In the last issue of Guitars & Gear, I wrote an article on how practicing scales can help with your technique – and why you should practice scales even if your goal isn’t to be a million-notes-a-minute shredder. This time, let’s take a look at two scales that are used by classical guitar players. The advantage to these scale fingerings (which are attributed to Maestro Andres Segovia, one of the greatest classical guitarists of all time) is that they require shifts along the fretboard – unlike most scales guitar players practice, which don’t have position shifts.
Work hard to navigate these challenges when practicing these scales:
- Play them perfectly in time, including the shifts.
- Play them with a constant volume level from note to note. You should not hear the shift points as an accent or a volume change.
- Minimize squeaks and finger noise when sliding the fingers along the string for the shifts.
We’ll examine two scale fingerings that begin on the low E string. The first example is a 3-octave G major scale. Practice it very slowly, at a tempo at which you can play it absolutely perfectly. Once you achieve perfection, begin increasing the tempo. No matter how fast you want to go, never exceed the tempo at which you can play the scale flawlessly.
In this type of classical guitar major scale, the ascending fingering is different from the descending fingering. When ascending, you’ll need to shift on the G string between the fourth and fifth frets, between the seventh and eighth frets on the high E string, and between frets ten and twelve on the high E string. When descending, you shift on the high E string between frets twelve and ten; there’s also a shift between the seventh and fifth frets on the A string.
Our second example is a 3-octave A minor scale.
This particular scale type is common in classic music; it’s known as the “melodic minor” scale. Its distinguishing characteristic is that it’s different ascending than it is descending – it’s a harmonic minor scale type (minor with raised sixth and seventh degrees) going up, but a natural minor scale type when coming down (minor with lowered sixth and seventh degrees).
In the A melodic minor scale, when going up, there are shifts between the seventh and ninth frets on the A string, a quick first-finger shift on the B string between the ninth and tenth frets, and a shift on the high E string between the twelfth and thirteenth frets. When descending, there are shifts between the fifteenth and thirteenth frets on the high E string, a shift between the tenth and ninth frets on the G string, and a final first-finger shift between the seventh and fifth frets on the low E string.
Both the G major and A minor scale fingerings can, of course, be moved up and down the neck to practice in other keys.
Many classical and flamenco guitarists can play these types of scales (and scalar runs), with the shifts these scales contain, at blinding speed – using the index and middle fingers to pluck the strings, rather than using a pick. When they do so, the sound is a continuous stream of notes; there are no breaks or changes in dynamics or accenting (unless the music calls for them).
Remember, practice slowly, and only increase the tempo when you can play the scale perfectly. Be patient; working slowly but patiently will result in faster gains in technique and speed than slopping your way through at a tempo that’s too fast. When you’re practicing, speed isn’t important; perfection is the goal – otherwise you’re practicing mistakes.