Jimi Hendrix said this about SCALES

[LiveMusic]

I lied. I have no clue what he said about scales. Do you think he did them? I've started doing them now after having strummed and arpeggioed for 35 years. Man, is this scale deal boring or what?

 

All the guys I know that can play decently, some even pretty good (non-professional as well as professional), I wonder if they ever did this stuff. This is going to take quite a bit of discipline and I can't imagine some of my friends having done this for the weeks and months it will require to master. Most people don't have this much discipline. Although, I guess I could also surmise that the ones that get good are the ones that had the discipline.

 

Are they necessary?

[stanner]

jimi didnt practice scales so you dont have to either, but you also have to die at a very young age and leave music and a legacy that will still be relevant for a very long time...

[Chip McDonald]

Originally posted by LiveMusic:

Man, is this scale deal boring or what?

 

Music is boring?

 

Scales probably haven't been presented to you properly.

 

Are they necessary?

 

Scales are music, and vice-versa. You should stop thinking in terms of it being a seperate entity, because it's not.

 

If you were raised in the western hemisphere, Your perception of music is based on how notes jibe against the diatonic scale. It's wired into you, and every sane person who has grown up listening to music based on it. It's inescapable, even if you prefer to play music that works against it - you're *still* locked to it (unless you're just going to be a weeny about it). If you learn scales within that context, you're only going be more creative because of it.

 

You're in the dark otherwise.

 

http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

[Chip McDonald]

Originally posted by stanner:

jimi didnt practice scales so you dont have to either, but you also have to die at a very young age and leave music and a legacy that will still be relevant for a very long time...

 

We don't know if he practiced scales or not.

 

He definitely used them.

 

http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

[art]

I think scales are great to learn only if you learn to apply them musically. For example - playing a C major scale over an A minor chord or over a G7 chord or over a Bmin7flat5 chord, etc...

In other words, you need to learn to use them theoretically. I know that sounds "clinical" but the fact is learning scales without learning how it applies to music can be boring. It simply becomes a technical exercise. Learn how to use them in a musical context and things start to get exciting. Check out Scott Henderson's video - Jazz Fusion Improvisation for some cool soloing concepts using simple scales. Just my $.02

 

art.

[stratman_dup1]

Scales and a basic understanding of theory have really helped me become a fairly proficient player in a short amount of time. It's not only important to know the scale, but also how to implement it which is an entirely different thing. If you just play the scales note for note, yeah, that could get a tad boring after a while.

 

When you practice, practice the scales by wrote, learn them in all different positions and keys. But when your playing mix it up, throw in some chromatic stuff, bends, slurs, double stops, skip strings, mix different scales together, etc...... Just knowing the scales is not enough. You also have to know how to USE the scales in a musical way, you won't regret the time spent once you can do this.

My .02