Best Way to Learn Guitar Scales?

A good place to start would be the pentatonic/blues scale, and from there, learn to play that same scale in different positions on the neck.

After that, i would start looking at the major scale and all of the modes that go with it- dorian, lydian, phrygian etc

eta: the slower the better at first

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Hey y'all, this is probably a noob question, but I was wondering if anyone has tips for learning scales.

I have just been learning songs I like as I go. Now I want to be able to make up my own stuff on a whim, and I feel like learning the scales would be a great place to start. Any tips would be appreciated!

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learn the major (ionian) scale over 3 octaves. never learn it in just one octave. it will suffocate your learning and keep you boxed in to 3 strings. learning the scales over 6 strings makes you understand the patterns in the 5ths and 4ths as you transition grom g to b string, and it gives you freedom on how to transition to make the last octave of the scale. do you go up a string, or do you drop to a lower string and go higher on the fretboard?

once you learn the fretboard patterns... restart the scales and speak the notes outloud. go as slow as you need until you can play 3 octaves on a metronome.

once you can do this, start understanding modes and everything will fall into place. you will understand the patterns and you wont be limited to just 7 notes on the e string.

This website should help you out

Not to hijack your thread, but I felt this would be a good place to ask rather than starting another thread.

I just bought a learning to play guitar set. Would I be better served learning to play scales, or should I just learn tab and try to play songs I like?

What are some good sites to learn from?

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Start out learning how to play songs you enjoy. Learning scales isn't fun for a beginner and if its not fun then you're beer going to put in the time necessary to learn. Get your feet on the ground first and then start learning your scales

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This is what I've worked my way up to. I'm comfortable enough with my strumming and my chords to take the next step.

Thanks to everyone who provided tips. I will definitely take your advice

I know I was just saying.

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After that, i would start looking at the major scale and all of the modes that go with it- dorian, lydian, phrygian etc

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I never understood modes. isn't it just starting the scale at the next note in the scale?

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I never understood modes. isn't it just starting the scale at the next note in the scale?

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Music theory makes my head hurt. I know my pentatonic and that's about it. Every time I try to get into modes and the like I get too frustrated to continue. I just can't wrap my mind around it and its not fun at all for me so I quit trying. I'm gonna spend a few years working on being good at what I know