Guitar Hacks 3NPS Scales

From the author of Hacking the CAGED System 

GUITAR HACKS 

3 N P S 

S C A L E S 

BY GRAHAM TIPPETT

Contents 

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2 

From 7 Patterns to 3 ............................................................................................................................... 3 

Perfect 3NPS Picking ............................................................................................................................... 7 

How to Practice Scales ............................................................................................................................ 9 

Scales Section ........................................................................................................................................ 10 

Major Scales ...................................................................................................................................... 10 

Lydian (1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7) ............................................................................................................. 10 

Mixolydian (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7) ..................................................................................................... 11 

Minor Scales ..................................................................................................................................... 12 

Aeolian/Natural Minor (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7) .............................................................................. 12 

Dorian (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7) .......................................................................................................... 13 

Phrygian (1, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7) ................................................................................................... 14 

Melodic Minor (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, 7) ............................................................................................... 15 

Harmonic Minor (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, 7) .......................................................................................... 16 

Other Useful Scales ............................................................................................................................... 17 

Locrian (1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7) ....................................................................................................... 17 

Hungarian Minor (1, 2, b3, #4, 5, b6, 7) ............................................................................................ 18 

Lydian b7 (1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, b7) .......................................................................................................... 19 

Mixolydian b6 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, b6, b7) .................................................................................................. 20 

Phrygian Dominant (1, b2, 3, 4, 5, b6, b7) ........................................................................................ 21 

What to Do Next ................................................................................................................................... 22 

More from Unlock the Guitar ............................................................................................................... 23 

www.unlocktheguitar.net

Introduction 

3NPS (three-note-per-string) scales, as used by legions of guitarists but popularized mainly by Joe 

Satriani, are one of the most efficient ways to navigate the fretboard and get your scales down IF you 

follow the guidelines in this book. 

As the name suggests, a 3NPS scale is any scale that contains three notes on each string, and as we 

shall soon see, this makes for a very consistent way to map out scales on the guitar fretboard. 

What we’ve done here is revamped the 3NPS scale system and turned it into an incredibly effective 

means to learn a wide variety of scales all over the fretboard by streamlining the number of patterns, 

as well as the picking system. 

This is not a scale theory book, and contains no pentatonic scales. This is a quick and dirty (and very 

effective) method for learning 3NPS scales all over the fretboard; something to work on in the 

woodshed. It will improve your picking technique and speed. It does not require a great amount of 

thinking as you only need to learn two picking patterns, which is really one in two directions, and 

only three scale patterns instead of the usual seven per scale. 

So, without further ado, let’s get stuck in! 

Matt 

www.unlocktheguitar.net 


From 7 Patterns to 3 

I love the 3NPS system, but not the way it’s normally taught. Seven patterns are way too many and 

life is too short. In fact, I’ve never heard a convincing reason for the seven patterns. If you find one, 

which isn’t the ‘one for each mode’ idea (a terrible way to learn modes), let me know. 

Let’s break it down and see if we can get rid of some of those patterns, as in my humble opinion 

learning scales using 7 patterns turns it into a technical exercise rather than learning how to 

improvise, or indeed learning what notes are available, and where they are on the fretboard. 

By reducing the number of patterns, things become more musical and less technical as we’re 

learning how to cover the whole fretboard instead of mindlessly running up and down scale patterns. 

We’re going to be starting all the scales in this book on F, but remember that every pattern is 

movable simply by shifting the whole thing to your desired root note (the note in red). 

Let’s look at the major scale first and use it to clarify which patterns stay and which patterns go. 

Position 1 

Position 1 is nice because it starts on the root note so your ear gets a feel for what scale you’re 

playing. This one’s a keeper because it covers a large portion of the fretboard. 

Position 2 

Position 2 is redundant because of the 18 notes it contains, 12 of them are already covered by 

position 1 so we can safely scrap this one. 


Position 3 

Position 3 shares only 6 notes with position 1 so this one’s a keeper. Two positions in and we’ve 

already covered 90% of the fretboard! 

Position 4 

Again, don’t bother with position 4 as it only gives us 6 new notes. We’ve already covered the other 

12, so this position is redundant. 

Position 5 

Position 5 gives us a few new notes but it’s nothing that isn’t covered by positions 3 and 6 so we’ll 

ditch this one too. 


Position 6 

Position 6 serves our purposes and includes the rest of the notes we’ll need to cover the whole 

fretboard in just 3 patterns instead of 7! 

Position 7 

Don’t even look at position 7; position 1 has got your back as it contains 12 notes from position 7. If 

you look again at Position 6, you’ll see that it slots nicely into the back of Position 1. 

So, there you have it. The only scale positions we really need to cover 99% of the fretboard in any 

key are as follows: 


As you can see, when you stack these positions, they slot together perfectly. These are the first three 

patterns I want you to learn. In the next chapter, we’ll look at picking technique and patterns. 


Perfect 3NPS Picking 

Of the two main picking techniques, alternate picking and economy picking, by far the best solution 

for 3NPS scales is economy picking. 

Economy picking means that when you go from a low string to a higher string, you always change 

strings on a downstroke (toward the floor), and then vice versa when going from a higher string to a 

lower string (toward the ceiling). Check out the diagrams: 

Start on a downstroke at the first fret of the E string, and simply remember to change strings on a 

downstroke. Take it real slow at first to get this down; speed will come naturally. Simply drag the 

pick to the next string almost like sweep/picking. When you come back down the pattern, simply 

reverse it and start on an upstroke as follows: 

Economy picking is more efficient here because we have an odd number of notes on each string. 

You’ll be pleased to know that the above picking pattern is used for all the shapes in this book. 

