The 4th Position Guitar Lesson
The 4th Position
Move even farther up the neck in this lesson by learning the 4th pattern of the minor pentatonic and minor blues scales.
Taught by Brad Henecke in Rock Guitar with Brad Henecke seriesLength: 8:28Difficulty: 2.5 of 5
Optional Fingering of the Scale
Brad plays this pentatonic box using all four fingers. However, many guitarists prefer to alter the fingering of the pentatonic boxes that are played in 12th position or higher on the fretboard. Brad demonstrates the scale by playing the notes at the 14th fret with the third finger. He plays all notes at the 15th fret with the pinky finger. Guitarists with larger hands often find it more comfortable to play the 14th fret notes with the second finger, and the 15th fret notes with the third finger. The C note on the 13th fret of the B string is then fingered with the first finger. This fingering also accommodates bends performed at the fifteenth fret. It is much harder to bend strings accurately with the pinky finger than with the stronger third finger. It is not wrong or improper to use this fingering. The fingering you choose for this particular box is simply a matter of preference. Experiment with both fingerings to see which you feel more comfortable with.Brad closes this scene with some blues licks played in the 4th box. Chapter 3: (1:38) Fourth Position of the Minor Pentatonic Scale Brad walks you through each note of the minor pentatonic scale. The fingering for this scale is identical to the blues scale with the exception of the b5 blues note. Once again, the alternate fingering described in the last scene can be used to finger the pentatonic form of the scale. Chapter 4: (1:26) Improvising Using All Four Positions Formulate some new licks using this box of the scale. Spend some time devising your own melodic solo lines. Also, learn as many pentatonic licks as possible from your favorite recordings. If these licks are played in different keys, transpose them to the key of A. To close the lesson, Brad improvises using the four pentatonic boxes. Feel free to steal some of the licks he plays and use them in your own solos. Chapter 5: (1:16) Final Thoughts That's all folks. Please memorize the 4th position before you move on to the next lesson. Trust us - it will make your life much easier!
When this particular box is played in different keys, this box may occur lower on the neck. For example, if this box were played in C minor, it would be played at the 3rd fret in third position. When this box is played low on the neck, use the fingering that Brad demonstrates.
Note: The fingering of the notes on the D string remains unchanged when playing the blues scale. When playing the pentatonic version of the scale, the 14th fret of the D string is played with the second finger.
Supplemental Learning Material
Rock Guitar with Brad Henecke
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsIn this Phase 2 series Brad Henecke will school you in the art of rock guitar. You will not only learn how to play some of your favorite songs in this series, but you will also learn how to create your own.
Lesson 1
Basic Rock Guitar
This lesson covers the absolute basics of rock guitar. Learn about the electric guitar, pickups, amplifiers, changing strings, and more.
Length: 52:09 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Learning Chords
The first step of your rock guitar experience is learning some of the more popular chords and that is what this lesson is all about.
Length: 42:30 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
Barre Chords and More
Brad Henecke introduces common strumming patterns and barre chords.
Length: 42:23 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Your First Song
In this lesson Brad covers some of the more advanced barre chord shapes. He applies these shapes to the song "Hotel California."
Length: 41:31 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Blues and Scales
Rock has its roots in the blues. Brad helps you explore the wonderful world of blues in this lesson. He also covers some chord theory.
Length: 48:14 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Tricks and Lead
This lesson is all about specific techniques used by lead guitarists.
Length: 52:02 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Jammin With Scales
This lesson details how to improvise with the blues scale.
Length: 27:27 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
3 Songs
In this fun lesson, Brad Henecke teaches you riffs from 3 classic rock songs.
Length: 28:28 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Power Chords
Power chords help give rock music that "punch you in the face" feel. Learn basic power chords in this lesson.
Length: 13:22 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
2 New Songs
Are you ready to learn "Ain't Talking About Love" by Van Halen and "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC? That's what this lesson is all about.
Length: 27:32 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Pentatonic Scale
In this lesson Brad teaches the first pattern of the minor pentatonic scale and explains how it relates to the blues scale.
Length: 14:30 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Second Position
Brad covers the second pattern for both the minor blues and minor pentatonic scales.
Length: 9:07 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Message in a Bottle
Learn the classic rock song "Message in a Bottle."
Length: 10:22 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Third Position
This great lesson covers the 3rd fretboard pattern of the minor pentatonic and minor blues scales.
