Alternating Scales Exercise – Here’s a great little exercise for getting to grips with scales on the fingerboard. It doesn’t look like much on paper, but it helps to improve your transitions between chord scales.

The basic idea is to pick two scales (later, you can add more) and play one bar per scale as you move across the fingerboard. In the example here, I’ve picked the C Major Scale and the Eb Major Scale. You can use any scales you wish, of course.

You start the first scale on any note you like, then play four quarter notes from that scale before switching scales in the next bar to the nearest available note in the next scale. This process is then repeated, alternating every bar between your chosen scales.

Fingering isn’t a major issue here, but rather being able to identify scale tones from each scale is the more important consideration.

Try this exercise in as many different places as you can on the fingerboard and from different starting notes. Periodically change scale direction as well (ascending/descending), and also try to use the entire range of the instrument from open strings to the highest frets.

Give it a try anyway!

Enjoy!