The major scale is amazing

Theory
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josh thank you your a fuc$$$king amazzzzing teacher

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I think the Minor Scale is equally as amazing. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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The more you dive into the myriad of different scales, the more amazed you will be.

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Sounds like someone had an “Ah Hah” moment :slightly_smiling_face:

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I think they’re the same scale starting in different places :slight_smile:

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Not quite. Different scales. Different patterns. They share some of the same notes, but they sound quite different. The major scale is the “happy” scale and the minor scale is the “sad” scale.

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No, the (natural) minor scale (aka the Aeolian mode) is the major scale starting on the 6th note ie the relative minor scale of C major is A minor. How you hear it all depends on context.

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Yes it’s true the minor scale starts on the sixth degree of it’s relative Major, but you fail to mention it also has a flattened 3rd, 6th, and 7th degree. This is true regardless of the key. It’s those flattened tones that give it it’s dark personality, not the degree upon which it starts.

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They’re only flattened if you change a C major scale into a C minor scale, not if you start on the 6th degree. If you change a major scale to it’s relative minor eg C major → A minor, they’re the exact same notes ie all the white keys on a piano. This is true of all the relative scales/modes of a major scale ie C Ionian, D dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian… all the same notes (white keys), starting in a different place of the major scale.

So if you wanted to play a C minor scale and you didn’t remember (or care) which notes to flatten, you could use the E major scale pattern starting on the C.

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The minor scale ALWAYS has a flattened 3rd, 6th, and 7th. You can throw in all the modes etc. but the fact remains the minor scale has a flattened 3rd, 6th and 7th.
The technique you suggested is fine if that’s what you want to do, but never lose sight of the fact that a minor scale has a flattened 3rd, 6th and 7th.
Here’s the A Major scale:
A B C# D E F# G#
and the A minor scale:
A B C D E F G
Notice the C#, F#, and G# are flattened to become naturals.

Here’s the C Major scale:
C D E F G A B
Here’s the C minor scale:
C D Eb F G Ab Bb

This is the way it is, no matter how you approach it from a playing standpoint, the fact remains; in the minor scales the 3rd, 6th, and 7th are flattened. There’s no point in us debating, it is what it is.

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They’re only flattened in relation to the parallel major scale. Otherwise the minor scale is just T, ST, T, T, ST, T, T whereas the major is T, T, ST, T, T, T, ST don’t lose sight of that by applying a formula.

You are characterizing the minor scale by applying accidentals to the parallel major scale; I could also characterize the major scale in terms of the minor scale if i wanted to. I’m just saying they’re all the same scale… When playing basslines it’s often good to not start on the root note of a chord, so if you don’t start on the root note where are you? That’s the reason that people have trouble using modes without ending up back in the major scale. It’s all about context.

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Okay you win. I’m done. I’m going to be asking for a refund for all those music theory courses that steered me wrong.
Conversation over.

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Yessss pam i agreeeee 100%

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i think all the scales are amazinnnnng and i agree with you aswell JT

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Yeah, that’s a good and expansive way to look at it. The major, its relative minor, and all it’s other modes live in the same space. You don’t need to resolve or map it back to major, it’s just a convenient way to think of it. And you can equally well iterate the scale degrees of the minor scale to the same effect, where Ionian would be the third scale degree/mode of the natural minor scale.

But this is a little advanced and as a mental model using the major scale as a base is convenient.

In the end you’re absolutely right though. All that matters are the intervals.

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Well, you’re both right. It’s a matter of abstraction and perspective.

Pax Romana

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Then of course we have the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales plus don’t forget the Blues scales.

This is the stuff that scares beginners eh :slightly_smiling_face:

To beginners, or anyone else reading this that is confused, please note that you do not need to worry about any of this for the B2B course.
@Josh explains music theory in the course as he feels you need to know it.

I am a member of the Blues Guitar Unleashed website and can recommend the ‘Guitar Theory Made Useful’ course located there. It is taught in the same manner that @josh uses.
I could not provide a link to the course because of an issue with graphics but if interested just do a Google search for Blues Guitar Unleashed and go the Specialized Course section in the Course menu.

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So true. All that matters is “does it sound good”. Everything else is just a framework to help talk about it, and a shorthand to help get there.

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To me theory has always been a necessary subject that has to be mentioned at some point in learning to play an instrument but some instructors seem like they are hell bent on trying to impress people with their knowledge when in fact they are actually just overwhelming students and just putting them off from continuing.
This is the main reason I will always promote B2B for beginners wanting to learn Bass.
Slow and easy wins the race.

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Agree completely. the point should be to make things easier, not more complex. One sign of true understanding is the ability to use it in reducing complexity, not celebrating it :slight_smile:

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