Length: 7:19 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Colorful Chord Tension
Brad demonstrates how open strings can be added to chord shapes you are already familiar with.
Length: 9:09 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
The 4th Position
Brad covers the 4th pattern of the minor pentatonic and minor blues scales.
Length: 8:28 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Daytripper
In this lesson Brad demonstrates how to play the Beatles song "Daytripper."
Length: 15:21 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
The 5th Position
Brad demonstrates the 5th pattern of the minor pentatonic and minor blues scales. He also discusses practicing and memorizing them.
Length: 13:05 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
"Brown Eyed Girl"
Learn the classic rock song "Brown Eyed Girl" in this episode of Rock Guitar.
Length: 11:23 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Phrasing
Brad introduces you to the importance of phrasing. Quality phrasing is essential when performing any melodic line.
Length: 14:19 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Basics of Tapping
Tapping is an idiomatic guitar technique that offers a unique sound.
Length: 14:34 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Intro to Modes
Learning the modes is essential to the development of your scale vocabulary.
Length: 31:04 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Understanding Chord Shapes
Brad further explains what chord shapes are and how they relate to barre chords.
Length: 10:15 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Natural Harmonics
Learn the right and left hand mechanics involved in playing harmonics.
Length: 13:16 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Advanced Harmonics
Brad covers more advanced harmonic techniques such as harp harmonics, pinch harmonics and tap harmonics.
Length: 16:10 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
The Dorian Mode
Brad moves on in his modal lesson series to explain the Dorian mode. Includes 2 backing tracks.
Length: 22:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Phrygian Mode
Brad explains and demonstrates the Phrygian mode.
Length: 13:33 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
The Lydian mode
Brad continues his discussion of the modes. You will learn the Lydian mode in this lesson.
Length: 9:27 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Mixolydian Mode
Brad explains the Mixolydian mode and its practical applications.
Length: 10:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
The Aeolian Mode
Continuing with his modal lessons, Brad Henecke teaches the Aeolian mode.
Length: 9:09 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
The Locrian Mode
The final lesson in our modal series covers the Locrian mode.
Length: 9:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
The Ace Zone
Brad teaches some licks inspired by Ace Frehley of KISS. Incorporate these licks into your own solos.
Length: 7:18 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Learn Licks
In this lesson Brad Henecke teaches you some fun licks that can be used in your own guitar solos.
Length: 10:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Blues Licks
Brad Henecke demonstrates some cool blues licks.
Length: 17:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Modes and Scales
Brad Henecke provides an alternate way of comparing modes and scales.
Length: 8:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
A Different View
In the last lesson, Brad Henecke compared some scales that are major or dominant in quality. Now, he repeats this process with minor scales.
Length: 7:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
One String Scales
This lesson is all about 1 string scales. Learning scales on 1 string is essential to your knowledge of the fretboard.
Length: 8:34 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
One String Ionian Mode
Brad demonstrates a one string version of the Ionian mode. This lesson demonstrates the importance of horizontal scales.
Length: 7:27 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Aeolian Mode on One String
Brad continues his discussion of single string scales. He explains how to play the Aeolian mode across a single string.
Length: 4:11 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Octave Scales
Brad explains how to locate octaves within scale patterns. He demonstrates a cool lick that involves playing simultaneous octaves.
Length: 7:07 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Using Octaves
Brad explains how to use octaves in the context of an exercise. Octaves can also be used to build effective licks.
Length: 5:18 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Harmonic Minor Scale
Brad introduces the harmonic minor scale. He explains how it can be applied to the solo break in "Sweet Child O' Mine."
Length: 7:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Learning by Ear
Brad Henecke provides valuable tips regarding the process of learning songs by ear.
Length: 23:00 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Ear Training Game
Improve your ear training by playing "The Tone Is Right" with Brad Henecke.
Length: 29:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Diminished Arpeggio
Brad Henecke explains diminished chords and provides a fun diminished arpeggio exercise.
Length: 19:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Understanding Time Signatures
Brad Henecke addresses time signatures.
Length: 10:00 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Diminished Chords
Brad Henecke explains the construction of diminished seventh chords. He also provides a diminished chord exercise.
Length: 10:30 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Open G Tuning
Brad Henecke introduces open G tuning in this lesson.
Length: 23:50 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Drop D Tuning
Brad Henecke introduces drop D tuning in this lesson. He explains many advantages of this tuning.
