Place finger 1 on the 8th fret and you will play the c minor pentatonic scale because the note at the 8th fret of the 6th string is the note c. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. No matter what kind of music youre into, this scale will come in useful. Aug 07, 2015 the minor pentatonic is the most important scale in blues and rock music. The pentatonic scale originates from the diatonic scale 7 notes, and has two fewer notes than its parent scale. F g b all the fretboard diagrams below show c minor pentatonic, so the notes built on that root are c e. Its generally easy under the fingers and makes easy to remember visual shapes, so good for building a framework of the entire neck too.
Every guitarist needs to know the minor pentatonic scale. Pentascale or pentatonic scale pentatonic scale pattern. Here you will find scale diagrams for the five patterns of the minor pentatonic scale and. Every pentatonic key can have one of two possible tonalities. An example would be playing a g funky minor pentatonic scale over g7. For example, the relative minor of c is a minor, and the notes which form c major pentatonic and a minor pentatonic are the same. How to construct major and minor pentatonic scales music. This article and interactive web app help you learn all of the pentatonic scale diagrams. The scale illustrated on the right is the most common basic box position. And also, does the minor pentatonic scale starting with the key of e work only on songs with the keys e d a.
Joey foleygetty images revisits zakk wyldes classic guitar world column, brewtality. The lesson steps then explain how to construct the scale using the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th minor scale notes. Download free printable sheet music for the scale with fingering in pdf format. Guitar tips for beginners plays printing videos technology architecture strum away with these simple guitar tips learning guitar g minor. The difference between major and minor pentatonic scales. The minor pentatonic scale consists of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th notes of the natural minor scale. Guitar lessonsg minor pentatonic gitaarlessen, bliksem.
The basics of the minor pentatonic scale for guitar soundfly. How to build major pentatonic scales guitar masterclass. This practical guide to using the minor pentatonic. Learn the how to play the g major pentatonic scale for piano. To play the g minor pentatonic scale in the third position, begin with your middle finger on the sixth string, eighth fret and play through the pattern as noted. The pentatonic scale chose 5 from these notes and created another scale, this is why it is called penta. 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. The major pentatonic scale is great for playing in any major key, or over a major chord in a song. The five notes of the c minor pentatonic scale can provide us with a world. Both the pentatonic major scale and minor scale have the same patterns. In pentatonic scale pattern one as i teach it in my fretboard theory guitar theory program the first note is always the relative. A minor pentatonic it is important that if you are going to learn to improvise with this scale that you learn how it sounds. The same goes for when youre using the scale as g major pentatonic. Get your free instant download of the pdf version of this guide now.
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. Use my search bar to find exactly what youre looking for. The intervals in minor pentatonic are root or 1, b3rd, 4th, 5th, and b7th. For a quick summary to this topic, have a look at pentatonic scale. Its an awesome scale and sounds great, no doubt about it. When you reach the second string, youll need to shift your hand up one fret. By being outside the key means that you dont necessarily play chords and scale that belongs to the same key. Usually the first scale any guitarist learns when beginning their exploration of the lead side of the instrument is the minor pentatonic scale. Would you like to master the legendary fantasia and fugue in g minor, bwv 542 by j. C d e g a c formula 2 2 3 2 3 now lets look at the complete, 5position diagram of the pentatonic scale.
If you start at the g on the 3rd fret of the low e string youll get a g major pentatonic scale. The scale formula for the minor pentatonic 1 b3 4 5 b7. A pentatonic scale, as the name implies, has only five notes. In this case, the sequence will be three ascending notes. 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. Included is also the a minor pentatonic scale and the a minor blues scale so that students can practice. It is now time to learn how to use the minor pentatonic scale, which is a must if you want to learn to play lead guitar and improvise.
This is the only pentatonic scale pattern that requires a position shift. However it always has that same dark classic minor pentatonic sound. Here are some free pdfs used to supplement my free video lessons. Chord progressions for minor pentatonic soloing guitarhabits. The 5 minor pentatonic scale patterns learning to play the.
