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Q: Hey guys. I hear famous guitarists time and time again talk about scales. Some people say that you don’t need to know all the scales, you just have to know a few scales really well; some say the opposite. My question was, what scales do you believe are most important to master across the fretboard in order to improvise play better?

A: I would say that it depends on what your goals as a guitarist are and what sort of music you would like to play. If you want to be a jazz master, than having an extensive knowledge of every possible scale and mode is pretty important. If you want to play in a commercial group and sell tons of records, then you really only need to know a few scales well (all major and the pentatonic). Or, if you are into unorthodox music, then learn a bunch of exotic scales. I would say that it is more important to learn the basic theory behind the scales and modes than to learn the scales themselves. If you know the rules of construction and the notes on the guitar well, then you can just create scales at will to suit your needs when improvising or soloing. This also goes for writing music (chord progressions, melodies).

In my opinion, and I speak from a commercial point of view, the most important scales are the major (and its modes, especially natural minor) and the pentatonic. Most scales are derived from major anyways. I’ve sold a ton of songs using these simple scales and a whopping zero every time I’ve tried using anything else. This goes for chord progressions, solos, vocal melodies, about everything else derived from them. Other guitarist’s may have different experiences. So, I would say that the most useful scales for you to need to know, inside and out, are these. If you can command the major scale and its modes, you will have a very solid foundation.