I have been playing guitar for 24 years. Three years ago I decided to re-approach the instrument with new eyes to actually learn how to use the thing, and I’ve watched so many videos and tried so many things… but this? I could IMMEDIATELY apply this over a variety of progressions and actually improvise musically. That has never happened to me before. Thank you so much.
There’s also an upside-down House of Blues in shape 4 when you traverse backwards from shape 1 (or shape 5) to shape 4. I find this also helps a lot to find my way in that direction! Thanks again for the video!! Best one I’ve seen yet on the pentatonic scale.
You nailed it big time. with this lesson. Finally someone who knows how to explain navigating the five boxes of the pentatonic in a simple logical way. This would make a great series or follow up maybe in other scales like em . Well done.
After lots of dead end streets of lessons not really explaining much beyond 1 concept . It was a total joy to discover your posts and start learning how all these relate to the whole neck , various pentatonic boxes and notes in between. Bravo . The best tuition for guitar I’ve yet to find. It really joined all the dots ( and boxes) for me . Great work! Will be subscribing to the website . Thanks . Steve
I recently picked up the guitar for the 1st time in 33 years, I could only ever play basic chords, never been able to solo. I literally just learned the 5 pentatonic shapes 2 days ago and this video has helped me so much. All I ever wanted to do was a blues solo and it seemed so impossible to me, well this video was that literal holy shit moment where I couldn't believe what I was hearing come out of my amp. I practice 6-10 hours religiously every single day and I just wanted to thank you for making this video, I think I've found my new teacher.
been playing 15 years and i watch alot of "teacher" youtube videos. sometimes its refreshing but the way you actually showed the concept as soon as the video started rather than talk for 35 minutes then show it.. is a new approach and it works greater. keep that up.
This was a great lesson! It makes all the sense to use the HOB (a piece of shape 2) to connect 1 and 4. It's just bonus that I've learned the other shapes because now it all falls together.
@@madmaestro3002 There is no one trick or thing someone can show you that will suddenly make you a good solo artist- if there were, it would've been isolated long ago and ppl would just teach that. Just knowing which notes fit in the scale doesn't make you capable of playing lead- it's a lot more complex than that. If I gave you a pile of lumber all cut to the proper lengths and so forth- could you build a house? Unless you've had some proper training- I highly doubt it. This is no different- just having the notes doesn't teach you to build a melody, stay in time, or how to add dynamics to your playing so it's not boring and predictable.
@@stoneysdead689 I totally agree with you but, I think you misunderstood my comment. To try to explain what I meant……….. many years ago I was taking a networking course which had 10 modules. if you were to pass the first three modules you can become certified and go find decent employment. Many people would do just that and not return to the course. After a while the school started teaching the course starting with module 10, 9,8,7 etc. so, basically I’m saying that this technique he is showing is like that networking course, you can learn this small part and go a long way but, there is a lot more learn after it.
Gave up guitar 7 years ago started piano which I love getting quite confident with the piano now.Recording songs needed some guitar solos but lost all my confidence because I haven't played the guitar for so long but after watching this lesson I'm going to give it a shot.Thankyou this is the best lesson I've seen on pentatonics awesome.
Joel Stoecklin yep! So many students I See spend far too much time upfront trying to get all the patterns instead of learning how to really phrase within the most useful , practical, and tried and true areas of the fretboard… Not to say eventually you don’t want to get all that but you don’t want the tail to wag the dog so to speak :)
I’ve been playing guitar for well over three decades now and trust me when I tell you; when it comes to learning how to solo on a guitar this is by far one of the few lessons out there that explains it the best. All too often a lot of these soloing lessons you find here on RU-vid get too bogged down in theory, linking together different types of scales and just plain old gobbledygook and jargon that will turn someone off who’s trying to take their guitar playing to the next level. I have a few people I know who are just starting out playing guitar and was looking for some videos to send them to help them out. I just subscribe to this channel and sent them your videos. Thanks for posting! 🙂
I really like how you explain your videos as they are straightforward, simple, and to the point. A lot of guitar instructors get all bogged down in theory and theory is good to learn to, but when you have some kid just wanting to learn how to play the guitar (such as my nephew), they want to play! They don’t want to listen to somebody run their mouth about something that has a greater than 90% chance of turning them off.
This.. this is what I’ve been looking for, everyone says “yeah learn the pentatonic scale” but I haven’t found anything after like how to put it together in simple steps, well done!
Would just like to say thank you. The two shapes and house of blues shape really put some perspective on things for me. Have been playing around with the 5 shapes really not knowing what to do with it. This helped... Thanks
I have memorized the 5 shapes a long time ago, but thank you for this video because it has given me some sort of reference on how to play the scale properly instead of just mindlessly playing the 5 shapes.
I was totally lost with 5 positions 😢 until I stumbled upon your tutorial n my goodness...with just 2.5 shape...every thing came together 🎉🎉🎉....you the man!!! Thanks a million
Excellent lesson. I was wondering why use all the notes in all 5 shapes. It didn't make sense to use them all. But, which to use? Now I know. As a beginner, my improvising just doubled in speed and seems to flow smoothly after trying your method. Great job!
yup as a beginner i did not use 5 shapes pentatonic i just rely on the sound..as long as it is good to ear then i go with it. i am improvising my own scales.
Was a limited box player decades ago. Recently became disabled(can't work anymore) so, at 55 bought a new Pro Strat and a Mesa Mark V 25 amp to get back into some playing. Finally a well explained way to extend my fretboard ( and enjoyment ) Love it ! Subscribed before you were even through !! Thanks.
Amazing lesson! I have played for years, and when soloing, almost exclusively used"box 1". I was FINALLY starting to try to link shapes together. After a few false starts. I had just realized that I didn't need to learn the other four boxes all at once, and had started adding the "Albert King box" to my noodling when I stumbled across your video...which was EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED to see...it both validated what I was thinking and told me where to go next...THANK YOU. I subscribed immediately.
I saw this video about a year ago and speaking from experience, this is a great place to start. However I’m at the point where fully understanding the 5 is becoming more of a necessity.
I really appreciate the Live Fretboard feature having acquired a brain injury, the Live Fretboard feature makes it a lot less frustrating trying to follow along. Thanks.
I hope this lesson was helpful 🎸Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. Here's the Link to the FREE full color 18 page .pdf of the 5 Shapes of the Pentatonic Scale, and how to learn them in the right order: powmusic.co/5-pentatonic-shapes/
Thanks so much, the tip about soloing in the first position and using the extension then the fourth position was a very helpful first step for me. I was labouring in all five positions and that was becoming frustrating for me. Thanks again.
Just found your channel this is amazing thank you I get it after 35 yrs of trying to get scales and soloing I finally get it. Your methods and the graphics are spot on. 👌 new subscriber here. And I will be signing up to your Patreon page. A Christmas present to myself.
I know im 3 years late on this video, but that's RU-vid. I never comment on videos, but this one... this one I need to thank you for. I'm a recent drummer-turned-guitarist, teaching myself... AND I have ADHD so it's kinda tough. Either way, something about the way you explain stuff in this video clicked something in my brain and it all made sense. Complete sense. I know my open chords and basic stuff, but until this video, I've been reluctant to call myself a guitarist. Yes... that's how much this video helped me. Holy crap... thank you so much. I'm a F'ing guitarist!
Love your lessons! I wish someone could explain why some experts refer to “shape 1” as “shape 4”. There must be a reason for the different conventions. The CAGED sequence gets it’s name from the order of the chord and/or scale forms/shapes as you move from the nut end of the neck to the body correct? Therefore shape 1 should be the C shape chord form or scale. But, most experts refer to the E shape as “shape 1” which implies the EDCAG system. I hope I have explained this without confusing you . I can refer you to a couple authors who discuss this. My point for bringing this up is that it has been a source of confusion for me and likely for others trying to learn “ the correct and best way” to learn the scale shapes. Your lessons are outstanding and I think perhaps if beginners stick with one method or teacher such as your lessons, they will avoid a lot of frustration. Thanks again.
skyhawks4ever that’s great feedback and is something I should address in my videos more. For me and how I learned it, the shape that leads with the root note on the low E string is shape 1. The shape number can change depending on the mode, but being pentatonic is primarily thought of as minor pentatonic, I refer to that pattern as one for both Major and minor whereas in the diatonic I refer to the pattern that leads with the major Root note on the low E string as pattern one. I find that CAGED gets confusing when you get into diatonic scales because different chord shapes can exist within multiple scale shapes.
C comes first in the CAGED system (a recent invention) because it helps make a nice acronym. There's nothing special about C-shape patterns that means they must always be ordered first. The 1st position pentatonic scale is 1st because its 1st note is the 1st note of the scale.
Be healthy friend !!! Your lesson, and especially this one, literally opened my ears and eyes to me, just what I was looking for !!! You show the best lessons on how to play BUES. I'm literally crazy about Blues rock! Many thanks. I'll probably buy some lessons.
Man, you are my personal hero. Afters years of trying to "see" my scales and trying to improvise, i finally made it !!! Playing along now for 2 1/2 yours to all kind of backtracking jams. I am so happy. Man, thx a lot, also for your pdf's.
