The Minor Pentatonic Scale

Lesson 2/62 | Study Time: 5 Min

Course: Rock Guitar

The Minor Pentatonic Scale

The most common scale used in lead guitar playing is the minor pentatonic scale. Pentatonic means five tones (notes). In the A minor pentatonic scale these notes would be A C D E and G. The following diagram shows the A minor pentatonic scale in the 5th position.

Play the scale as indicated here. It may sound familiar to you.

Now try starting at the highest note and playing down through the scale.

The next step is to play the scale ascending and descending as shown here. Try to get a smooth, even sound.

To help develop your picking it is a good idea to practice playing each note twice.

Riffs are often derived from scales. This one uses notes from the A minor pentatonic scale.

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Class Sessions

1- Syncopation 2- Playing Two Strings Together 3- Chords 4- Rests 5- Minor Chords 6- Arpeggios 7- Learning All the Notes 8- Using An Electronic Tuner 9- The Release Bend 10- Vibrato 11- Bending Notes 12- The Half Bar 13- Using the Whole Fretboard 14- The Slide 15- The Minor Pentatonic Scale 16- Sixteenth Notes 17- The Triplet 18- Left Hand Technique 19- Moving to Different Keys 20- Moving Between Forms 21- How to Read Music 22- Notes on the Fourth String 23- The Eighth Note 24- Five Forms of the Pentatonic Scale 25- Notes on the First String 26- Scale Degrees 27- Electric Guitars 28- Pentatonic Blues Solo 29- The Symbols 8va and Loco 30- Notes on the Sixth String 31- Music Notation 32- Left Hand Technique 33- Analyzing What You Play 34- The Lead-in 35- Slight Bends 36- Notes on the Second String 37- Tones and Semitones 38- Identifying Scale Patterns 39- Slash Chords 40- Chord Shapes 41- Alternate Picking 42- Rhythm Notation 43- Notes on the Fifth String 44- Vibrato With Bent Notes 45- Power Chords 46- Sharps 47- Jam Along Progressions 48- Notes on the Guitar Fretboard 49- Riffs 50- Major Chord Formations 51- Movable Power Chords 52- Notes on the Sixth String 53- Notes on the Third String 54- Bar Lines 55- Electric Guitar Pickups 56- The Chromatic Scale 57- Chord Symbols 58- Amplifiers 59- Listening 60- Flats 61- Picking the Open Strings 62- Types of Amplifiers

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The Minor Pentatonic Scale