AC/DC - Minor Pentatonic Scale Variations Guitar Lesson
Minor Pentatonic Scale Variations
Taught by DJ Phillips in Blues Guitar with DJ seriesLength: 11:10Difficulty: 2.0 of 5
Before continuing with the rest of this lesson, you must have the first pattern of the pentatonic scale memorized. You must also be able to play this scale musically and in time with a metronome. Review the previous lesson if necessary before continuing with the exercises that DJ presents in this lesson.
In a practical, musical context there are very few instances when you will play straight up and down the scale. The exercises in this lesson will prepare your mind and hands for practical uses of the minor pentatonic scale.
Exercise 1
This exercise is comprised of a repeating sequence within the A minor pentatonic box. The exercise begins with a melodic pattern played on the low two strings. The first segment of this sequence consists of the following notes: C, A, C, D, C, A. The interval relationships between these notes define the sequence taught in this exercise. Next, this sequence begins on the note E. E is the next highest note in the A minor pentatonic scale.
Practicing the Exercise
When practicing through this exercise, use the left-hand fingerings that DJ demonstrates in the lesson video. Also, remember to apply strict alternate picking to the exercises presented in this lesson. Begin by practicing the exercise very slowly in quarter notes along with a metronome. Then, gradually increase the tempo. Practice the exercise in eighth notes as well as eighth note triplets. This exercise will provide you with the technical ability to play fast musical runs such as the one that DJ demonstrates at 02:40. Like DJ mentions, you won’t use this entire exercise in the context of a solo. However, you can take segments of this exercise and apply them to your lead licks. DJ provides an example of this idea at 07:40
A Far Eastern Sound
As you might have noticed, the pentatonic scale often creates a Far Eastern. The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used scales in Japanese and Chinese melodies.
Exercise 2
This exercise can also be used as a basis for creating your own licks. A repeating sequence is played throughout this exercise as well. Essentially, the pattern skips over every other note in the scale. Then, it returns to the skipped note and ascends using the same sequence. Consequently, the pattern ascends in a series of diatonic fourths or diatonic thirds.
Finger Roll Technique
You must use the finger roll technique when playing this exercise. Begin by fretting the note A at the 5th fret of the sixth string. Then, roll your first finger off of the sixth string down to the note D on the 5th fret of the fifth string. The finger roll technique occurs rather frequently within the context of melodic lines, especially when the melody features diatonic thirds or fourths. Practicing through this exercise will enable you to perfect this essential technique. DJ demonstrates a lick at 10:42 that exhibit this technique.
Preview of Next Lesson
Next time around, DJ will break down all of Stevie Ray Vaughn's "The House Is Rockin'." He will relate the material in this song to what you have learned in previous lessons.
Supplemental Learning Material
Blues Guitar with DJ
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsDJ Phillips will teach you everything you need to know to become a master of the blues with an emphasis on fast-paced techniques & playing.
Lesson 1
Series Introduction
Meet Mr. DJ Phillips & learn what he's going to teach you throughout this series.
Length: 2:30 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
12 Bar Blues
Learn what makes a chord progression a blues progression as well as the basics to the famous 12 bar blues.
Length: 13:18 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
Rhythmic Variations
Time to take the 12 bar blues progression you've learned and add in some rhythmic variations.
Length: 8:48 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
12 Bar Blues Chord Variations
Now that you've learned the 12 bar blues and some rhythmic variations, it's time to throw in some chord variations.
Length: 6:22 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Minor Pentatonic Scale
Time to take a break from the 12 bar blues and start mastering some lead techniques. This all starts with the minor pentatonic scale.
Length: 8:13 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Minor Pentatonic Scale Variations
Now that you've learned the minor pentatonic scale, it's time to learn how to move it around.
Length: 11:10 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 7
SRV - The House Is Rockin'
Learn a handful of new blues techniques while learning to play Stevie Ray Vaughn's "The House Is Rockin'".
