how did you master the pentatonic?

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symbolic253

symbolic253

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Well i know not one person has mastered the pentatonic but im looking to improve my lead skills and i guess i should start with the pentatonic scale. Anyone wanna help a brotha out? Maybe some exercises some cool licks videos or your 2cents?
 
damn i dont like kirk to much and i dont have money for a expensive amp i guess im shit outta luck hahaha thanks guys
 
Sorry i never went to school for music and was never a very privileged kid so i pretty much picked up a guitar and started playing by ear. Sorry if i dont know all the terms im just looking for some good advice.
 
I started with the classic 'box' position in A (starting at 5th fret.) If you don't know about it yet, there's likely endless stuff online. Get comfortable staying in this position, then go to the next position in the same key. Eventually, get to combining positions, so you don't get stuck in the 'box.'. Then learn it in different keys.

Listen and try to cop some pentatonic based players. Ace Frehley licks are a fun and easy place to start. Try Stevie Ray Vaughan. Definitely don't underestimate the importance of learning by ear.
 
ace is my man i know quite a bit of his solos but thanks for the advance
 
Cool. I read your original post again and realized that you already learn stuff by ear.

I'll share with you the approach Dave Weiner taught me.
For one given practice session, pick a key, let's say A. A minor pentatonic.
Spell out the notes in the scale, in this case A C D E G.

As you hammer out the scale in each position, say the note name at the same time, this helps to solidify your knowledge of the entire fretboard. This can get tedious, but it helps.

Next, he stressed the point is to make music! Find a backing track or make one, then practice being comfortable playing in one box, then the next. Then combine, etc.
 
I wouldn't purposely try and master pentatonic. Lots of guitar plays fall into the "pentatonic rut" where that's all they play.
 
alxdgr8":z6wz038s said:
I wouldn't purposely try and master pentatonic. Lots of guitar plays fall into the "pentatonic rut" where that's all they play.
Click to expand...

+1

when i did guitar instructions i always taught around the circle of 5ths starting at C - which walked head first into modes and major/minor keys. From there i did a review but re-covered everything in more detail with a sense of sharp/flats, roots, and actual notes which formed chord constructions. This kept it less overwhelming the first time through.

much more helpful and covers alot of material. pentatonic is just a fraction of the larger picture. The trick is not to let the theory overwhelm you into feeling small but to learn it and let it help you in writing material or being able to express it to someone else outside of playing it in front of them.
 
alxdgr8":3tc2jsxf said:
I wouldn't purposely try and master pentatonic. Lots of guitar plays fall into the "pentatonic rut" where that's all they play.
Click to expand...

Zakk Wylde and Ace Frehley made careers out of it. :yes:

To OP. Learn all the positions, not just first. Make sure you can play all the standard licks that you can play in first position in the others too. Check out Eric Johnson and see how he plays repeating patterns in different rhythmic groupings like four over one and five over one.
 
Seriously, go listen to Kill 'em All, and lear a few of the solos off that album. Everything is pentatonic minor. Learning the solos to the Four Horsemen back in high school is when that light bulb was switched on for me.
 
alxdgr8":3sdchtv6 said:
I wouldn't purposely try and master pentatonic. Lots of guitar plays fall into the "pentatonic rut" where that's all they play.
Click to expand...


I've been hopelessly stuck in Dorian mode for years =D
 
I would say learn the positions and play in the box, finger per fret type rule. You'll discover pretty fast who has thrived on using the scale and took it to another level. Zakk Wylde, love him or hate him (I personally love him) is a great example. Also, make use of your relative minor. So if you're soloing in Em, it's the same as G, and so on. Experiment and create, make some music and have fun!
 
Learn all 5 of the box patterns as well as the linking patterns that allow you to connect them. Get those down and you'll know the entire fretboard well. From there we can simply add in the two notes that make the minor scale which is where I would head next. You can then continue on through all of the modes in the same manner. Its really not hard...more mental than anything.
 
I know the pentatonic scale, but never really played it unless I was playing a cover. I've been playing over 30 years and I have no idea what "the box" is...although I have heard of it.

I just learned the natural minor scale and used my ears and grew from there.
 
wow.. Lots of uniformed players around here.
Everyone uses the pentatonic scale whether they know it or not.
In riffs, melodies and leads.

It's a 5 note scale and not hard to "master".
To answer the OP's question, the best way to learn the pentatonic IMO is to first learn the notes that surround the minor or major chord. For instance the c major pentatonic is the same notes as the A minor pentatonic but with a difference resolve or cadence. Find that chord everywhere you can on the fretboard and weave pentatonic lines around it.
 
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