So if the 1st note was g, the scale would be built on that note and it would become g minor pentatonic. All the fretboard diagrams below show the c major scale, so the notes built on that root are c d e f g a b. The 5 major pentatonic scale shapes positions guitarhabits. The root notes in this case a, are shown by the black dots, the other notes in the scale are shown by the red dots. The easy way to learn the pentatonic scales is with the 5 box pattern method. Master the pentatonic scale for guitar with these 5 easy shapes. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. If you start at the g on the 3rd fret of the low e string youll get a g major pentatonic scale.
You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. Mar 19, 2015 hi, please take the time to listen to the instructions for learning the accelerated way to learn and memorise the 5 pentatonic positions. The e minor pentatonic scale can be divided into patterns. The pentatonic scales are the same the a minor pentatonic is the c major pentatonic starting from the 6th. A minor pentatonic scale 5th position once you have all mastered all five positions, you will able to visualize and more importantly, play the minor pentatonic scale over the entire fret board. The tab shows how the pattern can be used to play either a 1 octave or a 2 octave c major pentatonic scale. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. If you are playing in a minor key, use that minor pentatonic. Guitar scales lesson the 5 positions of the minor pentatonic scale blues scale duration. This article serves as a reference for navigating major pentatonic scales all over the guitar fretboard.
The best way to practice any guitar scale is to memorize the individual positions along the fretboard. The pentatonic scale can broken up in to five small patterns, or scale shapes, that connect up and down the fretboard. The first position of the major scale, seen above, is the standard way of playing the major scale, which most guitarists know. Play guitar solo in any key with 5 major pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used scales used in music. The major pentatonic is a really cool sounding scale, used a lot in country and country blues, and also great for playing over regular chord progressions that. Major pentatonic drills fundamental changes music book. The notes are the same, therefore, the pattern is the same. Pentatonic scale patterns 5 pentatonic scale positions. This lead guitar lesson will show you the five positions of the pentatonic scale.
The musical styles that use the major pentatonic are country, blues, fusion, jazz and rock. E minor pentatonic positions on the guitar online guitar books. That 6thstring, 5thfret a minor pentatonic scale is also a c major pentatonic scale. The major pentatonic scale guitar shapes and theory. In the following lesson, youll learn to play the major and minor pentatonic scale in five positions, all over the guitar fretboard.
The 5 shapes shown below are all the same scale g major pentatonic scale just played in different positions, so you can learn the scale all. This is a bluesy sounding scale that is used in thousands of blues and rock classics. For an in depth lesson on the theory behind the minor pentatonic scale, read the post on pentatonic scales. Minor pentatonic scale patterns the 5 positions as we learned in the minor pentatonic scale lesson, this scale has just 5 tones 1 root, b3 minor 3rd, 4 perfect 4th, 5 perfect 5th and b7 minor 7th. Dominant pentatonic scale guitar positions one octave shapes. No doubt about it, this fivenote scale packs a punch.
Here you will find scale diagrams for the five patterns of the minor pentatonic scale and tips on the fingerings for each however, i repeat, you will be best learning these patterns in context over the first two blues lead guitar modules essential blues lead guitar and all over blues lead guitar which is all about using all five patterns all over the neck. The 5 major scale positions deft digits guitar lessons. Apr 22, 2016 that 6thstring, 5thfret a minor pentatonic scale is also a c major pentatonic scale. Once you know the five major pentatonic scale shapes, you automatically know the five minor pentatonic scale shapes. The major pentatonic is formed with 5 notes and its origin would come from the major scale which has seven notes. The major pentatonic is easy to learn if you already know the minor pentatonic scale. Mar 15, 2014 the five caged scale shapes c shape, a shape, g shape, e shape and d shape surround the entire fretboard. After the 5th position, the patterns just repeat, starting with the 1st position.
