Pentatonic Scales Music Lesson

Warm-Up Exercise

Let's go ahead and warm up for the pentatonix that we're going to play.

• I'm going to just go back and forth between my first and fourth finger.
• Now I'm going to move to the next one.
• The next one.
• All right, now I'm going to do one and three.
• Finally, I'll do two and four.

Cool. Alright, now let's go ahead and talk about pentatonic scales.

Understanding Pentatonic Scales

One of the first things we did was to learn a major scale. Let's look at a G Major Scale:
G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G.

Now, if I want to play a pentatonic, I can play a major scale, and all I have to do is get rid of the fourth note.

• I'm going to skip four and go to the five and the seventh note, there's six.
• I'm going to skip seven and go to the octave.

That's the sound of a major pentatonic scale. It consists of:

• A major third,
• Perfect fifth,
• A sixth,
• And the octave.

Inversions of the Major Pentatonic Scale

Now, if we move up to the next inversion, I'm treating these like modes. This is going to be the First Inversion of the major pentatonic scale:
A, B, D, E, G, A.

Just like with the modes, if I start with this first position, I get G, A, B, D, E, G. I'm not going to add any notes; I'm just changing the order:
A, B, D, E, G, A.

Let's move up again:

• B, D, E, G, A, B.
• Move up one more time: D, E, G, A, B, D.
• I'm going to move up again: E, G, A, B, D, E.

And then actually, I can finish off here:
G, A, B, D, E, G.

If you think about it, remember, with the modes, I just built everything on the steps of the major scale, half steps and whole steps.
With this one, the scale is built:

• whole step,
• whole step,
• minor third (three frets),
• whole step,
• minor third.

So if I want to find the start points for a major pentatonic scale, I start here on G:

• Whole step,
• Whole step,
• Minor third,
• Whole step,
• Minor third.

These are all my start points. Let's play it together. We'll do quarter note = 60 and I'll do eighth notes. So you've been playing for a while. This should be pretty easy for you.
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and.

Sliding Fingering Technique

Okay, so those are all the G Major Pentatonics. I want to give you another kind of a scale fingering that we can use, and this is what I would call a Sliding Fingering.
Because I'm going to slide up to the position.

So I'm going to take this G here, first finger, slide up.

• So that's G to A.
• Then I'll put my B right here.

So I'm using my third finger, first finger, third finger, first finger.
Now I'm going to slide up again:

• First finger, third,
• First finger, third,
• Third.

Let's run that again. Now play it with me. We'll do this at 60 quarter notes:
1, 2, 3, 4.

Four Note Sequences

Okay, now if you think back to what we were working with on lesson 13 and the modes, we were working with some four-note sequences. Here's how we would take that four-note sequence and run it on a major pentatonic. Once again: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; (6 notes).

So our sequence is going to be a little shorter:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, 5, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6.
• Back down: 6, 5, 4, 3, 5, 4, 3, 2, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Okay, now we can run that up through all these other inversions as well:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, 5, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Back down:

• 6, 5, 4, 3, 5, 4, 3, 2, 4, 3, 2, 1.

See, the numbers always stay the same because I'm just thinking about the numerical order. This could be any six-note scale.

1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, 5, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Back down:
6, 5, 4, 3, 5, 4, 3, 2, 4, 3, 2, 1.

E Minor Pentatonic Scale

Now let's go to the E minor pentatonic, which is actually the same as the G major.
I'm just going to the fifth inversion of the G major, and it's the same. It's also the E minor.

So we've got:
E, G, A, B, D, E.
Back down:
E, D, B, A, D, B, A, G, B, A, G, E.

Then I can finish off:
G, A, B, D, A, B, D, E, B, D, E, G.
Back down:
G, E, B, D, E, D, B, A, D, B, A, G.

Let's play this in tempo. We'll do eighth notes:
1, 2, 3, and 4.

F Minor Pentatonic Scale

Alright, now we're going to meet that pentatonic and those sequences in the first tune, Weatherman. But for right now, let's look at the F Minor Pentatonic.

