The pentatonic is THE scale when it comes down to soloing. 90% of the lick you here are based off the pentatonic and it’s the easiest scale to learn.

The pentatonic scale consist of only five core notes, and the best part is you don’t even have to know what the notes are.

It’s a scale that can easily be moved all over the fretboard, used in any key, in any situation, but there’s so much more to it than that.

Everyone knows the basic “box” shape of the pentatonic, but I want to introduce you to the pentatonic modes.

All that means is that wherever you are on the fretboard, you’ll be able to rip into a solo. As you begin to learn these different shapes of the pentatonic your soloing is going to take off, and the fretboard is going to open up.

Practice these shapes every day, and at the end of 7 days I guarantee that you’ll be a better guitarist.

If you don’t know how to read tabs, the easiest way to explain it is to pretend that the guitar is laying on your lap face up. So you’re looking at a birds eye view of the fretboard, and the numbers on the strings indicate which fret you need to play.

Let’s begin.

If we were in the key of G, the standard box shape of the minor pentatonic would look like this:

E|———————3-6—————————————–|
B|—————–3-6———————————————|
G|————-3-5————————————————-|
D|———3-5—————————————————–|
A|—–3-5———————————————————|
E|-3-6————————————————————-|

Now expand your practice, by learning each of these modes of the G minor pentatonic, remember once you have the fingerings then you can easily transpose these modes to use in any key.

E|———————6-8—————————————–|
B|—————–6-8———————————————|
G|————-5-7————————————————-|
D|———5-8—————————————————–|
A|—–5-8———————————————————|
E|-6-8————————————————————-|

E|—————————–8-10——————————–|
B|————————8-11————————————-|
G|——————7-10——————————————-|
D|————8-10————————————————-|
A|——8-10——————————————————-|
E|-8-10————————————————————|

E|——————————-10-13—————————–|
B|————————-11-13———————————–|
G|——————-10-12—————————————–|
D|————-10-12———————————————–|
A|——-10-13—————————————————–|
E|-10-13———————————————————–|

E|——————————-13-15—————————–|
B|————————-13-15———————————–|
G|——————-12-15—————————————–|
D|————-12-15———————————————–|
A|——-13-15—————————————————–|
E|-13-15———————————————————–|

And then that will lead you right back up to the octave of the first “box” shape starting at the 15 fret.

Learn these patterns, and you’ll be playing faster, and better than you’ve ever had before.

If you’ve been playing solos for any amount of time you know how easy it is to get stuck in the pentatonic rut. They call it a box scale for a reason.

You take five core notes, and decades of guitarist playing every combination of those notes possible, and you can see why coming up with fresh solo ideas can be challenging.

This is what often leads people to explore other scales or modes in search of finding fresh ideas. The problem is with guitarist, it really is hard to teach and old dog new tricks.

I don’t think that there has been a class of people who were more dedicated, and yet suffered from severe A.D.D.

When you already think you know how to play, it’s hard going back to the basics. Learning knew scales, and learning new theory.

That’s why I’ve assembled the exact way that I like to play.

If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, you’ll learn more in one hour jamming then you ever will in isolated practice.

So when I want to break out the box playing, or learn new styles or techniques:

I go to the masters.

I find someone who already can do what I want to know, and I mimic them. Figure out their solos.

This really serves two purposes. It helps develop a repertoire of songs you can play, and it’s an fun way to expand your musical horizons.

So if you’ve ever found yourself caught in a pentatonic soloing rut, this is what I recommend:

1. Force yourself to go melodic. Start picking up the melody of your song, and just play that. This will force you to start writing solos geared more towards the piece, instead of relying on your standard back of licks.
2. Listen to something you’ve never listened to before. Get music that you’ve never listened to before. Maybe a whole different style then you’ve even listened before. Browse the world sections of music stores and see if you can find something that forces you to think outside your traditional box.

What you listen to really does effect what you play. Each song engraves in the back of your head a musical idea. So I try to force myself to listen to something new at least once a week.

But don’t stop there, pick up your axe and try to actually play it. This is a great technique for interrupting your usual thought process when you are holding your guitar.

If you’re new and want to add a different element to your playing fast, then I would suggest listening to, and learning these two songs.

I always tell people that it is imperative that you learn these two songs if you want to be a great guitarist, because it’ll show you how to use melody, timing, and careful phrasing outside the standard pentatonic scale, while at the same time showing you how to master the pentatonic scale to its fullness.

Those two tracks are:

1. Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd
2. Europa – Santana

If you can play these songs note for note, then youÆre on your way to becoming a great guitarist