Improvising really isn’t as difficult as you might think. I know many of you have probably been trained in the school of “play what’s on the page, dummy – and don’t deviate!” but that really doesn’t do anything for you when it comes time to improvise or create a solo. You’ll find I maintain a fairly strong emphasis throughout my guitar lessons on how to develop your own skills improvising with the guitar.
The pentatonic scale is, in my opinion, the most important of all the guitar scales for improvising, because once you get the pattern down, you literally can’t go wrong.
This lesson should give you a bit more of a feel for how to get started improvising with the pentatonic scale.
Watch the lesson on Youtube.
If A Major is the 1 chord, you cannot play the flatted 3rd note (C)of the Minor pentatonic scale.
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Hi Mike, took me a while to think about this one.
You’re right, from a technical standpoint. The flatted 3rd doesn’t go with the A.
That said, if you compare the A Major chord (as barred at the 5th fret) to the Am Pentatonic scale, there is only one note that doesn’t work – the C# you mentioned. The C# is on the G string, and takes a backseat to all the A’s and E’s that are happening in there.
So technically, it shouldn’t work, though if you play it and listen to it, it does work. Funny thing about the ear. The ear hears a strong A and E sound, and says “ok, C works fine with those” and it just works…
I was playing Pride and Joy the other day and realized that this is what happens in this song too… Chords are in E, yet you solo in E Pentatonic.
Just one of those things you can’t be a stickler on…
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Skip Kanosky Reply:
November 10th, 2010 at 5:02 am
Thanks, I like it! To warm up I use the”Vontage”
commercial run
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Thanks for the lessons on the Pentatonic Scales, and the short lesson on tieing it together. Where I get lost is what some call “boxes”.
If I am on track, there are five boxes for each key. Each box starts
at a different position on the neck. Also, each box has different patterns.
It would be great if you could cover this in a straight forward way and then do the same thing you just did, tie the chording to the solos using different boxes.
I think I get it, but some clarity is needed so I can practice the right stuff and not develop bad habits.
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Jonathan Reply:
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:26 am
Hi Pop, that’s an excellent question. Boxes are a good way of looking at the fretboard – but yeah, they can be confusing if not explained properly. I’ll add that to the list.
Cheers
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scottiefm Reply:
July 15th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Jonathan..These guys are right.. I’ve been playing for years and now getting more serious. The Am pentatonic is the greatest but where do we go from here? please take it slow and show us other boxes and when to play them… can”t wait
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hi what is a box i have never heard of it.it would be great if you could cover this thank for the lessons.
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Jonathan Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 8:23 am
Hey Joe – very simply boxes refer to a scale pattern at a certain place on the fretboard. The box might cover 4 frets, and the pattern within that box would show you the scale at that place on the fretboard.
You can play a scale at numerous places on the fretboard, but the patterns are slightly different in each place, hence the ‘boxes’.
That’s a great lesson idea though – I’ve definitely added it to the list of upcoming ones. Cheers.
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thanks
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I think the reason the flatted 3rd works is probably because it would be like a passing/climbing/descending note.
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Jonathan, you rock. Thanks for the great tip!
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Thanks for the tip. It does get sort of too repetetive unless you want to play for speed. But if it’s your own style you are trying to evolve,then this would be a way to start instead of copying everyone elses licks.
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Well, repeating scales isn’t only for speed, it’s also for accuracy, and even slow players need accuracy…
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billy Reply:
April 19th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
Hi Jonathan. I like the picture of your dog what is it(breed)
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Jonathan Reply:
April 19th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Haha, he’s 100% mutt! I’m not actually sure… I think some kind of mixture of Golden Lab, Bull Mastiff, Rottweiler, and possibly German Shepherd…
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Here’s another question. I noticed in the video, when you played the A and D chords, you stayed in the Am box, but when you went to the E chord you moved to the Bm box? And why is it a minor scale, when your playing over a major chord? And can I play the penotonic scale in Am and the A major scale with it?
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And I’ve been thinking about the 1 4 5 when playing. It helps a lot keeping track of where I am note wise. Thanks… Money well spent!!
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Hi Howard, good catch
Yeah, I changed positions at that point, though not into the Bm box – that was actually a touch of A minor diatonic, or C major diatonic.
The theory gets a bit more complex at that point; but it sounds good.
Another way of looking at it is for that one bar, I was playing out of an E major pattern (5th string, 7th fret) which of course works with the E chord I was playing. Again, probably more complicated theory than I intended for this particular lesson
Stay tuned… we’ll get into some of that stuff a bit later on.
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Great lesson. I miss the bricks though.
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Hey Jerry – this was my one experiment with a black background… I didn’t like it as much either, so I think in the next lesson you’ll see the bricks will be back..
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Hi Johnathon: the pentatonic scale does work for much of the soloing but give me some advice on resolving to something other that the diatonic when in the 4 and 5 chord…
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Hi Teeder, the best and safest thing I can recommend is if you’re in the 4 or the 5 chord and soloing around… resolve on relevant root note, ie the 4 or the 5 note.
Resolving on the root note of the chord the band is playing on will work everytime. If you want to get more creative, go for a close relation of the root note, perhaps a fifth or a third.
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Hi Jonathan.
I really enjoy the lessons you put things in simple terms that I can understand. looking forward to the next lessons.
Thanks Frank.
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the BEST starting point for soloing is this pentatonic scale it will serve you well! This is used in almost all blues songs..check it out and play along with BB king, johnny johnson and lots others. Know it like your MOM and gain confidence in your soloing very quickly.. Tell us more!
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Hi! I got the Pentatonic Scale alright, but the next one, “Improvising with….” My screen was blank until the comments.
Is this because I am using a Mac?
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Jonathan Reply:
November 16th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Hi Gordon, no, the site works fine on a Mac (I use one too) – I would recommend refreshing the page. Cheers.
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have not played my guitar for 3 years then all of a sudden I came across this link – am now playing every day and these lessons are sooooo cool thanks Im actually sounding better with my playing
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Jonathan Reply:
March 4th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Hey Gordy – that’s the kind of thing I love hearing – keep on playing!
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hi jonathon….have beenm playing along with you and am making pretty good progress for a novice. looking at the comments i am confused. when you say flatted 3rd or 5th are you talking about the 3rd and fifth notes of the chord?…what am i missing here?
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Jonathan Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 10:19 am
Hi Randy, the numbers all relate to the scale positions – you can learn more at http://www.onefourfive.com. A chord is typically comprised of the I, III and V notes (for a major chord) of the scale that is associated with that chord. For instance, an A major chord is A, C# and E. The C# is the III (3rd) in this case, and if you flat it, you’re going to get an A minor chord.
Not sure that really explains it super well… but hope it helps?
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