The A minor pentatonic, position 1

The position

The minor pentatonic has five notes: in A, they’re A, C, D, E and G. Position 1 sits between the 5th and 8th frets, with two notes per string. The A notes, in orange, are your landmarks.

Fingering: one finger per fret

Your index stays at the 5th fret, your ring finger plays the 7th and your pinky the 8th. Your hand doesn’t move: only your fingers lift and land.

▶ Listen going up and down

e|---------------------5-8-|
B|-----------------5-8-----|
G|-------------5-7---------|
D|---------5-7-------------|
A|-----5-7-----------------|
E|-5-8---------------------|

Exercise 1: from memory

Play the scale up and then down, one note per beat, at 60 bpm. Once you no longer need to look at the tab, switch to two notes per beat.

Exercise 2: improvise

Start the loop below: A minor, G, D minor, A minor. Play notes from the scale over it, following three rules:

• keep your phrases short, three or four notes, then a rest;
• repeat a phrase before you come up with a new one;
• end on an A (in orange): your ear hears it as a resolution.

No note in the scale sounds wrong over this loop: you can’t make a mistake, only find phrases you like better than others.

You’ve got it when…

• You play position 1 up and down without looking
• You stick to one finger per fret, with your hand still
• You improvise for a minute over the loop, ending your phrases on an A