3 on a String Scales Guitar Lesson
3 on a String Scales
Chris Liepe starts off his Rock Essentials series with a lesson on 3 on a string scales. Utilizing 3, 4, and 6 note sequencing, Chris begins to dive into instrumental rock style phrasing and provides several licks influenced by the 3 on a string concept.
Taught by Chris Liepe in Rock Guitar with Chris Liepe seriesLength: 37:00Difficulty: 3.5 of 5
Supplemental Learning Material
Rock Guitar with Chris Liepe
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsInstrumental Rock carries with it many creative aspects both in writing and playing. By the end of this series, Chris will have covered almost everything you will need to know to create and play your very own melodic instrumental rock piece, with emotion!
Lesson 1
Rock Essentials Introduction
Chris Liepe introduces his Phase 2 Rock Essentials lesson series. By highlighting specific instrumental rock styles and techniques, Chris will help you become a more melodically creative player.
Length: 3:57 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
3 on a String Scales
Chris Liepe starts off his Rock Essentials series with a lesson on 3 on a string scales. Utilizing 3, 4, and 6 note sequencing, Chris begins to dive into instrumental rock style phrasing and provides several...
Length: 37:00 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Pentatonic Scales, Sequencing, and Lick Ideas
Chris introduces the pentatonic scales as well as some of their basic applications.
Length: 19:35 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Chord Numbering
Chris Liepe takes some time to explain chord numbering. Understanding how chords are built will only help in your overall knowledge of the guitar.
Length: 16:25 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
The CAGED System
Chris breaks down the CAGED system and its chord chemistry. He covers both major and minor chord forms.
Length: 35:06 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Sweep Picking
Chris digs into the sweep picking technique. He uses the C, A, and E forms introduced in the previous lesson to help with finger synchronization.
Length: 27:15 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Introduction to Modes
Chris moves on to the subject of modes. He explains where modes come from, how they sound, and how they are used.
Length: 30:04 Difficulty: 4.0 Members Only
Modal Pentatonic Scales
This lesson demonstrates how to modify the old trusty 5th fret A minor pentatonic position to make it sound modal.
Length: 10:30 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Modal Chord Progressions
How do you know which mode to use? There are giveaways with every chord progression, and Chris covers them in this lesson.
Length: 17:12 Difficulty: 4.0 Members Only
Complete Major / Minor Scale Using Penatonic Scales
Chris demonstrates how to complete the major and minor scale by using pentatonic positions based on the roots of the I, IV, and V chords.
Length: 14:52 Difficulty: 4.5 Members Only
Melodic Development
Chris Liepe utilizes everything he has taught in the series so far to demonstrate how to create catchy lead lines over a backing track.
Length: 15:30 Difficulty: 4.0 Members Only
Implied Tonalities
Chris Liepe delves into the world of implied tonalities. This lesson details how a single arpeggio can be implied over various chordal sounds.
Length: 25:40 Difficulty: 4.0 Members Only
Series Introduction Solo Lesson (Composed Soloing)
Chris teaches the solo that was used in the introduction lesson for this series. He uses the solo as an example of how to effectively compose your own solos.
Length: 22:09 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
2 Hand Tapping
It's time to give the right hand hand some work with two hand tapping on the guitar neck.
Length: 31:26 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Thoughts on Practice
With so much material out there, what should you focus on? How much time do you spend on a certain topic? How do you progress? How do you measure progress? Chris covers all of these topics in this lesson.
Length: 17:16 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
Get to Know Chris Liepe
Chris Liepe offers up some insight into his past. Hopefully this lesson will help you further your own goals as a guitarist.
Length: 11:42 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
About Chris Liepe
View Full Biography
Chris Liepe was born on September 17th, 1981 in Portland OR. His first instrument was piano which he pursued until discovering his love for the electric guitar in high school. He became fans of such groups as Soundgarden, Collective Soul and U2 inspiring him to start singing, songwriting and helping others in their musical endeavors with teaching, co-writing and album production.
