Three Flavor Pentatonic

The old minor pentatonic box; it's an absolute staple of electric guitar playing, and quite possibly the first scale you learned. Like countless other guitarists have found out, though, it's common to have trouble finding unique, fresh-sounding ways to use it. By repositioning the notes and using some different techniques, we're going to turn the super-comfortable standard D minor pentatonic box into the stuff of nightmares... and hopefully new ideas.

For your tasting pleasure, I give you the first style, accompanied by a delightful brown sauce and mixed vegetables; 3 note per string alternate picked. Observe:

This may feel pretty bizarre at first, considering the position shifts, but there is potential for creating some mean-sounding picking licks with this shape. For fingering, consider 1 3 4 on low E, 1 2 4 on A D and G, and use the 3rd finger for the lone note on B. Work on it as written, and then attempt developing some licks from there! On to the second style...

Here we have a mix of legato and economy-picked pentatonics, smothered in a light wine sauce and featuring snow peas; behold!

What I like about this variation is that it is very easy to derive odd-tuplet licks from it that use the same general shape, something that is way more annoying to do with the standard box and foolish to do with the 3 note per string version. Watch for the legato areas and pick directions; finger-wise, I say finger 1 for 10th fret, 2 for 12, 3 for 13, and 4 for 15. Have at it!

And finally, dish number 3... deep fried tapping pentatonics with a sweet, spicy sauce; beware the tiny chili peppers!

This is my particular favorite; it's possible to get some ridiculous speed out of it, and it sounds ultra-smooth. Tap using your middle and ring fingers; left hand is finger 1 for 10th fret, 2 for 12, 3 for 13, 4 for 15. Be wary of accenting the tapped notes too hard, or rushing them; you can do a lot of cool stuff with this, but it's very easy to lose articulation and end up with a sloppy mess. Strive to get the notes as even as possible in length and volume while playing the scale, and then, as with everything before, go for some licks!

I hope that's given you a few ideas to begin your pentatonic jailbreak. In an upcoming post I will share some of the things I do with all three styles!