Guitar lesson on opening up the pentatonic scale

We’re back!! Thank you for sticking with us and waiting patiently, or indeed finding us for the first time. Please look back at our back catalogue and subscribe to our podcast on whatever platform you listen to podcasts on. Tell all your guitar playing friends and perhaps even get directly in touch with us or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Reviews help us more than anything else. In this lesson, Dan and I return to look at the Pentatonic scale and how it can be used over a Blues major shuffle or over a minor Blues progression. We look at a couple of notes which can be added for a different ‘flavour’ and be used to change the feel of your improvising. Here we add in first the tritone or flattened fifth note to play the Blues scale. Second we add in the major second or ninth note to play a hexatonic scale or the pedestrian minor scale. There are a couple of backing tracks we use around 19 minutes and 29 minutes in. The first is a Chicago Blues Shuffle Backing Track (E) and the latter is called Soulful Chill in Eminor, by Elevated Jam Tracks. Concluding with some cud chewing about rhythm playing, we hope that this lesson has something of value in it, whatever your skill level. Timings for the SoundCloud audio version 00:01:40 Dan's album during lockdown - album on Spotify called Flight 00:02:26 Introduction to the TrueFire Platform 00:02:54 We will be hopefully making shorter and concise lessons 00:03:14 What is the plan for our lesson today? 00:04:32 How to get slightly away from the position 1 pentatonic box and give yourself a few more options to play 00:06:00 Start with the pentatonic Em pentatonic in position 1 00:06:35 Mirror on the octave position 00:07:03 Change to the Blues scale by adding a Bb (b5) 00:08:08 Why do people get locked into these patterns? 00:09:59 Blues playing - minor over major chords 00:10:07 Greg Koch - TrueFire video on Jeff Beck 00:11:18 Let's look at neutral notes 00:13:27 What else is there that we can add to both a major or minor blues scenario? 00:14:21 The b5 note is already playing outside the key as a deliberate tension or flavour 00:15:39 Played on it's own it sounds like Nine Inch Nails - Hurt 00:15:45 Adding the second, F#, works in both a major and a minor scenario 00:17:09 The octave up position with the F# added in 00:18:08 This is called the hexitonal scale or the pedestrian minor 00:19:09 Setting up the first backing track: Chicago Blues Shuffle Backing Track (E) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_BPMCYcl8Y) 00:19:37 Soloing over the backing track with pentatonic position 5 only 00:20:40 Now we use the Blues Scale (adding in the Bb note) 00:21:46 Now the hexitonal - adding the F# or the major second 00:22:51 Put it all together - Blues and major second 00:24:11 The added F# changes the vibe quite drastically 00:24:49 Play through the Blues note quite quickly as an inflection 00:25:26 Nine Inch Nails use of the b5 and the Ace of Spades 00:26:35 A standard track in Em rather than the major Blues Shuffle 00:27:57 Interlocking pentatonic shape like a jigsaw on the fretboard 00:29:12 Elevated Jam Tracks - Soulful Chill in Eminor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBZepOP0mvI) 00:32:16 Follow down through the positions and keep your rhythmic intent 00:33:26 Following rhythmic play through the scales 00:35:31 A simple way to increase interest in a pentatonic scale by adding the F# note