa has already passed - _now_ I want to take the time to learn what my grandpa tried to teach me probably nearly 30 years ago - now that my mind is a little calmer and I can actually retain information to some degree lol... I'd give anything to go back in time, calm my mind and engage a lot better with my grandpa and his lessons - if I'd have listened to him back then and just focused, I have _zero_ doubt I'd be a really good guitar player now... I still have several of his old lesson books and a Chet Atkins VHS tape in one of my guitar cases - freaking brings tears to my eyes when I see those things.

[@enlightme5933]

The colours are beautiful...❤❤❤.. The tables and diagrams are fantastic....🎉🎉🎉 Appreciate your effort... The best....

[@1doutlaw]

I have had to watch this several times to get it right . But it’s a good lesson just a little more to understand for most beginners . But it could ultimately accelerate their development of how to get better at understanding music

[@RyanHurts]

Man! I figured these diatonic scale/mode "patterns" out years ago but couldn't really analyse them in any useful way. I am a drummer and only play guitar occasionally but I can see that your videos will be so much help in internalising the guitar. You've inspired me to revisit the fretboard!

[@meyaht]

I've finally found you, someone who speaks to my level of knowledge, with visual aids. it's like you made this video for me. thank you.

[@bruah4364]

most comprehensive video about scales i have ever watched

[@starfox0988]

Y'know I used to call my friends nerds for talking about the circle of fifths because I never understood it. The way you broke it down made it a lot more understandable.

[@Sumguyinavan_]

It was easy for me to learn piano because all of the notes are 1 after the other, you can look at it and understand how the notes progress. But it isn't that way for my brain on the guitar, I never was taught what frets on what strings correspond to what notes. This FINALLY makes it all make sense to me. And I'm sure as I progress learning there will be alterations to these patterns, but the pattern finally lets me understand what "button" to push to make the note I am trying to produce.

[@stefanblois7275]

I have been playing for 20 years and this video has helped me immensley

[@billtravis523]

This is helpful to me. Thanks for posting it, Mike! Wow, the comments in this thread expose many of the Commenters rather than discrediting your instruction or the subject material.

[@josephcortez7849]

By far the best description of modes I've seen. You made the light bulb come on! Thank you.

[@patrickmaline4258]

i have had trouble with modes ever since i heard of them. i am troubled no longer. ty ty ty ty ty ty ty ty ty ty ty ty ty. ☮️

[@saulibarra1705]

Watched a whole bunch music theory videos. This one finally made sense

[@darrylmoffett8323]

I am a beginner and I’ll play this as with your other videos over and over to truly understand things. Thanks.

[@mikegeorge360]

Right on -- yes, the guitar is a beautiful thing. 🤘

[@nitinjain2089]

*Excellent video..I can imagine how much efforts must have been taken to make this video & these secrets nobody reveals..It must jhave taken months n years U to understand this & in 15 min U have given it to us all ..Thanks!!*

[@darrell5228]

Man I am relearning the guitar and I was totally lost on the scales but you explained them so clearly I understand them now . Thank You.

[@Tha1Voda]

im glad i played flute for 8 years its funny because when i played the flute i visualized the scale shape in a straight line but on here its so different because i actually see the picture as a whole .

[@ShellyHolden]

You make this so simple ... I will waterpaint the colors & shapes..while listening

[@d.l.02.44]

Excellent indeed. The best music theory unravelling.

[@michaellombard894]

Great, challenging and compelling. Ill be back to learn more. Thanks Mike!!

[@AddisonPennington-r5e]

I have been looking for this exact explanation for a long time. This just opened up a whole world of learning for me. Thanks man!!!

[@trent078]

Bro I had to watch the fretboard map twice before I understood. Came here and now my mind is blown

[@iDigsGiantRobots]

Man! I figured these diatonic scale/mode "patterns" out years ago but couldn't really analyse them in any useful way. I am a drummer and only play guitar occasionally but I can see that your videos will be so much help in internalising the guitar. You've inspired me to revisit the fretboard! 🎉😅😊

[@michaelvest6861]

Good point man. Every video is exactly like you described. Play these scales with no explanation

[@Betrayedthelaw]

I luckily knew what you talking about, I started playing piano and this makes sense to me. It will improve my guitar play for sure, so thanks ❤

[@johnnythumper409]

Thank you.. wish I could understand what you are talking about but your way over my head. I want to learn but this is obviously for more advanced people. I’ll be back..!!

