Memorize Diatonic Scales

[Earl]

Let's say you're playing a gig without benefit of sheet music. I've found that memorizing diatonic scales helps your ear to recognize where you should go when you come across a key change. Get a mental picture of them on the fingerboard (Ex. How many places can you play the scale of C ?) Then, do this with the keys of G, D, A, E, B (sharp keys) and F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db (flat keys). This becomes a (beginning framework) for
visualizing the entire neck. Couple this with chord formulas and you're on
your way.

[Goofsus4]

Yes, and when I started learning scales and arpeggios, I got really overwhelmed. I got one of those "gig bag book" of arps. I flipped through it and there is, oh, 898093473 arps. I thought, "this is simply impossible." Then I realized that all you really need to do is pick one key and learn the arps for the most commonly used chords. Then, because of the unique layout of a guitar fretboard, you can just move those patterns to other keys. This is one of the greatest, if not THE greatest advantages of the guitar versus other instruments. Nowadays, I just learn new things in C and then transpose to other keys. Granted, this only applies to patterns, as the underlying notes actually do change, but that's another story. For me, understanding the intervals is the most important thing, and they stay the same when you shift keys.