Guitar Scales and Lead Guitar Syllabus

Scales and Lead Guitar syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Scales and Lead Guitar in Guitar, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Foundational Scales

   4 topics

   • Major Scale Patterns (CAGED)
   • Natural Minor Scale
   • Relative Major and Minor Relationship
   • Practicing Scales with a Metronome
2. 2

   Pentatonic and Blues Scales

   3 topics

   • Minor Pentatonic Box Shapes
   • Major Pentatonic Scale
   • The Blues Scale and the 'Blue Note'
3. 3

   Modes of the Major Scale

   4 topics

   • Ionian, Dorian, and Phrygian
   • Lydian, Mixolydian, and Aeolian
   • Locrian Mode
   • Applying Modes Over Chords
4. 4

   Lead Techniques

   5 topics

   • Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs
   • Slides and Glissando
   • String Bending and Pre-Bends
   • Vibrato
   • Alternate and Economy Picking
5. 5

   Advanced Lead Techniques

   4 topics

   • Legato Phrasing
   • Tapping (Two-Handed)
   • Sweep Picking
   • Pinch and Natural Harmonics
6. 6

   Improvisation and Phrasing

   5 topics

   • Targeting Chord Tones
   • Call-and-Response Phrasing
   • Using Space and Motifs
   • Soloing Over Backing Tracks
   • Building Speed and Accuracy

Scales and Lead Guitar flashcards for Guitar

18 of 50 cards from the Scales and Lead Guitar deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the interval formula for the major scale in whole (W) and half (H) steps?

   W–W–H–W–W–W–H; in semitones $2,2,1,2,2,2,1$ (total $12$, one octave).

2. What does CAGED stand for in the CAGED fretboard system?

   The five open chord shapes C, A, G, E, D, whose movable forms create five overlapping scale positions covering the whole neck.

3. In the CAGED system, in what order do the five shapes connect up the neck?

   C → A → G → E → D, then the cycle repeats an octave higher; adjacent shapes overlap.

4. Why learn all five CAGED major-scale positions instead of one?

   So you can play the major scale anywhere on the fretboard and link positions smoothly rather than being trapped in one box.

5. What is the interval formula for the natural minor scale?

   W–H–W–W–H–W–W; in semitones $2,1,2,2,1,2,2$.

6. Which degrees differ between a major scale and its parallel natural minor?

   The 3rd, 6th, 7th are lowered a half step: $1,2,3,4,5,6,7$ becomes $1,2,\flat 3,4,5,\flat 6,\flat 7$.

7. What is a relative minor and how do you find it from a major key?

   The minor key sharing the same key signature/notes; it starts on the 6th degree of the major scale, a minor 3rd ($3$ semitones) below the root. C major → A minor.

8. How do you find the relative major of a minor key?

   Go up a minor 3rd ($3$ semitones) from the minor root. A minor → C major.

9. How do relative keys differ from parallel keys?

   Relative keys share the same notes but different roots (C major / A minor); parallel keys share the same root but different notes (C major / C minor).

10. Why practice scales with a metronome?

    It builds accurate timing and evenness, exposes rushing or dragging, and gives a measurable way to increase speed gradually.

11. What is the recommended process for building scale speed with a metronome?

    Start at a tempo where every note is clean, play perfectly in time, then raise the tempo in small increments (about $5$–$10$ BPM), dropping back if accuracy fails.

12. At quarter note = $60$ BPM, how many notes per second are played in sixteenth notes?

    Four notes per beat, so $\frac{4 \times 60}{60} = 4$ notes per second.

13. What rhythmic subdivisions are commonly cycled when practicing scales to a click?

    Quarter notes ($1$/beat), eighths ($2$/beat), triplets ($3$/beat), sixteenths ($4$/beat), keeping the pulse constant.

14. What is the interval formula of the minor pentatonic scale?

    $1,\flat 3,4,5,\flat 7$; in semitones from the root $0,3,5,7,10$.

15. How many box shapes does the minor pentatonic scale have on guitar?

    Five interlocking box shapes, one starting on each scale degree, together covering the entire fretboard.

16. Where is box 1 of the E minor pentatonic (root-position shape) played, and what is its layout?

    Root on the low E string (open/12th fret for E); it uses two notes per string, the classic first shape most players learn.

17. What is the interval formula of the major pentatonic scale?

    $1,2,3,5,6$; in semitones $0,2,4,7,9$. It omits the 4th and 7th of the major scale.

18. How are the major and minor pentatonic scales related?

    They share the same notes: the major pentatonic's relative minor starts a minor 3rd ($3$ semitones) lower. C major pentatonic = A minor pentatonic, so the same box shapes work with a shifted root.

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