Best way to practice scales?

[Hroda]

Now I've been wondering how some of you on here would say is the best way to practices chords and scales. What I've been doing is taking a scale then it's chords and the taking it's relative minor or major and learning that. Do you guys have any routines or ideas that can help?

 

[Groove Master]

It depends on the level but ONE thing is the same:

Practice in the cycle of fifths.

For beginners, I make them play the C major scale in one octave position but everywhere on the neck starting at the lowest position to the highest, then go thru the cycle. This is a great way to learn the neck with easy material. Do the same with arpeggios,

Good luck,

Groove Master

 

[fearceol]

This is the best way to practice scales.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

When will you use scales? When will you use chords?

Practice them in the way you will use them. For example:

We all need to get scales under our fingers so our fingers know where to find the notes and our ear can start recognizing the good notes from the bad notes. So go run the scales around the circle of 5ths. Yes those flat scales too not just the C,G,D,A,E,B,F#,C#.

How do I use scales? I get no lead breaks, the pedal steel or lead electric get the lead breaks where I play;

so the only melody (scale) notes I use in my bass line are as fills or chromatic runs to the next chord. If you get lead breaks you need to be able to play melodies, i.e. the tune of the song, i.e. make scale notes into melodies. IMO if you are not playing the tune for your solo, people do go get drinks, etc.

Someone has been singing the tune, the lead is passed to the lead electric and again the tune is played as an instrumental solo, then the lead is passed to you and you grab a scale or a mode and run up and down your neck playing the scale/mode hoping that will pass for a solo ---- that's when the audience goes for drinks.

What chords will you see in your music? Practice those. How do you practice chords, IMO how you will be using them. For example:

Major Scale Box. 
Code:
G|---2---|-------|---3---|---4---| 1st string
D|---6---|-------|---7---|---8---|
A|---3---|---4---|-------|---5---|
E|-------|---R---|-------|---2---|4th string

Generic Notes - for your bass line.
• The root, five and eight R-3-5-8 are generic and fit most any chord. Remember the diminished has a flatted 5.
• The 3 is generic to all major chords. So R-3-5-3 will fit under any major chord.
• The b3 is generic to all minor chords. And R-b3-5-8 will fit under any minor chord. Why the 8? Well the 8 is just another root in the next octave.
• The 7 is generic to all maj7 chords. Yep, R-3-5-7 fits nicely.
• The b7 is generic to all dominant seventh and minor seventh chords. G7 = R-3-5-b7 or Gm7 = R-b3-5-b7.
• The 6 is neutral and adds color, help yourself to 6’s. Love the sound of R-3-5-6 with a major chord.
• The 2 and 4 make good passing notes. Don’t linger on them or stop on them, keep them passing.
• In making your bass line help yourself to those notes, just use them correctly.

Roots, fives, eights and the correct 3 & 7 will play a lot of bass.
Put the above into muscle memory. See a chord coming up and your fingers know what will make a safe bass line for that chord. Now when you are actually playing with others, live, the song may only give you time for the root, or root - five. No problem, use as many chord tones as the music will allow.

Now take this and play it over a chord progression. 1-4-5-1 (I-IV-V7-I) works great for Country, Gospel, or Christmas music then 1-6-2-5-1 or 1-6-4-5-1 works over most pop songs. Two bars of each chord makes a good practice routine.

Now if your music will get into chords that go into the next octave, 9's, 11's, etc. those have to be in your practice schedule.

After you get your fingers moving and you know where the notes are and what they sound like - practice what you will be seeing in the music you play. Run the chord changes.

 

[bassdude51]

It depends on the level but ONE thing is the same:

Practice in the cycle of fifths.

For beginners, I make them play the C major scale in one octave position but everywhere on the neck starting at the lowest position to the highest, then go thru the cycle. This is a great way to learn the neck with easy material. Do the same with arpeggios,

Good luck,

Groove Master

Great advice here!

Also, use a metronome at a speed where you can do your major, minor and blues scales and triads perfectly in the cycle of 5ths (or 4ths)! Then over time, keep increasing the speed beats on the 'nome!

This can make all of us better players!

(My bass teacher had me do my scales in the cycle of 4ths.)

 

[dtiii]

You can also play them ascending and descending along a single string. Play them beyond the octave as well... full range of each string. It's a great way to learn the fingerboard. It also helps to get you moving along the fingerboard.