You would simply play pattern one again at the a note on the 17th fret. To do so, simply connect pattern 5 to another pattern 1, as shown here. If you look closely, youll notice the pentatonic scale doesnt contain any semitones 12 steps. The minor pentatonic scale uses the 1a, 3c, 4d, 5e, 7g notes of the scale. Play the pentatonic major scale in a in multiple fretboard positions. The major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale is a fivenote scale consisting of five notes from the major scale. So with that said, here are your 5 positions of the pentatonic scale. Above is the a major pentatonic scale shown in 5 positions. For a start, the positions and fingering are easier to memorise, plus the minor scale will always be more forgiving. Hi, please take the time to listen to the instructions for learning the accelerated way to learn and memorise the 5 pentatonic positions.
A minor pentatonic scale practice in 5 positions guitar compass. The major pentatonic scale formula is 1, 2, 3, 5, 6. This scale is most commonly broken up into five major pentatonic positions as shown in the diagrams below. Click here for a free printable pdf file of this scale. This is a great way to maintain or improve your knowledge of these scales. Pentatonic scales to derive the major pentatonic scale from the major scale, use the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of the major scale. The shapes of the major pentatonic scale are exactly the same as those of the minor pentatonic scale, except the root note is located else where looking at it from the major scale, if you leave out the 4th and the 7th note of the major scale youll also end. Remember that the scale patterns may contain notes that extend the scale, either upwards or downwards. Intro to the minor pentatonic scale, the caged system. The versatility and playability of the scale makes it a popular choice for use in guitar soloing and melodies. Illustration courtesy of desi serna this new pattern 1 is identical to. Each pentatonic position starts on a different degree of the pentatonic scale. Then apply the 5 patterns to all the other keys listed above.
This guitar lesson provides some fretboard diagrams, charts and licks to expand your improvisation skills. Major pentatonic scales in open position closed mobile major pentatonic scales forms horizontal scale forms although the scale forms above make it relatively easy to see how the scale relates to the underlying chord, they do. This free video by peter vogl will show you how to practice the a minor pentatonic scale in five different positions. This entry was posted in resource and tagged 3 notes per string, arpeggio, chord, download, fingering, maj7, major 7th, minor pentatonic, pdf, pentatonic scale, positions, scale on october 12, 2014 by jens. Dan cross is a professional guitarist and former private instructor who has experience teaching and playing various styles of music. The pentatonic scale pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. Mar 17, 2018 the major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar. As its name implies the major pentatonic scale is made up of five notes, penta means five and tonic means. Intro to the minor pentatonic scale, the caged system, scale degrees vs. Pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. The 5 box method cuts the scale up into 5 distinct patterns that you learn individually. A tab example has been provided for each of the new patterns. If playing in c major use a minor pentatonic also know as c major pentatonic.
The 5 pentatonic positions you need to learn talkingbass. Lets compare the notes of the c major pentatonic and a minor pentatonic scales, respectively. Youll find below the 5 different positionsshapes of the c major pentatonic uke scale in standard tuning gcea, along with their ascending tab patterns. E major pentatonic scale lesson matched with caged chord positions everywhere on the guitar.
With its clean, folky sound, the major pentatonic scale is a common scale in folk. Each position of the scale overlaps with the position above and below it on the fretboard. The major pentatonic scale is mostly used in country, folk country rock, blues and jazz. May 09, 2014 the 5 shapes shown below are all the same scale g major pentatonic scale just played in different positions, so you can learn the scale all over the neck. Fastest way to nail the pentatonic scale shapes 1 to 5.
Major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale shares five notes with the major scale. It is a must know for any jazz guitar student who wants to improvise over major chords. The only difference is the root in red, the starting note. How to connect the pentatonic patterns on the guitar dummies. Immediate download and email link of professional pdf file for the neverlost system. Learn the major pentatonic scale in all 5 fingerboard positions. Lets look at the open position and the 5 moveable positions.
A major pentatonic guitar scales chart scott van zen. Lets take a look at what makes up this scale and how its applied to the guitar fretboard. The guitar neck diagram shows you the big picture for the e minor pentatonic scale. The images below covers all the major pentatonic scale patterns in all positions on guitar. The 5 major scale caged shapes positions guitarhabits. With its clean, folky sound, the major pentatonic scale is a common scale in folk, blues, country and pop music. Master the pentatonic scale for guitar with these 5 easy.
