At first glance, it may seem like a daunting task. We’re all used to learning a whole bunch of chords when we’re about to start learning a new instrument, and this can be a real drag. So how many chords is it really possible to learn in the span of a few years?
The easiest answer is, there’s no way to tell. Most people don’t know how many chords they want to learn – and some of them are completely impossible.
The most important question to ask is, how many scales should I learn before working on a specific musical idea?
There is more to learning scales than learning the basic shapes in a given scale (although you can do that without knowing these shapes) – and the more you learn, the easier it will get so you may as well start as soon as possible.
When you learn a new scale, you don’t learn the key of the scale; instead you learn the most common shapes that are used in that scale.
For example, if you’re just learning a scale, you don’t learn the root note or the octave – you learn the scale’s major and minor dominant chords.
Knowing the notes of a scale also allows you to know when you can practice a scale with different intervals and how to play them – thus helping you learn scales by ear (see below).
And speaking of scales which are important, many of them you’ll hear used in the music you hear, so being able to think of them is a key factor in learning.
There are hundreds – and probably thousands – of scales out there, and none of them could be included below anyway, especially since you wouldn’t have many of them to keep track of.
We’ll start off with a few which you usually see, in order to help you start to learn other scales too.
Basic shapes
If you’re a beginner, it’s good to start playing some chord shapes with two different pitches – either as the key of them (which is the most important thing you can do with music), or with the same key (where the basic shapes can help you see what notes and chords you’re on).
The basic shapes for chords are listed here and can help you visualize the major and minor scales, as well as the intervals between them.
Most of us have a bunch of scales in our heads already, but don’t practice playing them all; for example, playing scales in the key of C major
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