Length: 12:57 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
G Major Pentatonic
Brad Henecke teaches the G major pentatonic scale. He demonstrates all 5 patterns and explains how they can be transposed to any key.
Length: 22:50 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Changing Scales with Chords
In this lesson Brad Henecke talks about changing the pentatonic/blues scales with each chord in a chord progression.
Length: 11:08 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Mixolydian Scale and Chords
Brad will show how to use the Mixolydian scale with a blues chord progression.
Length: 6:56 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Gear and Effects
This lesson is all about gear and effects. Brad begins his discussion with power conditioning and removing hiss from your amplifier. He progresses to discuss a plethora of effects pedals. Brad explores...
Length: 52:48 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
The Wah Pedal
In this lesson, Brad Henecke introduces the wah pedal and demonstrates its many applications.
Length: 15:53 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
About Brad Henecke
View Full Biography
Brad Henecke was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on May 5th of 1963. He has been a fan of music for as long as he & his family can remember. You could always find him running around the farm wailing on his cardboard guitar, pretending to be a member of the rock band KISS. Additional inspiration came during his first concert when he got the chance to see Boston & Sammy Hagar in the early 1970's.
This opened up a whole new world of rock and roll music for him; his parents noticed his growing interest in music and enrolled him into guitar lessons when he was 13.
From there he jumped into two years of lessons at a local music store in Cedar Rapids. After discovering Eddie Van Halen, Brad knew that the
guitar would always be a part of his life. He took his love throughout the city as he played as a pit musician & jammed at parties for friends.
This made him thirsty for more. He enrolled classes at Kirkwood Community College & also took lessons from the one & only Craig-Erickson (www.craig-erickson.com).
His love for music landed him a gig opening for Molly Hatchet in Cedar Rapids with a band called "Slap & Tickle". He has also played in the Greeley
Stampede show for quite a few years with "True North".
Brad is currently playing in Greeley, Colorado with a rock band titled "Ragged Doll". They play a wide variety of music with an emphasis on
classic rock from the 60's to present, with Brad playing electric guitar in the five piece lineup.
He currently jams on his all-time favorite guitar: a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24. Beyond guitar, he plays also plays drums & bass guitar. He has
also been known to thrash a banjo from time to time. He is still actively playing & passing his 31 years of playing experience on to others (you!).
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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.So if i am playing a song in G major can i still start on the 3rd fret 6 th string for the first position of the scale
i know this is probably stupid, ive been playing for a year and a bit now and can play a few songs but im just starting to learn scales etc so bare with me.... so is the blues and pentatonic scales moveable e.g. if i begin on the 3rd fret on the 6th string it becomes the G blues scale?
yes all the scales are moveable. you are right , starting on the 3rd fret would be in the key of G because on the 6th string at the 3th fret is the G note .and that is the Root note of the scale .
Yep, I like your advice, just play and have fun. If you practice the scales, and play along with music, or better yet get someone to join you,,you'll get better!! To me the coolest moment on the guitar is when you go to that next level, and hell yes you'll know when you reach it,,it's work,,,but it's fun work!! thanks Brad.
Salve Brad, are you still arround…? The downloading of all Jamplay lessons is getting so slow that I just keep zapping to make some sense out of all this stops and goes. Is that the breaking method going nuts? Hello, technical team, help! 1-I've been fingering through all this patterns for ages with quite mediocre results. What do I have to consider in order to go on? Shall I seat and go for theory, and theory… Like not only knowing the patterns but every root, and then, every single note in the fret, shall I explore all the possible sounds and variations in one octave, betweeen roots, always begin in any root in any place in the fret, of the same key. 2 New start: If patterns are a way to know scales without having to memorize every single note in every single fret, what do I have to know about patterns then? Roots? 3 Shall I just play in the park and wait someone come with their guitar and form a band? 4 Messy. Thanks.
I think the answer to your question is #3 Shall I just play in the park and wait for someone to come with their guitar and form a band? Well, don't just play in the park and wate . Just Play .It sounds like you need to start putting the scale patterns to use . The best way is to jam. Play some 1 4 5 chords and jam that blues scale pattern and pentatonic scale Over the chords . If you can't find some one to jam with go to the teachings tools .Grab that first position blues scale and play along with the recording I made of the blues . Don't think so much. Remember it should be fun . Playing with other people is the best way to learn how to play .Look for a jam bud.
Try changing the quality setting, that should help the video play faster. High Quality is too intense even for some broadband connections!
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