Certainly in people that I work with every day, wrapping your head around “the boxes” and being able to truly find all of the possible places to play your pentatonic/blues minor and major scales can be a challenge.
So in this video, I’m going to try and break down just as simply as I know how to do – with some straightforward rules that should apply to most people, if you know your pentatonic/blues scales from the “box” approach (which is also, very common.)
I’ve done videos on “the boxes” in the past, so I won’t spend a whole lot of time on them here, but hopefully I can give you some ways to practice that will help with seeing them on your guitar better.
Hope you dig the video!
40 replies to "How To Find All 5 Boxes – No Matter What Key"
Very well explained! Thank you Griff!
great lesson griff,it answered a few questions for me,thank you for the time you take to teach us.greatly appreciated.
Griff: Blues in Am, I would think the 1-4-5 would be Am, Dm, Em. However you play 7ths. Explain please. Also Am, Dm, E sounds great but does the Am pentatonic work with these chords?
John F
Very nice lesson Griff. I had an idea a while back and recently saw confirmation from another teacher that makes this even easier.
Rename the boxes! Make their numbers consistent with music theory. For example, instead of 1,2,3,4,5, they are now 6,1,2,3,5. Intervals of the major scale. So now you have both E strings showing EXACTLY where you are! You can jump directly into any box witthout chasing roots, and without having to start at a familiar box and work forward or backwards. All you need to know is your relative minor for each major key you play in.
Think about it. All scales (except symmetrical ones) come from the major scale. Let their intervals guide you and you’ll never be lost.
Those aren’t intervals, they’re scale degrees.
And for beginning blues students the minor perspective is more useful.
And the box number tells you which of the 5 notes is lowest on the 6th string. You don’t even need to know the scale degrees. Just be able to count to 5.
And you don’t need to add the concept of relative scales to what is already pretty confusing for beginners.
It’d be kinda a weird to start a beginner with a Major Box 6.
And then tell them to think of it as it’s relative minor.
Huh??!!!
Don’t get me wrong.
I understand what you’re saying.
It’s just a “longer way around the barn”.
But there’s good news.
If you made the pentatonic boxes diatonic boxes as modes of the Major scale, you would count them that way.
6, 1, 2, 3, 5 = Aeolian, Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian
This was an eye opener for my ear. Now I will learn box 2 then…then…you get the idea. Still great stuff Griff.
Hi Griff. I get ur daily post in my email everyday and used to get them on YouTube as well. Don’t seem to get them on YouTube. Now and I need that so I can play them on my tv
Try opening your email with your phone, then cast your phone to your TV.
Griff, Your finger moved to quick for me to be able to see what direction you are playing the major boxes. Are you playing in the same direction (left to Right) as when playing the minor boxes, but just starting on the Relative major note?
Also if I am playin in A-minor and want to add a major sound do I go to A- Major, or should I be using the relative Major, such as: When in A-minor, use C-major. Or use A-minor, and A-Major?
I was watching your You Tube program just last night, 03-13-22; you stated that I could go to a web site that you had produce; something like: “www.sojo.com/???
I hope you aren’t too busy or this posting is so late, that it won’t get read.
PS. I am 70 years and after over 50 years of not playing, attempting to learn .
I don’t know what URL I have
This finally clicked with me, thanks!
Me too, Don! Finally…
I’ve learned this from earlier lessons you’ve givin but wow I went through it this time with little effort ,,it was actually fun !🤠
I was intrigued when you said the blues actually incorporates three scales (I think I said that correctly).
Might you elaborate?
I could be wrong, as I am a novice. But I think he meant that each of the three chords used , the- 1, the-4, and the-5 are all based on separate Scales. The 1-chord is based on “A”-minor, the 4- chord is based on a “D”, and the 5-chord is based on an “E”.
Slowly but surely I’m getting it. Great lesson!
Griff,
Another stellar lesson!
Thanks Griff – another great lesson. Your teaching style is excellent. Your “Blues Scale Trainer Tool” has also been of great assistance in learning the 5 pentatonic boxes. But what does cause me to pause when moving from one box to another on the sixth or first strings is does the next box begin with 3 frets or 4? As with anything new, this will come with memorization and practice and this is where the Blues Scale Trainer Tool comes in handy.
I am a subscriber to your Acoustic Blues/Delta Blues/Playing on the Porch courses.
I always look forward to your daily instructional emails.
Thanks again.
I think on the second box the third note on the 6th string is a BLUE note, and doesn’t count. If using just the penotonic scale, you will see that its always three frets down. Better double check this, as I am still a beginner.
This guy is so good explains everything thanks for your time appreciated
Great review lesson by a great instructor!
The best lesson you’ve ever put together. Thanks.
Very intetresting
I got to try going beyond the first 2 boxes . Just looking for some cool ideas . Yes I do not follow any of Your personal licks . I do notice that at some points You tend to use extensions, but, You also put in some extra stuff and it goes away from what You are putting across. I know it is what we all do so no worries . As always thanks for sharing .
Thanks Griff for taking time out of your day to give us these quick lessons. It’s highly appreciated. Enjoy your day.
What an intro! Teach me that!
Griff
You hit the nail on the head! I was racking my brain out wondering how Guitar players can jump around the fret board & play any box! The five positions of the root note give’s the baseline to know what box to play in each postion. Griff I don’t watch all your daily videos, but this one really got my attention. Great information!
Just learn the notes on the fretboard and follow the chords – that’s what Griff does. Forget about boxes and CAGEs and all the gyrations. Play notes and music, not some rote forms and positions.
Another amazing video lesson! Turned on the high beams to see much further up the road.
Thank you!
Good explanation and examples. I enjoyed your adding info about using box 2 with your middle finger. I’m slowly understanding this theory with getting my muscle memory learning too.
Mark
i stil ave this video.
Just the Otr day, i was going trough my sheet tabs and lyirics for songs i play live. found the old 5 box’s.
i know them al, and i knw they whre the same notes. i really just like playing box 1 and 2. unless i’m soloing a pink flyd sond, that use box5 and 6. thanks for what you do griff.
Wow another short cut cool. I remember a year or so ago you encouraged us to be able to find the root notes all over the fret board so I did and I realized once I could do that it opened up a whole other way to look at the scales . If I could find the root notes and if I started from where ever it was I could go up the
Fretboard or down the fret board . There are basically only those two options up or down or “right facing or left facing” and now all I had to do was navigate going across from the G string to the B string . This has givin me one extra way to see the boxes .
This was a great lesson. I went back to your lesson on finding all the notes on the neck and that shows you were a particular note can be found in different places on the neck and that opened things up. It just tied it all together also the course on boxes. Thanks again Griff
This was great. Thanks. Will be viewing this s few times. You just opened up a whole new world
Great Video, great info as usual!
I seem to be missing something:
How do you decide when to you use the Major scale or minor scale?
If not playing blues, should I be using the major scale to start my solo?
Thanks again,
Dan
If it’s not blues, you have to figure out if it’s a major or a minor key… so it’s not a simple answer. If you believe it’s a major key, go with major pentatonic. Minor pentatonic can also work, it’ll just sound “bluesy” if it’s in a major key.
Me likee.