The Pentatonic Scale

Aim of the exercise: Learn and practice different positions of the pentatonic scale.
Exercise type: Scales
Starting tempo: 60 beats per minute
Duration: 10 minutes

Five notes that rock!

In this exercise you will practice the pentatonic scale - the prefix "penta" comes from the greek word for five, which means that the scale only has five notes. It's one of the most used scales in all sorts of styles of music, and it's easy to master and use. Here are the fretboard diagrams for 5 positions of the A minor (and C major) pentatonic scales on the neck. The notes in blue are the root notes (only A is marked as a root note to avoid confusion, even though C major and A minor pentatonic scales both have the same tones, they just start at different notes).

You will notice that all the patterns only have two notes per string which makes them easy to learn, especially with some practice. Which is what you'll be doing now!

Pattern 1

E
G
A
C
D
E
G
A
C
D
E
G

Pattern 2

G
A
C
D
E
G
A
C
D
E
G
A

Pattern 3

A
C
D
E
G
A
C
D
E
G
A
C

Pattern 4

C
D
E
G
A
C
D
E
G
A
C
D

Pattern 5

D
E
G
A
C
D
E
G
A
C
D
E

Variations

Pattern 1, groups of 3 Pattern 2, groups of 3 Pattern 3, groups of 3 Pattern 4, groups of 3 Pattern 5, groups of 3 Pattern 1, groups of 4 Pattern 2, groups of 4 Pattern 3, groups of 4 Pattern 4, groups of 4 Pattern 5, groups of 4 Pattern 1, fourths Pattern 2, fourths Pattern 3, fourths Pattern 4, fourths Pattern 5, fourths

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