This free rock guitar lesson by Peter Vogl will teach you how to use both Major and Minor pentatonic in the same solo. In the video we will use the backing track "funk in E", which is track 10 from the Let's Jam! Blues and Rock CD. If you would like to learn more about picking which scale to use during the course of a solo, check out our Scale Choice lesson by Peter Vogl.
Watch the lesson: Quicktime
Let’s first review the E minor Pentatonic Scale at the 12th fret. Notice the first note you play is an E.
The E major pentatonic scale starts at the the 9th fret and looks like this. Notice it is exactly the same scale, but at the 9th fret. In this case, the pinky hits an E on the 6th string.
This makes it easy to find both scales. E minor pentatonic starts on an E. When playing E major pentatonic the pinky hits an E. Now this is just 1 position of the pentatonic scales but we should start with this.
We can use both scales whenever we are playing in a Major key and the song suits it. For example, a Blues tune in E major, a funk tune in E major, or a rock tune in E major. Ballads - you want to think twice about before using the minor pentatonic scale. Use your ear and discretion. Now let’s learn a couple riffs. Here’s an E Major pentatonic riff.
Now let’s play the same riff in E minor.
Here’s the same riff in E minor.
Now let’s hear what these licks sound like in context with track 10 of the Let's Jam! Blues and Rock CD. Experiment with your own as well as using the E major and E minor pentatonic scales.
Major Pentatonic Licks by Jody Worrell is a Quicktime video that looks at how to solo using the major pentatonic scale. We'll move the scale up and down the neck and include double stops, hammer ons, and pull offs to learn how to sculpt a solo. We'll also use double stop riffs out of this Major Pentatonic scale to embellish your rhythm playing. Included in the download is an original jam track that you can use to practice these new concepts. $4.99
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