The pentatonic box and how to break
out of it
Here's the famous pentatonic box, the first
thing most guitarists learn to play once they've nailed down
the standard fifteen:
i=index, m=middle, r=ring, p=pinkie, t=thumb
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If you think of your index finger as being on the root,
this is the A minor pentatonic scale. If you think of your
pinkie as being on the root, this is the C major pentatonic
scale. Both scales contain the same pitches: A, C, D, E
and G. Play them over Am and C chords to hear the difference.
This is a cornerstone of lead guitar playing because it
falls easily under the fingers, sounds good in a wide variety
of musical settings, and forms a nice memorable pattern
on the fretboard. But many guitarists get trapped in the
pentatonic box, not wanting to venture outside of it because
they're rightly daunted by the baffling variety of scales
and fingerings they see in books. Fortunately, by adding
a couple of notes to the familiar box, you can increase
your scale vocabulary enormously, without driving yourself
crazy.
A note about learning these things and turning them into
music: you want to be able to run them up and down in order,
of course, but once you can do that, try picking out melodies,
licks, patterns. For example, go up and down playing every
other note in the scale, or every third or fourth. If you're
improvising with the scales, try not to always start and
end in the same places. Play these things slowly, evenly,
and always try to make them sound like music, even if you're
just running up and down. Set a nice drum loop up at an
unchallenging tempo, keep yourself relaxed, enjoy the way
the notes sound when you play them cleanly, and if you're
struggling, play slower. Have fun!
A minor pentatonic to A blues
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A minor pentatonic:
A, C, D, E, G
A blues:
A, C, D, D#, E, G |
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A minor pentatonic to A natural minor
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A minor pentatonic:
A, C, D, E, G
A natural minor:
A, B, C, D, E, F,
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A minor pentatonic to A dorian
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A minor pentatonic:
A, C, D, E, G
A dorian:
A, B, C, D, E, F#,
G
same pitches as G major:
G, A, B, C, D, E, F# |
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A minor pentatonic to A harmonic minor
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A minor pentatonic:
A, C, D, E, G
A harmonic minor:
A, B, C, D, E, F,
G# |
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G# |
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C major pentatonic to C major
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C major pentatonic:
A, C, D, E, G
C major:
A, B, C, D, E, F,
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C major pentatonic to C mixolydian
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C major pentatonic:
A, C, D, E, G
C mixolydian:
A, Bb, C, D, E, F,
G
Same pitches as F major:
F, G, A, Bb,
C, D, E |
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more cool scales you get free with A minor/C
major penta
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If you think of D as the root, this is the D mountain modal
scale. Try it over a droning D7. If you think of F as the
root, this is a collection of tones from F major - try it
over an F6 or Fmaj7 chord. If you think of Bb as the root,
this a collection of beautiful notes from Bb lydian - try
it over a Bb6 or Bbmaj7 chord.
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