Remember I said that when we were going up this series, that was the E minor pentatonic. It was kind of relative to that G major pentatonic.
For an F Minor Pentatonic, we've got:
F, A flat, B flat, C, E flat, F.

Kind of sounds like a whole lot of things you hear in hard rock and blues, so you've heard that sound before.

Once again, this is:
F, A flat, B flat, C, E flat, F.

Let's move up:
A flat, B flat, C, E flat, F, A flat.

You notice that's the same as our major pentatonic. As a matter of fact, all these shapes we will have already played before, we're just kind of changing the order of which we play them.

So we started here. The next one's going to be the second inversion of the major pentatonic as a minor inversion. This is the third inversion:
B flat, C, E flat, F, A flat, B flat.

Okay, now as we move up, the next inversion is going to be:
C, E flat, F, A flat, B flat, C.

This next inversion, the fourth, is the fifth inversion of the minor pentatonic:
E flat, F, A flat, B flat, C, E flat.

We can finish off with the minor pentatonic again. Now let's play those together in eighth notes:
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and.

Three Note Sequence Series

Alright, now what we're going to do is look at a three-note sequence series.
We've talked through the theory of how a sequence works.

When we were working on the four-note sequence with the G major, all the three-note sequences are just these:
1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 5, 4, 5, 6.

For the tune we're going to play, we're going to do this in triplets. I'm going to slow this down because this is fairly rapid.
So we're going to do this at quarter note = 40.

Okay, play along with me. Remember, with any of these things, if it's a little bit over your technical ability when you're first starting, you can always go to the loop library and practice this, then come back and play it with me.

Here's that three-note pattern. We're going to be doing triplets about that tempo:
1, 2, 3, 4.

First Tune: Weatherman

Alright, now let's practice those through the sequences and through the loop patterns and get those under your fingers. Our next task is to look at Weatherman.

Weatherman is using the G major pentatonic, and I'm going to be using two particular runs. With this, I'm going to be using:

• That's kind of a mix of the major pentatonic shape (very first one).

Remember, if you've got a shape that doesn't use any open strings, you can move it anywhere and it'll sound pretty much the same.

So this first shape is the longer run. Then we also have this other component of the bass line:

• This is pretty gymnastic.

Let's go ahead and do this at 40, and then we'll again do this at 60. I'll count you in:
1, 2, 3, E and 4E and. Cool.

Now let's go ahead and speed that up a little bit. Do it at 60. Same thing, just the same. Remember, you can always do this with the loop library.
A little quicker:
1, 2, 3, E and A, 4, E and A.

That pretty much takes care of the first half of the tune. Now the interesting thing is we're going to a C chord. The first part of this is kind of on a G chord. We're going to a C chord for the second half of it.

I'm actually going to use this shape as opposed to doing the sliding shape, basically because I can kind of keep everything in one area. So this is the first lick that we play in C. The second lick that we play in C is actually this inversion, which is the next to the last inversion. This is a flat fourth inversion of that C major pentatonic:
2, 4, 2, 4, 1, 4.

If we grab the notes, it's:
G, A, C, D, E, G.

Let's play that at 40 beats per minute. This is the C portion of the song:
1, 2, 3, E and A, 4 E and A.

Alright, let's do that a little quicker. This is 60 beats per minute:
1, 2, 3, E and A, 4 E and.

Okay, now let's do this. We've had a chance to put together all the parts. Let's go ahead and just read this down at 60 beats per minute. This is putting everything together:
1, 2, 3, E & A, 4 E & A.

Alright, now let's go over to the club and play it with the band.

Minor Pentatonics

Alright, now we're going to play around with the minor pentatonics. This one's in the style of the fusion band Weather Report. And it's called Weatherman.

Thanks, guys. Good job. Now it's your turn.

Remember, take all of those voicings that we practiced on the four-note sequences and put them to use.

Alright, now let's do that one a little bit quicker. This is going to be a bit of a challenge, so hang in there.
1, 2, go!

How'd you enjoy playing Weatherman? That was a challenge, wasn't it? Let's go and look at the second tune here, and I'll teach you this.