Having moved to Colorado with his family, he began gigging, recording and teaching in a number of music stores as well as out of his apartment until deciding to pursue music full time. He moved to Denver, CO to complete a Bachelors in Music Technology and was then hired on by Sweetwater Productions, a division of Sweetwater Sound and one of the largest, most successful recording studios in the Midwest.
Chris spent nearly 4 years at Sweetwater as a producer, recording engineer, studio musician and writer. During this time he had the privilege of working with many artists including Augustana, Landon Pigg, Jars of Clay, and Mercy Me. He also wrote for and played on numerous independent albums and hundreds of radio/TV commercials.
Wanting to get back to his favorite State in the world (Colorado) and feeling the urge to 'go freelance', Chris moved to Greeley, CO and opened his own recording and teaching studio. He continues to write and produce music for artists and agencies and is happy to be among the proud JamPlay.com instructors.
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Member Comments about this Lesson
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Hi chris and fellow students, just wondering if it is of any benifit when we are working our way up or down the neck like in this lesson, and say we are in the key of G, to emphasise on our key note or root when we approach it by picking it twice or resting on it briefly, this feels natural for me and helps me remember where the notes are, should i be doing this chris? or should i just be working on memorizing these paterns first.
Hi chris and fellow students, just wondering if it is of any benifit when we are working our way up or down the neck like in this lesson, and say we are in the key of G, to emphasise on our key note or root when we approach it by picking it twice or resting on it briefly, this feels natural for me and helps me remember where the notes are, should i be doing this chris? or should i just be working on memorizing these paterns first.
Hi There Chris. Do you have the Guitar Pro tab files for your sessions. I have a Fretlight guitar that lights up the fret board and would love to get the tabs to help me even more. I could type it all up my self but if you have the files it would save me a lot of time. Kiond Regards.
Ouch! I'm new to guitar and I'm having a heck of a time making the stretch from fret 3 to 7 without moving my hand. Is this a common problem? Do you have any suggestions for increasing my finger span? Thanks and great lesson.
ive been spending much on the CAGE system lead and can play them decently up and down the fretboard. how does this scale relate to the cage lead scales? i'm trying to see some similarity so i can figure this out faster but i cant, so i guess these are two different animals so to speak.
these scales are just a different way of approaching the same thing. The CAGED scales follow basic chord shapes, where as these use the 3/string way of doing things. Both are great to know and serve slightly different purposes for phrasing and lead ideas
hey chris! great lesson! i understand how these shapes are movable if u use a different scale, but what do u do with a scale whose root is on the 5th string? for example a scale in the key of D major. on the 6th root its the 10th fret so theres not enough room to do the full shape. what then?
If the root is on the 5th string and there is no root on the 6th string, the scale can still be moved and you are still playing the whole position if you play all the strings. More clearly stated (hopefully) you'd still play notes in the given scale on strings below the string containing the lowest root. I just released new lessons on Major scales talking specifically about position playing. They are in my phase 1 series and I believe are still on the "recent news" feed. Let me know if you have any other questions!
thanx for helping but what I'm really asking is how i can take all 8 shapes that u gave us for G and use it for lets say B. theres not enough room on the fretboard to go so far. what then? also, if i were to start on the A string then i don't hav enough strings to do the shapes because u use all 6. what should i do there too?
Hi Chris This lesson is going well, but I am having trouble with the alternate picking. What I seem to do (on the 3 on a string scale) is on the way up, I pick the 1st and 3rd note on each string with a down stroke, and on the way back I seem to pick the 1st and 3rd note with an up stroke. My brain is telling me that it is quicker to get to the next string if the pick is going in the right direction. Why is this a bad thing ?. Tony
yeah, thats natural. Keep it slow, and it will start to feel more comfortable as you do it more. You're struggling with the age-old: outside vs. inside picking deal. If you want, in my phase 1, I have a lesson dedicated to alternate picking. It may be of some help to you. It offers some basic drills to help make this stuff feel a little easier.
I've been doing these daily for about 6 months now -- it really impresses everyone I know :) even some veteran guitar players who "never learned that stuff" !? surprised me.. one had me get him started on it and he's working it everyday now too.. lots of fun, great stuff. i'm working your other lessons too, but wanted to take a moment and say, thanks chris!
