Pentatonic guitar scales are often the starting point for many guitarists when first studying lead guitar. They are extremely useful for soloing and can be applied to many different styles of music, including blues, rock and country.
All pentatonic guitar scales, by definition have five notes.In western music there are two pentatonics commonly used, these are the minor pentatonic and the major pentatonic. A variation of the minor pentatonic scale is the frquently used blues scale.
The minor pentatonic scale is commonly used in rock and blues music but is not limited to these genres. The minor pentatonic is a staple for many guitar solos, and it is generally a very popular scale used for guitar soloing. The minor pentatonic scale is composed of: root, flat 3, 4, 5 and flat 7 scale degrees.
The minor pentatonic can be changed to the blues scale by simply adding a flat 5. This is also a very popular scale for not just blues but for many other genres of music. When discussing pentatonics for guitar, often the blues scale will be included even though technically it isn't a pentatonic. It contains : root, flat 3, 4, flat 5, 5 and flat 7. This scale is often regarded as the most popular scale for soloing with the guitar.
A versatile and useful scale is the major pentatonic scale. The scale steps are root, 2, 3, 5, 6 degrees. This scale is also frequently used in country music and blues but again is not limited to these styles. If we take the two of these scales we find they are normally used jointly when soloing over a twelve bar blues together with the flat 5, mentioned previously, from the blues scale.
To learn lead guitar it is crucial to learn the major pentatonic and the minor pentatonic guitar scales. Both scales can be used for guitar solos in almost any style of music and contain the same notes that the diatonic modes are formed with. These scales are generally a good starting point when learning guitar soloing.
All pentatonic guitar scales, by definition have five notes.In western music there are two pentatonics commonly used, these are the minor pentatonic and the major pentatonic. A variation of the minor pentatonic scale is the frquently used blues scale.
The minor pentatonic scale is commonly used in rock and blues music but is not limited to these genres. The minor pentatonic is a staple for many guitar solos, and it is generally a very popular scale used for guitar soloing. The minor pentatonic scale is composed of: root, flat 3, 4, 5 and flat 7 scale degrees.
The minor pentatonic can be changed to the blues scale by simply adding a flat 5. This is also a very popular scale for not just blues but for many other genres of music. When discussing pentatonics for guitar, often the blues scale will be included even though technically it isn't a pentatonic. It contains : root, flat 3, 4, flat 5, 5 and flat 7. This scale is often regarded as the most popular scale for soloing with the guitar.
A versatile and useful scale is the major pentatonic scale. The scale steps are root, 2, 3, 5, 6 degrees. This scale is also frequently used in country music and blues but again is not limited to these styles. If we take the two of these scales we find they are normally used jointly when soloing over a twelve bar blues together with the flat 5, mentioned previously, from the blues scale.
To learn lead guitar it is crucial to learn the major pentatonic and the minor pentatonic guitar scales. Both scales can be used for guitar solos in almost any style of music and contain the same notes that the diatonic modes are formed with. These scales are generally a good starting point when learning guitar soloing.
About the Author:
Clause J Dillon has been studying and playing music for over twenty years. He has just released an easy to follow guitar scales and soloing E Book which will help any guitar player to learn lead guitar and soloing. For a limited time we have arranged for our valued readers to receive a free copy by clicking the blue link. Pentatonic Guitar Scales, Blues Guitar Scales