This is an important quality of the pentatonic scale and goes a long way toward explaining why the pentatonic scale is so versatile and can sound good over virtually any chord progression. Youll find below the 5 different positions shapes of the c major pentatonic uke scale in standard tuning gcea, along with their ascending tab patterns. To make things more interesting, well play the scale along with a jam track. It is an extremely useful scale that has a very sweet major sound. The five caged scale shapes c shape, a shape, g shape, e shape and d shape surround the entire fretboard. This scale is transpositional and can be played in, and should be practiced in, all keys. Played over a 12 bar blues, there are not many ways you can mess this up. C major pentatonic uke scale w,w,wh,w,wh on the soprano. And then the patterns start to repeat again higher up on the fretboard. The sample scale is given in g and all the red notes refers to root note. All of the root notes are e because this is the e minor pentatonic scale. Minor pentatonic pattern 1 major pentatonic pattern 5 playing this pattern from left to right and up across the strings means you will be playing the e minor pentatonic scale. How to learn the pentatonic scales with 5 box patterns. In this post we use the g major scale as an example.
Begin the scale with your second finger, and do not adjust your hand position while playing. Box 7 major scale, root on 5th string box 8 major pentatonic scale, root on 5th string box 9 mixolydian mode scale, root on 6th string box 10 blues scale box, root on 6th string run one minor pentatonic run two major pentatonic click here to download a pdf of all these boxes. Major pentatonic scale patterns so, using exactly the same technique as above, lets build up a large major pentatonic scale pattern. A minor pentatonic scale practice in 5 positions guitar. The red dots indicate a root note and the black dots indicate a note in the scale. Heres a lesson that walks guitarists through learning to play the major and minor pentatonic scale in five positions, all over the guitar fretboard. The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music. Or jump to 6 mins ish to watch and learn the 5 shapes.
The intervals of the major scale that create half steps 4th7th are removed from the scale. The last scale shape begins with your fourth finger on the 15th fret. These modes are called pentatonic positions and there are actually five of them. Well, the correct name which can sometimes be a bit subjective will depend on which note the music is pulling towards i e which note appears more. Major pentatonic guitar scale learn all five positions. Major and minor pentatonic scales avoid significant harmonic dissonance by adverting this tritone. Thats the whole purpose, eventually you want to have the freedom to be able to improvise around the entire fretboard. So all five scale shapes see below are g major scale. At times full major scales may be inappropriate to play over a given progression, as they may sound a bit stiff.
After showing you the 5 minor pentatonic scale patterns and 5 major scale patterns it would be remiss of us not to post the 5 major pentatonic positions as wellso here you go straight away, seeing these, its obvious why the minor scales are preferred by most guitarists. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most used of the pentatonic scales family. If you are playing in a major key, then use the relative minor pentatonic scale. The guitar positions are the same only the root position is different. The shapes are sometimes also referred to as positions. Sep 26, 2018 the pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music. Fastest way to nail the pentatonic scale shapes 1 to 5 youtube. A major pentatonic guitar scales chart scott van zen guitar. In order to form the pentatonic it is necessary to remove two notes from the major scale, these are the 4th and 7th of the scale. Printable pdf ebook method containing 40 major jazz guitar licks with tab, standard notation and audio files. The dominant pentatonic scale guitar lesson with shapes. A minor pentatonicblues scale weeping willow guitar.
There are numerous ways of playing a g major pentatonic scale on guitar. The 5 major pentatonic positions deft digits guitar lessons. To derive the minor pentatonic scale from the natural minor scale, use the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th notes of the minor scale. When you feel comfortable playing through all five pentatonic scale patterns on the guitar, the next step is to connect them to cover the rest of the fretboard. You can apply these scale shapes to all 12 keys by simply. When the player wants to lighten things up, the major pentatonic is the scale of choice. Click here for instant access to the 17 page pentatonic scales chart.