Fake Major Scale – mastering the melodic

The Fake Major Scale, (traditionally referred to as a Major Pentatonic, or Country Scale) is an amazing trick to know.

I am pretty much a self-taught guitarist, however I did take lessons for a few months when I was first starting out. After all these years – I still use this simple tip/scale that my first guitar teacher taught me.

Look at the Blues scale in A which we already learned.

Fake Major Scale Ex 1 Blues for comparison
This scale works with A minor (Am) chord progressions. Note that its Root Note (A) is highlighted in Red.

Now look at the Fake Major Scale in A

Fake Major Scale Ex 2
This works with A major chord progressions. Notice the shape is the same as example 1, but it’s been moved down three frets. Its root is also the 5th fret (in red).

So the trick is:

By moving the blues scale down three frets, it becomes a Fake Major scale and gives it a completely different sound. More uplifting. More positive. Less bluesy.

Where and When to Use it

It’s a simple matter of finding the root of the song or major chord progression you want to solo over. Then starting the blues scale 3 steps lower. Now that’s Majorly cool, right? 🙂

TRY THIS

  • Practice playing the fake major scale over an A Major chord, or chord progression.
  • While soloing in a major key, experiment by starting with the Fake Major scale. Then, occasionally drop back in on the blues scale for a riff. Then once again back to the fake scale. It creates some nice tension and adds flavor to your solos. And who doesn’t want more flavor?… yum! 🙂

TIP 1: You can use this scale shape with all 5 of the blues positions.

TIP 2: You can create some pretty cool country licks using this same scale.

Disclaimer: Before any of you theory purists out their raise an eyebrow and send me hate-emails let me mention the following. Technically speaking the Blues Scale in A is called “A Minor pentatonic”. But the same scale can also be called a C Major pentatonic. It’s a matter of the context in which the scale shape is used. Students who want to study theory on a deeper level should use those terms in the search to learn more. My first guitar teacher called it a “Fake Major Scale”, and that’s still what I call it to this day. 😉

So whether you call it a major pentatonic, a fake major scale, or a country scale, g’wan – give’r a try!
-Tommy