how did you master the pentatonic?

[reverymike]

I wouldn't purposely try and master pentatonic. Lots of guitar plays fall into the "pentatonic rut" where that's all they play.

Zakk Wylde and Ace Frehley made careers out of it.

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.

So did Eric Johnson, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, EVH, Joe Perry, and tons of others. Don't get fooled into thinking that Pentatonics are basic and not cool.

 

[Meathead]

Best to learn and understand the basic (Ionian mode) major scale all across the neck first IMO...everything branches out from there.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

skip them and go the the major/minor scales and associated modes. Everyone typically starts out on the pentatonic and for me its too limited in its use. Everything in music is based off the major scale, chords, scales and arpeggios and yes even the pentatonic scale. I personally hate hearing metal songs and a dude ripping up some beefed up chuck berry licks. When I play them I end up sounding like just another of the billion BB King/ Hendrix/SRV clones so i stay from them for the most part. One of the cool cats who uses them well is Larry Carlton but he's more jazz than rock but the dude is awesome.

 

[TroubledWine]

I can't believe this thread went this far without mentioning AC/DC.

Here's "the box":

Now, go get the first five AC/DC albums and using the box above jam along.

 

[Meathead]

Hey no true blues scale rocker uses their pinky when soloing!
Blues players have only three fingers.

 

[jcj]

Hey no true blues scale rocker uses their pinky when soloing!
Blues players have only three fingers.

EXACTLY...see my favorite player...Blind Willie "No Pinkie" Brown for reference

 

[Mr. Willy]

Can't forget the Reverend, Billy G! Listen to old ZZ Top and learn the solos. Great place to look for simple guitar playing that's cooler than any sweep picker could ever be.

 

[TroubledWine]

Hey no true blues scale rocker uses their pinky when soloing!
Blues players have only three fingers.

Exactly! See again: Angus Young

But then came along Saint Randy Rhoads, and he said unto the masses, "useth thy pinky". And the next thing ya know we've got this guy Yngwie doing 10 fret intervals and this other dude Warren DiMartini playing power chords with his and an entire album of sus6 licks.

 

[Meathead]

Hey no true blues scale rocker uses their pinky when soloing!
Blues players have only three fingers.

Exactly! See again: Angus Young

But then came along Saint Randy Rhoads, and he said unto the masses, "useth thy pinky". And the next thing ya know we've got this guy Yngwie doing 10 fret intervals and this other dude Warren DiMartini playing power chords with his and an entire album of sus6 licks.

Yup

Randy was one of the first rockers that I saw use his fretting hand in a classical position for solos and use his pinky a lot. Learning his stuff is a great lesson. He likes to play in major and minor a lot. Not much pentatonics.

Back to minor pentatonic...5 notes, three fingers...go!!

 

[Gainzilla]

I have trouble taking anyone seriously if they suggest glossing over Pentatonic scales or undermining their importance...

 

[Meathead]

Five notes, three fingers..GO!

 

[Gainzilla]

Five notes, three fingers..GO!

If only it were that simple.... How many guys have you seen rip through Diatonic patterns only to sound like GC when school gets out when they switch to playing blues?

 

[Chris6870]

Listen to or watch Eric Johnson. He uses a lot of pentatonic but manages to make it interesting and not sound so 'boxy"

 

[Meathead]

Five notes, three fingers..GO!

If only it were that simple.... How many guys have you seen rip through Diatonic patterns only to sound like GC when school gets out when they switch to playing blues?

Oh I know.
I remember the jams we used to have in the old days on forums. They were just for fun, no competition.
But most of the pentatonic players simply could not jam over a lot of the backings Ed or Anton used to post up.

I'm just saying people should understand the major scale first, as there's not much you can branch out to musically with just penatonic knowledge and that's it.
Major modes is the foundation...then flat this/sharp that and you are into everything else.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

Five notes, three fingers..GO!

If only it were that simple.... How many guys have you seen rip through Diatonic patterns only to sound like GC when school gets out when they switch to playing blues?

How many blues "I can't stop my leg" players can improvise over neo-classical backing tracks?

Didn't you see the karate kid in the movie Crossroads? The blues scale didn't save his soul, classically influenced shit did

 

[Badronald]

Major and pentatonic are a good place to start.
Go linear with the pentatonic. Much more interesting. Eric Johnson style.

 

[mdc1mdc11]

for pentatonic, you really need to go back and listen to the blues greats in my view. They did it already and you can hear what is actually played without a bunch of worthless passing notes in a sea of distortion. One other thing you want to consider beyond connecting the boxes as mentioned earlier is to also experiment with the Allman Brothers Pentatonic and learn quite a few of those solos as they have melodic sense. 5 note penatonics are quite difficult to use to create melodies beyond riffing in the box. Learn how to bend into the notes ala Clapton et al.

Beyond the penatonic, consider using the Mixolydian scale on the V chord.

 

[kasperjensen]

I couldn't answer that, as I haven't mastered it.

 

[Ventura]

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.

First thing I thought when I read this thread's title...

You can get into some great understandings of structure and the like with what's on the web nowadays. For instance, check out: http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/ to get you into all sorts of scales and runs and the like. But most importantly, LISTEN to how they interact... Everything is in note selection and feel, not "x number of notes crammed into half a bar".

Peace

 

[War Admiral]

Pentatonics are the best for in your face licks!!
The coolest licks that I ever came up with were with blues scales. Even going further as in using 3 notes per string blues scales ex. start on the 5th fret 6 string (A) and finger A, C and D on the same string then finger Eb, E and G on the 5th string. The pattern repeats it self starting on the 4th string. You can really get these going using hammer and pulloffs and cover A LOT of ground on the fret board! Linking positions all over the place. If you haven't already discovered this technique, try it, you will be amazed what its capable of sounding like. Chops galore hidden everywhere!!!! lol