12 bar blues scale?

[tuckerman]

I'm new and I did a search but could not find anything. Anyway my grandfather gave me his Mandolin in August and I stared to try and teach myself. That was ok but I just started to take lessons with an old dood down the road. I'm to practice a 12 bar blues scale in different notes. Here is where I have some trouble a G note as opposed to a G chord is throwing me for a loop. Is the G note the 2nd fret of the G string? And how about a G7 is that one fret back???

[tuckerman]

Should this be in the tips, and tricks area?

[ApK]

Yes, this is a theory question and would probably get more attention in that area. You would be well served by reading over some very basic music theory. It would literallly only take minutes of reading, if you start from the very beginning, to have the foundation knowledge that would let you clearly understand the answers to your questions.
I'm sure others will point you to great primers. Take advantage of them!

The actually answers to your questions won't help you much because you are missing some fundamental concepts, but here they are:
The G note is the open G string, no frets. That's why it's called a the G string. (it's also other places on the fretboard as well.)

G7 is a chord (a combination of notes) , not a note.

You are probably meant to learn the 12-bar blues CHORD PROGRESSION in several different KEYS.
There are indeed scales that work well with the 12 bar blues, but 12-bar blues refers to the chord progression, not the scales.

Good luck...it really is much clearer and simpler once you understand the basics!

ApK

[Doug Hoople]

This should actually be in the Music Theory section.

You're actually looking at four different things, Tuckerman, and welcome to the lifetime of learning that we call music theory!

It starts out very confusing, becomes much more confusing still as you delve further into it, and starts to become clear and simple when you emerge on the other side!

You're working with 4 different concepts, 1) notes, 2) scales, 3) chords, and 4) chord progressions.

Chord progressions are a series of chords.

Chords are groupings of notes that sound together simultaneously, and are usually based on scales.

Scales are collections of notes that make a pallette to choose from in making music.

And notes are, well... notes.

Your 12-bar blues is a chord progression.

Your blues scale is a collection of notes, and if you stick to mostly those notes, you'll have good choices for sounding bluesy.

Your G7 chord is made up of 4 notes, and your G note is one of those 4 notes.

If you pick the two fattest strings on the mandolin, that's a G note. There are other G notes on the mandolin, but this one will do for now.

If you fret the 1st fret on the thinnest pair of strings, and the 2nd fret of the next pair over, and leave the two fattest pairs open, and strum all four notes, that's a G7 chord.

That's probably too much information, and not nearly enough, all at the same time.

Like I said, its a lifetime of learning. Not to worry... the really hard part will be over in a year or two, or even just a couple of months if you're really determined.

But it's a lot to take in for your first bite, so be patient, and enjoy the journey!

[John Flynn]

A "G" note would be the open note on the 4th or G strings (the heaviest string pair, which is closest to you when you play), the 5th fret on the 3rd "D" strings, the 10th fret on the 2nd "A" strings and the 3rd fret on the 1st or "E" strings. A G7 chord is a G major chord with the root of G, with a 7th note added. The notes would be G-B-D-F, although they don't have to be in that order. The easiest way to play it is 0-0-2-1, meaning open G and D strings, second fret on the A with your middle finger, first fret on E with your index finger.

[tuckerman]

This should actually be in the Music Theory

I post it there thanks.

[pickloser]

moved reply to where he moved the question.