[@jaybaird05]

THANK YOU. Seriously. I can't tell how much this has helped me. I have been trying to get an understanding of these concepts for some time now, but for some reason, none of the material I was studying made sense to me. It just wouldn't click.... with these videos, your teaching style, and the visual breakdown you give, basically fit perfectly with they way I learn. THANK YOU.

[@ElTeddyMalo]

Guys if you don’t understand it means you need to keep investing more time in studying. You can watch other videos and then come back to this videos and trust me it all click at the end. I just started around 7 days ago and I understand this because I spend a good amount of time learning a little bit of everything. !trust me¡

[@ioanniszoumpoulis8658]

To be creative and write your own music, you do not need all that... you need a great heart and a great ear...

[@LearnGuitar560]

No. You can't skip formula and basics in math and music. If you only have a great heart and great ear but skip basics, You Won't be able to do the best of you.

[@LearnGuitar560]

No. you can't skip formulas and basics in maths and music. you will need both musical education and a great heart, great ear and great brain to do music.

[@kyrheereid]

This not only didn't help me learn anything new about music theory it also over explained what I already knew for fifteen minutes what could've been told in 5 minutes max

[@smwallace2368]

Zzzzz...

[@theycallmeglen]

Great explanation of modes, how the intervals stay the same, just the starting and ending notes change. But I still struggle because I need to buckle down and memorize the fretboard lol!

[@anabelle._e]

This is really helpful. As a pianist trying to teach herself guitar, I’m getting the information I need to connect my understanding to a new instrument, while learning some new things I can apply to piano too! Thanks!

[@jayong2370]

Holy macaroni!! Mate, you are a gift from above. Thank you!! I see the patterns now! 😮😮😮😃

[@icemediapro]

I think I found my favourite guitar learning channel right here

[@rustknale3818]

Wow! The last time I felt like this was when I read Stephen Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time'. A universe beyond my comprehension. I need to lie down now. Great visuals and explanation. A great resource which I will need to revisit again and again and ......

[@smwallace2368]

That is a truly awfully written book.

[@rustknale3818]

@@smwallace2368 Well, he was a mathematical theoretical physicist, not a Shakespeare. I wouldn't understand it in any language - above my pay grade. And thank you, your comment has prompted me to revisit the video. Deep breath, 1 2 3 and dive in.

[@paulsto6516]

The visuals are very helpful. Well done!

[@mikegeorge360]

Thank you! 🤘

[@tristanedmunds5934]

I LOVE YOU MANNN , Ive been trying to do theory for months and months on end and this video finally got through to me . Thank you for your efforts!!

[@seans_shorts]

For anyone who doesn’t understand, go back to where he was talking about the C Major scale. Sit down and play the notes in the traces bubble at 3:27 from C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C Then the rest of the video will make sense. It’s the same principal applied to all the other scales he talks about

[@evernolasco19]

Awesome video 🔥🔥🔥 finally starting to understand scales, it’s awesome when something starts to click

[@Daniel_McDougall]

Holy shit. Instantly subbed. Thank you. Three months into guitar and music and this one video answered so many of my questions.

[@norahroselle]

Bruh thanks all this time I could’ve just watched this video but this video is definitely for someone who knows the BASICS of music theory not for someone who doesn’t know anything

[@omarethiop6778]

I was so hopeful at the start of this video. The more people that try to explain this the more I understand why some of the most creative guitar players don’t bother with theory.

[@smwallace2368]

It's also because they're lazy and/or don't have the intellectual capacity.

[@GStone]

Unlocked a new level!

[@camerondanchuk5558]

I tried understanding this but it sounds like gibberish to me💀

[@NIRVANA_enjoyer]

I gave up at 1:21

[@Austinbuff]

The weird thing is that, I know it and understand it all conceptually but when it comes to applying it I just always go back to minor pentatonic

[@NIRVANA_enjoyer]

@@Austinbuff I think we all struggle from that problem with something we like to do

[@23kyd49]

It’s ok. Don’t give up. 10 minutes doing the WTF stuff and 20+ minutes enjoying your instrument and you’ll get there. But you still have to do the not so fun stuff to grow.

