Pentatonic Guitar Scale

 
What is the pentatonic guitar scale:

     The pentatonic (meaning five) scale is a five note scale which is derived from the major or minor scale. It uses the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th degree of the scale. The pentatonic scale is very popular in rock, blues, and other styles of music. The reason for it's popularity is because it is the easiest scale to use. There is no bad sounding note when you use it. As long as you are in the same key of the song, any note in the pentatonic guitar scale will work.

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The 5 patterns of the pentatonic guitar scale:

  There are 5 different patterns of the pentatonic guitar scale, which will allow you to cover the entire fret board. The system used for these patterns is called the CAGED system. This refers to the chord shape that the patterns are derived from. So let's see what this would look like. The first pattern would be:

        In these diagrams the hollow circles would indicate the root note. The root note determines what key you are playing in. These diagrams are of the minor pentatonic scale. So if you wanted to play in the key of Amin, this first pattern would start on the fifth fret. Here are the four other patterns of the pentatonic guitar scale.

      As in the first one, the root note is indicated with a hollow circle. By learning all five patterns of the pentatonic guitar scale you will be able to cover the entire fret board in any key.

    
How to practice these pentatonic guitar scale patterns:

     It is best to learn these pentatonic guitar scale patterns one at a time, to avoid confusing yourself. I would start out with the first pattern as it is the most commonly used. Practice the pattern starting on the sixth string and play it all the way up, and then back down again. Once you can play it all the way up and back down smoothly, then you can start mixing it up. Try playing the first three notes, then the 2nd, 3rd and 4th note, then the 3rd, 4th and 5th note, etc. It would look like this in tab:

 
    This is a great way to practice these patterns because it really helps you memorize them. You will also start hearing how different patterns of the pentatonic guitar scale sound so you will be able to apply them to your lead playing.

    Next you can start adding some "hammer ons" and slides. Experiment around with just using three or four notes out of the pentatonic guitar scale using different timing. You will start to see how you can create some really nice sounding riffs. The most important thing with the pentatonic guitar scale patterns is to practice them every day until they are second nature. At this point you can concentrate on putting some real feeling into your riffs. Playing lead guitar is all about the feeling. It doesn't matter how many different notes you use or how fast you play, if there isn't any feeling to it, it is going to sound boring.

    This will get you started in the right direction. To really accelerate your lead playing I would recommend checking out Jam Play.  There are over two hundred hours worth of lessons covering every aspect of playing guitar including in depth lessons on how to use the pentatonic guitar scale.

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