Once you have learned more than one Major Scale pattern, a new problem arises: which one to use when! :)

The big picture here is that you want to combine the patterns to not think of one or the other at all. They are just one big pattern, and developing that is easier than you might think.

Before you start this lesson, make sure you've memorized how to play Pattern 1 and Pattern 2 of the Major Scale.

Now, let's get started!

You Already Shifted Position!

When you were exploring to be more melodic with One Finger Solos, you were already moving out of ‘position’ - which is excellent! :) It wasn’t so scary, was it? It’s actually fun! The difference now is that you might use that kind of technique to shift into a new Pattern. And stay there for a while. :)

Experiment Moving Between Patterns

It’s ok just to mess about and try moving between patterns as you feel it, but I want to give you some tools to make sure you don’t fall into bad habits. We want to avoid having just one or two ‘links’ that you use all the time to join patterns!

We all find some little tricks to move between patterns that feel and sound cool to us. Having some ‘pet licks’ is not a problem, but it's better to move freely between patterns and not be restricted by them.

3 Steps To Practice Moving Between Patterns

1 - Restrict To Be Free

By far, the most effective tool you can use to work on linking patterns is to restrict what you use to join. There are quite a few techniques and concepts you can use, but to start with, you should focus on using slides and shifts on one or two strings at a time.

You can choose to use just one finger to navigate both patterns, too. It will help you develop that mental image of the scale patterns and keep open to further position movements!

2 - Explore The Middle Strings

Playing only on String 4 is a great starting point. You can use the root note on String 4 as a foundation and keep returning to it.

3 - Change It Up

Try using a different set of strings for each practice session.

How To Move Between Patterns

There are many ways to move between patterns, but sliding is a super fun one. It's very musical and helpful!

You can slide with any finger, but I recommend sliding one scale tone with Finger 1 to start. It will move you to the new pattern in one go, and it is usually easier.

Once you feel confident with it, try using other fingers. But you should start with Finger 1!

How Much Pressure to Apply When Sliding

When sliding with a finger, you will need to keep the pressure down if you want the sound to remain as you slide it. It might feel a bit odd at first, but as with most things - it’s just practice!

Slide Right!

Make sure you always know exactly where you are sliding to. Don’t fudge it - know it! It helps if you look at the place you want to slide to. That is more important when you make bigger jumps, but it's an excellent habit to have.

Only One Rule!

It's worth mentioning that, at this point, there is only one rule:

If it sounds good, it is good.

There will be times that something I say you shouldn’t do sounds great. In that case, you should keep doing it! The exceptions to the rules are often the most amazing things.

Don’t be afraid to explore what you're playing. Knowing and understanding how it all works will give you the confidence you need to try new things. You'll end up with a solid understanding of music to fall back on!

Unit 3 Practice Schedule

The homework for this lesson is 10 minutes divided into two 5-minute blocks.

Part 1: 5 Minutes - Scale Practice

Start by working on playing Pattern 2 of the Major Scale up and down with the metronome.

Start slowly and get it right.
Explore the fingering for the 5th string - see what feels comfortable for you!
When you feel confident and are getting the notes right all the time, you might like to move on to some of the things you were exploring in Pattern 1:
- Play along with a metronome. Start slow and only move up after playing it four times consecutively without any mistakes.
- Play along with a metronome but adding in random direction changes.
- Play the scale using random notes.

Part 2: 5 Minutes - Improvisation

Use your backing tracks to explore Pattern 2. Ask yourself these questions:
- How does it feel?
- What feels easier?
- What’s different?
- How does it feel that the ‘home notes’ are in different places?
After a week of only Pattern 2, you could start mixing Patterns 1 & 2. Then, try to let them merge.
Worth spending some practice session just focussing on putting 3rds into practice - probably not in the first week - let the musical memory build a little first. Often you have to force new ideas in for a while before our musical imagination gets a hold of them and starts putting them in subconsciously!

Feedback & Support

I want to see a video of your jams with the backing track! Please, film yourself, pop it up on YouTube, and post a link in the website comments.

I will check out as many as I can and give you some feedback. I’m sure you will also get some excellent tips from fellow students!