Pentatonic Lesson

Newest Lesson Back to Basics Guitar Theory Technique Everything Else Request a Lesson

From: Ian R. - San Antonio, TX

Original Email:

"Hi, I hope this is not a stupid question. I am in a "garage Band" and I have been playing guitar for almost 4 months now. I kept on hearing about how the pentatonic scale is a staple in rock and blues guitar so i learnt the major and minor pentatonic. My question is how do you play them with power chord chord progression? Keep in mind i am a beginner so please don't make fun of me :) I just really want to know how to solo over distorted power chords. thank u - Ian"

Hey Ian glad to hear from you. Don't worry, there are no stupid questions when it comes to guitar so don't worry.

I am actually glad you asked this question because other than giving me a break from the harder lessons I've had in the past, it is actually a very important question.

Diving right in....

*** Jump to the video lessons of the minor pentatonic scale ***

Also if any of you want to learn how to "shred" with the minor pentatonic, I suggest going HERE and learning all 5 positions of the minor pentatonic.

Okay, this lesson will be a breeze provided you know:

If you need to review click on the links above to go to the appropriate section(s)

So you know how to play power chords and you know the names (e.g. A, E, F) of the power chords you are playing . You know the pentatonic scales but you don't know where to play them over the certain power chords.

Well Ian, It sounds to me like maybe you don't have a good understanding of the notes on the fret board. I recommend checking out the above section called 'How to easily find notes on the fret board'. When you know how to find the notes it makes it much easier and is a must if you are planning on furthering your guitar skills and knowledge.

Just incase you're like me and can't easily put 2 and 2 together even after reading the recommended section above let's see if I can't break this down.

Here is the E minor pentatonic:

|-------------------------------12-15---------------------------------|
|--------------------------12-15--------------------------------------|
|--------------------12-14--------------------------------------------|
|--------------12-14--------------------------------------------------|
|--------12-14--------------------------------------------------------|
|-12-15---------------------------------------------------------------|

IF you played the above while:

playing an E power chord at the 12th fret like this:

|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|-14--------------------------------------------------------|
|-12--------------------------------------------------------|

It would go great together because the root note (1st note) of the e minor pentatonic scale is at the 12th fret, low E string, which is infact an 'E' note. - - AND the root note (1st note) of the power chord is at the same position making it an E power chord.

In other words, in terms of the pentatonic scale and power chords:

The first note of the power chord is also the first note that starts off the pentatonic scale. Once you know the pentatonic (minor and major) scale's pattern all you have to do is start on the same note of the power chord being played and BOOM! shock-a-Locka you got instant, made-for-each-other solos.

Another way to play with the pentatonic scale is by way of the relative minor. You can solo over a whole key using this method, sort of like a one-for-all scale. Check out the lesson for relative minor pentatonic soloing HERE.

Don't forget to check out the video examples of the minor pentatonic.

All material contained within this website is the sole property of fret-master.com and it's subsidiaries unless otherwise noted. Any duplication of the materials within is strictly prohibited and protected under International Copyright Laws. Copyright 2006 Fret-master.com©™ All Rights Reserved.