A question I get asked somewhat often is how do I move guitar scale patterns around on the fretboard?

Well, hopefully this video will answer those questions. If you’re still unclear afterwards, please leave a comment below.

The basic idea is recognizing which note in the scale pattern is your root note, and then to understand how when you shift the entire pattern to a different root note, that whole scale changes into a different key.

Moving Guitar Scales

If you’d like to download the worksheet I used in the video, you can do so here. (Right click on the link, and select save target as)

If you can’t play a scale all the way through without bending awkwardly over your guitar like a chimpanzee peeling a banana….

Don’t sweat it!

It’s okay!

We’ve all been there, at some point. The trick is to get past that point – ideally as quickly as possible!

Part of the issue I find is when the student hasn’t yet connected with the fact that scales can be looked at as PATTERNS.

When you approach the scale as a pattern, after a few times through you no longer need a cheat sheet to tell you where to put your finger next.

A bunch more times after that, your fingers are now starting to get the hang of the pattern, and after a while, you don’t need to be looking at the fretboard anymore either.

If you skip the pattern step though, you’re forever wondering where that next note is going to be…

Hey – nobody said the learning the guitar has to be complicated!

Speaking of…

Checkout my course on Guitar Scale PATTERNS!

It covers the scale patterns in every key, all over the fretboard, and although it comes with cheat sheets, the goal is to have you playing without them.

You’ll never again be at a loss as to where & what to play…