Five Pentatonic Scale Fingerings
Hi. This is Hub Guitar.
We're going to look at the five fingerings of the standard pentatonic scale.
These five fingerings include the major pentatonic and the minor pentatonic, so you may already be familiar with at least two of them.
We're going to practice these scales up and down, so that we can play them all together in the same key. This will allow you to really take command of the pentatonic scales and use them freely all over the neck.
Here are the scales.
Learn all of these patterns and practice them together. Knowing these scales well can have a big impact on everything you play.
These five fingerings for the pentatonic scale will serve you well as you learn to play many styles. Memorize all of them.
Important note
Note that each pattern begins on the second note of the previous pattern. For instance, the 2nd degree starts with “A”, which is the second note in the pattern for the 1st degree.
Additional note
Similarly, notice how the patterns lock together. The row of rightmost notes in the first pattern is the same as the row of leftmost notes in the second. This continues all the way up the neck.
Pattern 1 (Pentatonic Major)
Pattern 2
Pattern 3
Pattern 4
Pattern 5 (Pentatonic Minor)
Key Tasks
- Memorize all five pentatonic scale patterns; be able to play them in any key.
- Use the pentatonic scale patterns to improvise with major pentatonic.
- Use the patterns to improvise with minor pentatonic.
As the creator of Hub Guitar, Grey has compiled hundreds of guitar lessons, written several books, and filmed hundreds of video lessons. He teaches private lessons in his Boston studio, as well as via video chat through TakeLessons.