Learn how to play up and down the neck with ease and break out of those box patterns. The solution below shows the g minor pentatonic scale, on the piano, bass and treble clef the lesson steps then explain how to construct the scale using the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th minor scale notes for a quick summary to this topic, have a look at pentatonic scale. Difference between minor and major pentatonic scale boxes. The minor pentatonic scale comes directly from our minor scale. How to use the pentatonic scale as major and minor on the. In g minor pentatonic however, it has a bit more bite to it than it has in other keys. Once these two notes are removed, youre left with a minor pentatonic scale. This is the formula for the minor pentatonic, as well as its notes in the key of g. Each of the five chapters focuses on 1 of the 5 patterns of the caged system. The pentatonic scale is frequently used in lots of popular music styles. Learn to play the g minor pentatonic scale on the guitar. G major pentatonic scale diagrams g major pentatonic fretboard diagram.
Its always been at the heart of most blues and rock soloing, whilst jazz players like to get all sophisticated by superimposing the scale over various chords for all kinds of interesting. Master the minor pentatonic scale using the whole fretboard. I use it when i teach tabs and when i teach basic improvisation. We will go first in g, playing the other notes of the c pentatonic this will create a. Also, the pentatonic scale can be easily turned into the blues scale by adding the blues notes. Last time, we kicked off this series of brewtality columns by going over some basic, but essential, stuff and learning how to play the a minor pentatonic scale a c d e g all over the neck. The only difference is that the tonic first note of the scale of the minor pentatonic is 3 semitones half steps below the tonic of the major pentatonic. Pentatonic scale lesson music theory for musicians, not. Pentatonic scales are very common and are found in musical cultures all over the world. The root notes a in these examples are circled so that you can learn their locations. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. Note that a minor pentatonic has identical notes with c major pentatonic but in different order.
How to construct major and minor pentatonic scales. For example in the g minor pentatonic scale all g notes are root notes. The 5 major pentatonic scale shapes positions guitarhabits. As we already know from the minor pentatonic scale theory lesson, the g minor pentatonic scale has 5 notes which are derived from the minor scale. For example, you could play g major pentatonic over a c major chord or e minor pentatonic over an a minor chord, this is called superimposing. Minor pentatonic scale 1 b3 4 5 b7 g minor pentatonic. Combining minor and major pentatonic scales guitarhabits. So how do i tell if a pentatonic scale is major or minor. Pentatonic scales contain five notes, which is how it gets its name penta5, tonic tones. All you have to do is remove the 2nd and 6th scale degrees from the minor scale. Something that cannot be said of the two notes of the major scale that are not included in the major pentatonic scale the 4th and 7th. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here.
The tonalities are called relative major and relative minor. The root note is the key that the pentatonic scale will be played in. If you dont have a keyboard in home, dont be desperate, we will explain in details how to create this scale. They are usually the first scales beginner guitarists learn to play. The minor pentatonic scale is one that pretty much everyone should learn, regardless of the style you want to play because its a real foundation for many language styles. Guitar scale maps connect g minor guitar scales together so you can follow them up and down the guitar neck.
However i realised from your videos that this is actually the major pentatonic. This scale is perhaps less familiar to most guitarists than the minor pentatonic, but it is equally useful. E d g b e a pentaton c minor scale box 1 glitarsik. The major pentatonic scale has the 5 notes of the major scale. The first 5 degrees of a minor scale are the same for a natural minor, harmonic minor and a melodic minor. For your convenience, i have included a pdf of all the pentatonics. The solution below shows the a minor pentatonic scale, on the piano, bass and treble clef. The major pentatonic scale is mostly used in country, folk country rock, blues and jazz.
