- Learn a useful pentatonic scale pattern for playing in major and minor keys and for extending Major Scale Pattern 1. I call this the Pentatonic Pattern #5 but right now the name is not important.
- Additionally, how to use and practice this pattern, and which fingers to use.
- Also, this will be the only pentatonic pattern to learn in this entire course. To learn more about the awesomeness of pentatonic scales, study our free course on Fundamental Pentatonic Power.
- STEP 1: WATCH the video and use the scale chart to play the pentatonic scale pattern one note at a time, starting at the lowest sounding note, then playing up to the highest sounding note, and then back down. Practice this step until you can hit all the right notes – but it doesn’t have to be perfect.
- STEP 2: PRACTICE playing the scale pattern WITHOUT looking at the video or scale chart. Your goal in this step is to be able to play the pentatonic scale pattern all the way up and back down from memory alone.
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STEP 3: IMPROVISE. Go to YouTube and search for “A Minor backing track”. Select a track that sounds interesting on YouTube, press play, then improvise by starting your pentatonic scale pattern on the 2nd fret G string. As long as you hit the notes in the scale pattern, they will all sound reasonably good. At this stage, you can simply explore the scale pattern and see what sounds you can come up with.
- STEP 4: HAVE FUN. Once you have had your fill of fun with improvising, move on to the next lesson.
NOTE: I have included some Am backing tracks below for you to use if you prefer.
Bonus …
Included here is another chart (of the Pentatonic scale you’ve learned) that shows where the root notes of the minor scale are found. Since you are playing the scale from the “A” note, 2nd fret of the G string, the notes in red are “A” notes – the root notes of A minor. Notice how these notes “feel” as you practice improvising against Am backing tracks.
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