For the minor pentatonic chord shapes click here
For the major pentatonic chord shapes click here
For the TABS to the scales click here
Sooner or later, playing the guitar will involve scales. They are the doorway through which you develop as a lead guitarist, allowing you to wail away during the middle of a song as the singer takes a breather.
There are different types of scale, but we are going to concentrate on the five-note pentatonic scales. They tend to appear in two forms: minor and major.
To start on this journey of fretboard mastery, there are 10 pentatonic shapes for you to learn: five minor and five major.
Of course, scale diagrams alone won't make you a great player in the same way lots of words won't make you a great writer. You need to kickstart ways of mixing them up and putting them together in a different order. Here are 10 exercises for you to practise.
A minor pentatonic - five examples
Here are five fretboxes showing different places on the fretboard where you can play the A minor pentatonic. The number outside the fretbox on the left indicates which fret to start playing at. Remember, the vertical lines are the strings and the horizontal ones are the frets - and the numbers represent which finger to use. The black numbers highlight where the A notes are in each shape. Play each note once and then move on the next one. Learn the shapes and then move on to work with a metronome playing one note per click (see box on next page for how to get the best results with a metronome). Once all five can be played perfectly at various tempos using the metronome, move on to the following exercises, which are all based on shape 1.
Exercise 1: A minor pentatonic, shape 1 - up and down
To hear this scale click here
Nothing too difficult here as you're only ascending and descending with the shape. Do watch that your hands synchronise well, though.
Exercise 2: A minor pentatonic, shape 1 - grouped in sixes
To hear this scale click here
This groups three strings together for a longer approach to moving through the shape. Played with 1, 2, 3 and even 6 notes per click, it's a great pattern to have.
Exercise 3: A minor pentatonic, shape 1 - grouped in threes
To hear this scale click here
This is a popular pattern for rock players as the triplets (ie, three notes per click) make the scale more rhythmically exciting.
Exercise 4: A minor pentatonic, shape 1 - grouped in fours
To hear this scale click here
This will require more practice than the previous three exercises due to the fingering required. There will be times when your first or third finger will need to switch between two strings on the same fret. Many players will fret one string with the pad of the fretting finger then "roll" on to the fingertip to fret the other string. It can take time to perfect, but this technique encourages melodic phrases that otherwise wouldn't be possible.
Exercise 5: A minor pentatonic, shape 1 - string jumping
To hear this scale click here
Many guitarists like to find new ways of playing so they don't sound too conservative. One way to do this is by skipping over a string or two, "opening out" the sound by jumping around with the notes.
A major pentatonic - the five shapes
Exercise 6: A major pentatonic, shape 1 - up and down
To hear this scale click here
Make sure your pick strokes correspond exactly with your fretting hand fingers.
Exercise 7: A major pentatonic, shape 1 - grouped in sixes
To hear this scale click here
Compare how this sounds with the minor pentatonic version. Although similar in shape, it should sound quite different. Taking one approach and trying it with various scales and melodies is a logical way of extending your musical vocabularly.
Exercise 8: A major pentatonic, shape 1 - grouped in threes
To hear this scale click here
The major pentatonic can sound quite "country rock", as this ascending triplet run demonstrates.
Exercise 9: A major pentatonic, shape 1 - grouped in fours
To hear this scale click here
Remember the finger "rolls" from exercise 4? They're back, but this time the fingers doing the rolling are one (at the fourth fret) and four (at the seventh fret). Don't rush - the better the notes sound, the more assured you'll seem.
Exercise 10: A major pentatonic, shape 1 - string jumping
To hear this scale click here
Last example and it's time to jump strings again. Watch that your picking strokes are as economical as possible otherwise your fluency will be hampered. As with all the exercises in this guide, don't hesitate to spend more time on just a handful of notes if you're not happy with how you're playing them. Likewise, if a few really take your fancy, keep repeating them so they lodge into your hands for good.
Practising scales with a metronome
For many musicians the metronome is the equivalent of a drill sergeant - it's nothing if not a stern task master! Used in the right way it is a fantastic device with which to gauge your development over hours, days, weeks and months. In fact, many of the world's best guitarists still use a metronome to maintain and develop their skills further. So, consider this plan when you use one:
Step 1: Have your scale pattern physically sorted. No floundering over fingerings, picking strokes or fretboard position shifts. This done, you're then free to consider your fluidity, tempo and tone in relation to the metronome.
Step 2: Now set the metronome to a moderate tempo of anything between 80 and 100 beats per minute (bpm). Play through your scale pattern, one note per click, tapping your foot along with the clicks. Listen to how you interact with the metronome - are you in time? Are the notes even in volume? Continue practising at this tempo until everything is working, or drop the tempo to, say, 60 or 70bpm.
Step 3: Once you're playing the scale perfectly, increase the tempo by a few bpm. Keep to the same requirements as earlier, playing the scale pattern perfectly in time with the metronome.
Step 4: On to a higher tempo, perhaps around the 90-110bpm mark. You should be feeling confident by now as you're not only developing a more precise technique but getting quicker too.
Step 5: At some point you'll need to shift from one note per click to two notes per click. A consideration: the note-to-click ratio changes with this so spend some time gauging how extra notes fit in the gaps between metronome clicks. The feel of this is an essential skill to have.
So there you go - a solid way to develop your playing skills with a metronome.
