Pentatonic Scale Patterns
Pentatonic Scale Patterns – Building Speed and Control
Whether we’d like to admit it or not, most guitarists probably want to develop a faster and more fluid technique. I know when I first began playing guitar, one great inspiration for me was hearing John McLaughlin playing at an unbelievable speed on his guitar.
It’s a common desire among musicians to impress their peers, and speed can often be a defining factor in a guitarist’s perceived prowess. The public interest in playing fast on guitar certainly remains as strong as ever, especially on the internet.
I’m not a fast guitar ‘shredder’ by any means, however I do strive to maintain a solid technique (suitable for rock guitar playing, certainly) and in this lesson, I’m going to share some pentatonic scale patterns that I enjoy practicing to help build some speed and pick control.
These patterns not only improve your picking, but can also enhance your overall understanding and application of the minor pentatonic scale and they could very well find their way into your solos.
All the examples below utilise the A minor pentatonic scale played in the fifth position on the fingerboard. This is the most common fingering position for this scale. Please note the image below is not the full set of exercises. The full set is available in the PDF file.
I have also attached an MP3 file demonstrating the exercises, and each one has a ‘target’ tempo marking (BPM). This is the speed you should eventually aim for and NOT the speed to start with!
As you will hear, the patterns are really scale sequences and are played in a series of repetitive rhythms.
I have indicated that these exercises should be played with alternate picking as that is the technique I generally favour. I would also suggest playing each exercise twice (with a down-stroke first and then beginning with an upstroke)
These exercises are challenging to play up to the suggested tempo! Start SLOW and gradually build up over weeks if not several months. DO NOT play through any pain and take frequent breaks when you practice these exercises.
Happy (and safe) picking!
Here a MIDI generated audio files of all the exercises played to a metronome:
Finally here is a PDF that you can view on your preferred device or print out for placing on your music stand:
