Moving Guitar Scales

Thanks Jonathan, this was very helpful. Your Guitar Patterns, and 1 4 5 lessons are great, but this did clear up a lot..I need all the help I can get!!

Great stuff man. Leaves nothing to slow anyone down…but procrastination!! I have the dvd (Guitar Scale Pattern), but always read your emails. Just wanted to let you know it was money well spent. Am working regularly on your I-IV-V course and it has also been a big help. I can now do like John Fogerty said he does. “Get a melody in my head, and then just through a bunch of words together that rhyme.” (-: Ok, maybe not LIKE he does, but you know what I mean. It is much more exciting when the pieces begin to fit together, and you understand why. So thanks partner. Take care, Wayne

I just wanted you to know that this lesson has been very informative. I have been playing guitar for quite awhile, and I learned (a long time ago) the “box” pattern used for playing blues licks. Much later I learned that it was really called a pentatonic scale. I already knew how to play major scales, so a friend (a drummer!) told me that if the blues song was in the key of G that I should play a step-and-a-half up, just as if I was playing a Bb major scale. Sounded great to me. But now, after your lesson, it’s nice to see the real relationship between the two scales: the G minor pentatonic being the relative minor in Eb. Hope I’m making sense here. Thanks.

Oops! I meant to say “the relative minor in Bb”.

Hi Jonathan
You are always full of surprises. Simple but not simplistic. You can consider me a dedicated student. I have your courses and may I say anyone who uses your courses and does not practice, is missing out alot in thery and in technique. I have your course only for a couple of weeks and it turned my guitar playing around 180 degrees. This video was actually a fresh breeze because although I know music theory but it is not something really learned in traditional music theory, but the guitar is breaks out of traditional music theory. Every day I go to the computer and think “what does Jonathan have up his sleeve today” and I am always wowed. So thank you and keep it up.
In the Scale Patterns course you showed us the major scale run. Do you maybe have a sheet or something for the minor scale run?
Chaim

Hi Chaim, the Pentatonic Run sheet is pretty much what you’re looking for, as it comes out of the pentatonic minor scale which overlays on top of the diatonic minor scale. That sheet is included…

Hi Johnathan,
Liked your video very much, it has cleared up a couple of nagging questions, wondered if you could give me some insight into “Capo”, is that a form of “Bar-Cord”, if so how do we figure out what key we are in on the fret board,sorry for such a simplistic question, it is right in front of me I guess but as the saying goes”Can,t see the forest for the trees.
Many Thanks Barney

Hi Barney,

Checkout this video for more on using a capo: http://www.guitartipsweekly.com/how-to-use-a-guitar-capo/

Also, for a much better understanding of keys and where things are on the fretboard, I recommend my Unlocking I IV V course, which you can find here: http://www.onefourfive.com/guitar-theory-course/

I have been playing the guitar for a number of years and have never been able to get to grips with pentatonic scales, but this has helped me a lot. Thanks Jonathon.

So, I still don’t understand where I need to be on the fret board using this pattern in relation to what key I’m in. If the song is in the key of “A” do I need to be using this pattern on the 2nd fret “F#” minor pentatonic scale, or do I need to be down on the 5th fret for the Am pentatonic scale? Also if the key changes in the song, (I mean most songs are root, 4th and 5th chord) do I need to move the scale pattern to match the chord the song is in at that time, or can I stay in the pattern of the root key for the entire song?

Yes, if the key is A major, then you can use the 2nd fret F# pentatonic minor scale to solo in. If there is a key change, then you just shift accordingly. Changing key is different than changing chords though… for instance in your example of A major, you might have a song using A, D and E chords. You can stay in the exact same F# pentatonic minor scale throughout the duration of the song, over any and all of those chords. You would only have to change scales if the key of the song actually changed, for instance if everything shifted up to B (B, E, F#).

thakyou.
its seems easy always when a tutor shows the way.before that nothing comes in mind.
this time again same happens to me with your pentatonic scale.

GREAT LITTLE VIDEO TO BEING A NEW STUDENT OF MUSIC.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

Nice job. I do have a question though. How do I relate the other four pentatonic patterns to the key. ie how would I use them to solo? also, how do I know when this same pattern is in the major key?

Thanks

The pentatonic scales fit exactly inside of the diatonic scales, so they relate to they keys the same as the diatonic ones.