The Minor Pentatonic Scale - Part 1 - Novice/Intermediate

The A Minor Pentatonic Scale (5 Positions) - Part 1

The A Minor Pentatonic Scale is an incredibly common scale used in many styles of music (blues, rock, metal, funk, jazz, pop, classical etc.) and can prove to be very versatile, and useful, once it has been thoroughly studied and practiced.

Pentatonic literally means “5 notes”. Pent means five (as in pentangle or pentagon) and tonic means tone or note. The key that we are playing in (for the moment) is the key of A Minor. A key is simply explained as a group of notes that work really well with a certain group of chords. The reason we are using the key of A Minor is because it does not contain any #s (sharps) or bs (flats). This makes it easier to understand when we look at the scale in detail. It also means that the chords we will use to accompany the scale are going to be much more familiar to you, which in turn means they will be easier to play (we'll move onto the chords in a future lesson).

So why learn scales anyhow? They suck right? You just want to be playing the cool stuff and not wasting your time practicing boring scales? Well, here’s the bad news... If you want to get good on the guitar (or any instrument), you need to know your scales (or at least some). Here’s the good news... Scales allow you to play those crazy solos you’ve been listening to and have been dreaming of one day being able to play. Scales get your fingers strong. Scales make you faster. Scales get both your left and right hands coordinated and working well together which makes all of your playing improve. Many incredibly famous riffs are made up of scales and single notes – practice your scales and you’ll be playing these riffs easily and hopefully making up your own. Best of all, scales allow you to create! Soon you’ll be making up your own solos and have the freedom and knowledge to be able to jam with other musicians. You never know, you might just start to find they become great fun!

Take a look at the two sheets below. First of all, please don’t be terrified by what you see here! It looks ever-so-confusing but in fact it's pretty simple once you know what you are looking at. If you look at the first sheet, you will see that the page is divided into three vertical columns labelled – Fingering – Notes – Formula. For now I’d like you to ignore the formula column (that’s the science/maths bit that we’re not interested in right now!). The note column is useful so we can check out the five notes that are contained in the scale (A, C, D, E and G - the note in the square "A" is the note the scale is named after and is called the Root Note), but once again, don't worry too much about this column either for the moment.




Now look at Shape 1 in the Fingering column (the column we are interested in for this lesson). This is a diagram of the fretboard viewed upside down. The low E (fat string) is at the bottom of the page, the high E (thin string) at the top. The numbers in circles are which fingers you use to play the scale (1 = index/pointing, 2 = middle, 3 = annular/ring, 4 = little/pinkie). The frets are marked in as vertical lines. The scale begins on fret number 5 as there is a number 5 written below the first fret of the diagram.

Starting on the low (fat) string, play the 1st finger note on fret 5, followed by the 4th finger note on fret 8. Then move to the next string (the A string) and play the 1st finger note on fret 5 followed by the 3rd finger note on fret7. Continue this process until you reach the final note (4th finger on fret 8, thinnest string). You have now played the entire scale shape ascending (going up in pitch). Now play the scale descending (going down in pitch). Simply start on the highest note (the 8th fret, high string) and then go backwards to the previous note (5th fret, high string). Continue this until you reach the final note (5th fret, lowest/fat string).

You will also need to practice the scale with down/up (alternate) picking once you have mastered the shape. Start with a down stroke on the first note (towards the floor with the plectrum), followed by an up stroke on the second note (towards the ceiling with the plectrum). Repeat on each string of the scale.

Also practice with Hammers. This is where you play the first note of each pair on a string with the plectrum, and then you make the second note of the pair sound by hitting the string hard with the correct finger for that note. For example; Pick the 1st finger, 5th fret low string note with the plectrum. Now hit the 8th fret note forcefully with your little finger to make it sound. Repeat this process until you reach the highest/final note of the scale (8th fret, thin string).

The reverse of the Hammer is the Pull-Off. This is when you play the highest note of a pair on a string with the plectrum. Have the lowest note fretted ready. Then drag the highest note finger off the string in a downward motion. This will make the lowest note sound. For example; Pick the 4th finger note on the 8th fret, highest string. Make sure your first finger is already fretting the 5th fret note on the same string. Pull the 4th finger note off the string, downwards towards the floor. This will make the 5th fret note sound. Continue this process until you finish with the lowest note of the scale (5th fret, low E string).

Try to practice daily with these techniques. Eventually you will need to learn all five scale shapes (which snake their way up the neck, before repeating themselves), but for now Shape 1 will be fine. This will then allow you to move on to the really fun bit – learning some licks so that you can jam! I’ll be posting 50 licks shortly so get practicing!!! :)

NOTE: VIDEO COMING SOON...