Recommend a good scale book please

[whsdhs1]

I get stuck in the major and minor pentatonic and want a scale book with mixolydian, lydian, etc.

I know there are resources on the computer, but I would prefer a book to put on my stand and work on some of there.

[Goerman]

Check out Guitar Grimoire series for sure...

http://www.guitargrimoire.com/

[Hotspur]

How advanced are you?

I say this because you're asking a question which a lot of people ask before they're ready. The modal scales are best understood as a series of accidentals on the major scale until you're a pretty advanced player.

When a player gets stuck, it's usually because they're relying on muscle memory rather than musical creativity. Learning more scales isn't the solution to this problem. The best way to think of it is that you're stuck because you're treating the scale as a cookie cutter. Adding more cookie cutters doesn't solve the problem.

Instead what you want to do is develop your ear and your ability to develop complex musical ideas within a scale.

My rule of thumb for when it makes sense to start learning new scales is when you can listen to a piece of music and - just from listening - say something to the effect of "Oh, that's interesting. It's in a major scale except the 4th is sharp."

This means that your ear is developed enough that you'll be capable of thinking in terms of the new scales. If you add scales before you reach that point, you may actually slow down your development by putting your attention on the wrong things.

[One Chord Wonder]

Originally Posted by Goerman

Check out Guitar Grimoire series for sure...

http://www.guitargrimoire.com/

Yes!

There's a Scales & Modes volume that should have everything you're looking for and then some.

[whsdhs1]

Originally Posted by Hotspur

How advanced are you?

I say this because you're asking a question which a lot of people ask before they're ready. The modal scales are best understood as a series of accidentals on the major scale until you're a pretty advanced player.

When a player gets stuck, it's usually because they're relying on muscle memory rather than musical creativity. Learning more scales isn't the solution to this problem. The best way to think of it is that you're stuck because you're treating the scale as a cookie cutter. Adding more cookie cutters doesn't solve the problem.

Instead what you want to do is develop your ear and your ability to develop complex musical ideas within a scale.

My rule of thumb for when it makes sense to start learning new scales is when you can listen to a piece of music and - just from listening - say something to the effect of "Oh, that's interesting. It's in a major scale except the 4th is sharp."

This means that your ear is developed enough that you'll be capable of thinking in terms of the new scales. If you add scales before you reach that point, you may actually slow down your development by putting your attention on the wrong things.

I cannot do this, but I can turn on a song, know almost instantly what key it is in and figure out the lead pretty quickly or improvise my own.

I don't want to just play scales, I want to understand what I am playing if that makes sense.

[whsdhs1]

Thanks Goerman and One Chord Wonder!

[guitarjazz]

Originally Posted by Goerman

Check out Guitar Grimoire series for sure...

http://www.guitargrimoire.com/

There a thread waiting to happen. Oh yeah, we already went over that.
The Grimoire book are an interesting contradiction:too little information combined with too much information. Marketing genius though.

[_Dan E]

Really there's a shelf full of 'scale' books in every music shop, book store, and library. They'll damn near all have every scale & mode you would ever need.

[arthur rotfeld]

I edited Scales in the Guitar Reference Guide series for Cherry Lane. I thought we did a great job on that one. 70 different scales and lots of fingering options.

http://www.amazon.com/Scales-Joe-Cha...d_bxgy_b_img_b

[Elektrik_SIxx]

Originally Posted by Hotspur

My rule of thumb for when it makes sense to start learning new scales is when you can listen to a piece of music and - just from listening - say something to the effect of "Oh, that's interesting. It's in a major scale except the 4th is sharp."

This means that your ear is developed enough that you'll be capable of thinking in terms of the new scales. If you add scales before you reach that point, you may actually slow down your development by putting your attention on the wrong things.

Yeah, but how can he tell the 4th is sharp if doesn't know how the scale is constructed? How can he develop his ear if he doesn't know at least the basic scales beyond the pentatonic?

That said, there is some truth in the above post in that it's better to develop your ear than to learn a bunch of scales and not being able to use them.
Use a book to learn how the scale is constructed and maybe some fingerings to go with them, but mindlessly playing them up and down isn't going to help your improvising.

A nice overview of scales with demo CD is contained in Scale Syllabus by Jamey Aebersold. www.jazzbooks.com. Not guitar specific though.

[franklsferd]

Improvisation Made Easier by Frank Gambale- It's been my go-to reference for over a decade and not only shows all the modes and fingerings all over the fretboard for each mode, but it matches up each mode with the majority of the chords they work over.

[Sound_Drift]

Originally Posted by franklsferd

Improvisation Made Easier by Frank Gambale- It's been my go-to reference for over a decade and not only shows all the modes and fingerings all over the fretboard for each mode, but it matches up each mode with the majority of the chords each mode works over.

That is definitely a good one for the OP's purpose. I'd also recommend this book as well.

[tacorivers]

Personally, I would just pull the notes for any scale that you are interested in (mixolydian = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7b) and just use your ears to play that scale all over the neck. For me, its the only way I can really understand a scale and how it might fit into my playing. Scale books, IMHO, are a waste of money and time.

[john2223]

The best book I've come across is the Guitar Grimoire - Scales & Modes. This book has every mode of the common scales and charts that list the formulas of Japenese, Hindu, Hungarian, Pelog, Composit, and plenty others.

It will also give you charts that tell you the right chords at each degree of each scale. It's priced at around $39. You should be able to find it on Amazon.com or in a store like Guitar Center. You could also try MEL BAY books. I hope this helps.