A
Free Guitar Lesson Taken From:
Pentatonic scale patterns are the easiest patterns
most guitarists ever learn. And despite their
ease of learning, they are exceptionally powerful
tools when used appropriately.
There
are five different pentatonic scale patterns which
cover the fretboard of the guitar. In this lesson
we'll look at the main pattern, in the keys of
E and A – the two most widely used keys
in modern music.
The Key of E
The main pentatonic pattern in this
key begins on the open E string.
I call it the "main pentatonic
pattern" because this pattern is simply the
most commonly used scale pattern in the guitar
universe. If you hear your favorite guitar player
soloing, he's probably doing it using this pattern
– at least for a considerable portion of
his solo.
Note: Of course having open strings
in the pattern messes up what is otherwise a simple
fingering plan – but we'll address/fix that
later. Just follow me here.
Now we'll play all the notes in
the E minor pentatonic scale across the six strings,
starting with the open E string and never stretching
our fingers too far.
Here is a diagram of the pattern:
And
here is the same pattern shown in sheet music
and tablature:
The
Pattern Now Repeats
The
main pentatonic pattern, which we played above
beginning with the open E string, now repeats
one octave higher on the fretboard.
Here
is the fingering that really counts as the "most
commonly used scale pattern in the guitar universe."
Playing this same pattern with open strings
is not nearly as conducive to great lead playing
as when played by fretting all the notes, as
you'll see here.
Now
we'll play all the notes in the E minor pentatonic
scale across the six strings, starting with
E at the 12th fret on the sixth string and never
stretching our fingers too far.
Here is a diagram of the pattern:
And
here is the same pattern shown in sheet music
and tablature:
The
Key of A
In
the key of A the main pentatonic pattern is
played beginning at the 5th fret on the sixth
string.
Here
is a diagram of the main pentatonic pattern.
Changing
Keys
As
you can see, this pentatonic pattern can be
slid up and down the fretboard. In fact, all
scale patterns can be slid up and down the fretboard
– this is how you change keys!
Here
is a chart which lists the key and the fret
you'll place the main pentatonic pattern on,
for all 12 keys.
By Adam St. James