Length: 49:58 Difficulty: 3.0 FREE
Funky Blues Rhythm
Now that you've mastered some SRV, DJ is going to show you some funky blues rhythms that use the 9th chords.
Length: 8:44 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Minor Pentatonic in Open and First Position
DJ begins a discussion of the minor pentatonic scale patterns. He demonstrates the A minor pentatonic scale in first or "open" position.
Length: 12:16 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Minor Pentatonic in Second Position
Continuing on with the minor pentatonic scale, DJ covers the second position. As with lesson 9, he provides a few exercises and riffs along the way.
Length: 10:11 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Minor Pentatonic in Fifth Position
Continuing with the A minor pentatonic scale, DJ returns with a lesson on the fifth position pattern.
Length: 7:09 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Minor Pentatonic in Seventh Position
In this lesson, DJ covers the A minor pentatonic scale in 7th position. He includes licks and riffs to help with skill building.
Length: 8:49 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Minor Pentatonic in Ninth Position
This lesson covers the 9th position of the A minor pentatonic scale. DJ provides licks, riffs, and a string skipping exercise.
Length: 15:00 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Moving Positions
Now that DJ has covered all five patterns of the minor pentatonic scale, he explains how to shift from one pattern to the next.
Length: 6:12 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Major Pentatonic
Now that DJ has covered the minor pentatonic positions, he shifts gears to the major pentatonic scale.
Length: 17:34 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Moving Across Positions
In this lesson, DJ demonstrates a number of major pentatonic licks that feature position shifts.
Length: 5:15 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Combining Major and Minor Pentatonics
DJ demonstrates how to combine the major and minor pentatonic scales. He provides a number of combined scale licks for you to learn.
Length: 12:54 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Solo and Lead Lines
In this lesson, DJ demonstrates how to build an effective guitar solo.
Length: 9:13 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Rhythm
This lesson details the importance of rhythm within solos and lead lines.
Length: 6:10 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Improvising
DJ talks about the art of improvising in this lesson. Always begin with a grand entrance and end with a big finish.
Length: 7:59 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Building Chords on the 6th String
DJ begins a discussion of colorful dominant chord voicings. He demonstrates how to build chords from a root note on the 6th string.
Length: 9:38 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Building Chords on the 4th and 5th String
Continuing on from lesson 21, DJ explains how to build dominant chords from root notes on the 4th and 5th strings.
Length: 8:26 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Using Different Voicings
In lesson 23, DJ demonstrates how various chord voicings can be used while playing rhythm or lead over a 12 bar blues progression.
Length: 4:49 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Mute Raking
With lesson 24, DJ begins a short segment on tricks of the trade. First, he discusses and demonstrates string rakes.
Length: 5:08 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Organ Licks
DJ explains how B3 organ licks can be played on guitar.
Length: 4:11 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Volume Swells
In this lesson, DJ talks about volume swells and how they can be used.
Length: 4:37 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Walking Bass and Upstroke Shuffle
Continuing with his "tricks of the trade" lessons, DJ demonstrates a walking bass line and the upstroke shuffle.
Length: 6:51 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Slide
In this lesson, DJ discusses and demonstrates the basics of slide technique.
Length: 5:28 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Wah Pedals
DJ demonstrates some of the subtleties of using a wah pedal in the blues style.
Length: 3:50 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Harmonics
DJ discusses and demonstrates natural, artificial (harp), and pinch harmonics in the blues style.
Length: 8:37 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Aspects of Tone
DJ delves into tone in lesson 31. He discusses how and why certain tones are achieved.
Length: 21:41 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Minor Blues
With lesson 32, DJ introduces the minor form of the 12 bar blues progression.
Length: 4:57 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Using the Dominant V7 Chord
Building on his minor blues set, DJ discusses how to utilize the dominant V7 chord to spice up the standard progression.
Length: 4:14 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Minor Turnaround
DJ demonstrates a couple turnaround techniques that can be applied to the 12 bar minor blues progression.
Length: 6:13 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Minor 7 Voicings
In this lesson, DJ discusses some minor 7 voicings with roots on the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings.
