Minor pentatonic

What it is

“Pentatonic” means five notes. The minor pentatonic starts from the minor scale, which has seven, and drops two: the second and the sixth, the ones most likely to clash with the chords. Its formula is 1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7.

In A, that gives you: A, C, D, E, G.

Why it always sounds right

There’s never just a half step between its notes: no note creates an ugly clash. As long as you stay in the scale, nothing sounds wrong. It works over minor chords, over blues progressions and over a good chunk of rock, even when the chords are major.

The 5 positions

On the neck, the scale breaks down into five blocks of four or five frets, with two notes per string: the positions (often called “boxes”). They fit into one another and cover the whole neck.

Learn position 1 first, which starts on the root on the 6th string, under your index finger. In A, it sits between the 5th and 8th frets.

Changing key

The shape never changes: only its place on the neck moves. To play in G minor, slide all of position 1 down two frets, between the 3rd and 6th frets. In E minor, it comes all the way down to the nut and uses the open strings.

Improvising

• Play the scale slowly up and down, until you no longer need to look at your hand.
• Then improvise short phrases over a chord in the key.
• End your phrases on the root (in orange on the fretboard): your ear hears a resolution.
• For ready-made phrases under your fingers, learn the five licks in the lesson Your first licks.