I was initially inspired to come up with these licks from a conversation I had with a saxophone player who asked me, “Why do so many guitarists always play pentatonic runs exactly the same way?”—meaning, why do most guitarists play up and down through the pentatonic scale within the confines of a single fretboard position?
In this month’s column, I’d like to demonstrate a variety of ways to twist that staple scale heard in virtually all rock and metal solos—the trusty old five-note pentatonic scale—into new and unusual phrases and patterns.
I was initially inspired to come up with these licks from a conversation I had with a saxophone player who asked me, “Why do so many guitarists always play pentatonic runs exactly the same way?”—meaning, why do most guitarists play up and down through the pentatonic scale within the confines of a single fretboard position? He pointed out, “Every time you guys play a solo, your fingers all look the same!”
I thought about that and realized that he had a legitimate point, so I set out to come up with a bunch of licks that ascend and descend the fretboard with unexpected finger slides and position shifts that, by their very nature, create a smooth, legato sound that is more “horn-like” than the typical, stock lead guitar phrases we are all so familiar with.
The first two licks I’m going to show you are based on A minor pentatonic, which is outlined in ascending form in fifth position in FIGURE 1. FIGURE 2 illustrates a lick, played in steady 16th notes, that is based on a sequence of four-note descending “cells” that gradually move up the fretboard on each successive beat from one position, or “box,” of A minor pentatonic