Guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. There is the major pentatonic scale and the minor pentatonic scale. The root notes a in these examples are circled so that you can learn their locations. 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. For a quick summary to this topic, have a look at pentatonic scale.
A pentatonic scale is a 5 note scale which can be used to create solos and melodies. The a minor pentatonic comes from the natural minor scale. Finger strength and pentatonic scale lesson guitar lessons. They are usually the first scales beginner guitarists learn to play. How to apply the pentatonics to improvise over nearly any chord progression. The minor pentatonic scale is an essential scale to learn as a beginning guitar player. Guitar major pentatonic scale chart printable pdf subject. Link to pdf file with all 5 positions of theguitar minor pentatonic scale. Below is a c major scale and its relative minor scale, a minor. The minor pentatonic scale is used in all genres of music, and is a handy scale to have in your arsenal. Link to page dedicated to the guitar minor pentatonic scale. In this lesson were going to be focusing on one of the most popular guitar scales, the a minor pentatonic scale.
Mixing major and minor pentatonic scales guitar lessons. Sheet 2 a minor pentatonic scale practice exercises. Well take a closer look at each of the new patterns below. There are three ways youll want to learn your major pentatonic scale forms. How to learn the pentatonic scales with 5 box patterns. Each having 5 forms, so technically there is the minor pentatonic scale, and the major pentatonic scale. Now, we will look at the major and minor pentatonic scales, and see how. If you are stuck in the pentatonic box then this is the way.
Scales and arpeggios for guitar by mike georgia to keep things simple approach it like this. Pentatonic scale the essential guide national guitar academy. Minor pentatonic scales to introduce a novice guitar player to the world of rock music requires that he learn a series of scales, which we can call the tools of the trade. Each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard. You can also think of the melodic minor pentatonic scale as being a fragment of the corresponding melodic minor scale. When we start discussing the application of scales to chords were talking about modes. Pentatonic scales with images pentatonic scale, guitar. Free printable guitar scales 14 most commonly used scales. How to play the pentatonic scale on guitar dummies. Learn the pentatonic scale guitar secrets, free online. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic only.
Once you know the five major pentatonic scale shapes, you automatically know the five minor pentatonic scale shapes. Applying the minor pentatonic scale to the fretboard. The minor pentatonic scale for guitar jazz guitar online. Therefore, a pentatonic scale is a fivenote musical scale. Scale diagrams can also be labeled with either letters or scale degrees. You can always play the minor pentatonic scale when you are playing some blues solos, but in this quick lesson i will share with you a cool method of. This is a big difference because this changes the tone center and root note which will make it sound like a completely different scale. Sheet 3 a minor pentatonic scale practice exercises. Lets take a look at what makes up this scale and how its applied to the guitar fretboard. The solution below shows the a minor pentatonic scale, on the piano, bass and treble clef. The last scale shape begins with your fourth finger on the 15th fret. A tab example has been provided for each of the new patterns. Although various hemitonic pentatonic scales might be called minor, the term is.
If you start at the g on the 3rd fret of the low e string youll get a g major pentatonic scale. Technically, a pentatonic scale could be any 5 tone scale, but in practice when guitarists refer to the pentatonic scale, 99% of the time they are referring to the minor and major pentatonic scale. Still, this scale s importance cannot be underestimated, as it is used in so many genres of music, from rock and blues to country and bluegrass. Beginner acoustic guitar lesson tom petty i wont back down. The one pentatonic per chord approach to soloing over a. The minor pentatonic scale the beginners scale mike stith. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music.
This article and interactive web app help you learn all of the pentatonic scale diagrams. They both share the same notes, but the root is a different note. The 14 most common and usable guitar scales printable and ready to use 1. Cs relative minor pentatonic scale, a minor pentatonic, begins on the 6 th scale degree of the major pentatonic scale shown above.
Often when this scale is used in improvisation, you can use your 3rd finger instead of your 4th on 1st, 2nd, and 6th strings. When you start out learning to play lead, chances are your fingers get fatigued quite quick, especially the neglected little finger. Com the 5 patterns of the major pentatonic scale for guitar. Still, this scales importance cannot be underestimated, as it is used in so many genres of music, from rock and blues to country and bluegrass. By combining pentatonics with fuller, seven note scale phrases, you instantly give your solos more variation and, because most pentatonic scale patterns use just two notes per string, you can inject quick runs that sound less linear and. One of the confusing thing about studying scales on the guitar is the lack of a standard set of names for. It is this blues note that gives the scale its unique bluesy tone. However, the scales we are concerned with here are the most commonly used for guitar, the major and minor. Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. The melodic minor pentatonic scale is built from the following interval pattern. Major pentatonic scales in open position closed mobile major pentatonic scales forms horizontal. This is a very enjoyable skill, and will introduce classical musicians to. Strum a g minor chord, then play with the notes in the pattern. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used.
If you want to connect the chords to the key scale, you may target chord tones within the scale. This exercise is a simple scalar pattern based on the a minor pentatonic scale, but spanning 3 of the common box shapes. The only 3 major and 3 minor chord shapes you need to know. Technically speaking, any scale with only 5 notes can be called pentatonic. The pentatonic scale is frequently used in lots of popular music styles. Then i have a fourth a minor scale which i call a practical minor.
