It’s fairly common using the “boxes” of the pentatonic or blues scale to get stuck in one pattern (which is often box 1 or maybe 2)…
But if you can get used to starting with your ring finger, there’s a cool little slip and slide move that will take you through over 2 octaves of pentatonic scale real estate pretty darn quickly!
Aside from being a good way to play some cool blues/rock sounds because of the increase in speed, this is just another great way to visualize your fretboard that you may not be that familiar with.
So have fun, and try it out…
14 replies to "Sliding Through The Pentatonic Scales With The Ring Finger"
This was beyond a doubt my most favorite lesson. Thank you!
Would like to purchase the 5 x5 blues jam tracks
Do you have a tab for this lesson? It’s very hard to follow along without one. Thanks.
is there a tab for this move that you just demonstrated it would be very helpful to have the note to practice with thanks
Its A C D on strings 6,4, 2; E G on strings 5, 3, 1…….or alternately, A C on string 6, D, E, G on string 5, etc – essentally the pattern is three stair steps that take you from position 1 up to position 4. Very cool for getting around in different octaves. I also like single string moves, like A C D E G, Thanks for this, Griff!
That’s very similar to the way I first learned the C major scale all those years ago.
Interesting, it looks like I’m finally figuring out your point about making sure you end up on the “A” (the tonic?) after each run.
I assume that’s also called “resolving”?
And, of course, now I’m thinking that before beginning each run in each area of the neck, you should take the time to figure out and, remember where the “Tonic” is so that you can target that spot as your ending note to resolve to. (Duh!) Wow! Have I been a bit thick and slow on the uptake.
A short video (probably already exists) on how to find all the “A” notes (the same system for all other notes) on the guitar neck!
Thanks Griff! This was a great video!
How come I’ve never figured out this before?
That was interesting…I do that alot but following notes is interesting
Great lesson Griff!!
Would love to see you break down those great runs!
With so many lesson plans on the internet, I have tried dozens of them but for me it seems all roads lead back to you, Griff!
I always find myself going back to the one guy that for me makes learning easy and sensible.
Thank you for my learning experience!
Good morning Griff, thanks for the lesson. Is this the same as the 2+3 move you have in one of your courses? It seems I’ve practiced this before.
Yes, it’s the same pattern, basically, just framed differently. I find some people don’t see it as well either way so I do both to make sure.
That’s exactly what it is. And I am reminded that I need to practice it some more!
Another neat thing is that you can do a 3+2 pattern, starting on your index finger to play the Major Pentatonic scale diagonally up the fretboard. “Blue Sky” by The Allman Brothers works out really well this way.