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Pentatonic Scales

Sean Conklin

Welcome to the Pentatonic Scale Tutorial! The pentatonic scale is an extremely important scale and should be learned and respected by every guitarist. The pentatonic is a foundational scale, as many other scales are drawn and created from it. The term "pentatonic" has two parts to it. The "pent" means "five". And the "tonic" means "tone". So from that, we can conclude that the pentatonic scale is a scale with five tones/notes. Each of those tones has an assigned position, and we are going to learn all five of those positions in this tutorial. Also, throughout this tutorial we are going to stay within the key of G minor. Please look below at the two fretboard diagrams. The top image simply indicates every note of the five positions in G minor. Then with the second image, I highlighted each position individually. That way, you can see what each position looks like by itself, but also see how the positions fit together. Think of the positions like puzzle pieces that form an overall scale structure. And no matter what key you're in, that scale structure will never change. It will simply move up or down the fretboard depending on the key. G minor Pentatonic Scale All 5 Positions

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7 Lessons

  1. 1 2:12 Lesson · 2m Pentatonic Scales - Introduction Welcome to the Pentatonic Scale Tutorial! The pentatonic scale is an extremely important scale and should be learned and respected by every guitarist. The pentatonic is a foundational scale, as many other...
  2. 2 1:21 Lesson · 1m Pentatonic Scales - Position 1 With each scale position, we are going to play the pattern with eighth notes, then triplets, then sixteenth notes. The fingering you use is optional. Since these scales are 2-notes-per-string, I have a... Tab Guitar Pro
  3. 3 1:06 Lesson · 1m Pentatonic Scales - Position 2 Now, let's examine the second position. Position 2 is the position that primarily represents the Major key. So we can apply the same process as we did with Position 1 when we found the minor key on the... Tab Guitar Pro
  4. 4 0:32 Lesson · 1m Pentatonic Scales - Position 3 Out of all five positions, the 3rd position is the only one that spans across 5 frets, rather than 4. Use whatever fingering you find most comfortable and effective. Then when you have it down, head on over to... Tab Guitar Pro
  5. 5 0:31 Lesson · 1m Pentatonic Scales - Position 4 The 4th position is my personal favorite. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it's just because I enjoy the playing opportunities that the patterns provide. Once you have it down, head on over to the next... Tab Guitar Pro
  6. 6 0:31 Lesson · 1m Pentatonic Scales - Position 5 Alright, here is our last position. The patterns in this one are pretty simple as there aren't any drastic shape changes. Now that you have the 5 positions down, let's work on blending them together in the... Tab Guitar Pro
  7. 7 2:04 Lesson · 2m Pentatonic Scales - Putting the Pieces Together Great job! If you've made it this far, that means you know the 5 positions of the pentatonic scale. Now that you know the positions individually, it's time to start learning how to put them together. If you... Tab Guitar Pro

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