Pentatonic Root Note Exercise to Dominate the Fretboard
One of the most useful skills when it comes to navigating the guitar fretboard is to be able to identify a pentatonic scale pattern from a single root note anywhere on the fretboard. This will allow you to not only play around any given position on the fretboard, but also be able to move seamlessly between positions and scale patterns. In this lesson we’re going to use the pentatonic scales found within the major scale to create a pentatonic root note exercise that will ingrain these relationships into your muscle memory.
As an added bonus, you’ll also build the relationship between the major scale and the pentatonic scales, which will pay dividends when improvising over chord changes.
Pentatonic Scales within the Major Scale
For this exercise we’re going to apply a little theory to get a little more out of the drill, so let’s take a quick look at the relationship between the major scale and pentatonic scale.
Within any given major scale you will find six pentatonic scales (3 major pentatonics and 3 minor pentatonics) based on the first six scale degrees. The scale qualities align with the chords found in the major scale, so we can use the harmonized major scale to determine the pentatonic scale quality.
| Scale Degree | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chord Quality | Major | Minor | Minor | Major | Major | Minor |
| Pentatonic Quality | Major | Minor | Minor | Major | Major | Minor |
For this exercise we’re going to be using the G major scale as our guide scale, which contains the notes G A B C D and E as the first six scale degrees. Each of these notes gives a root note for the pentatonic scale builds from each scale degree. This gives us the following pentatonic scales:
- 1st Degree = G major pentatonic
- 2nd Degree = A minor pentatonic
- 3rd Degree = B minor pentatonic
- 4th Degree = C major pentatonic
- 5th Degree = D major pentatonic
- 6th Degree = E minor pentatonic
For a visual reference, you can see below how each of these pentatonic scales are found within the G major scale.
Root Note Exercise
For the exercise we’re going to map the major scale to the 6th string. From each note of the scale we’re going to play the corresponding pentatonic scale.
With the root notes based on the 6th string, we’ll be working with the following major and minor pentatonic scale shapes. It’s helpful to also pay attention to additional root notes within the scales to enforce the root note patterns for each of the pentatonic shapes.
These scale shapes will be used for each of the respective pentatonic scales working from string 6 root notes. Since we’re only using a single shape for 3 major and 3 minor pentatonics, it’ll give you plenty of repetition to relate the root notes to the scale pattern.
Working through each note on string 6 we get the following pentatonic scales:
Pentatonic Scales with 5th String Root Note
We can take this exercise across all six strings of the guitar. Here we’re starting from the 5th string and laying out the G major scale, starting with the 3rd degree on the 2nd fret of the 5th string.
Working from the root note on the 5th string, we’re going to be utilizing the following major and minor pentatonic scale shapes.
On the 5th string we’ll be starting with the B minor pentatonic and working up through the A minor pentatonic scale.
Root Notes for Strings 1-4
From here you can take the G major scale and map it to the remaining four strings and complete the process utilizing the remaining pentatonic scale patterns. You can use the fretboard diagram below as a guide.
I’ve included the scale patterns and tabs for the remaining strings on Patreon.
Wrap Up
Having the pentatonic patterns under your fingers pays great dividends when it comes to navigating the fretboard. The exercises in this lesson help you attach the root note to a given scale pattern and work that into your muscle memory. With these types of exercises, repetition is key. Keep at it until you’re able to play from any root note fluently.
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The Pentatonic Fretboard
Master the pentatonic scale all over the fretboard!
While most players learn the main pentatonic box, we’re selling ourselves short if we stop there. The Pentatonic Fretboard will help you go beyond the box and create a full visualization of the pentatonic scale all over the fretboard.
