As far as choosing between switching scales with each chord or staying with one pattern as you play is a matter of personal taste; we will use patterns 1-6 in F minor and C major keys here.
Remember, these patterns work in any key you desire – simply learn your root note differently.
Key of C
Pentatonic scales are among the most sought-after scales for guitarists to learn, due to their flexibility. You can play this scale over various chords without clashing; thus making them suitable for blues and rock music as they create an atmospheric, moody sound, giving solos more of a bluesy tone. C minor pentatonic is especially handy as it works across both major and minor chords – it makes an excellent starting point! When learning a pentatonic scale try playing each scale shape over this slow blues chord progression to see which ones work best for you!
C major pentatonic scale can also come in handy, since it can be played over both major and minor chords for greater improvisational flexibility. This scale contains five notes similar to its minor pentatonic counterpart but with different tonal centers; popularly used in country, rock and blues music and often combined with minor pentatonic to create licks that “follow” chord changes.
If you are new to C major pentatonic scale, it may be beneficial to devote some time and practice to learning its patterns before moving forward with more complex pieces. Doing this will enable you to build fingering techniques as well as get acquainted with its shape before moving forward. It would also be wise to practice with a metronome as this will increase accuracy in timing and timing accuracy.
One effective way of practicing the C major pentatonic scale is playing it over a backing track. This will enable you to hear how the scale sounds against bass lines and drum beats, and also gives an indication of which notes clash with chords. There are numerous backing tracks online and through services like JamPlay that you can use for this practice session.
If you are having difficulty harmonizing melodies with chords, our article on How to Harmonize a Melody should prove useful. With step-by-step instructions and audio samples to demonstrate them in action, this piece provides all the help necessary.
Scale Shapes
Pentatonic scales feature five shapes that you can apply across the fretboard. Each scale shape corresponds with standard CAGED chords, so you can move them around depending on what key you wish to play in and still maintain root-note alignment with chords. This way, scales can be constructed in any key and still keep all their root notes aligned correctly with chords.
Begin your guitar learning experience by mastering two common scale shapes that appear across guitar necks: Major pentatonic scales. Take some time to familiarise yourself with them before diving into more complicated scales like minor pentatonics.
The first scale shape begins when your second finger hits the fifth fret of the sixth string and corresponds with a G major chord shape; and its counterpart begins when your fourth finger hits the 10th fret of that same string, related to an A major chord shape.
These two scale patterns form the core of all other major and minor pentatonic scales found on the fretboard. While each other scale shape will start at different positions on the fretboard with differing fingering techniques, once you learn these two you will possess all other shapes across all parts of the fretboard.
Other scale patterns feature extra notes that you can add to the scale to form longer lines of notes and give it a different sound, making chord playing simpler and making overtures simpler to play over. See tabs below each scale pattern for these additional notes.
Note that the major pentatonic scale removes minor third and seventh chords from chords, making it easier to play over dominant chords without clashing with them and clashes occurring with your chords. Furthermore, using this scale allows for bluesy sounds over your chords too!
As you progress in learning the scale, make use of a metronome to help develop both timing and accuracy. Start slowly before gradually increasing to faster tempos as your skills advance. Furthermore, play your scale along with rhythm section members so as to gain experience playing it as part of a rhythm section’s rhythmic pattern.
Fingerings
Be mindful that finger patterns for each of these scale shapes are named according to their intervallic relationship to the starting point of the scale (C major pentatonic in this instance). When you see fingerings listed as 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc… don’t be confused; all these fingerings relate back to root notes of C major pentatonic scale patterns. Teachers experienced with music will identify such fingerings so their students understand which pentatonic scale pattern corresponds with its root notes.
Not only should you learn the various fingerings for these scale shapes, but it’s also worth working on your timing. Make use of a metronome at an appropriate tempo to practice these patterns with perfect accuracy every time; this will increase consistency while eliminating luck or fast tempo as reasons to play a scale correctly.
One effective method of practicing this scale is transcribing or learning your favorite guitar solos using these patterns as practice material. This allows you to hear how professionals employ these shapes musically and can inspire new guitar licks of your own!
The C major pentatonic scale may not be as widely recognized, but it’s just as easy and useful for your musical compositions. You’ll often hear this scale used in songs from rock, blues, country and jazz genres; its reduced number of notes makes it user-friendly while its open sound can accommodate various musical genres.
To master the major pentatonic scale, begin with its basic five-note pattern and move two frets up or down until you find a key that suits your voice or desired timbre. From there, add sharp or flat accidentals until your desired scale tones have been covered; for example if learning this scale in C you would add B flat to the second note of pattern one and F sharp to note five of pattern four respectively.
Rhythm
As with any scale, it’s crucial that it is played within its context, and one effective way is by pairing it with chords. This will give an understanding of how it interacts with other notes within its key and what to expect when performing with other musicians – in this example using C major pentatonic scale combined with Dm7 chord.
As can be seen, the scale is extremely effective at creating a Dm7 chord because its tones match those of the chord perfectly. Once you understand how it works, try exploring it further by playing over other chords and keys; also keep in mind that all major scales have an accompanying minor scale; often this also applies to pentatonic scales.
If you want to play a major pentatonic scale with a minor chord, it is vital that the notes do not clash as this will compromise its sound. This is due to the minor pentatonic scale having different root notes from its major cousin; to prevent clashing notes it is recommended to learn both scales separately as separate shapes, practising each root note-specific scale shape starting on its respective key root note.
Once you have both major and minor pentatonic scales mapped on your fretboard, it should be easy to combine them using a common fingering pattern into one single shape for easier key switching and less fingerings to remember. This will also reduce fingering-related headaches!
To achieve this effect, simply link together two scale patterns into a diagonal scale shape – see diagram. Here’s an example showing this technique being applied to produce a 2-octave scale, which you can play from any location along your neck by moving between green circles.
This approach can be applied to any pair of adjacent notes on the fretboard and will provide you with an invaluable musical tool. Unfortunately, however, this process may take quite some time; therefore it should only be applied for shorter intervals. Long term, however, it would still be prudent to learn major and minor pentatonic scales individually starting at their respective root notes and practicing them regularly as a practice exercise.