There’s something about the major pentatonic scale that seems very dry to me, which can be a good thing because it lends itself well to being combined with other concepts such as the minor pentatonic…
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A lot of musicians draw parallels between learning music and learning languages, and I would equate fluent improvisation skills to fluency skills in another language that isn’t your mother tongue. What I mean by pentatonic…
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The altered scale for guitar is a difficult concept to grasp for a lot of players. This is because you get told that it’s the seventh mode of the melodic minor scale, which it is,…
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It’s fairly common for intermediate players to get stuck in a pentatonic rut. The problem is usually not the pentatonic scale itself… I mean, just because you’re stuck in a pentatonic rut, it doesn’t mean…
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I have a fascination for the number 5 and everything that’s associated with it. In guitar terms this translates to pentatonic scales, running right from those early days of discovering the intoxicating possibilities of the…
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There are literally endless things you can do with pentatonic scales in music and especially on the guitar. We all love them, so why not milk them for all they’re worth? The idea of modal…
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This is a great one to easily generate a Lydian sound over a major 7 chord by using none other than a guitarist’s best friend: the minor pentatonic scale, which is a great way to…
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I often get students who like the idea or the sound of modes but are put off by the theory, and as modes are a fundamental part of soloing in many styles, I try to…
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You’ve probably heard this one a few times… or perhaps even said it yourself. Beginner guitarists, if they can get past those first few months of agony, will delve into the famous five pentatonic shapes…
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The 5 pentatonic shapes are a staple of learning rock or blues guitar, though truth be told most guitarists generally use 3 of them at the most. In our latest book, ‘Woodshedder’s Guide to Guitar…
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