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The Minor Pentatonic Scale is the most common scale used for lead guitar in rock music. With this scale, all you need is minimum improvisation and some techniques like slurring, and it will already sound like you're soloing!
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Minor Pentatonic Scale
Ready for some more scales?
Proceed to the next lesson - Blues, Minor and Major Pentatonic
Return from Minor Pentatonic Scale to Guitar Scales
Proceed to the next lesson - Blues, Minor and Major Pentatonic
Return from Minor Pentatonic Scale to Guitar Scales
e|------------------------5-8-5----------------------------|
B|--------------------5-8-------8-5------------------------|
G|---------------5-7----------------7-5--------------------|
D|----------5-7-------------------------7-5----------------|
A|------5-7---------------------------------7-5------------|
E|--5-8-----------------------------------------8-5--------|
B|--------------------5-8-------8-5------------------------|
G|---------------5-7----------------7-5--------------------|
D|----------5-7-------------------------7-5----------------|
A|------5-7---------------------------------7-5------------|
E|--5-8-----------------------------------------8-5--------|
This is what it should look and sound like:
Here's the tab for the same scale being played up and down:
Remember to use alternate picking on all scales. Pick the strings upwards and downwards with your plectrum and not just in one direction.
This Scale is a great scale to memorize and play often. It's a very diverse scale and is used in lots of different forms of music like rock, pop, metal, jazz and others.
Once your ears are trained to its pattern chances are you'll recognize it in lot of songs you want to play on the guitar. The Pentatonic Pattern also forms the basis for most solo's in rock music. More about this in the soloing section.
Once your ears are trained to its pattern chances are you'll recognize it in lot of songs you want to play on the guitar. The Pentatonic Pattern also forms the basis for most solo's in rock music. More about this in the soloing section.
We're going to play it so that the root note (the first red note on bottom horizontal line) falls on the 5th fret. We are therefore playing the A Minor Pentatonic Scale. Remember that you start playing from the bottom of the chart to the top (the bottom line represents the thickest string).