Length: 9:12 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Minor 6th Voicings
Much like lesson 35, DJ discusses minor 6th chord voicings with roots on the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings.
Length: 8:53 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Extensions of the V7 Chord
DJ explains how altered extensions such as the b9 and #9 can be added to the V7 chord within the context of a minor blues progression.
Length: 8:35 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Scale Options
DJ discusses the scale options that can be used over a minor blues progression.
Length: 2:21 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Minor Scale Positions
In this lesson, DJ builds upon lesson 38 and covers the minor scale positions across the entire fretboard.
Length: 5:11 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
T-Bone Walker
DJ profiles blues guitarist T-Bone Walker in lesson 40.
Length: 31:23 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
T-Bone Shuffle
Profiling T-Bone walker, DJ will demonstrate the T-Bone Shuffle.
Length: 29:26 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Skills and Concepts of T-Bone Walker
DJ discusses and demonstrates skills acquired from learning T-Bone Walker's material.
Length: 17:42 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Bo-Diddley
DJ will take a look at Blues guitarist Bo Diddley and teach you the "Bo Diddley beat."
Length: 13:26 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Blues with DJ: More Bo Diddley
Dj is back yet again with more on the style of Bo Diddley. Here is will dive more into his style of solos as well as an in depth explanation of how the songs are played out. Get comfortable everyone and...
Length: 22:15 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Implementing Bo Diddley's Style
Dj brings a kicking finish to the style of Bo Diddley by teaching you how to implement his style of playing to your's. With a quick review of what he has taught so far, Dj will play the backing track as...
Length: 10:59 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
About DJ Phillips
View Full Biography
Like many guitar players who began playing around the same time, DJ began plunking out Nirvana and Soundgarden tunes when he first picked up the guitar in the mid-nineties. While these grunge-y roots certainly have their merit, it wasn't until DJ's eldest sister took him to a Led Zeppelin laser light show that the full potential of the guitar began to come into focus.
With Jimmy Page's Les Paul pyrotechnics as his inspiration, DJ began fervently practicing for hours on end in the suburban jungle of Southwestern Ohio. This newfound passion (combined with his complete lack of athletic prowess and physical coordination thus completely ruling out all sports) led him to form rock bands in junior high and high school. He grew to love the performance aspect of music and soon decided on it as a career path.
College led him to Nashville, Tennessee where he began to pursue a degree in Commercial Music at Belmont University. He also started another band and got his first professional theater gig the following summer. Since that summer, DJ has spent nearly every waking hour finding ways to play music and avoiding a real contribution to society in any other way.
He moved to Minneapolis after college, rocking out between theater gigs with his current rock band Brother Big Bad. He has now convinced the band to move to Nashville where music flows like water.
DJ is elated to be a part of JamPlay and is thankful for everyone's warm welcome and says "Now, let's ROCK, people."
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Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Wow, great lesson, but I have totally plateaued on that first exercise. I keep banging away at it and have gotten a lot faster but after a few weeks things are still weak. Gonna move on to the next lesson but this is part of the daily exercises now and looks like it will remain so until I can get the speed up to where it needs to be.
DJ, Can you tell us what kind of Tele that is? I love the color.
this is really gonna help with the solos that i have to do in jazz band
Thank you! This is a very challenging exercise which seems to not sound too 'melodic' until you can play it fast. Of course, I HAVE NO IDEA WHEN that will happen...
I’ve done various exercises with this minor pentatonic position and tend to mostly go up and down the scale too much when I try to improvise. The second exercise where you play two notes across two strings A, D, C, E etc. is a new thing to me that I think will help tremendously.
Wow DJ. That second variation is a b**ger, especially for the right hand. Waiting for the brain to take over as thinking about it just makes it worse. Keeping on practising until I get it.
Nice! Sounds really good. This whole lessons set is great. Bug report: There's a "ghost chapter", It's called "Scene 2:: Test Super" but the video can't be played.
Fixed this, thank you for the heads up.
good excercise !