I know this might seem odd… but I like to add notes to my pentatonic and blues scale boxes without having to really think too much…
So, to that end, there are a couple of spots in the boxes where those extra notes just fit, and they are easy to see and use.
In this video, I’ll show you some ways to utilize these notes, and some options for how you can articulate them and blend them in with your regularly scheduled pentatonic note playing.
38 replies to "Adding Notes To Pentatonic Scales Without Thinking"
Love the lessons! I enjoy your focus on counting, I was hoping you could show how the beats are counted in the song moanin’ its a hard bob bluesy classic. Thank you
Hi Griff
Total jazz head now, but was a blues/rock player a great part of my playing life. Yours is the one site I regularly track and I thoroughly enjoy your approach. I find many jazz players die when it comes to playing straight ahead – they either overcomplicate and overstuff the progression with abstract and/or outside ideas, or are playing extensions that aren’t called or otherwise destroy the form. It’s the old cliche that one note, well placed, says far more than hundreds do. I am not afraid of theory, so I won’t burn in primitive rocker hell, but also appreciate that when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything becomes a nail. Best to you, keep up the great work
Richard .
Thinking is my biggest popsicle, I mean obstacle… I think.
Griff, thank you for always making me THINK!
Fun stuff! Love the little tricks based on patterns, will have to give this a whirl. Thanks Griff
Excellent help for me, one of the musically disabled. 10/10
I look forward to try this one out
Hey Griff,
Thanks Great info. Will that work for both Major and Minor pentatonic?
Awesome lesson. I recently discovered switching from minor pentatonic to major pentatonic give me Mixolydian if you subtract the minor third.
Pentatonic shapes, about all you need in your toolbox.
Worked for Stevie Ray!!!
This puts me halfway to Carlos now.
Aspirations!
Griff,
Great lesson. Noticed your efficient picking motion. ( I tend to have more motion in my right hand – hence less efficient.) Would you do a video on improving right hand technique ?
Thanks.
Jim
does that only work in a major key ?Because it kinda comes from pos2 of the maj penta ?
Another GREAT video. Funny just as you brought up modes my brain was just going there. “Like how come that works, what mode is that”. Lol 😆. Great tip
good food for thought…thanks…later.
cowboy
Good…thx
Hi Griff
Can you show pdf when you demonstrate stuff like this. It would really help
Thanks
Frank
it’s always a good thing to add to your arsenal of playing tips n tricks. thx Griff
As always griff is the man👍👍😎😎😎
That’s a very interesting concept you have introduced in this lesson. I’m going to incorporate that in my practice time to put limits on myself to get ideas like you introduced in this video and get it down….the 3 gig rule. Thanks for the lesson.
Alexander
Hi Griff,
Great video on how to do something new without having to really think too much. It reminds me how I finally committed all five pentatonic boxes without thinking too much. I learned it by watching “1 Weird Trick to Memorizing Pentatonic Patterns” by Steve Stine. Now finding root notes, in both minor and major, and your training flash cards are a breeze. Different ideas work for different people. Thanks!
Yummy intro Griff leading into a great lesson. Not sure I totally agree with your comments about the lower three strings cos if you have your mix set for it, it can be a terrific respite from soloing at 12th fret or above.
What do I know, just love what you do
I suspect you lie awake at nights wondering what you are going to post next. How about an electric guitar lesson. I notice that you play various electric guitar…different styles/brands. For those of us who might be interested in expanding from acoustic to electric, it would be very interesting if you would preview all of the styles of electrics you play with an explanation of the differences in each..and advantages and disadvantages of each and which musical styles…blues, jazz, pop…etc… are best suited for each guitar.
Benton (acoustic blues)…love jazz
Griff…love to watch your lessons. Good stuff. I know it is difficult to do some of the bends on an acoustic guitar, but for those of us who play acoustic blues..and happen to not own an electric guitar, it would be nice if you would occasionally demonstrate some blues licks on acoustic. I know. I really should get an electric guitar. So far have avoided doing so. Benton
Great lesson so grateful!! I enjoy just listening to you play!!
would you make available or direct me to where I could find the Minor Blues Scales and the correct boxes, so I may learn and practice correctly?
I’m not to sure what I have?
Thanks
Thanks for this simple tip. I often was playing those notes in position 1 and was thinking to myself “why am I in position two and it sounds good? Nice simple explanation. Love playing with feel vs. having to think.
Great lesson Griff – it also fits well with your list of scales/modes that can be played over the I/IV/V major blues pattern, which is something that I found particularly useful.
Would it be possible some time to have a similar list of scales/modes that can be played over of standard minor blues chord progression ?
A good and valuable one, Thks
Dig the extra note tip
Griff suggests that “you take a variety of jam tracks” to practice against. I use VLC Media Player, mainly because it’s FREE, but also because it’s GOOD. There’s a thing in VLC called a “playlist”, in which you can create a set of songs or pieces that are grouped together, and when you play the playlist it plays that group of pieces one after the other. So…. get three or four jam tracks at different tempos or different feels and in different keys and group them together in a playlist. I’ve got four or five of these playlists that I use regularly, and each one goes for about 15 minutes. So I can start one up and practice for 15 minutes or so in different keys and different tempo/feels without taking my hands off the guitar. Perfect!!!
Cheers from the great south land of Oz,
Chris G.
Awesome man! A lightbulb just went off
Got it……..UBJ2 Got Nowhere To Turn – F#min.mp3
🙂
What is the backing track you are using? Sounds familiar but cant place it.
Good stuff…Thanks
Every now and then I hear or see something that is like an apiphany “ probably spelled that incorrectly “ but never thought of the Dorian that way . I’ve always just started in the second position of the major scale . Thanks that makes it so much easier to incorporate.
Great Stuff: Been watching your teachings for a long time. How about a few lessons on how to use the “right hand” to improve your (1) picking accuracy and (2) speed.
I am having issues with clean and quick picking, especially on the up stoke. You introduction to this lesson is what I would like to do, but can’t without your help.
thanks and best wishes,
Ric
Totally agree about the brainpower comment. I’ve been playing for over 50 years but I WISH that on day one of guitar lessons my teacher would have said this: Look, music is a language, when you talk you don’t have to think about the letters of the alphabet do you? No, you just put together words into coherent phrases, sentences and paragraphs, because you know the language so well you don’t have to think about it. You put your attention on what you want to express.
So it is with notes, musical phrases, and coherent musical ideas, you have to know the fundamentals so well that you no longer have to think about it. You can put together musical ideas in a fluid coherent way without thinking about where to put your fingers. You can just put your attention on what you want to say musically.
Preaching to the choir? Lol!
Darn, Griff! I think that intro you played in the first minute of the video is one of the finest blues solos I’ve ever heard. What a way to make your point right out of the gate. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
hi griff, thank you for another great lesson.I learn from each one.
Hi Griff!
I have been a BGU fan for at least 5 years and have purchased a number of courses! This video is spot on! I help retirees who want to learn to play guitar and I preach “The Pentatonic patterns are a road map, not a straight jacket!!”It was nice to see affirmation of that mantra in this video! As a former teacher and high school principal, your teaching style and approach to new material is excellent!
Good stuff as always. I don’t like to think about it either and the bends and twidles just make it so much more interesting and fun.