# Learning musical scales **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learning-musical-scales/720174 "2015-05-16T14:11:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learning-musical-scales/720174/21 "2015-05-17T13:41:48Z")
Ah - here it is: [Guitarists - How do you Approach Your Solos? - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=461624) ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learning-musical-scales/720174/22 "2015-05-18T02:30:28Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > Thanks everyone for the advice and info. I’ve considered getting Rocksmith but I am seeing progression as I’m going. I just wanted to put a plug in for Rocksmith 2014.ive had it for about a year now and it tells me I’ve played about 500 hours worth. It has some great features and allows you to jump right into a song starting with some single notes. The feeling that you are actually playing along and doing well at the easier levels really helps with the confidence and with finding the groove as **Wordman** mentioned in the linked thread. There is also a session mode that allows you to improvise with a backing band. I’ve not used it much but I’ve seen other musicians say it is the best part of the game. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learning-musical-scales/720174/23 "2015-05-18T04:37:28Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Yeah, this really is the way. > > **velomont** - are you really focused on learning leads first? How come? To be clear: a lot of folks do it that way, and if it is working for you, go for it. From my POV, I have always focused on rhythm work first: I could sell the song, play stuff that sounded “more complete”; and by focusing on the rhythm, I could slip in lead fills here and there, and use that as my way to learn and build out my improv capabilities. > > Again - not looking to make you change; just thinking about learning. There was a thread a few years ago on how to approach leads. I laid out my approach to it. I agree it makes sense to focus first on rhythm. Local bands are always looking for a solid rhythm player. There’s so many people that focus on lead. That’s ok. Especially for the people that enjoy Rocksmith. Whatever works and gets people practicing. I prefer focusing old school on rhythm, chord progressions, and strumming songs. There’s a lot of song tutorials on youtube. I use Justin Guitar Song’s, youtube channel, because I know he teaches’ transcription and his tabs are very accurate. Some guys on youtube are teaching from some pretty questionable tabs. I wonder about somebody that grabs a unknown tab off the web and does a tutorial from it. It’s better to find somebody with the skills to actually transcribe directly from the original recording. Don’t forget to organize a practice schedule. Break it down into short 5 or 10 minute drills. It really helps. I may be tired and not in the mood to practice. But, I can still motivate myself to put in 10 minutes really concentrating on a drill. Do that four times a day and that’s 40 solid minutes of focused practice on just one thing. I’m working now on getting a song up to speed that I’ve learned. I can play it through slowly with a few stupid errors. I’m working with the metronome and gradually building speed with 10 min drills four to five times a day. Eventually it will be error free and up to performing speed. A very basic theory book is essential. Barrett Tagliarino wrote a very good one. I’ve bought three of his books and really like his teaching style. [Music Theory: A Practical Guide for All Musicians](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1423401778/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) David Mead’s books are must haves for anybody learning guitar. Especially these two. He has a full chapter on organizing practice and drills in his 10 min workout book. The rhythm book is geared towards reading and understanding rhythm notation. If found the audio examples extremely helpful in understanding 1/8 notes, 1/16 notes etc. [10 Minute Acoustic Guitar Workout"]10 Minute Acoustic Guitar Workout]([Amazon.com: 10 Minute Acoustic Guitar Workout: 9781846094972: Mead, David: Books](http://www.amazon.com/10-Minute-Acoustic-Guitar-Workout/dp/1846094976/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)) [Rhythm: A Step by Step Guide to Understanding Rhythm for Guitar](http://www.amazon.com/Rhythm-Step-Guide-Understanding-Guitar/dp/1860741983/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learning-musical-scales/720174.md?page=1)