Ever see anyone bust out a sweet guitar solo? Ever wonder how they do it? Much of it is manipulation of scales. Scale are patterns of notes that, when put together is different ways, can create different kinds of feelings.

Let's take a look:

This is a scale chart. It's different from a chord chart in that you will only play one note at a time, instead of all at once.

Here's what the tab (tablature) looks like:

e-----------------------0-3-0------------------------------
B-------------------0-3-------3-0--------------------------
G--------------0-2-----------------2-0---------------------
D----------0-2-------------------------2-0-----------------
A------0-2---------------------------------2-0-------------
E--0-3------------------------------------------3-0--------

Click Here to listen.

This is a first position scale, meaning that your first finger will take care of the first fret, your second finger with the second fret, and so on. Take your time and try to make it sound as good as possible. If you try to go to fast, you'll end up making the learning process take longer.

Once you feel comfortable with this scale, let's try taking it to the next level. We're going to play the same pattern, but this time from the 5th fret. since we're no longer playing and open string, it means everything gets bumped down, and we have to employ the 4th finger. Let me show you what I mean:

e-----------------------5-8-5------------------------------
B-------------------5-8-------8-5--------------------------
G--------------5-7-----------------7-5---------------------
D----------5-7-------------------------7-5-----------------
A------5-7---------------------------------7-5-------------
E--5-8------------------------------------------8-5--------

Click Here

This is the pentatonic scale in A. If you slide this pattern around, you can play the scale in different keys all over the fretboard. Practice this over and over until you're sick of it. This is how incredible guitarists start their day.