How to Learn Scales Easier

[ShredEternal]

Scales are a boundary all guitarists will face sooner or later, for me it was only in the last 3 years that I fully learned to understand them. They can seem to be a mystery filled with magic and wonder. Church modes, Exotics, Pentatonics ect. are what they have been named, but the basis for learning and applying are the same.

Here is the pentatonic minor scale in G: Intervals: 1G m3Bb 4C 5D 7F
First Position:(tonic) Fourth Postion:(fifth)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 11 12 13
E|--|--|--|-o|--|--|-o| E|--|-o|--|--|-o|
B|--|--|--|-o|--|--|-o| B|--|--|-o|--|-o|
G|--|--|--|-o|--|-o|--| G|--|-o|--|-o|--|
D|--|--|--|-o|--|-o|--| D|--|-o|--|-o|--|
A|--|--|--|-o|--|-o|--| A|--|-o|--|--|-o|
E|--|--|--|-o|--|--|-o| E|--|-o|--|--|-o|

Now, this is probably the most common scale in rock and country. The first thing you need to know is intervals. I use the diatonic scale to show the relation, see it has seven notes, and here we only have five: the tonic, m3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th. The tonic is the first note in the scale, in this case 'G'.
The positions are decided by how far from the tonic it is, and as you can see, the fourth position starts with the 5th, which is the fourth note away from the tonic in the scale. Since this is a minor scale, it has a minor 3rd. Lets hear it with a major third, which would change its name to a Dominant Pentatonic:

Intervals: 1G 3B 4C 5D 7F
First Position:(tonic)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
E|--|--|--|-o|--|--|--|-o|
B|--|--|--|-o|--|--|-o|--|
G|--|--|--|--|-o|-o|--|--|
D|--|--|--|-o|--|-o|--|--|
A|--|--|--|-o|--|-o|--|--|
E|--|--|--|-o|--|--|--|-o|

Listen to the change in tonality, it suddenly is completely different because of one note change! The reason it is called Dominant is because of the 7th, if it had a maj.7th it would again completely be changed.
But enough about pentatonics, lets tackle some diatonic scales. This is where things get beautiful. First and foremost, your fingers need to be strong and stretched to fully be able to play these, since I am presenting them 3 notes per string.

Here is the almighty Diatonic major scale, or Ionian in A:
Intervals: 1A 2B 3C# 4D 5E 6F# 7G#

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
E|--|--|--|-o|--|-o|-o|--|
B|--|--|--|-o|--|-o|-o|--|
G|--|--|-o|-o|--|-o|--|--|
D|--|--|-o|-o|--|-o|--|--|
A|--|-o|--|-o|--|-o|--|--|
E|--|-o|--|-o|--|-o|--|--|

Okay, with this scale, positions have different names. In this key(A)
we have B Dorian, C# Phrygian, D Lydian, E Mixolydian, F# Aeolian and G# Locrian. These are the Church modes named in ancient Greece and used in almost all music since and before they were named. Any one of these scales can be used with the other if you understand intervals and postions, to see diagrams I suggest the scale section on this site. Here are the names and the corresponding intervals:
1:Ionian 1 2 3 4 5 6 maj.7
2:Dorian 1 2 m3 4 5 6 7
3:Phrygian 1 b2 m3 4 5 b6 7
4:Lydian 1 2 3 #4 5 6 maj.7
5:Mixolydian 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6:Aeolian 1 2 m3 4 5 b6 7
7:Locrian 1 b2 m3 4 b5 b6 7

There are other ways of using these basic scales. Here is a bluesy lick using F# minor pentatonic and F# Mixolydian (ala Stevey Ray Vaughn):

E|------2----------------|----------------7b^9-9-9r7p6---|
G|-5b^6---5p2------------|-------5---5-7~--------------7~|
B|------------4~-----2---|-3-4/6---6---------------------|
D|---------------2-4---4-|-------------------------------|
A|-----------------------|-------------------------------|
E|-----------------------|-------------------------------|

I hope this will help someone! Have fun!