Micro Study 21 – Fast Scales 4 - Classical Guitar Rocks

Micro study 21 – fast scales 4, is part of a series – #6stringinspiration – of short and sweet studies that target very specific musical bars or techniques. These are for those who have very little time and want huge gains from tight focused practice ideas.

Micro Study 21 – Fast Scales 4

This is the end of the first series of micro studies on achieving speed playing scales. This first micro study focuses on the 120 bpm tempo and being able to coordinate the RH with the LH, across the fretboard in one fluid idea.

It is the companion lesson to micro study 16, if you haven’t checked it out see the link below.

Micro Study 16

KEY Strategy

Know your notes – well

This is a classic 6 note repetitive idea that was inspired by Al Di Meola‘s early phase – the ’70’s Gibson Marshal era. (Elegant Gypsy is a fantastic album to check out from this period. See below for some ear/eye candy from this album.)

The idea works the 1 2 4 & 1 3 4 LH finger combination from the high registor to to the low. Its musical material is formed out of diatonically transposing micro study 14 into the phrygian and aeolian modes, along with a 1 octave, and then 2 octave transposition. (Check the dots below). This time it takes in the fretboard over 2 octaves.

If you haven’t already, check out this post, Fretboard Orientation, on learning your fretboard properly, as I am using the displaced octaves technique (See Below) from it, in conjunction with micro study 14’s musical material.

Other Info

Note: This study is in the key of G major, however the original idea is built off the 7th degree of the scale and so is more appropriately a mode – mode 7 or a locrian scale fragment. This original then gets further transposed, diatonically – basically staying in the key just working off certain target notes, to: phrygian and aeolian mode as well.

(Not sure about modes? Check out this post to get you up to speed pronto! CGRocks Modes Post)

Secret

Know where you are going

This last idea only works if you have: learnt the chunk/idea, know it well, are relaxed and know where you are headed. Stay one step ahead of your fingers, mentally. As you play, talk to yourself about where you are going; kind of like a navigator does for a pilot. That way the ideas will fluidly flow across the fretboard.