pentatonic scales help

[chickenwuss]

hey, need help here. regarding pentatonic scales:

first, from what i understand of it; correct me if i'm wrong

-Used mainly for solos. in blues or rock music.

-what does the penta mean? 5 notes only. I know that. but really means only 5 distinct sounds is it?

-many patterns up the neck. major and minor roots, but i am learning minor currently

-It will sound or work nicely if PLAYED in the correct key of a song (rhythm). But how do you know that in the first place?

-any pieces to reccomend to play? like pink floyd?

I really need help. bascially i dont know why there is need to learn it. teach me. currently i am learning only the patterns, but with no clue. just memorising. Like that, how do i play solos?

Thanks all guitar masters

 

[Creeping_Deth]

Hmm firstly learn the box position. It is the simplest.
For A minor it would be

e (5)--8
B 5----8
G 5----7
D 5---(7)
A 5----7
E (5)--8

The circled notes are the root notes, in this case, A.
The fifth string on the guitar is an A note, hence the scale has a root note of A. The Scale is called pentatonic minor, hence the above example is the A minor pentatonic.

If we begin on the 7th note of the E string, the scale would become the B minor pentatonic, the 8th would be the C minor pentatonic and so on.

-many patterns up the neck. major and minor roots, but i am learning minor currently

Wrong. Position on the neck doesnt make it minor or major.
Minor refers to the shape itself, or more specifically to the sound the group of notes make. And A is the relative minor of C, which means they share the same notes.

The box position itself is retarded, however, you can't do much with it. As you get more familiar with it, branch out slowly from that position. Learn the enitre fretboard. It can be done. When soloing, try to go in Z pattenrs, repeat notes, bend notes, slide etc to give it more variety.

Then, learn the natural minor scale, and blues scale. The pentatonic scale is the skeleton (aka a subset) of the abovementioned scales. By adding notes here and there to the pentatonic scale you get the above. Personally I solo with a hybird scale of the above instead of just the pentatonic to give it more flavor.

Please try this site called Zentao. It is the best theory site for beginning guitarists.
About the pentatonic scale
Relative Minor Theory
Also
A page illustrating the entire pentatonic scale.

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

yep,

there're only 5 box patterns for pentatonic scale on guitar...

if u know the minor, u know the major cuz they're the exact same patterns just that they're 3 half steps away from each other (3 frets away)

to find the key of a song... its usually played as the 1st note bu there are lots of songs that don't do that tooo... u'll just have to listen and reconise...

and if u anyhow whack the pentatonic scale, u might get blues, rock, or even kor tai chino stuff...

pentatonic scales, if i'm not wrong, are the black keys on paino in dunno what scale... and u know how chinese like they can sound... haha must have patterns one for blues

 

[Creeping_Deth]

To avoid sounding like the chinese opera, remember the blues sound like a heartbeat, notes usually go in pairs, dumdum dumdum. I read this quote somewhere and I finally broke free from sounding like a funeral musician.

Also, when soloing, return to the root note once in a while. If you meander, it sounds lost and like the chinese opera.

 

[popeye]

-any pieces to reccomend to play? like pink floyd?

Stairway to Heaven! :lol: