There are five essential pentatonic scales (vertical patterns) and two essential lead scales (horizontal patterns) described in this article. Also, the pull-off, vibrato, and tremolo techniques are discussed.
G Pentatonic Major Scale (G, A, B, E, D)
The Lead patterns (G Pentatonic Major Scales: G, A , B, E, D) shown below are great for improvisations. A developing guitarist will find it may be a bit easier to play along the length of the guitar fretboard, than to play a scale pattern from top to bottom in one position (see link for E Pentatonic Minor Scales below).
In other words, playing a scale horizontally may be easier than playing a scale vertically. Of course, it depends on the scale and the techniques being used.
A guitarist can use Lead Patterns:
- To improvise.
- To add sliding techniques to their playing – legato slide.
- To cover the full fretboard of the guitar – cover more octaves.
- To make their playing look more interesting – eye catching.
- To transition all over the fretboard and play more dynamically.
- To help learn other guitarist’s solos.
The G Pentatonic Major Scale is simply created by dropping the 4th and 7thdegree/notes of the G major scale/key (G, A, B, C, D, E, F#). That is, one simply drops the C and the F sharp notes from the G major scale, producing the G pentatonic (5 tone) major scale (G, A, B, D, E).
E Pentatonic Minor Scale (E, G, A, B, D)
The E Pentatonic (5 tone) Minor Scale (E, G, A, B, D) is great to solo with. A guitarist should notice that E Pentatonic Minor and G Pentatonic Major scales have the same notes – however it is the interval sequence played that makes the difference. This result should be compare to the G major and E minor scales for similar results – same key and same notes.
A developing guitarist only needs to learn the five fundamental and movable patterns. Once a guitarist learns the movable patterns (i.e., move the root patterns), they should add articulations to their soloing.
Playing the same basic pentatonic (5 tone) scale with the right phrasing and articulations can make the same scale sound like a rock song, a smooth jazz song, and so on.
Five notes can really go far when creating music. Additional notes can be added to spice things up – make the scale sound more bluesy or jazzy. Pentatonic scales can really be thought of as foundation scales that a guitarist can build new scales around, like the Blues Scale or the Jazz Scale (such as, G Pentatonic Minor Scale with 6th).
The Pull-Off Technique
The first articulation shown in the example below is called a pull-off (denoted P.O.).
Illustration:
.........................................(P.O.)....(P.O.)
High E String (TAB) -------5---------3----------0----------
What a guitarist does is play the higher note, then “pull-off” to the lower note with another finger.They only play the first note. When they pull-off, they slightly pluck the string downward with the starting finger on the starting note.
In the first measure (see link below), a guitarist would play the A note with their third finger and have their first finger planted on the G note. That is, they would play A, then pull off to G, then pull off to E in one continuous motion. The guitarist needs only to pluck the string once! The rest of the notes are sounded by the pull off action of the “fretting” hand.
The Vibrato Technique
Another very useful articulation is the Vibrato (denoted by a wavy line ~). The pitch of a note is varied usually by a rapid shaking motion of the fret hand finger, wrist, and forearm.
If a guitarist rotates their forearm (keeping wrist straight) while holding a note down on the third string of the guitar with their first finger -- they will notice that their fret finger slightly twists downward with the string. This particular vibrato technique is also known as the butterfly vibrato. This type of vibrato is seen most readily by watching guitarists like B.B. King play. The fluttering motion of B.B. King’s vibratos is a must see.
A guitarist can also simple keep their wrist straight and move their forearm back and forth so their fret finger moves back and forth rapidly (but still holding down the string). This is an effective method when vibrating a note with the pinky finger. The idea is to make the note slightly vary in pitch, thus producing a vibrating sound.
The Tremolo Technique
Some musicians will use a tremolo effects pedal to make the notes vibrate, but this vibration is created by varying volume and not varying pitch. Moreover, to vibrate an open note, one usually uses a Tremolo Bar (or whammy bar) that comes with many electric guitars as standard equipment. A guitarist can also bend the string behind the nut, shake the guitar, or bend the neck slightly. The guitarist Randy Rhoads uses a neck bend on the song Crazy Train.
A developing guitarist should learn the Lead Patterns (horizontal and vertical) well and apply them to their playing. They should start with the basic five pentatonic patterns and then add the two horizontal lead patterns. Once memorized, they should practice different articulations and phrasing with each. They should also try playing the patterns over chord progressions in the key of G major or E minor.
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