CAGED Minor Pentatonic Scales: Completing the CAGED System, Part 3
For tabs and diagrams, grab the free lesson pack for this lesson.
Introduction
In parts one and two of this lesson series, we looked at the minor CAGED arpeggios and chord shapes and worked on anchoring those shapes to the fretboard through the root notes.
Now we’re going to layer in the minor pentatonic patterns using the same approach. We’ll learn the patterns and then connect them to the fretboard through those root notes. This is what’s going to allow you to see these shapes all over the neck.
Once again, I have a free lesson pack in the description that contains the diagrams and tabs for this lesson, so be sure to grab that and reference it as needed as we work through the minor pentatonic scales.
Like we did with the minor arpeggios, we’re going to start with the minor CAGED chords and build out the pentatonic scales from there. This is going to help create a relationship between the chord and the scale, which becomes really useful when it comes to applying the scale over chord progressions or adding a little flavor to your rhythm playing.
After that, we’ll continue working on root note anchoring, and I’ll give you a couple of exercises that will help with that.
Root note anchoring is such an important part of being able to see these shapes all over the neck. The root notes can act as landmarks that tell you where you are on the fretboard.
Building the Minor Pentatonic Shapes
If you already know the major pentatonic patterns, the good news is that the minor pentatonic scale uses those exact same shapes. What changes is the root note and how those notes relate to that root.
This comes from the relationship between relative major and minor scales. For example, the C major and A minor scales share the same notes. So as we work through the minor pentatonic positions, some of these patterns may already look familiar.
C Minor Shape
Starting with C minor on the sixth string:
- Sixth string: frets 1 and 3
- Fifth string: frets 1 and 3
- Fourth string: frets 1 and 3
- Third string: open and fret 3
- Second string: frets 1 and 4
- First string: frets 1 and 3
Putting it together from the root note on the fifth string gives us the full pentatonic scale pattern.
A Minor Shape
Moving up to the A minor shape and starting on the sixth string:
- Sixth string: frets 3 and 6
- Fifth string: frets 3 and 6
- Fourth string: frets 3 and 5
- Third string: frets 3 and 5
- Second string: frets 4 and 6
- First string: frets 3 and 6
Starting from the root note on the fifth string gives us the full minor pentatonic scale pattern.
G Minor Shape
Moving up to the G minor shape:
- Sixth string: frets 6 and 8
- Fifth string: frets 6 and 8
- Fourth string: frets 5 and 8
- Third string: frets 5 and 8
- Second string: frets 6 and 8
- First string: frets 6 and 8
Putting it together from the root note on the sixth string gives us the full pentatonic scale pattern.
E Minor Shape
Moving up to the E minor shape:
- Sixth string: frets 8 and 11
- Fifth string: frets 8 and 10
- Fourth string: frets 8 and 10
- Third string: frets 8 and 10
- Second string: frets 8 and 11
- First string: frets 8 and 11
Putting it together from the root note on the sixth string gives us the full minor pentatonic scale pattern.
D Minor Shape
Finishing with the D minor shape:
- Sixth string: frets 11 and 13
- Fifth string: frets 10 and 13
- Fourth string: frets 10 and 13
- Third string: frets 10 and 12
- Second string: frets 11 and 13
- First string: frets 11 and 13
Putting it together from the root note on the fourth string gives us the full minor pentatonic scale pattern.
With our minor pentatonic shapes in hand, we’re going to work on the chord/scale relationships and then get these shapes anchored to the fretboard.
Chord/Scale Relationships
For the first exercise, we’re going to work on building the association between the minor pentatonic scale and the minor CAGED chord shapes.
We’re going to play the minor chord and then, starting from the lowest root, play through the full pentatonic scale related to that chord.
We’ll start with C minor in the open position, work our way up the fretboard through all of the positions, and then come all the way back down again.
Starting with C minor in the open position, move through:
- C minor shape
- A minor shape
- G minor shape
- E minor shape
- D minor shape
- C minor octave shape
Once you reach the C minor octave, take the exercise all the way back down to the open position:
- C minor octave shape
- D minor shape
- E minor shape
- G minor shape
- A minor shape
- C minor shape
The goal is to reinforce the relationship between each minor CAGED chord shape and the pentatonic scale pattern that surrounds it.
Shape Anchoring
Now we’re going to work on anchoring the minor pentatonic shapes to the fretboard.
For this exercise, we’re going to work through the root notes of each position. Play the root note and then play the full scale pattern from that root.
I’ve emphasized this a lot throughout this series, but when you can look at any note on the fretboard and see the structures around it, it becomes really powerful.
Put the time into these types of exercises because they’re going to pay off in the long run.
C Minor Shape
Starting with the C minor shape and working up the fretboard:
- Play the pattern from the root on the second string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the fifth string.
A Minor Shape
Moving up to the A minor shape:
- Play the pattern from the root on the fifth string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the third string.
G Minor Shape
Moving up to the G minor shape:
- Play the pattern from the root on the sixth string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the third string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the first string.
E Minor Shape
Moving up to the E minor shape:
- Play the pattern from the root on the sixth string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the fourth string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the first string.
D Minor Shape
Moving up to the D minor shape:
- Play the pattern from the root on the fourth string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the second string.
C Minor Octave Shape
Moving up to the C minor octave shape:
- Play the pattern from the root on the second string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the fifth string.
Now take the exercise back down to the starting point.
Beginning with the C minor octave shape:
C Minor Octave Shape
- Play the pattern from the root on the fifth string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the second string.
D Minor Shape
- Play the pattern from the root on the second string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the fourth string.
E Minor Shape
- Play the pattern from the root on the sixth string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the fourth string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the first string.
G Minor Shape
- Play the pattern from the root on the sixth string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the third string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the first string.
A Minor Shape
- Play the pattern from the root on the third string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the fifth string.
C Minor Shape
- Play the pattern from the root on the fifth string.
- Play the pattern from the root on the second string.
You want to repeat this exercise using each of the minor CAGED shapes as your starting point. This forces you to work through those root notes and actually see the patterns and all of the connections between them.
So now we’ve taken the minor CAGED shapes and connected them to the minor pentatonic scale, which gives us another layer to the minor-key system.
In the next lesson, we’ll expand these same positions into the full minor scale and see how everything fits together.
Don’t forget to grab the free lesson pack in the description, and I’ll see you in part four.
Lesson Pack: YT-002-P3 - Minor CAGED Pentatonics: Completing the CAGED System, Part 3
Download the lesson pack for this lesson:
