When I started playing guitar as a teenager, there was a veritable mountain of Classic Rock tunes that I wanted to learn. I felt if I could play just like David Gilmour, Jimmy Page, or Hendrix....well, that would be it. What else does one need in life? And the one thing that they all seemed to have in common, was they all played amazing lead Guitar. That's what I wanted to do too. No.......had to do.
However, I had one problem - I had no idea what these Guitar heroes were doing. I knew it was Guitar, I knew I liked it, but it seemed more like magic to me than anything else. Eventually, my parents, tired of listening to my feeble attempts at teaching myself Guitar, decided to get me Guitar Lessons.
I don't remember exactly when it was, but early on in my lessons I learned the Pentatonic Scale. And I quickly realized that even though I didn’t instantly sound like my heroes, I was getting a lot closer to figuring this stuff out. What is a Pentatonic Scale you ask? Only the easiest and most versatile scale ever devised!
A Pentatonic Scale is simply a five note scale. Some are more commonly used than others, but any configuration of five notes could be considered a Pentatonic Scale. It can be used in everything from Rock, to Country, to Jazz, to Traditional Chinese Music. On Guitar, it’s one of the easiest scales to finger. Sold yet? How about this: want to play Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd? How about Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd? Or how about a Brad Paisley tune? Knowing Pentatonic Scales can lay down the foundation of learning how to play lead Guitar in these different idioms.
Below is an example of the A Minor Pentatonic Scale. It's made up of the notes: A C D E and G (or Root, b3rd 4th, 5th, and b7th). It has a slightly dark yet open sound to it. Go ahead, give it a try and commit it to memory. It’s not magic and will not transform your playing overnight, but it will get you a lot closer. Tune in next week for Have Guitar Will Travel's next installment of Pentatonic Scales.
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