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Zack Uidl
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Zack Uidl is a professional guitarist, instructor and composer. |
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A minor blues scale box shapes for 8 string guitar
The manufacturers recommended tuning for an eight string guitar is F# B E A D G B E - which is designed to allow power chords (F#5, G5, A5 etc.) to be played on the 8th and 7th string pair. As the F# on the eighth string is the same pitch as the note on E string of a 4-string bass at fret 2 the results can be pretty dire and you will definitely be stepping on the bass players toes. So why not tune up a further semi-tone (half-step) to G?
Tuning to G has the advantage that strings 8, 7 and 6 (G, B, E) will now all be exactly two octaves lower than strings 3, 2 and 1 (G, B, E) - plus all the scales, arpeggios and chords located on strings 1, 2 and 3 will now be directly transferrable onto strings 6, 7 and 8 respectively.
The other alternative tuning for an 8-string B E A D G B E A - where you have a 6-string guitar with an extra treble string tuned to A and an extra bass string tuned to B - has the disadvantage that the 8 string cannot be played as a standard guitar for chords using only strings 1 to 6. The reason being is that the high A string throws a spanner in the works. Hence the CAGED octaves recommended tuning for an 8-string guitar is as follows:-
String No. |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
Tuning |
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E |
B |
G |
D |
A |
E |
B |
G |
The disguised CAGED octaves method for the A minor blues scale on 8-string guitar now follows:-
The 8-string guitar CAGED octaves sequence is shown for A natural in the diagram that follows:-
The diagram that follows shows all of the A minor blues scale notes plotted over the 8-string guitar's fretboard in the CAGED octaves style:-
NOTE:- The GuitarPro6 fingerboard shows E♭'s enharmonic equivalent spelling D# (the augmented fourth interval name rather than the diminished fifth used elsewhere on this page).
As always a more long term solution to fretboard navigation is to see scales/arpeggios as INTERVAL shapes rather than note names - as these are universal to all scales, arpeggios and chords rather than specific to one particular root note - with this in mind the intervals for the A minor blues scale are detailed below for the
8-string guitar in the CAGED octaves manner:-
The table and tabbed panel below details all five box shapes for the A minor blues scale for the
8-string guitar in the CAGED octaves style.
8-string guitar A minor blues scale box shapes
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- 8Zm5Zm3
- 8Zm6Zm3Zm1
- 6Zm4Zm1
- 7Zm4Zm2
- 7Zm5Zm2
- 8Zm5Zm3 at 12
- 8Zm5Zm3
- 8Zm6Zm3Zm1
- 6Zm4Zm1
- 7Zm4Zm2
- 7Zm5Zm2
- 8Zm5Zm3 at 12
Once the individual box shapes have been assimilated all five shapes should be linked together and played in one continuous exercise (with the first shape - 8Zm5Zm3 - being repeated at the 12th fret). The video shown to the right demonstrates the CAGED octaves chain-linked sequence for the A minor blues scale box shapes. |
The complete TAB for the previous exercise follows:-
The box shapes for the previous exercise follow:-
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Disillusion Theory ..............Zon Brookes |
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