In the last post we learned a pentatonic scale in position 1. I
also broke down the increased time allotted for practice from
20 to 30+ minutes a day depending on your schedule.
Remember the most important factor in improving is regular
practice! 20 real minutes of practice is much better than 35
imaginary minutes. As I aid in the first post the pentatonic
scale is the most versatile and easiest to play, and the 1st
position we learned last time has the same root as the type 1
bar chord. We also learned that the same scale is both major
and minor. The 4th finger (fret 8 in the diagram) is the major
root and the 1st finger (fret5 in the diagram) is the minor
root. Just put the the correct finger on the type 1 root you
want and play away! By the way we are using 1 finger per
fret to play this scale; (1st finger 5th fret, 3rd finger 7th fret
and 4th finger 8th fret in the diagram). Now that we’ve
reviewed the last post, let’s learn the next position.
Fewer people know this pentatonic scale position (compared
to position 1) and it’s confusingly named. Although it goes
with a type 2 chord it’s called position 4! This is because we
are skipping 2 positions to get here, there are 5 positions in
total but we are are ignoring all but the 2 positions that match
our bar chords. You don’t have to worry about the 3 missing
positions since you will still be able to cover half of the neck
in any key! (I will show this at the end). Since this position
uses the same fingers for the roots; the circled note 4th
finger 15th fret is the major root and the 12th fret 1st finger
is the minor root, all you have to do is remember to name
it from the 5th string (type 2) root. Now you have a scale
to match each chord type. Again, just remember that minor
is 1st finger and major is 4th finger and you can play any
key you want! Locate the type 2 root, put down the correct
finger and play! for example:
E major? 7th fret 4th finger
D minor? 5th fret 1st finger
Once your positioned in the key you can play anywhere in
the scale, you don’t always have to start with the root.
PLAYING HALF THE NECK WITH 2 POSITIONS
To do this we will need to go beyond the 12th fret. Although
my type 1 and 2 chord charts (1st quarter) ended at the 12th
fret that doesn’t mean you can’t play above the 12th fret!
It just means that chords are not practical above the 12th
fret, scales are another story. Since the notes on the neck
start over again on the 12th fret, I tell my students to view
the next 12 frets (frets 12 through 24) as a midget neck;
the 15th,17th, and 19th fret markers have the same names
as the 3rd,5th, and 7th frets. You may not be able to play
chords on these frets but you can use the type 1 and 2
roots to play scales. No matter what the key, you should
be able to play at least 3 positions for any key. Since each
position covers 4 frets, those 3 positions add up to a
total of 12 frets of scale coverage, half of a 24 fret neck!
(Here are 2 diagrams of G minor chord/scale roots below))
Again, actually teaching you to use the scale is way beyond
what I can do in a blog post, although an earlier post,
“Permutations to the rescue” can help. However my book
“Take Control: for guitar” has an entire chapter with
sample riffs and a solo and is available on Amazon
through my website. To sum up:
Total time allotment;
5-10 minutes for scale practice
5-10 minutes for technique exercises
5 minutes chord/root review
5-10 minutes to jam
That’s it for this quarter! The final 2 posts will show
how to figure the chords and scales for any key, by
picture!