[@fruitykrueger]

This will be easier to understand if you have some knowledge on major scale, intervals and the circle of 5ths. A few days ealier I would’ve watched this with the same WTF as I don’t know shit about music theory except for the shapes of scales and some CAGED stuff. But then yesterday I decided to binge watch some music theory (samjamguitars and gracie terzian) videos. Now I have fallen into a rabbit hole and can understand what he was taking about in this video lol. It’s crazy how much knowledge you can cram in only a few hours.

[@Bogart1971]

Mike re attempting to learn guitar. I have all the Grimoir books and others as well as watched many videos. And your explanation of this was excellent .well done

[@TheMazz1234]

You are a legend ! Was so confused with this topic as a beginner, now its all making sense

[@melihbostan9159]

I set the speed at .75 and then I can understand it better. Thank you fast speaking hero!

[@geraldhoffpauir5048]

great video, it's a lot to take in but very well explained. I might have to watch in thousands of times to get it, but that's ok..i will eventually understand. Thanks for the info and video.

[@mireladimova6021]

i watched like 50 videos for scales i got it noooow thank you very much

[@alexanderl.diallo5508]

I m very greatefull for the ways you pedagoge it. Thanks you for that.

[@SudiKrishnakum]

This is excellent. I cannot believe this is based on Indian Carnatic music! the first notes you played is the same as Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Sa

[@ajmiller8887]

I’ve tried a few of this guys lessons and he has knowledge of how to teach beginners. Don’t waste your time. I hate lessons like this that make it seem impossible.

[@smwallace2368]

WTF?

[@neutralgrounds07]

Yes this is what I am looking for... I have been trying to understand how the guitar works but never got a satisfactory answer... Thanks and here's one sub from me...

[@jimoshirakka]

i am lost, my dude. this is a lot.

[@StanVice]

I don't understand. But... I feel like I am getting closer to understanding. The areas on the fretboard.... I don't understand what sets them apart. I don't understand the intervals on the different modes. But...I kinda do. I don't understand keys, or how cords are made up. But... Imma keep giving it time and trying to get it. One day, it's all going to just click into place. I have no doubt about that. Your video is helpful. Perhaps the most effective I have found so far. Thank you.

[@Godz3839]

I'm interested in what you have to say considering I have a reasonably deep understanding of music in both theory and application

[@philhooper4196]

this is confusing as hell for a beginner

[@TheLifescasualty]

I was thinking. Not sure why but I’m not even close to understanding 😂

[@rookiec4]

Mind opening explanation.. Thanks man!

[@christianesposito7722]

you are a genius and a wizard thank you for what you do

[@jasonstouder]

i almost fell down when you flipped the guitar over. rad.

[@MoonmanSpacejam]

This video really unlocked my mind to understanding everything you’ve mentioned that I’ve always wondered about. Modes, the circle of fiths and so much more. I’m truly blown away at the level it took to do this. I just wished you would have played the scale as you where going through each one that we could see it. But my goodness. No complaints

[@burdenedspirit]

I am no expert but from my experience, for people who don't feel naturally talented as such as me and need time to let things seep in you should learn about something about notes some basic chords. Make some music here and there and then come here it's much simpler to follow.❤ Hope you succeed in your journey.

[@billw8648]

This is a life saver! Thanks for a great video.....

[@mubirufrankadams7740]

Mike this is what l wanted for a long time,l have grab some ldeas so am so greatfull.

[@Evietheanoying124]

Thank you Christian Borle

[@antonsaiko]

Finally a video explaining music theory that I actually understand! Thank you for the video.

[@kaidemen156]

Thanks for posting this, I had a breakthrough in my understanding of scales and how they connect thanks to you!

[@gaiita]

THIS WAS SO WELL EXPLAINED

[@twilightriptide]

I've recently pulled out my old guitar and started learning. I've been using KZbin tutorials and playing a little bit each day for only about a week. I found this video because every video I watched told me to learn about scales and music theory. The idea of all the scales being permutations of each other makes a lot of sense to me, but being so new to this I had some trouble following all the information haha. Should I be learning some scales first just for their patterns and then coming back to this information maybe?

[@queenofclubs]

You’re a genius ❤

[@jacelandadventures1523]

Dude! I totally understand everything you just explained! 🤯🤯🤯 excellent video thanks for sharing 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@tweener9779]

Best teacher on youtube. Can't wait to find time to join community and see courses on your website!

[@jakariablaine2858]

this video is priceless. thank you

[@nz7166]

ty so much for all your extremely helpful videos