Scales
You'll find many scales here, some you will use all the time and some you may never, but we wanted to provide a comprehensive selection so you can experiment and get creative.
How to navigate
- Select a scale family from the black menu. (side menu for large screens, top menu for small screens).
- If there are modes a grey menu will appear, select an option from that menu to display the mode patterns.
How to read the diagrams
1. All diagrams on Six String Enigma are displayed the same; Low E string on the bottom, high E on top. We've done it this way because keeping a unified layout helps you see the patterns and relationships between the scales, chords and arpeggios.
2. The dots labelled "R" indicate where the root note/tonic is, for example if you wanted to play an A major scale you would first have to find the note A on the fretboard:
3. Next you would have to mentally 'overlay' the pattern/shape so that the "R" aligns with the "A" note. It's worth noting than you only have to find the note for one "R" location on one string, the others wall fall into the right place as you play...providing you play the shape correctly:
4. When "R" is white, this is to indicate where the root would be, this is only found in the chord section where we had to omit the root ("R") to allow us to play that particular voicing, it looks like this:
5. In the chords and arpeggios sections the black dots are labelled with the interval name, this is to help you understand where specific chord tones are. We have not done this for scales as in reality, the chord tones that reside within the scales are more important to understand. These notes will change within the scale pattern when the chord changes, you'll discover these by practicing in the arpeggio section.