The exercise sequences are really great for practicing these scale shapes in a musical context, especially over the backing tracks. I've also found it useful to pick 2 adjacent strings and run up and down the neck in a given key. The legato lick is a lot of fun to play, but it can be a bit of a workout!
hehe, yes! be careful!
ok, so here's my simple and maybe a little dumb question, and im willing to hang my head in shame if im missing something obvious. The example you play in the 4 note per string sequence is in 16th notes, but the jam track grooves at a steady quarter note. i've played the violin for over 10 years and im going on year 3 of self taught guitar, and i've always had this same problem. it's sooo hard for me to sub divide in my head, eighth notes i can do, but 16ths just won't come to me. i always end up cranking up my metronome to like 240 bpm and then setting it to click on the eighth notes too when im trying to do 16ths at 120bpm. i was wondering if you could point me towards some lessons or ideas to help me improve on this. I love your teaching style and it seems that every time i go to a lesson series that interests me your the instructor. You make great lessons. the reason this question appears here is because i listened to you play through the jam track and then went down to give it a try and i just got lost when i tried to go faster than 8th note divisions
good questions! I have struggled with this too. For help on subdividing, check out my phase 1 series. I have a lesson that is completely dedicated to beat subdividing. It is presented from the angle of strumming, but once you are able to get the feel of what it's like to properly subdivide at different tempos a little better, you can feel more comfortable with the stuff in this lesson. hope this helps! let me know if you have any more questions!
Thanks Chris! I'll go check it out ASAP. It's that 3rd beat in every measure, it always seems to beep a 16th too soon! But I'm almost there. I've been stuck on this lesson for weeks now, but I'm loving every minute of it. It's forced me to polish up on keeping things clean with my palm and really work on my timing. But best of all, it's gotten me out of the proverbial "stuck to the positions" rut. Really a great lesson, and I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the series.
im new to jamplay so sorry bout the long question and the unexplained double post, so just disregard most of that, i think the easiest way to help me and still stay in the context of lesson would be for me to ask, how long are you holding the slides, is it just for that 3-e-&-a and you start going back down and the 4-e-&-a or do you just hold long enough and start doing back down on the 1-e-&-a
as you transition from each position, the "slide" i think you are referring to is is held as a quarter note.
ok, so here's my simple and maybe a little dumb question, and im willing to hang my head in shame if im missing something obvious. The example you play in the 4 note per string sequence is in 16th notes, but the jam track grooves at a steady quarter note. i've played the violin for over 10 years and im going on year 3 of self taught guitar, and i've always had this same problem. it's sooo hard for me to sub divide in my head, eighth notes i can do, but 16ths just won't come to me. i always end up cranking up my metronome to like 240 bpm and then setting it to click on the eighth notes too when im trying to do 16ths at 120bpm. i was wondering if you could point me towards some lessons or ideas to help me improve on this. I love your teaching style and it seems that every time i go to a lesson series that interests me your the instructor. You make great lessons. the reason this question appears here is because i listened to you play through the jam track and then went down to give it a try and i just got lost when i tried to go faster than 8th note divisions
wow really wow-such really good stuff-glad your here
This is a question rather than a comment. Is the primary purpose of approaching the major scale from each of the key's degrees (rather than say just learning 5 patterns) to set us up for better understanding application of modes? I'm trying to understand why the fretboard often gets divided up differently.
thats partially why, but the main benefit learning the positions from each scale degree is that you know how to play any major scale ANYWHERE on the neck. This will help with modes down the road also, but even when you're not playing especially modally, you'll notice a great deal of freedom once you've committed these patterns to memory and are regularly applying them in your playing.
First off, thanks for the prompt response! This is probably a dumb follow-up, but are these shapes all interchangeable at a given scale degree? For example, suppose I'm in A. The second scale degree of A would be B. I would use the same second pattern you used in the G example (the one at A) except now I would be playing it at the B, 7th fret?
sounds like you understand the application perfectly! Feel free to stop by my live chats sometime if you haven't already!
