Pentatonic soloing


Vertigo
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Vertigo
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09/09/2001 5:34 pm
Question:

you have 5 (of was it 4?) pentatonic scales...which make the entire pentatonic scale.

Can you shift a certain pentatonic scale up or down several frets?

If so...why would you use a different pentatonic scale...if you could use the same scale everywhere on the fretboard?

how does this work for non-pentatonic scales?

thanks,


- Vertigo

# 1
chris mood
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chris mood
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09/13/2001 7:03 pm
anything that you play on guitar that does not require open strings can be moved & played anywhere on the fretboard. Keep in mind that everytime you do this you are shifting the subject in hand to a new key. A good way to relate to this is to think of bar chords, you keep the shape & move it to the desired destination for the reqiured root, all scales work the same way.

I hope this is the answer you where looking for, you may want to try rephrasing your question, it was a little confusing......no offense taking please./
# 2
Vertigo
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Vertigo
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09/14/2001 10:08 am
you're right...i'll try to rephrase...

this is pentatonic:

--------------------5-8-----
----------------5-8-----
------------5-7-----
--------5-7------
----5-7-----
5-8--------

you will surely know this...

but there are more pentatonic scales than this.

You can also start this at a different string, which chances the key...i know that.

But...

This is only 1 possible pentatonic scale. why does one choose this one, or another pentatonic scale?

you could use the scale above anywhere on the fretboard (in the correct key),so why would anyone another pentatonic scale if this is correct as well?

thanks,



- Vertigo

# 3
Vertigo
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Vertigo
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09/19/2001 9:13 am
still no answer...
- Vertigo

# 4
chris mood
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chris mood
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09/20/2001 6:18 pm
there are many pentatonic scales (technically any 5 note scale is a penta.)The one that you shown in your ex. is the minor penta., the most common. I'm still not solid at what you are getting at, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

Lets say you're playing good ole A minor penta. starting on the 6th str.,5th fret,( A C D E G ). Now imagine playing that scale up and down the 6th string only. Now try playing that same scale starting off of each one of those notes on the 6th str., the fingering will change each time because the notes you are playing will be located on different frets. technically you are playing the same scale (acdeg) just different positions. So think of the scale fingering off the A as pos.1, the scale fingering off the C as pos.2 (I recco. starting this one with your 2nd finger) scale fingering off the D as pos. 3, E pos. 4, G pos 5. Whats the advantage of this? You will now know the entire minor penta. scale system all up & down the neck of the guitar and will be able to think vertically as well as horizontally when soloing.

Here's the other way I interpretted your question;
As I stated before there are many types of pentatonic scales and one reason for choosing one over the other is the type of sound you are looking for. In your ex. you used A minor penta., if you wanted a brighter sound you may want to use A major penta;

-------5-7-
------5-7-
-----4-6-
----4-7-
---4-7-
--5-7-
You can create your own penta. scales by taking any scale and leaving off notes, reucing it down to 5 notes, this scale is taken from the major. There are diminished penta., augmented penta, etc... any sound you can imagine.

I hope this helps you out, let me know.

[Edited by chris mood on 09-20-2001 at 02:20 PM]
# 5
Bardsley
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Bardsley
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09/21/2001 2:22 am
Differeent fingering patterns allow you to come up with different melodic ideas, and having all the shapes down means that no matter where you are on the fretboard you can get to a right note easily. Of course the shapes alll utilise the same notes (though higher up the fretboards you will get higher versions) but they really do alter what you play. Try playing a solo using only the one pattern, then try it using all different patters and you will find it is much more interesting, because you don't stick to the same shapes. I think this is what you mean, but I don't know...
"Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year, it's just not that widely reported".
# 6
Vertigo
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Vertigo
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09/21/2001 9:02 am
That answered a big part of my question...

thanks
- Vertigo

# 7
Axl_Rose
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Axl_Rose
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09/21/2001 1:39 pm
My friend says every scottish song is based on the penta scale? is this true? surely is the penta scale is so versitle and has so many combinations then its not a scale? more like just a pattern? is that right?

Later AXL
# 8
chris mood
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chris mood
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09/21/2001 5:08 pm
technically a scale means a series of pitches (notes) placed in a fixed order, and penta means 5...so yes, a pentatonic scale is a scale. As guitar players we often think in patterns to get around the neck of the guitar, because the guitar is not as visual as lets say a piano.

Another misconception is that pentatonic is a vauge term an can be applied to any 5 note scale. There are many pentatonic scales, but we usually think of the pentatonic minor as "thee pentatonic" because it is that predominant sound of a minor scale applied overtop a major chord progression that fuels the music of rock & blues.

As far as Scottish music being based off pentatonics, I dunno (isn't Danny Boy a Scottish tune?) I know a lot of ethnic music is based off pentatonics. Here's a Japaneese motif you might recognize;

-17-17-17-17--15-15-12-12-15--17-15------------
-15-15-15-15--13-13-10-10-13--------18-15-------
------------------------------------------17-14--
-----------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------

the scale played on the end is a minor penta. starting & stopping on the 4th note

[Edited by chris mood on 09-21-2001 at 01:11 PM]
# 9
Ascaroth456
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Ascaroth456
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09/21/2001 10:46 pm
A scale is a pattern...a pattern of notes. The Various Penta. scales, are various patterns consisting of 5 notes...Penta = 5.
Ascaroth
# 10
jarviss
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jarviss
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09/28/2001 6:11 am
i think alot of us learned the a minor pentatonic
scale at the 5th fret first
(not everyone, but alot)
there are other scale "shapes" that happen at the
different posititions (you all covered this earlier)
but they all link together and are all the same 5 notes
...
anyway...
i think your question is "why would we want to
use the different scale shapes"

for me...it was hard to "break out of the box"
hard to break away from these "vertical" shapes
and i stayed in one position up and down and down and up..
bending and sliding..

once i "broke out of the box" by connecting these....
i went crazy and solo'd like a mad man from the 80's
(so i thought)

but then i slowed down...and just played some slinky
sliding riffs based on this scale...and went more
"horizontal" in my riffing.

you can get some really laid back tones by playing
the same notes...but up on the lower strings up around the 10th fret for example...will sound much different than
playing the same notes at the higher strings near the nut.

so for me...the answer is just play around all over the neck and listen to the different tones...and the
differences in the "warmth" of the notes...
good luck
hope i made some sense
:)
-G
yo
# 11
chris mood
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chris mood
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09/28/2001 5:31 pm
jarviss makes a good point, on the guitar there is what is known as sweet spots, notes that ring out or sound a little better when played on different spots of the neck.
There is no real technical explanation for this (that I know of)and will vary from instrument to instrument and key to key.
Lines can sound a little cooler when played horizontally down the neck, something with the sound of a phrase being dragged down the neck gives me goosebumps.
The bottom line is that you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by learning all possible positions of the scales you use, and figuring out ways of connecting them. Here's a challenge;
Try taking an E blues scale, start on the high E of the ist str (12th fr) and create a phrase that takes you through all 6th strings and resolves on the open low E of the 6th str.
# 12

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