Lesson 7
Exercise 5
Introduction to Scales
Simply put, a scale is a group of notes arranged in ascending or descending order. The scale written below is called A Minor Pentatonic. Learn this scale off by heart.
Pentatonic scales have five notes and they are used extensively in almost all styles of music.
Repertoire
I Got Rhythm
This is another type of rest:
∑ = 4 or 2 Beats' Silence
Depending on where you place it on the stave it can either mean four beats silence or two beats silence. There's no audio for this example, but if you'd like to hear a recording of this, check out 4'33" by John Cage.
Chords
When learning chords, try to make connections between them. This will help you memorise them. For instance, you already know Em; notice how E has just one note different. The same goes for D and Dm. You could also note that E has the exact same shape as Am, only it's played on the lower strings.
E Chord
Dm Chord
Study Piece
There are two parts to this piece: the chords and the melody. Learn the chords and play along with the Chord Backing. Then learn the melody and play along with the Melody Backing. Notice how the melody has been constructed using only the notes from the A minor pentatonic scale. You could also use the Melody Backing to make up your own melodies with this scale.