Greetings, and welcome to the School of Pentatonic. Such luminaries as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Kirk Hammett, Eric Clapton, and Angus Young all call this institution their
Greetings, and welcome to the School of Pentatonic. Such luminaries as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Kirk Hammett, Eric Clapton, and Angus Young all call this institution their alma mater. Heck, even John Petrucci and Eric Johnson have graced its halls with their presence. A wide array of talent spanning several musical genres, to be sure, yet all these sixstring specialists tote the pentatonic scale as a primary weapon of their arsenal.
In this workout session, we’re going to focus on expanding your collective pentatonic horizons and putting your entire fretboard to the test. After all, why use only four frets when you’ve got over 20 (24 even, if you should be so lucky)?
LEARN YOUR BOXES
Before we delve into the examples, let’s briefly review the theory behind the pentatonic scale. Whereas most Western music is based on seven-note scale forms, the pentatonic scale relies on a five-note sequence, hence the name penta- (five) tonic (tone). One of the coolest things about pentatonic patterns is that they allow you to play not only minor-based licks (the most common) but also major-based ones. That’s because the major and minor pentatonic scales contain the same set of notes, the only difference being their starting point, or root. For instance, the notes in the A minor pentatonic scale are A-C-D-E-G, and the notes in the C major pentatonic scale are C-D-E-G-A. This inherent versatility makes pentatonic scale patterns a valuable addition to your repertoire of soloing tools.
FIGURE 1 contains the building blocks for this month’s entire workout. It’s a collection of five pentatonic patterns, or boxes, that spans 12 frets. Each one of these boxes contains the same set of five notes but on different areas of the neck. Box 1 should be familiar to