E Major Scale on One String

Learning scales is essential to learning guitar. Scales are sets of building blocks that melodies, chords, and songs are made out of.

Since you're learning open chords, why not learn "Open Scales" as well? These are scales that go up and down a string, and include the note of the open string itself.

How to Practice

One great way to practice this scale is to play an open "E" between every note. This helps reinforce the "E" as the tonic or root note of the scale.

You can move this whole pattern to another string, and you will have a new major scale whose root is the open string itself. For instance, play this pattern the “A” string, and you’ll have an A major scale.

Key Exercises

• Learn, memorize, and apply scales.
• Repeat the same exact pattern on the other strings to create E major, A major, D major, G major and B major scales.