All the fretboard diagrams below show c minor pentatonic, so the notes built on that root are c e. If we played these five notes on the low e string, we would end up with the pattern shown below. Use these drawings in the tonal and blues contexts. Having read the theory behind the pentatonic scales, you should already be familiar with the basic intervals and use of the major and minor pentatonic scale. The 5 minor pentatonic positions deft digits guitar lessons. Watch the minor pentatonic scales online guitar lesson by kenny wessel from shades of jazz we will start with the minor pentatonic scale, often called the blues scale. Pentatonic scales are great place to start for song writing and improvising.
Note interval a root c minor third d perfect fourth e perfect fifth g minor seventh. There are three ways youll want to learn your major pentatonic scale forms. Understanding the major and the minor blues pentatonic. Now, we will look at the major and minor pentatonic scales, and see. G minor pentatonic scale diagrams g minor pentatonic fretboard diagram. Fill riffs with the 5th position g major pentatonic scale beginner country bluegrass guitar lesson duration. There are a million ways to express your emotions through the minor pentatonic and use it for your soloing. The g minor pentatonic scale can be divided into patterns. Its a great scale because its fairly easy to play which makes it a perfect beginner scale for soloing, but it also has the functionality. You hear this sound all the time in just about every style of music rock, blues, country, jazz, you name it heres a video taking you through some major pentatonic essentials, and i develop these ideas in a. So we have structured this technique book to have the 10 lesson plan program. Chart of the a blues scale aka minor blues patterns on. The guitar neck diagram shows you the big picture for the g minor pentatonic scale.
When you use e minor pentatonic, the e note is the tonal center and your point of resolution. The pentatonic scales are a staple of modern rock, blues and pop music. There is a major pentatonic scale and a minor pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale itself is used widely in genres like rock and roll, blues, and country music. In the examples below all the scale shapes are in the key of g, so all the. Its build from either the major or natural minor scale. The worksheet uses crotchets, quavers and minim terminology so ideal for a british classroom.
So, let us deconstruct this scale and look at the intervals that make up a minor pentatonic scale. The only difference between e minor and g major pentatonic is which note functions as the tonic or tonal center of the scale. Check out my free video lessons on my free lessons page. The solution below shows the gb minor pentatonic scale, on the piano, bass and treble clef the lesson steps then explain how to construct the scale using the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th minor scale notes for a quick summary to this topic, have a look at pentatonic scale. The c minor pentatonic scale can be broken down into boxes that we can play in, and each box is composed of the same notes played in a different order. Pentatonic scale has notes that when played generate a pleasant melody, even if it is just the.
The pentatonic scale can be played in different positions. The solution below shows the g minor pentatonic scale, on the piano, bass and treble clef. You can play a pentatonic scale by walking your fingers across the neck at any one of these positions, playing 2 notes per string. If you play through any one of the a minor pentatonic scale patterns weve just. See more ideas about guitar chords, music guitar and guitar lessons. Guitar maps allow you to play solos anywhere on the guitar neck. Once you are familiar with the intervallic characteristics of the scale, it should be very easy to play in any key. Scale pentatonic minor 1,b3,4,5,b7 fullth pattern root note g guitar tuning. If you are playing in g major, use e minor pentatonic scale also know as g major pentatonic you have probably noticed that the pentatonic scale can be either a major or minor scale. There are both pentatonic major and minor the minor is slightly more often used. As you will learn, these patterns can be transferred to all keys.
G minor guitar scales work with songs that have a g minor root note and the major scales are for songs that have a major root note. The word pentatonic comes from the greek pente meaning 5 and the latin tonicus meaning tone. All of the root notes are g because this is the g minor pentatonic scale. These are not lessons, but supplements to my lessons. A minor pentatonic all boxes caged shapes box 1 e box 2 d box 3 c box 4 a box 5 g heres a quick rundown on the pentatonic boxes, and how they relate to the caged system. So place finger 1 at the 3rd fret and you will play the g minor pentatonic scale because the note on the 3rd fret of the 6th string is the note g.
