evilbiskits
12-13-2004, 10:32 AM
The Pentonic rut
The Pentonic rut is a real problem, sooo many people get stuck in a situation where they can only play in the one box shaped scale and nothing more. Many answers come in the form of, learn more of the scale patterns further up the neck and learn different scale patters (the major scale). Well it’s just as easy to get stuck in these patterns as the pentonic ones. I know it gives more options learning more scales but the options aren’t endless until you get out of playing scales all together. This may sound a bit bizarre but the way I look at the fretboard is always using a very loose version of the pentonic scale.
|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
For example if someone is playing a power chord on the 5th fret you would play this scale on the 5th and it would go perfectly. The way I make the subtle changes is by adding notes here and there thus completely changing the structure of the scale very easily. So you can change a minor pentonic into a happy sounding major scale very quickly by moving key notes around. Which notes you move here will only come from practice but here are a few examples and explanations.
X = added notes
I think this is a bluesy scale
This bluesy scale was created by adding chromatics (consecutive half steps) and also two other notes giving the scale a fuller feeling. I found this out just from improvising and finding I really like the chromatic notes in there.
|--0--|-----|--x--|--0--|-----|-----|-----| -1st string
|--0--|--x--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|--x--|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
This is a more funky walking base line kind of scale
I discovered this type of scale while learning some Flea base lines on my guitar!
|-----|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|--x--|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|--x--|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|--x--|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
Has a kind of evil feel to it
This is a bit of a weird scale and was based around a riff I play. The flattened 4th note on the B string hear creates a darker feel.
|-----|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
|--x--|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|-----|--0--|--x--|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|--x--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
These are just three of the types of scales. These are all based around the pentonic minor. Hopefully you can see by slightly modifying the pentonic scale we can create new and more interesting ones. This means that once you have created new scales you can adapt them further and you keep this process going. I have been doing this for a long time now and have built up loads of different scales. It seems also because you create them yourselves they become very easy to remember. The way I come up with these scales is just by playing over different backings and if you can’t figure out a scale that goes with a backing take the pentonic and modify till it sounds good. There’s a new scale. Now at the beginning I said you can’t have endless possibilities until you stop focusing on scales completely. I ment that until you can modify a scale on the fly to fit in with the backing you have to rely on pre-programmed scales which is how you get stuck in the rut.
All in all to get out of the pentonic rut play the pentonic scale with subtle differences and before you know it you won’t be playing the pentonic at all. You will have created loads of new scales and will find you can create more interesting and versatile music. Remember this applies to any scale you can re-modify the major scale if you want.
One last point to make is (in my opinion) the minor pentonic minor is a great scale… if you know the whole thing. There are so many possibilities and combinations you can play with it that sound cool. You just have to be selective enough to play it higher or lower up the neck at certain times. I would never say never play the pentonic because the reason people get stuck in it, is because its so good!
Full minor pentonic:
1 12
|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|
|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|
|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|
|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|
|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|
|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|
Hope this helps
The Pentonic rut is a real problem, sooo many people get stuck in a situation where they can only play in the one box shaped scale and nothing more. Many answers come in the form of, learn more of the scale patterns further up the neck and learn different scale patters (the major scale). Well it’s just as easy to get stuck in these patterns as the pentonic ones. I know it gives more options learning more scales but the options aren’t endless until you get out of playing scales all together. This may sound a bit bizarre but the way I look at the fretboard is always using a very loose version of the pentonic scale.
|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
For example if someone is playing a power chord on the 5th fret you would play this scale on the 5th and it would go perfectly. The way I make the subtle changes is by adding notes here and there thus completely changing the structure of the scale very easily. So you can change a minor pentonic into a happy sounding major scale very quickly by moving key notes around. Which notes you move here will only come from practice but here are a few examples and explanations.
X = added notes
I think this is a bluesy scale
This bluesy scale was created by adding chromatics (consecutive half steps) and also two other notes giving the scale a fuller feeling. I found this out just from improvising and finding I really like the chromatic notes in there.
|--0--|-----|--x--|--0--|-----|-----|-----| -1st string
|--0--|--x--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|--x--|--0--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
This is a more funky walking base line kind of scale
I discovered this type of scale while learning some Flea base lines on my guitar!
|-----|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|--x--|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|--x--|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|--x--|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
Has a kind of evil feel to it
This is a bit of a weird scale and was based around a riff I play. The flattened 4th note on the B string hear creates a darker feel.
|-----|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
|--x--|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|-----|--0--|--x--|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|-----|--0--|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|--x--|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|--0--|-----|-----|--0--|-----|-----|
These are just three of the types of scales. These are all based around the pentonic minor. Hopefully you can see by slightly modifying the pentonic scale we can create new and more interesting ones. This means that once you have created new scales you can adapt them further and you keep this process going. I have been doing this for a long time now and have built up loads of different scales. It seems also because you create them yourselves they become very easy to remember. The way I come up with these scales is just by playing over different backings and if you can’t figure out a scale that goes with a backing take the pentonic and modify till it sounds good. There’s a new scale. Now at the beginning I said you can’t have endless possibilities until you stop focusing on scales completely. I ment that until you can modify a scale on the fly to fit in with the backing you have to rely on pre-programmed scales which is how you get stuck in the rut.
All in all to get out of the pentonic rut play the pentonic scale with subtle differences and before you know it you won’t be playing the pentonic at all. You will have created loads of new scales and will find you can create more interesting and versatile music. Remember this applies to any scale you can re-modify the major scale if you want.
One last point to make is (in my opinion) the minor pentonic minor is a great scale… if you know the whole thing. There are so many possibilities and combinations you can play with it that sound cool. You just have to be selective enough to play it higher or lower up the neck at certain times. I would never say never play the pentonic because the reason people get stuck in it, is because its so good!
Full minor pentonic:
1 12
|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|
|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|
|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|
|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|
|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|
|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|
Hope this helps