If we had an even number of notes, say two or even four, then alternate picking (strict down-updown-up) 

would be more efficient. If you’re used to alternate picking, try it on these 3NPS patterns. 

What you may find is that due to the odd number of notes, you’ll have to master picking inside and 

outside two strings – the very thing you want to avoid when alternate picking. 

If you haven’t come across economy picking, I’d encourage you to learn it as it has multiple benefits 

such as facilitating sweep picking, and building up picking speed. Once you digest the concept of 

always changing strings on either a downstroke or an upstroke according to your momentum, the 

technique quickly becomes second nature and you can start to build up speed at a much faster rate 


than you would with alternate picking. If you want to see how far this can go, check out Frank 

Gambale’s playing. 


How to Practice Scales 

I’d encourage you to practice these scales in the following ways: 

First, get the three patterns down. This simply means transferring them off the screen/paper and 

onto the fretboard and into your head. When you no longer need to refer to the diagrams, you’ve 

successfully done this. 

Next, I’d encourage you to start playing in all directions. Imagine the flag of Great Britain stamped on 

your fretboard, as in the crudely drawn diagram below, and force yourself to play in all directions: 

vertically, horizontally and diagonally. 

This will enable you to join up the three patterns (now imagine joining up seven patterns!) and open 

up the fretboard for when you go to improvise with these scales. 

It goes without saying that you should also move these patterns around the fretboard to other root 

notes. 

Changing between Scales 

Another essential practice technique is to run all the patterns in the same position; for example, 

choose 3 or so scales you want to practice and run the first position of each of these scales, then the 

second position and so on. 


Scales Section 

This section contains the nuts and bolts of this book: the three patterns for the most useful scales 

you can know on guitar, and which will have you covered in pretty much any situation where you 

need to improvise or come up with a solo. 

You may not realize it but 3NPS scales are incredibly ear-friendly. Why? Think about it, we have an 

equal number of notes per string, the same picking pattern on each string, and the same three core 

patterns for each scale. This means that the connection between your ear and your fingers is 

reinforced through the consistent application of 3NPS scales, meaning you’ll soon be able to play 

what you hear in your head as the notes will be where your fingers think they are. 

As we’re dealing with three core patterns, you’ll also be able to distinguish and change between 

scales more easily as it’s much easier to keep track of where the changes are. 

First, we’ll look at the most useful/important scales that you’ll come across is most of the music 

you’ll play, then we’ll add in a few of the most usable exotic scales to spice things up. 

Major Scales 

While the major scale is useful as a theoretical concept, it’s a little ‘vanilla’ as a practical one. What I 

mean by this is that you may want to improvise over major chords with one of the following scales 

instead. 

Lydian (1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7) 

The only difference between the major scale and the Lydian scale is the #4 (the B in this case), but 

it’s a hell of a difference and makes for a very usable scale over major, major 7, major 7#11 and 

major 9 chords. Make sure you play one of the above chords before running these patterns, or better 

still use a looper to have them going in the background. Here are the three patterns to learn: 


Mixolydian (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7) 

A bright and bluesy alternative to the major scale, thanks to the b7 (Eb in this case), which can also 

be used over dominant chords (7, 9, 11). Strum or loop an F7 chord and learn these three patterns. 


Minor Scales 

Here are the five most important minor scales to know. Practice these patterns until you have them 

in your head, then practice moving around the fretboard in all directions. Remember that the picking 

patterns are always the same. 

Aeolian/Natural Minor (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7) 

Strum or loop an F Minor (m7, m9) chord and run the following three patterns. 


Dorian (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7) 

The Dorian scale is an incredibly useful minor scale for blues/rock, funk and even jazz soloing. Here 

are the three patterns. 


Phrygian (1, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7) 

The Phrygian scale, while not as heavily used as the previous two minor scales, has a distinctive 

sound due to the b2 and numerous applications across a variety of genres. 


Melodic Minor (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, 7) 

Next up is the Melodic Minor Scale which can be used over minor chords or minor major 7 chords to 

great effect. Notice that there’s only a one-note difference between this scale and the first scale we 

learned, the major scale. 


Harmonic Minor (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, 7) 

If we alter another note from the Melodic Minor scale, we get the Harmonic Minor scale which you 

can also use over minor chords. 


Other Useful Scales 

In this section, we continue to amass scales into our improvisational arsenal with the addition of the 

following gems. These are some of my favorites, and ones that I’ve found to be useful, from the 

modes of the melodic and harmonic minor scales, plus some others for good measure. 

Locrian (1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7) 

We covered all but one of the modes in the previous section, so this completes our selection of 

modes from the major scale. The Locrian scale is used over diminished and m7b5 chords. 


Hungarian Minor (1, 2, b3, #4, 5, b6, 7) 

This is a gorgeous scale which can be used instead of the harmonic minor for a subtler Eastern vibe 

over minor chords. 


Lydian b7 (1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, b7) 

As the name suggests, this is a Lydian scale with a b7 which means you can use it over dominant 

chords to great effect. 


Mixolydian b6 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, b6, b7) 

Here’s another great option over a dominant chord. 


Phrygian Dominant (1, b2, 3, 4, 5, b6, b7) 

Here’s another option over dominant chords for that Malmsteen-esque sound. 


What to Do Next 

As I mentioned in the introduction, this is not a scale theory book. This is a means for getting scale 

patterns under your fingers as quickly and as painlessly as possible, and build up some technique on 

the instrument. 

There are more than enough scales for a lifetime of study here, so use this technical foundation to 

explore the neck when improvising, compare and choose the scales/sounds you want to hear in your 

solos, and above all, begin to play what you hear in your head. 

Thank you for reading this book. 

To your best playing yet, 

Matt 

www.unlocktheguitar.net 


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Guitar Hacks 3NPS Scales

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