Just watched the Let it Be solo video on you web site. The graphics and the finger colors are such a big help. Your teaching style is amazing. I'll definitely be buying your Soloing video. I have no doubt it will be well worth the money. God bless you for sharing your gift!!
Thanks so much for sharing this! I’ve always used the regular old pentatonic scale and the “house of blues” , but adding the next scale that you show in this video opens up so many more cool things for me…see ya later, I'm going to go practice now!!
I got the hang of half of the patterns easily thanks to your video, like it shocked me it took me just 10 or 20 minutes staring at your fingers go at 0.25 speed to learn. i feel this will help me quite a bit if i practice it thoroughly so gonna be back for the other half of the patterns when i get the first 2 stuck in my head
@@NGM575 These two repeating pattern go across all five pentatonic shapes and easily connects them all. Have yet to see anyone point it out in a lesson.
@@NGM575 Thank you for your input, but I'm not sure that we are talking about the same thing. I am not suggesting shapes, but finger patterns that do not always result in the same shape across the fretboard. The end result is that this fingering pattern can traverse the fretboard through all 5 pentatonic shapes.
So the “House of Blues” has elements of shapes 2&3. It blurs them together. Interesting. It acts like a shape 1-4 bridge. Ok so I pick up my Telecaster and try this, expecting not much, but instead unlocked my hand in an instant and I can fill in shapes 2&3 if I want. At the “top” of shape 1 you can add shape 5, and add shape 5 at the “bottom” of shape 4. And there you go, you played the whole pentatonic across the entire fretboard. An entire octave. Superb presentation. Really unlocks the fretboard. I’ve tried a lot of techniques to play vertically by trying to tie the shapes together without much progress. This technique however absolutely works ! And it worked in an instant. Cheers from New Jersey and THANK YOU🎸 You’ve got a new Subscriber here.
I was following some other people and there's two I really like, I learned alot but they seem to leave things out. But not you..you took it to the next level of learning. You are what I truly was looking for. Your free stuff is really good and you give a lot of info. For that reason I subscribed to you and I will definitely purchase your course. Very soon! Thx
Really nice explanation of how to get more out of the neck without complicating it too much - hopefully, the follow-up lesson either in the package or on RU-vid highlights BB's box between Albert's and Position 4. If you want to play a slow blues those 5 notes and a bend or 2 are all you need.
Gary is the absolute best guitar instructor. Period end of story. I love the magic lighted note fret diagrams they are so helpful. Truly an amazing man and channel. That is why I became a Patreon Member.
Another lesson I have saved to get into extensively bro you are providing the material I have been seeking thank you when I ready who knows possibly further situation on a personal level.. still got my dreams to attain on a personal level I'm just old and trying to find my life in a situation to be able to its not conducive were I currently live. Thanks bro
7:50 - my epiphany 3 years ago learning my favorite ever lead guitar solo, the splendidly fulfilling 1st solo in the epic Beatles #1 hit "Let It Be" I am referring to your use of Major Pentatonic solo, very similar to what's up in "Let it be" (Thank you G. Harrisons) I kept ending solos on my index finger, as I plugged along self taught using backing tracks I knew something was clicking, I was about to experience thee major break through of mine in 30+ years *many Satriani and Gilmore lead solo notes cAn only be played tactfully if you are using the major Pentatonic The blues scale solos can be added in and changes the vibe of the whole song but the greats pull that off in many cases, idk why yet lol I just don't overthink, I move the "same shape" 3 frets down from the blues pentatonic any time I want + gain a feel for when to whip this stunning learned behavior out Live Love Play the Blues
The fretboard graphic is fantastic. Especially the way you outline the connecting pattern makes it very easy to follow. I'm not sure if it was this video but at one point, you were showing your own fingers on the fretboard and I had to pause to figure out the notes.
Wow dude, this has been eye opening!! Great explanation and the PDFs are superb. Been playing for a month but this is going to sky rocket my progress. Thanks again man!!💯🤘🏻🤘🏻
This was great, thank you very much! This helped me realize that the easy way to jump straight to Shape 4 is to identify the root note on the A string. Just locate the dots for the C-D-E notes of the A string on your fretboard and use them to find your root.
Thank you for this lesson. Soloing, for me has been quite the conundrum. I’m fairly familiar with the five shapes of the Pentatonic but pretty weak in the use for soloing. Any little insights like this are appreciated!
This is awesome. Going to put this to work. I think your approach works for the bass guitar and ukulele as well. Having an approachable roadmap to the entire fretboard definitely opens up my creativity!
