Full Minor Pentatonic Scale (Guitar Lesson)

Chapter 1: (03:13) Full Minor Pentatonic Scale Once again, Dave MacKenzie is back in action with more scales. Scales are the essential building blocks of all music. For this reason, it is paramount that you learn as much about scales as possible. Learning scale patterns isn't enough. You must learn how a scale pattern can be applied to a practical musical context. This includes learning the music theory pertinent to each scale.

Music Theory

The JamPlay administration team is currently hard at work on a totally comprehensive library of scales. This section will be available to all members in the coming weeks. For now however, here is an excerpt from the Minor Pentatonic scale page:

Theory:

The minor pentatonic scale consists of five notes. The prefix "penta" means five. "Tonic" means tone. Thus, pentatonic means five tones. The five tones that comprise the minor pentatonic scale are derived from the corresponding natural minor or Aeolian mode of the same letter name. The minor pentatonic scale consists of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th scale degrees of the parent natural minor scale. In the key of A minor, these notes are A, C, D, E, and G.

When learning any new scale, it is very important to analyze it from a vertical, harmonic standpoint. If the notes in the minor pentatonic scale were stacked on top of one another, they would form a min11 chord. It is important to realize that scales are chords and vice versa depending on how they function within a piece of music.

Features of the Scale:

Since this particular pentatonic scale is minor in quality, the third scale degree is a minor third interval above the root note. The fifth scale degree is a perfect fifth from the root. Thus, the minor pentatonic scale contains the tonic triad of the same name. For example, the A minor pentatonic scale contains the notes that comprise an A minor triad: A, C, and E.

Please visit the Scale Library for more music theory pertaining to the minor and major pentatonic scales. This library also includes information about how these scales can be used in the context of an improvised solo. The Scale Library can will be accessible through the "Teaching Tools" tab on the left side of the homepage.

Learning the Minor Pentatonic Scale

In Lesson 24, you learned a one octave pattern of the A minor pentatonic scale. This time around, you will learn some fretboard patterns that span two full octaves. Before you begin to practice the new two octave pattern, review and memorize the one octave pattern from the previous lesson.

Similar to Lesson 24, Dave demonstrates the minor pentatonic scale in the key of A minor. This is the easiest minor key to improvise in, because there are no flats or sharps in the key signature. For this reason, A minor is often the first key taught to beginning students.

Two Octave Pattern

The one octave pattern begins in third position and ends up in fifth position. The two octave pattern also begins in third position and continues in fifth position until the tonic note is reached on the high E string. Watch Dave closely as he demonstrates this pattern. For additional help, tablature to the scale patterns presented in this lesson can be found in the "Supplemental Content" section.

Whenever you practice any scale, you must ascend and descend the pattern. Begin on the tonic note and play until the highest tonic note in the pattern is reached. Then, descend the scale back down. Remember Steve Eulberg's scale mantra, "what goes up, must come down."

Remaining Pentatonic Patterns

This is just one possible way of playing a two octave minor pentatonic scale. The possibilities are really endless. However, there are five patterns or boxes that are commonly recognized by most guitarists. These patterns do not feature any position shifts. Tablature to these patterns can be found in both Brad Henecke's Phase 2 Classic Rock series and Matt Brown's Phase 2 Rock series. Chapter 2: (02:35) Alternate A Minor Pentatonic In order to improvise effectively, you must be able to play a particular scale anywhere on the fretboard. Watch some videos of your favorite guitarists playing guitar solos. Does he/she stay in one position the whole time? Chances are, the soloist changes positions several times throughout the solo. Learning only one pattern severely limits your options and the range of notes available to you.

For this reason, DMAC demonstrates another two octave pattern of the minor pentatonic scale. Notice how this particular pattern contains several "open" notes. Although this pattern contains the same pitches as the pattern demonstrated in the previous scene, the two patterns sound quite different due to where each pitch is played on the fretboard. For example, compare the sound of the open A string to the sound of the A note played on the sixth string / 5th fret. How would you describe this difference in sound?

The Next Step

From this point, learn the other patterns of the minor pentatonic scale. Make a note of where these patterns overlap. For example, which notes are contained within more than one pattern? These notes are great places to transition from one pattern to the next. Also, practice these patterns in other keys. Simply move the location of the patterns in this lesson so that you are beginning and ending on the appropriate root note.

Once you have learned the patterns, begin to experiment and improvise your own lead lines. Chapter 3: (03:22) am Demonstration (Backing Track in Supp. Content) A backing track is included with this lesson. This track can be found in the "Supplemental Content" section as well as in JamPlay's backing tracks player. This player can be accessed through the "Teaching Tools" tab on the left side of the home page.

This track is great for practicing improvisation with the A minor and A major pentatonic scales. It is very common to mix the major and minor forms of the pentatonic scale in a single solo. This happens very often in blues, jazz, and rock and roll.

In this scene, Dave improvises a solo over the backing track. This will hopefully inspire you to develop some pentatonic licks of your own. Notice how Dave often shifts to higher areas of the fretboard to access higher notes.

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