Major Pentatonic Scale (Guitar Lesson IM-153) How to play IF Stage 5

Justin's Completely Free, Intermediate Guitar Course Lesson IM-153.
Stage 5, Lesson 3.

In this guitar lesson I wil show you how to play the Major Pentatonic Scale. A basic shape that you already know but with a different root note!!

Find the related course notes on the following link:
http://justinguitar.com/en/IM-153-TheMajorPentatonicScale.php

Taught by Justin Sandercoe.

Full support at the justinguitar web site where you will find hundreds of lessons on a wide range of subjects, and all the scales and chords that you will ever need! There is a great forum too to get help, no matter what the problem.

And it is all totally free, no bull. No sample lessons, no memberships, no free ebook. Just tons of great lessons :)

To get help with this lesson (and for further info and tabs), find the Lesson ID in the video title (like ST-667 or whatever) and then look it up on the Lesson Index page of justinguitar.com

http://www.justinguitar.com

Have fun :)

.

Hi. How you doing? Justin here.

Welcome to IM-153

In which we're going to be checking out

the major Pentatonic Scale.

Now the Major Pentatonic scale can be
a little bit confusing for some people

because the patterns look exactly the same
as the Minor Pentatonic scale

but on a different part of the guitar neck.

Now the big trick here is just making sure

that you understand which note is the root note,

and if you do that, it makes it a whole heap easier.

So lets get over and have a look
at the A Major Pentatonic scale.

To play the A Major Pentatonic scale

we're going to be starting with our little finger

on the fifth fret of the thickest string.

Then we're going to play first finger, second fret

third finger fourth fret,

over onto the fourth string,
first finger on the second fret

third finger on the fourth fret.

Onto the third string,
first finger on the second fret,

third finger on the fourth fret.

Onto the second string now,

first finger second fret,

little finger on the fifth fret.

Onto the thinner string,

first finger on the second fret,

little finger on the fifth fret.

And back down, first finger, four one,

three one, three one, three one, four one four.

And coming back and finishing on that note A.

That's very important, because there's our A chord.

Here's our A Major Pentatonic.

. . .

You can hear, it's a good idea actually

to play the A Major chord at the end of the scale.

. . .

Because it really gets it into your head.

Now I'm sure you're looking at it now and thinking

"That looks the same as the A Minor Pentatonic scale."

Now the A Minor Pentatonic scale was played here.

. . .

Fits over an A Minor chord.

. . .

But this one is the Major Pentatonic

starts with the little finger

. . .

And we're finishing on that note A

just to make sure that your ears

are really hearing that kind of major sound.

Now I always think it's a good idea

to learn position one, and this scale.

. . .

Is actually position five of the Major Pentatonic scale.

So what I'd like to show you now

is how to play position one of the Major Pentatonic.

To play position one of the A Major Pentatonic

we're going to start here
with the second finger on the fifth fret,

which is the root note,
the note A.

Then we're going to have little finger

on the seventh fret, the note B.

Onto the next string, first finger on the fourth fret.

little finger on the seventh fret.

Next string, first finger on the fourth fret,

little finger on the seventh fret.

Onto the third string,
first finger on the fourth fret

third finger on the sixth fret.

Now first finger is kind of moving up a fret

onto the fifth fret,
third finger on the seventh fret

and the same thing on the thinner string.

first finger on the fifth fret,

third finger on the seventh fret.

And back down.

first finger, third finger seventh,

first finger fifth,
and third finger is going backwards a fret,

so its kind of crossing over

it was on the seventh,

now it's moving back
to the sixth fret of the third string.

To the first finger, little finger on the seventh

fist finger on the fourth. Next string.

Little finger on the seventh,
first finger on the fourth.

Little finger on the seventh fret,
second finger on the fourth.

Let me just play that for you
nice and smoothly, up and down.

. . .

The Major Pentatonic scale gets used
mostly in Country and Country Rock.

But also makes it's way into Blues as well.

And is often combined with the Minor Pentatonic.

So Eric Clapton was a bit of a master of this,

of mixing up the Major Pentatonic

and the Minor Pentatonic in the same solo.

Now, the use of this scale is gonna be

something covered more in the style series,

particularly with the Country course.

But what I'd like you to do now is

have a little bit of a go at playing
over a regularly 12 Bar Blues

but using this Major Pentatonic.

It's quite interesting.

The thing to remember here

is that you can't just go using any licks

or phrases that you might have learned
from the Minor Pentatonic.

They don't work.

Remember that the notes in red

on the little scale diagram on the web site

are the chord tones for the A Major chord.

And they tend to be the notes that you can stop on,

which are very different than
the ones you tend to settle on,

on the Minor Pentatonic.

So, at this stage,
just have a bit of experiment with it,

learn this position,

particularly position one,
which will be the new shape.

Remembering, of course that
Position One of the Minor Pentatonic

is the same as
Position Five of the Major Pentatonic.

Now the trick to remembering that is just

know thy root note.

It should be one of the guitarists
Ten Commandments, really.

Know thy root note for everything,

for every chord and every scale
and arpeggio you ever learn

you must make sure you know
where the root note is.

It's really, really important,

otherwise you won't be able to move this stuff around

into different keys or whatever.

So, make sure you know the root note

and practice up your Major Pentatonic Scales,

have a bit of a go with them,

check out the different sound,

and we'll get more into
using those in the Style Modules.

Have fun with that.

See you for another lesson very soon.

Take care. Bye, bye.