Does anyone know where to get some really insane guitar scales that will really work me and help with my picking?

I assume you like metal... in which case.. one scale is used more than any in metal..(in fact, i think it's the only scale most metal bands even know, haha) Harmonic Minor. ( Metallica and Iron Maiden for example do practically EVERYTHING in E minor).

Basic represnetation of harmonic minor
c d e(flat) f g a(flat) b

Basic melodic minor is also popular ( just loses one flat)
c d e(flat) f g a b

Basic guitar chords for (typical) metal are made with 3rds and 5ths... that means pick a note and then that number forward in the scale.. for example a 5th woudl be...

1 2 3 45 6 7
c d e(flat) f g a b <--- notice the g is 5 notes away from the c (including c)..

in the same way a third would be like this..

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
c d e(flat) f g a b

Combine the third and fifth and then you'll find yourself with whole new chord possibilites, for example..

c d e(flat) f g a b

and Bam.. there is your basic "metal) power chords that you can play anywhere on the fret board.




Also, if you Memorize these notes everywhere they occur on your fret board.. you'll find yourself suddenly able to play "flashy" solos to pretty much every metal band you might be into and easily able to learn just from listening what most metal bands are doing... in fact..

btw.. what classical musicians do and you'll see this alot in black metal especially..

is take the first chord..wether it be a 3rd or 5th or 7th or whatever....and then change the third note in teh pattern while holding the second..

for example...

you start

c d e(flat) f g a b

and then add a quickly changing third sequence (played togther as a chord), for example (that I'll represent with the blue)-

c d e(flat) f g a b
c d e(flat) f g a b
c d e(flat) f g a b
c d e(flat) f g a b c(scale repeats)



and then they take this one step further with the last available finger and add a 4the sequence to the chord... each sequence can change as need be and if it remains within the scale it will always work and be an actual chord.



THIS IS WHY MEMORIZAING SCALES
IS SO IMPORTANT_ ONCE YOU HAVE THEM MEMORIZED ON YOUR FRET BOARD YOU
CAN PLAY ANY CHORD PROGRESSIONS AND/OR SOLOS FOR THOSE PROGESSIONS
WHITHOUT EVER FALLIng OUT OF KEY...... EVER.. as well ..you can PLAY CHORDS YOU NEVER EVEN KNEW WERE PLAYEABLE ....ANYWHERE ON THE FRET BOARD

It seems as if there's a generalization of metal going on here....


but just buy and study the album I posted for a mere one example of a very 'different' approach...for starters.

well yea, the generalization of metal is true. Just as jazz or blues or rock have their own typical and popular scales of use... so does metal.


Learning scales is better than learning songs anyways.. because then you can end up writing your own better ones.. depending how much work you put into it, etc..

That's true, but I have no idea what modes or scales Ron Jarzombek uses, I just know he works pretty out of the norm for a lot of heavy music and brings a lot of pretty atonal, sometimes jazzy ideas to the table. I don't think though that the stuff used in metal is quite as broad as in blues or rock though... this is definitely one of the furthest reaching genres there is. There *is* a lot of world out there past the familiar E minor and such..


Knowing your fretboard is extremely important...but I'm afraid I can't be of a lot of help other than recommending music that I know to contain fresh sounding, challenging styles of guitar playing. I know mine, but not traditionally, and I never had lessons and don't know squat about how to do something 'by the book'..so...

You don't start learning about scales with WATCHTOWER. That's a long-term goal, at best.

Just stick with minor for now. Most metal is in that. IRON MAIDEN and METALLICA are mostly minor (but thrash has a lot more key changes and accidental notes). Malmsteen is the harmonic minor guy.

All I saw was "REALLY work me" and "help with my picking". Studying his playing helped me some in those areas, so...


I think this goes in the musicians section..

You should learn and memorize some scales too then Orion... they will opne up a whole new level of playing for you if you do it. It's just a simple matter of memorization, using tableture.. you don't even have to remember things like notes or theory.. those aren't necessary.

but seriously.. it's night and day.. teh difference you'll experience with a basic memorization on the fret board of the basic scales of western musik.

People don't do it, cause they think it's hard. It's totally not and doesn't require any theory knowlege at all.


If I lived near you.. I could teach em too you with a once a week jam... and probably within 2 months you'd have all 6 of the most important scales down perfectly. Or to put it more accurately.. your fingers would have them "down perfectly", haha. It's funny how the fingers seem to have a mind of their own..

My standard tuning is also not 'standard'...so that would present a problem..


..but so far, in the 11 years I've been at it, I haven't noticed any roadblocks in my composing or jamming or whatnot..... I do know exactly where I can and can't go and how to connect... in just about any improv situation, on any fret... as I said.. I'm not quite by the book....... but I won't be underestimated.

But lets instead just sort of focus on the question rather than getting into various annoyances and insecurities that come with me just doing my own thing..