Welcome to video #11 of the Lead Guitar Quick-Start Series. In this lesson I’m going to teach
you some more shapes for your major pentatonic scale. This is important because it allows
you to start expressing yourself in other areas on the fret board. Knowing all of these
scale shapes really frees you up to explore some more tonal options on a guitar and helps
you conjure up some different sounds. Let me just say it’s more important for you
to know maybe one or two of these major pentatonic scale shapes really, really well and know
how to use them than it is to know all five of them, the ones that I’m going to teach
you here, but not really know how to use them that well.
You can look at this lesson as kind of an extra credit lesson for the Lead Guitar Quick-Start
Series. You can take one of these scales and work on them for a few months and then add
another one. The idea is to just start getting familiar with them, pull up the major jam
track and use these scale shapes when you’re playing. So let’s jump into these scale shapes.
You already know this one. The next scale shape up for the major pentatonic scale, the
lowest root note starts right here on the fifth fret of the D string. That’s going
to be kind of your anchor point or your reference point. Play that note. The other note on that
string is going to be the seventh fret with your pinky. Remember there are only two notes
per string in regular pentatonic scale, right? Those are the two. Over to the next string,
your first finger fourth fret; fourth finger seventh fret. Next string over, your index
finger is going to grab the fifth fret, pinky is going to grab the eight fret. Next string
over, fifth fret with your index finger, seventh fret with your third finger. So far from that lowest root note.
And you can add in the lower notes too. You can do 7, 5 with your pinky
and second finger on the A string, and the exact same pattern for the low E string 7 and 5
with your pinky and middle finger there so. But there is your root note right there for this scale
shape. And your other root note is right here on the eight fret of the B string. So in total
this scale from the very lowest note all the way up to the highest note sound like this.
The next major pentatonic scale shape up ,the next one, has its lowest root note right here
on the tenth fret on the A string with your pinky. So let’s go from there. You can play
the notes below it too but let’s just start there and ascend through the scale. Next string
over you’re going to play 7, 9 with your first and third fingers, same exact thing
on the next string, 7 and 9 with your first and third fingers. Next string over, 8 and
10, with your second and fourth fingers, and the highest string seventh fret with your
first finger, tenth fret with your pinky. So if you start from that lowest root note right
there with your pinky
and you can play the notes below it too, which are the seventh fret of that A string and then
the tenth and seventh fret of the low E string. So if you start from the lowest note this entire shape
and I end it up on the root note right there, just to kind of lock you in to that sound
of a G major pentatonic scale. Next shape up actually starts on that same
root note on the tenth fret of the A string, that G note, but you’re going to start with
your middle finger there instead of your pinky. So that’s the lowest root note. Play that note
on the twelfth fret with your pinky. Move over to the next string. Play the ninth fret
with your index finger and the twelfth fret with your pinky. Next string over, exact same
pattern as the previous string so 9 and 12 with your first and fourth fingers. Next string
over, middle finger is going to grab the tenth fret, fourth finger 12, so far we have…and
the last string is the same pattern as the previous string, so 10 and 12 with your middle
and pinky. So far that whole thing
and you can play the notes on the low E string too, 12 and 10 with your pinky and second finger. So you can throw those in there too.
So you may be on overload right now. Just remember this is kind of an extra credit thing. Learn
these scale shapes when you can. Take one at a time and get to know them really well
and be able to use them with the jam tracks. The last major pentatonic scale shape, believe
it or not you already know the shape but we’re going to look at it in a little different
way. So you should know this minor pentatonic scale shape if you started it right here on
the E note right here. That is also a shape for a major pentatonic scale. All you have
to do is change your root note over the way you think about root notes. Instead of using
this low E as a root note with your first finger, if you start here on this G note with
your pinky, that’s going to turn this minor pentatonic scale shape into a major pentatonic
scale shape. Just play your regular minor pentatonic skill shape but start here with
your pinky on the root note for G right here.
I know this is a lot of information and it’s kind of hard to digest all at once but the things you want to focus on are just taking
one scale shape at a time, realizing and memorizing where the root notes are and being able to
use it over a jam track. Pull up one of the major jam tracks I’ve given you and just
experiment with these scale shapes as much as you can. If you have any questions about
them, leave them in the comments below and I’ll get back to you or just email me nate@guitarsystem.com.
See you.