Dude, you have helped me so much after just watching a small amount of time, thankyou
you are welcome!
could you add the tabs for this lesson
check the supplemental content tab. Its all there
Hey, chris, great lesson, i was really impressed when i suddenly got comfortable with theese shapes, playing with them on jamtracks in G major. Now im trying to sound out three on a string scales minor style.
great lesson!!!!!!!!
Chris, is the Legato Exercised tabbed out? I see the Satriani-Like Legato lick under Supplemental Content but I don't see the Legato exercise you teach in scene 5? By the way, amazing lesson set. I play mostly metal and was skeptical when I saw Instrumental Rock. Boy was I wrong. It has taken me a couple of weeks just to work through the 16th note and triplet exercises. Already my play has drastically improved.
Disregard my question about tabbing out the Legato exercise. Pretty straight forward using the 3 on a string scales already tabbed out. Exercise is killing my fingers, especially descending the scale from high e to low E.
glad you're enjoying the series! The exercises are tabbed out under "16th note ex" in the supp content.
I can't seem to get myself to start a string picking up. I alternate pick each string but I start each with a downstroke :/
it's good to be able to do what you are describing too. When it comes to alternate picking, the slower the better if you're dealing with not being able to switch strings without getting tripped up
Excellent lesson Chris!!! Metal Mike of Guitar world did something similar to your 4 note playing using the pentatonic scale!!
Hey Chris, this is my first time on Jamplay but as an intermediate player this stuff is awesome! I'm already familiar with all 5 positions the major scale so I can definitely recognize those. Really nice that the backing track are accompanied with this lessons in all sorts of tempos/keys. Really need to get practicing! Thanks
i can't print out the jimmy-page like sequence.....when i click on it to view print its blank???
Chris, I have been skirting this stuff for years. I can feel an improvement already and haven't even touched the sequences yet. This will keep me trucking for months to come. Thanks for the great lesson. I look forward to more. Alan
I'm glad Alan! Yes, I still use this stuff every day of my practicing and it keeps the dexterity up and is pretty musical.
are these scales tabbed out. i think im missing some of the supplemental content.
yep, they are under the supplemental content tab labeled "3-on-a-string scales"
Been skirting the doe ray me scale for years, tks for expanding the full length of the neck.
by the way.this scale is movable right?
this is what i've been looking for....thanks chris.
love the backing track im down on sequences but this is a very helpful way to practise anyway. Shifting in notes per beat and scales positions makes this awesome. Good work Chris, Really..
Hi Chris....I over reacted, i sat down and tried these again and it magically got easier. Your enthusiasm for teaching makes it more fun to learn, so thanks. Really looking forward to the rest of the series
ha! good! Yeah, these exercises offer a surprisingly fast reward if you're consistent with them. Practice phrasing ideas over the multiple tempo backing tracks provided. It really helps create a musical context right from the very beginning!
Thanks for going to the trouble of setting up all the backing tracks with the different tempos and keys. Like a metronome with music. Great idea! A much more enjoyable and useful way to learn. BTW, I'm still waiting for the next Pro Tools article in your home recording series. I found those articles very helpful as a novice trying to figure it all out. But, then, the articles just stopped. Will they ever resume? Jason Mounce had some good articles as well and his articles just stopped coming as well. Did Pro Tools politely tell you to cease and desist or was there some other reason why the articles all of a sudden stopped?
You are welcome! We haven't forgotten about the recording stuff. There is actually a video series scheduled that will be dealing with mic and recording techniques. Good to know that you enjoyed the Pro Tools specific stuff though. I had taken a break from that series while the transition was happening from Pro Tools 8 to 9 because I didn't want to write anything that would be out-dated or 'wrong' once everyone switched to 9. Maybe it's time for another one soon!
Great lesson.....please slow down though, this lesson alone will take me 2 months to get down
There is a lot to work on here! Not every lesson in this series will have this much to play and learn. Take it slow, make these sequences part of your daily practice and you'll be amazed at how quickly they come. Also, you won't have to "get these down" before moving on to the next lesson. You can be working on refining your technique and understanding as you are moving forward in the series. Thanks for all the great Q&A ??'s too!! It's been fun having you in the sessions!
great first lesson chris!!!!.......i love the way you teach.....really looking forward to this series