The minor pentatonic scale by paul tauterouff the minor pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly scales used in rock, blues, country and jazz music. A minor pentatonic can be used as a lead scale over chord progressions in a minor, c major, and a blues blues can imply a specific, sixnote scale, as well as a chord progression. The lower notes in that chord are the nine, the sharp eleven and the thirteen. This page contains guitar chord charts for, major chords, minor chords, power chords, add2. The lesson steps then explain how to construct the scale using the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th minor scale notes. The key to understanding the minor pentatonic scale guitar. That is just my list of chords from the 3 a minor scales that are good to use when writing songs in a minor key. This book provides the pentatonic scale fingerings, diagrams, lessons and licks that every guitarist needs to know. Scale pentatonic minor 1,b3,4,5,b7 fullth pattern root note a guitar tuning. The fretboard is shown with the lowest pitch string at the bottom and the highest pitch string at the top unless youve tuned your instrument differently. Even better, the minor pentatonic works well over both major and minor chord progressions. Not only does it sound great, pentatonic scales are also easy to learn.
Different pentatonic scales for guitar altered pentatonics. To play the notes on the third string, youll need to shift your fingers. Many intermediate guitarists get stuck playing only this scale over a dominant blues. To derive the minor pentatonic scale from the natural.
The minor pentatonic scale is quite possibly the most used and, suffice it to say, overused scale on the guitar. A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic. Link to guitar pro file of tab for guitar minor pentatonic scale. Cds calendar about anton photosvideos jazz study jazz blog sheet music contact. As this website is focused on, and to be honest, biased towards rock, blues, metal, and folk guitar styles, pentatonic minor. Pentatonic scales for guitar by chad johnson softcover. Use your 3rd finger to shift positions on the way up. A minor pentatonic contains scale degrees 1, b3, 4, 5, and b7. Once you are familiar with the intervallic characteristics of the scale, it should be very easy to play in any key.
A pentatonic scale is a popular fivenote scale that youll need to know for riffs, solos and melodies, especially for rock and blues. Not bad for a scale thats two notes shy of a major scale. This is used to solo over a blues or a song in the key of a minor, and we will be learning a 12bar blues in the key of a very soon, so practise this scale now so you are ready to jam when we get to that. However the popular genres of western music are based around two. The scale is made up of five notes per octave, thats why it has the word penta, meaning 5 in greek. The system you can follow to attain complete guitar mastery. Pentatonic minor scale guitar patterns chart, key of a. The versatility and playability of the scale makes it a popular choice for use in guitar soloing and melodies. 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.
A minor pentatonic scale diagrams a minor pentatonic fretboard diagram. 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. As the name would suggest, the minor pentatonic scale contains 5 notes. The natural minor is the aeolian mode of the relative major scale. D minor pentatonic scale diagrams d minor pentatonic fretboard diagram. In this exercise we play our major pentatonic scale over the entire range of our instrument up and back down again. And worldwide, there are many forms of pentatonic scales from west africa to eastern china. Jul 21, 2017 practicing e minor pentatonic scale sheet music download. The notesintervals for the minor pentatonic scale can be found all over the fretboard.
Most minor chords in jazz use the dorian sound, so lets start by. Note that a minor pentatonic has identical notes with c major pentatonic but in different order. The corresponding shapes are about two octaves long 4. D minor pentatonic has the same notes as f major pentatonic and so it goes. Apr 16, 2016 introduction to the major pentatonic scale. The key to understanding the minor pentatonic scale.
The most important of these are both major and minor pentatonic. The easy way to learn the pentatonic scales is with the 5 box pattern method. The secret to using the 5 pentatonic scale shapes as major or minor. Use the e minor pentatonic scale when playing 12 bar blues in. E d g b e a pentaton c minor scale box 1 glitarsik. Apr, 2018 the minor pentatonic scale is quite possibly the most used and, suffice it to say, overused scale on the guitar. So, for example, try creating a few guitar riffs using the g minor pentatonic scale in the third position beginning on the 8th fret. Practicing e minor pentatonic scale sheet music download. How to connect the pentatonic patterns on the guitar dummies. Nine times out often the new note will on the sixth string, 7th fret. There are numerous other applications of the minor pentatonic scale though, as you can see in the table below. It is similar to the natural minor scale, the alteration is that you need to omit the second and the sixth notes from the minor scale. We will begin by improvising melodies using only the black notes of the piano.
The blues scale differs from the pentatonic minor scale only by the addition of a single note. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. Sheet 3 a minor pentatonic scale practice exercises grade nov 9, 2019 welcome to the third sheet in a series of posts on the a minor pentatonic scale, which includes various exercises designed to build up your knowledge of the scales and also to give you ideas and memories of ideas for soloing and melody making. But theres a simpler way start with a major pentatonic scale notes.
Pentatonic patterns for improvisation sample preparatory exercises below is an example of what i call pentatonic exercise 1 in the key of c major. This is in a minor, but the scale pattern is moveable. Why the minor pentatonic scale is not the best option to use am pentatonic scale box position lets start with questioning the good old minor pentatonic scale. For your convenience, i have included a pdf of all the pentatonics.