This is a tune inspired by a great Texas guitar player named Eric Johnson. Essentially, what I'm going to be using are the minor pentatonics on F. I'll be using some of those triplet patterns that we worked on in the tune.

Triplet Patterns

Let me go ahead and show you the two big triplet patterns that we're going to do. One of them is in one position. The other one kind of shifts around. Here's the one that is in one position:

• This is all going to be in first position.

Let's do that again.
So I'm starting on the F:
E flat, C, A flat, F, E flat, C, B flat, A flat, B flat, A flat, F.

Let's do that a couple of times, really, really slow. This is going to be 60 beats. Remember, this is a triplet:
Triplet, triplet. I'll count you in:
1, 2, 3, 4.

Let's loop that and do that a couple of times. Alright, let's go ahead and put the tempo up a little bit and we'll loop it again. We'll do it at quarter note = 80.

So this is a little more challenging:
1, 2, 3, 4.

Okay, now I put a little bit of the next measure in there, but that's alright.

Rock and Roll Box Pattern

There's one other pentatonic run. This is a long one, and this is using what I call a rock and roll box pattern.
You know, when we were working on the G major pentatonic, I gave you that shape.

If I start that from a slightly different place, that becomes a rock and roll box pattern. Basically, what's happening is that I'm playing:

• 3, 1, 3, 1
• I shift back 3, 1, 3, 1.
• 3, 1, shift back 1 and then down to the low F.

Here, you see a lot of these kind of patterns in bass lines from players like Jack Bruce or bands like Led Zeppelin.

Now, in our case, we're going to run this rock and roll box pattern in this fashion:

• We'll start on this:
  F, E flat, C, E flat, C, B flat.

And here's my little walk backwards:
C, B flat, A flat, B flat, A flat, F.
A flat, F, E flat, F, E flat, C, E flat, C, B flat, C, B flat, A flat, B flat, A flat, F.

Alright, let's look at that one at quarter note = 60.
1, 2, 3, 4.
I'll do it again. Cool.

Now let's run that up to 80. That's going to be almost at the same tempo that you'll play it with a band the first time.

This is quarter note = 80.
1, 2, 3, 4.

Putting It All Together

Alright, let's run this at quarter note = 80. We're going to run the whole piece. This is a little quicker than what we've done before. But by now you're in lesson 14.

You're actually working on some advanced concepts, so you should be able to keep up with me. If this is an issue, go to the loop library and practice the bass line from the tune.

So I'll count you in and we'll play it down once. Then we're going to take it to the stage and jam with the band in the club:
1, 2. 1, 2, 3, 4.

Alright, let's take it to the club and play with the guys. Here we go.

Minor Pentatonics in the Style of Eric Johnson

Alright, now we're going to play around with the minor pentatonics. This is in the style of one of my favorite guitar players and a fellow Texan, Eric Johnson. And it's called Kung Pal.

Alright, good one, guys. Now it's your turn.

Alright, now we're going to try that a little bit quicker once again. You might want to practice these licks beforehand before you try playing it with a band. But for right now, check me out doing it.

Alright, now it's your turn.

Conclusion

Okay, well, I hope you hung in there with Kung Pao. It's actually its own little kind of challenge.

Like I said, you can go and research some of Eric Johnson's music. You'll hear a lot of similar things. I just thought it would be fun to do a nice kind of a rock and shuffle where we could utilize that, as well as the jazz-type tune that we did with Weatherman.

Remember, these scales, even if I'm teaching you these in a jazz context or a rock context, you can take them and play them in other styles. All of this stuff can work in any kind of music.

You just have to kind of know, trust your ears and also remember what chords they fit over and what kind of sound they create. Alright, let's cool down.

What I'm going to do is just do that exercise that we did earlier, one of the earlier lessons where I'm just pinching—just pressing four fingers against the thumb. A little bit of isometric press.

Okay, now let's go ahead and do 2 and 4, 1 and 3, 2 and 4, 1 and 3. Once again. This can be a good warm-up as well.

Alright? Got it? Okay, stay tuned for lesson 15. I'm going to be teaching two-handed tapping, and this is something that you can do to really spice up rock and jazz and funk lines. So I'll see you soon!