Lessons scales minor pentatonic scale official official by lessons scales with free online tab player, speed control and loop. The minor pentatonic expanded scale 2written by david taub now that you are familiar with the minor pentatonic scale in the box position and in an expanded 1 scale, lets learn the minor pentatonic expanded 2 scale. Scales you can use in the real world, created by a human guitarist. The awesome part is that they contain the same note intervals with. A minor pentatonic contains scale degrees 1, b3, 4, 5, and b7. This is part of a series of lessons teaching the first few important scales on the guitar. How to build major pentatonic scales, learn to build and play major pentatonic scales on guitar. This lesson allows your students to explore their musical creativity through improvisation by developing ideas for melodic lines using the aeolian mode. A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitches per octave, in contrast to a heptatonic sevennote scale such as the major and minor scales. Scale diagrams can also be labeled with either letters or scale degrees.
From minor pentatonic scale to aeolian mode in our last lesson, we created a minor pentatonic tune through visualauditory associations. Included is also the a minor pentatonic scale and the a minor blues scale so that students can practice improvisation if they are ready to begin soloing. Show me chords that sound good with a g minor pentatonic scale. Cs relative minor pentatonic scale, a minor pentatonic, begins on the 6 th scale degree of the major pentatonic scale shown above. The minor pentatonic scale is the most used scale for soloing and it is used in a wide variety of music styles like pop, rock, country, metal, blues and more. Some people find it easier to think in minor terms, and some find it easier to think in minor and major terms.
Compared to the a minor pentatonic scale, g minor is a bit rowdier. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in. Here i will demonstrate the g minor pentatonic scale up and down the neck. A pentatonic scale is a pattern of 5 notes plus the repeated upper tonic note 5 penta plus 1 tonic for a total of 6 notes. So, a pentatonic scale is just a scale made up of five different notes that are repeated in different octaves.
Since there are 5 notes in the pentatonic scale every 5th note, starting from a root note, is a root note. After learning this scale, the minor pentatonic and major scales will be a breeze. The notes of the a minor pentatonic scale are a, c, d, e, and g. Oct 29, 2018 after playing the scale in each position, try shifting between positions as you play. Practice each pattern and memorise the fingering required to play them. The only difference is which root notes you choose to target. If you are stuck in the pentatonic box then this is the way out of it. In this lesson grant mickelson goes over the g minor pentatonic scale, this is a great exercise to increase your speed. Scale pentatonic major 1,2,3,5,6 fullth pattern root note a guitar tuning. In this example we use the a minor pentatonic scale which consists of the notes. The minor pentatonic scale is constructed from five notes of the natural minor scale. Pentatonic is just another way of saying five tones or five notes, thats all.
D minor pentatonic has the same notes as f major pentatonic and so. There are numerous ways of playing a g major pentatonic scale on guitar. Learn the major and minor pentatonic scales, their patterns, when to use them, and why theyre the scale shortcut. If you are stuck in the pentatonic box then this is the way. This scale has its low root played with the first finger on the low e string.
G minor guitar scale pattern chart patterns scales maps. This is a composing worksheet where pupils create an 8 beat composition using notes of the g pentatonic scale. Check out the archive where youll find loads of minor pentatonic lessons. Minor pentatonic the 5 patterns all of the 5 pentatonic scale patterns overlap in the same way with some being easier shapes to play than others. This exercise is a pattern of notes that repeats itself as you move up or down a scale. With its clean, folky sound, the major pentatonic scale is a common scale in folk, blues, country and pop music. For example a song in g, ill use the e minor pentatonic. The red dots indicate a root note and the black dots indicate a note in the scale.
While this scale can cover a lot of ground when soloing over songs, there are some moments where you. After pattern 5 the sequence starts again with pattern 1 at the 12th fret for the e minor pentatonic scale. Everything in this book is presented in the key of a minor so that you can see how it all relates together and so that you can begin to string licks together into larger ideas. In an a minor scale, the 2nd scale degree is a b and the 6th is an f. Because pentatonic scales are very useful in learning music theory, writing or arranging music, and especially improvising.