It also works pretty well over a major and c blues. Sep 11, 2017 a pentatonic minor scale on the guitar neck. Master the minor pentatonic scale using the whole fretboard. The a minor pentatonic scale, root note fret, starts at the 5th fret of the low e string. Bands like led zeppelin, the beatles, eric clapton, jimi hendrix, and pink floyd have all have tons of famous licks and solos founded on the minor. Pentatonic scales for guitar a pentatonic scale has just 5 notes. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar.
This, and every, scale can be thought of in terms of a formula that shows how the scale can be derived from the notes of the major scale which is the reference point for most things music theory related. To do so, simply connect pattern 5 to another pattern 1, as shown here. This book of written lessons is an excellent tool and reference manual to develop and enhance your guitar skills. The first position of the pentatonic minor scale that well learn, will be the a minor pentatonic scale at the root note fret. Strum a g minor chord, then play the notes of the g minor pentatonic scale.
Printable downloadable major pentatonic scale guitar chart. The word pentatonic implies that there are five notes in these scales, and that is correct. Scale pentatonic minor 1,b3,4,5,b7 5th pattern root note a guitar tuning. These notes create a pentatonic 5note scale that is easy to see, and can be. Go back to sheet 1 to learn the a minor pentatonic scale that we will be working with. This note can clash, but you can bend the minor third up a half step to a major third, which is a common tactic by blues guitarists. I list the most common 3 and 4note chords, and a few 5note chords, from a natural, harmonic and melodic minor scales.
A short lesson on learning the 5 shapes of the minor pentatonic scale and how to use them. The diagram below shows all the notes in the g minor pentatonic from frets 3 through 15. No doubt about it, this fivenote scale packs a punch. Oct 07, 2017 this video is for guitar students to become familiar with the shape and pattern of this common pentatonic scale while also improving their right hand pick technique. Introduction to the major pentatonic scale zombie guitar. This is a g minor pentatonic scale because the first note we play sixth string, third fret is a g note. A minor pentatonic guitar scales guitar scales chart. Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition pdf. Guitar scales 5 mustknow guitar scales for beginners. The minor pentatonic scale the pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly utilized scales in just about all genres of music.
The minor pentatonic scale is simply the fifth mode of the major. The basics of the minor pentatonic scale for guitar soundfly. Aug 27, 2014 coincidentally, when i first started learning to improvise between different positions it was focused on a minor pentatonic as well. Root b3 4 5 7 you can see these notes laid out in tab and notation for an a melodic minor pentatonic scale here. Then there are 4 exercises based on the first position of the a minor pentatonic scale, which all finish with an a minor chord to finish off the exercise and practice changing from the exercises to the chord. Some common songs that utilize the a minor pentatonic scale are. One of the best ways to start becoming comfortable with a new scale or pattern is to try and create a few interesting riffs with that scale. Beginner guitar 5 pentatonic scales the ultimate guide. How to play the a minor pentatonic guitar scales fender play. Here is the equation of the minor pentatonic, have a look at how it relates to the natural minor scale.
Minor pentatonic can be seen as a stripped down version of natural minor, dorian and other minor scales. The most obvious use of the minor pentatonic scale is playing the scale over a minor chord or a dominant 7th chord with the same root for example, a minor pentatonic over am7 or a7. Show me chords that sound good with an a minor pentatonic scale. Now lets play the g minor pentatonic scale in the second position. Pdf total guitar the ultimate scale book guilherme mauricio. Add some distortion, reverb and delay and you will be transported to that.
For the a minor pentatonic scale, its a snap to learn in two octaves in the fifth position, and it helps you with your frethand strength. We are going to learn the scale in the key of a, so, the a minor pentatonic scale. Find or record a backing track that is in the key of c major, and play the above scale shape with your first finger located on the 5th fret and your pinky finger located on the 8th fret. The open strings themselves even make up the notes of the e minor pentatonic scale.
There are both pentatonic major and minor the minor is slightly more often used. Wikipedia has a nice article on these scales including the others here. That will keep your root note of the minor pentatonic scale the same as the major pentatonic scale. This pentatonic scales guitar lesson shows you all 5 shapes using the key of a minorc major pentatonic as the example scale.
Applications of the minor pentatonic scale in jazz. Once learned, the player can immediately start improvising rock guitar. Print and download in pdf or midi a minor pentatonic scales. Include free cheat sheet, template, and video so you can get started today. Charts for d minor pentatonic on guitar and piano all scales not normal were excluded from the results, please use the options below to see d minor pentatonic again with all the other scales compared to it. In the diagram below the first pentatonic scale pattern is shown together with four more patterns. The minor pentatonic scale has a minor 3rd or b3 while the major chord as a major third. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic. A minor pentatonic scales v3 sheet music for guitar. Look at the illustration above and notice that some of the notes have been outlined in yellow. Illustration courtesy of desi serna this new pattern 1 is identical to. How to tell when you can use the e minor pentatonic scale in a way that musically works and.