Minor Pentatonic Scale - Guitar Session 2

For beginning guitarist's this session shows you how to maneuver your fingers on the guitar fretboard, to play the scale into the position your moving to.
For instance, if your playing the scale in the 1st position, your index finger plays all notes on the 1st fret, middle finger 2nd fret, ring finger 3rd fret & little finger 4th fret. In the 5th position your index finger plays all the notes on the 5th fret, middle finger 6th fret, ring finger 7th fret & little finger 8th fret. When your playing the A Minor Pentatonic scale in the 1st position and want to play the scale up into the 5th position, you'll want to maneuver your fingers in a way so the index finger is set up to play the notes on the 5th fret.

Each scale chart below displays the A Minor Pentatonic scale for 2 Octaves, where you'll play the scale, then repeat the scale an Octave tone higher. So your actually playing the scale twice.

Below is what I call a scales chart key. On the scale charts themselves, you wiil see these suggested fingering symbols for the notes played in the scale.

R = rootnote
O = Open string played
= Index Finger
=Middle Finger
=Ring Finger
=Little Finger
Strings that are played open will be marked with "O" on top of the scale diagram.

Chart No. 1 shows the A Minor Pentatonic Scale starting in the 1st position on the guitar fretboard and ascending the scale into the 5th position. The scale pattern starts out with Open (A) string (5th guitar string) which is the 1st note in the scale known as the rootnote (A).

Then descends the scale with the notes - C-D-E-G - in the 1st position and lands your little finger on the 5th fret-4th string-(G)note. And heres where we'll make our move into the 5th position on the guitar fretboard, with the little finger playing the higher Octave rootnote (A) on the 7th fret-4th string by moving your hand into the 5th position. This allows your index finger to play the next note in the scale which is the (C) note on the 5th fret, and continue to ascend the scale in the 5th position to the higher Octave rootnote (A) on the 5th fret -1st string.

Guitar Scale Chart 1

Guitar Scale Chart 2

Chart No. 2 shows the A Minor Pentatonic Scale starting in the 5th position on the guitar fretboard and ascending the scale to the 10th fret. Instead of playing the (C) note on the 8th fret-6th string as the (box style pattern), the (C) note is played on the 3rd fret-5th string. Which gives the scale a little different dynamic sound as you ascend out of the 5th position and back into it. Then ascending out of the 5th position again to the higher Octave rootenote (A) on the 10th fret-2nd string.

Chart No. 3 shows the A Minor Pentatonic Scale starting in the 5th position on the guitar fretboard and ascending the scale to the 10th fret. This time playing the (C) note on the 8th fret-6th string. We get out of the box style pattern on G string (3rd string) after we play the (D) note on the 7th fret, by moving your hand up 2 frets to play the (E) note. Which sets your hand up in the 7th position for easy access to the higher Octave rootnote (A).

Guitar Scale Chart 3

Guitar Scale Chart 4

Chart No. 4 shows the A Minor Pentatonic Scale starting in the 12th position on the guitar fretboard and ascending the scale to the 17th fret. By starting the scale with the rootnote (A) on the 12th fret-5th string with your ring finger, here again we'll ascend out of the 12th position by playing the (C) note on the 10th fret-4th string instead of playing it in position, which the (C) note would be played on the 15th fret-5th string.

We ascend back into the 12th position on the (E) note, and continue to ascend the scale to the higher Octave rootnote (A) on the 14th fret-3rd string. Then ascending the scale to the higher Octave rootnote (A) on the 17th fret-1st string.

Once your familiar with these scale patterns by playing them ascending, start playing the scale descending from the lower tone rootnote (A) to the higher tone rootnote (A). It's always a good practice to learn a scale in both directions, by ascending & descending in the scale.

It helps develop dexterity in the fingers you play on the guitar fretboard, as well as help you memorize where notes are on the fretboard itself.

This concludes session 2 on the A Minor Pentatonic Scale.