The Minor Pentatonic Scale Is Your Knowledge As Solid As You Think?
The minor pentatonic scale is one of the 1st things beginning guitar players learn. But do you really have as solid a grasp on this useful scale as you think?
You probably already know how to play a couple of versions of either the A minor or the E minor pentatonic scales on your guitar. You may even know the scale over your entire fretboard.
And if you don't know any of those things, don't worry! By the time you go through this lesson and spend a little quality time with your guitar you will know those basic scales.
And if you already know that stuff? This advanced guitar lesson will take you even deeper and further. Are you ready?
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Going Deeper...
Memorize this formula… Root, b3, 4, 5, b7. That is the interval structure of the minor pentatonic scale. I would also like to point you toward this lesson page on the MAJOR pentatonic scale . Many guitar players -- even somewhat experienced ones -- often get confused with the difference between the minor and major pentatonic scales.
You may also want to bookmark that lesson page for future reference. It's very important to be clear about the difference between major and minor guitar scales.
See the guitar scale diagram below for the famous "box" shape in the key of A minor. It has the Intervals labelled on it. This guitar lesson and video will demonstrate a few concepts that you may not have a firm grasp on.
First Things First. Let's Go Deeper!
Did you download and print out the minor pentatonic scale charts? If not, please do so -- or use another visual reference -- and memorize them.
Tip:Download these free blank guitar fretboards and draw the scale out. Use a red pen for the Roots and a black pen for the other notes. Name these notes with the intervals. You will TRIPLE your learning time! Highly recommended :-)
Practice playing the scale in position. Name (and sing!) the intervals as you play. Do it while watching your fretting hand.
Play the minor pentatonic scale over the entire fretboard. I demonstrate how to do this in the guitar lessons video.
Graduate to watching your picking hand. Teach yourself to be disciplined with alternate picking.
Once you've mastered the key of A minor pentatonic, start with the key of E minor. Other keys you may want to familiarize yourself with are D minor, G minor, C minor and B minor. Remember, draw them out. Name the intervals.
Couple of extremely useful guitar techniques some of you already know are double stops and string bends. Luckily, the minor pentatonic scales are tailor made for these devices!
Watch the guitar lesson video at the bottom of the page for a demonstration of double stops using the minor pentatonic scale. I also demonstrate a couple of common string bends. BUT…even if you use these bends, do you know which interval you are bending to?
String bending is beyond the scope of this guitar scale lesson, but for now try to be aware of whether you are bending up a whole step or a half step. For example, if you wanted to bend up to the root of A minor pentatonic you would start with a whole step bend from the b7.
Even More Minor Pentatonic Scale Uses!
Below is a guitar fretboard diagram that illustrates a D minor pentatonic scale. Note that it's in position 5 -- the same place on the fretboard as the A minor graphic above.
Record a jam track of an A minor to D minor chord vamp. Try 2 bars for each chord to give yourself a bit of extra time.
Solo over the jam track. When the chord is A minor, use the A minor pentatonic scale. When it's on D minor, use the D minor pentatonic. Aim for chord tones when the chords change.
Tip: The note "A" is common to both chords. It's the root of A minor and the 5th of D minor. Experiment with staying on the note "A" when the chords change.
Play the 2 scales "dry" -- without the jam track. Say (and sing!) the names of the intervals in both of them.
Apply this concept of "vertical" soloing to any music you already play. Find the corresponding pentatonic scales to the chords. Is it minor or major? Choose one area of the neck to work with. Take it slowly and give yourself extra measures on each chord while you are learning.
Vertical Soloing: Vertical soloing is a term that seems to be in use nowadays. When I learned these ideas back in college, it didn't have an "official" name. It was just the most musical way to approach things in a lot of situations.
Horizontal soloing would be playing in one Key centre and not necessarily thinking about the individual chords. For example, a C to F to a D minor to G and back to C would be in the key of C major.
If you simply used the C major scale to solo over the entire thing, that would be a horizontal approach. However, if you were to play the corresponding pentatonic scale to each chord -- along with smooth voice leading, that would be a vertical approach. Yes, you guessed it! The vertical approach usually sounds much better -- like you actually know what you are doing ;-)
If you're interested in learning more about these "vertical" approaches, see this lesson on the caged system that will give you deeper insights into your guitar playing knowledge.
And last but not least, remember the counterpart to this minor scale is the major pentatonic scale.
