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Look who came back for some more knowledge! Awesome, you are well on your to becoming a competent guitarist, and I am proud of you. So far in my series we have covered the basics of jamming with Open and Barre Chords. Hopefully you are writing a few songs and have been jamming with friends. You are probably wondering when I am going to get to the soloing right? Well here it is my friends. We will discuss more rhythm guitar techniques later on, but today we embark upon the Pentatonic Scale. Tune up, warm up, and let’s rock out.
The cool thing about the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales is the fact that there are only five notes (hence the Penta prefix). Of these notes, almost all of them will sound good over a chord progression. This is almost a foolproof scale that works over most progressions and it’s easy to memorize.
I will begin with the single most common position of the Minor Pentatonic Scale, in the key of A Minor:
e|---------------------5--| I = Index Finger
b|-----------------5-8----| M = Middle Finger
g|-------------5-7--------| R = Ring Finger
d|---------5-7------------| P = Pinky
a|-----5-7----------------|
E|-5-8--------------------|
I P I R I R I R I P I
(R)
I have included an R in brackets because you can use your ring finger instead of your Pinky if you are more comfortable with that. Depending on the style, I interchange them, so I recommend learning both.
The above is a good way to get used to the scale because it begins and ends on a Root Note (aka the key a scale is in). Try the below to get a full range of the scale:
e|---------------------5-8-8-5----------------------|
b|-----------------5-8---------8-5------------------|
g|-------------5-7-----------------7-5--------------|
d|---------5-7-------------------------7-5----------|
a|-----5-7---------------------------------7-5------|
E|-5-8-----------------------------------------8-5--|
*Remember to play every scale with Alternate Picking
Ok, so you have probably just played the above, and it was kinda anti-climatic wasn’t it? It doesn’t sound like a solo right? An important thing to know about scales is that they are not musical if you just run through them up and down. A scale is like the Alphabet. You can’t expect to recite the alphabet and have it sound like a conversation can you? It is what you do with this scale that makes a solo. Other techniques such as string bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides will really bring these scales to life. I will show you these techniques later, so for now focus on the exercises I have presented here.
Lets try a couple of exercises to get your hands moving. Remember to play these forward and backwards to get everything you can from these scales.
Exercise #1
e|-------------------------------------5-8-5-8------|
b|-----------------------------5-8-5-8--------------|
g|---------------------5-7-5-7----------------------|
d|-------------5-7-5-7------------------------------|
a|-----5-7-5-7--------------------------------------|
E|-5-8----------------------------------------------|
Exercise #2
e|--------------------------------------------------|
b|--------------------------------------------------|
g|-------------------------------------5-7-----5-7--|
d|---------------------5-7-----5-7-5-7-----5-7------|
a|-----5-7-----5-7-5-7-----5-7----------------------|
E|-5-8-----5-8--------------------------------------|
e|---------------------5-8-----5-8------------------|
b|-----5-8-----5-8-5-8-----5-8----------------------|
g|-5-7-----5-7--------------------------------------|
d|--------------------------------------------------|
a|--------------------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------------|
Exercise #3
e|-----------------------------5-8------------------|
b|---------------------5-8--------------------------|
g|-------------5-7---------5-7----------------------|
d|-----5-7---------5-7------------------------------|
a|---------5-7--------------------------------------|
E|-5-8----------------------------------------------|
Exercise #4
e|-------------------------------------------------|
b|-----------------------------------------5---5-8-|
g|-----------------------------5---5-7-5-7---7-----|
d|-----------------5---5-7-5-7---7-----------------|
a|-----5---5-7-5-7---7-----------------------------|
E|-5-8---8-----------------------------------------|
e|-----5---5-8-5-8------------------------------|
b|-5-8---8--------------------------------------|
g|----------------------------------------------|
d|----------------------------------------------|
a|----------------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------------|
This should keep you occupied for a while. But lets not slack off and forget about the Major Pentatonic Scale.
For the sake of continuity, this is the A Major Pentatonic Scale:
e|---------------------5---|
b|-----------------5-7-----|
g|-------------4-6---------|
d|---------4-7-------------|
a|-----4-7-----------------|
E|-5-7---------------------|
M P I P I P I R M P M P
Now forwards and backward:
e|---------------------5-7-7-5----------------------|
b|-----------------5-7---------7-5------------------|
g|-------------4-6-----------------6-4--------------|
d|---------4-7-------------------------7-4----------|
a|-----4-7---------------------------------7-4------|
E|-5-7-----------------------------------------7-5--|
You might find this one a little more awkward than the Minor Pentatonic scale from you earlier, but trust in me and learn it. I used to really hate this shape because of all of the pinky action here, but you need to condition your all of your fingers for maximum control.
Now lets practice the same exercises again, but this time with the A Major scale:
Exercise #1
e|-------------------------------------5-7-5-7------|
b|-----------------------------5-7-5-7--------------|
g|---------------------4-6-4-6----------------------|
d|-------------4-7-4-7------------------------------|
a|-----4-7-4-7--------------------------------------|
E|-5-7----------------------------------------------|
Exercise #2
e|--------------------------------------------------|
b|--------------------------------------------------|
g|-------------------------------------4-6-----4-6--|
d|---------------------4-7-----4-7-4-7-----4-7------|
a|-----4-7-----4-7-4-7-----4-7----------------------|
E|-5-7-----5-7--------------------------------------|
e|---------------------5-7-----5-7------------------|
b|-----5-7-----5-7-5-7-----5-7----------------------|
g|-4-6-----4-6--------------------------------------|
d|--------------------------------------------------|
a|--------------------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------------|
Exercise #3
e|-----------------------------5-7------------------|
b|---------------------5-7--------------------------|
g|-------------4-6---------4-6----------------------|
d|-----4-7---------4-7------------------------------|
a|---------4-7--------------------------------------|
E|-5-7----------------------------------------------|
Exercise #4
e|-------------------------------------------------|
b|-----------------------------------------5---5-7-|
g|-----------------------------4---4-6-4-6---6-----|
d|-----------------4---4-7-4-7---7-----------------|
a|-----4---4-7-4-7---7-----------------------------|
E|-5-7---7-----------------------------------------|
e|-----5---5-7-5-7------------------------------|
b|-5-7---7--------------------------------------|
g|----------------------------------------------|
d|----------------------------------------------|
a|----------------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------------|
Holy workout! Practice these exercises until you can play them fluidly up and down the neck of the guitar. You will be soloing in time, so have patience and don’t cheat yourself. Alright Rockstar, that’s your serving of knowledge for today, so go practice till your fingers bleed.
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