One of the challenges of playing the guitar is creating ringing melodic lines with adjacent notes in the scale, because hitting a note and then fretting a note above or below on the same string immediately dampens the previous note. Floating (or “floaty”) scale patterns and melodies combine fretted notes with ringing open strings to create a more legato sound reminiscent of melodic three-finger banjo style. In most instances, this involves playing notes that are above the open string in pitch, but played on the higher frets of strings below the ringing open string. Although this approach is initially counterintuitive and will require some unfamiliar shifts on the fingerboard, it offers some fresh sonic opportunities. In this lesson, Grant demonstrates some floating scale patterns in the keys of D, G, G Mixolydian, and E that open up the guitar in enchanting new ways. In this video, Grant shows you a floating extended D-major scale, starting with a low F# on the low E string and ascending to the F# on the B string.
