The C Major Guitar Scale

In this tutorial, we're going to explore the very essence of music: the Major Scale.

Its sound is deeply ingrained in our minds from a young age, and there's a reason for that.

In Western music, the Major Scale is the foundational scale from which all other musical concepts arise, including chords, modes, intervals, and much more.

It's crucial to dedicate time to learning the Major Scale thoroughly, as it will be a fundamental tool throughout your musical journey.

The Major Scale is easy to visualize on a piano keyboard. In the key of C, the C Major Scale consists of all the white keys.

On the guitar, due to the fretboard's layout, things can seem more complex, but don't worry—we'll break this down into simple, manageable steps.

The formula for the Major Scale is shown below:

As you can see, there is a whole step (two semitones or two frets) between each note, except between the 3rd (E) and 4th (F), and the 7th (B) and 8th (C), where there is only a half step (one fret).

An effective way to visualize the Major Scale is to play it horizontally on a single string. Pay close attention to the steps that span only one fret.

For more scale diagrams across the entire fretboard, check out the ebook Scales Over Chords | Learn How To Play The Right Scales Over Any Chord.

One of the challenges of playing guitar is that there are multiple ways to move from one note to another.

We can move horizontally by shifting our left hand, stay in position while moving up and down the strings, or use a combination of both.

On a piano, you can only move left or right, making it easier to see the distances between notes.

The best way to learn the Major Scale on guitar is by playing it across the entire fretboard in small one-octave patterns, using shapes that start with different fingers: index, middle, and pinkie.

Once you've mastered these small patterns, you can connect them to play multiple octaves and traverse the neck.

If this seems challenging, don't worry—you'll soon see that there is a logical connection between the shapes and the fretboard layout.

Let's start by focusing on the three lowest strings: the low E (6th), A (5th), and D (4th) strings.

On the low E string, the C note is located at the 8th fret.

Now, let's play all the notes in the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C) while staying in position. This means that your left hand does not move up or down the neck; instead, you use all your fingers to fret the necessary notes, following the rule:

Depending on which finger you use to fret the first note (the C at the 8th fret of the 6th string), you'll generate different patterns (remember, we want our left hand to stay in position):

If you place your middle finger on the 8th fret (C), you can play the Major Scale using a shape that spans exactly four frets.

This position does not require any stretching, as each fret is easily reachable with one finger:

• Fret 7: index finger
• Fret 8: middle finger
• Fret 9: ring finger
• Fret 10: pinkie

If you start playing the C major scale with your index finger, a slight stretch is required.

This shape spans five frets, but it's highly useful for playing with alternate picking or legato, as we'll explore later in this tutorial.

• Fret 8: index finger
• Fret 9: index finger
• Fret 10: middle finger
• Fret 12: pinkie
• Fret 10: pinkie

The last shape we can explore starts with the pinkie finger on the 8th fret.

Unless you're unfamiliar with using your pinkie, this position shouldn't be too difficult, except for the slight stretch required on the D string.

• Fret 8: little finger
• Fret 5: index finger
• Fret 7: middle finger
• Fret 9: pinkie

When we move up one string (in terms of pitch), the shapes are the same as those we've just seen, but they're shifted five frets down.

On the A string, the C note is located at the 3rd fret.

With this shape, you can play the Major Scale without moving your left hand or needing to stretch.

This position is more challenging than the same pattern played at the 8th fret of the 6th string because in this area of the fretboard, the frets are wider.

Be sure to warm up properly before attempting this shape. This is a three-notes-per-string shape, as we'll discuss when we connect all these patterns.

In this case, we need to use open strings because some notes of the C Major Scale are played on open strings.

This is one of the easiest ways to play the C Major Scale on the guitar, as you can make good use of open strings.

If you understand how octaves work on the guitar, you'll know that by moving two strings up and two frets up from the low E string, you'll find the same note in the next octave.

So, the C note on the D string is located at the 10th fret.

This shape spans four frets, allowing you to use one finger per fret.

• Fret 9: index finger
• Fret 10: middle finger
• Fret 11: ring finger
• Fret 12: little finger

As with the previous shapes, this pattern requires some stretching.

• Fret 10: index finger
• Fret 12: middle finger
• Fret 13: ring finger
• Fret 14: little finger

This is another simple four-fret shape, starting with the pinkie.

• Fret 10: little finger
• Fret 7: index finger
• Fret 8: middle finger
• Fret 9: ring finger

On the 3rd string, the pattern changes slightly because the interval between the B string (2nd string) and the G string (3rd string) is a major third (four semitones), unlike the other strings, which are a perfect fourth (five semitones) apart.

• Fret 5: index finger
• Fret 6: middle finger
• Fret 7: ring finger
• Fret 8: little finger

This pattern uses three notes per string and requires a significant stretch, so be cautious.

You won't use this shape often, as there are more comfortable fingerings available, but it's still good to know.

Finally, if you begin the scale with your little finger, you'll use the pattern shown below.

Note that you'll need to shift your left hand when you reach the 1st string.

Once you've mastered the Major Scale in one-octave patterns, you can connect all the shapes to play across all the strings, covering multiple octaves.

Below are some common patterns—try to recognize the one-octave patterns you've just learned!

If you're familiar with the CAGED system, try to identify the CAGED shapes within these patterns.

The following pattern is the most commonly used C Major Scale shape.

Your left hand can remain in position, with each fret assigned to one finger.

This pattern features three notes per string, making it very useful for legato or alternate picking.

When using legato, you pick only the first note on each string and use hammer-ons for the remaining notes.

The symmetrical nature of this shape makes it ideal for this playing style.

The same principle applies to alternate picking: having the same number of notes on each string makes the up-down-up-down stroke movement smooth and consistent.

In the next pattern, we shift the left hand up or down when playing on the D string:

Here, we shift the left hand when playing on the G string:

This shape starts with the little finger on the 8th fret of the 6th string; the left hand can stay in position, with a slight stretch needed to play the B note on the D string.

In this fingering, once you reach the high E string, you'll shift your left hand along this string:

This is another three-notes-per-string pattern, with the root on the 5th string.

Did you spot the one-octave patterns we've just learned?

A pattern that uses some open strings:

For more guitar scale diagrams, check out my complete ebook Scales Over Chords.

Below, you'll find the notes of the Major Scale in all keys. Use this chart to check your music theory exercises.

I hope this tutorial has clarified the importance of learning the Major Scale on your guitar.

As you've hopefully understood, the guitar offers multiple options for playing the same notes, which can make things seem more complex.

By breaking down the fretboard layout into small, manageable one-octave patterns and then connecting them, you can master the entire fretboard.

In this tutorial, we've focused on playing the C Major Scale.

To play the Major Scale in another key, simply move the patterns up or down the neck to match the new root note.

For example, to play the D Major Scale, shift all these patterns two frets up (as there are two semitones between C and D).

Want to play the A Major Scale? Shift the patterns three frets down.

Another example: the G Major Scale has its root on the 3rd fret of the low E string.

Once you have these shapes down, you can start experimenting with other fingering types, such as two notes per string.

To learn more about playing scales on guitar, request your free access to the download area, where you'll find a handy PDF with many fretboard patterns for different types of scales.