Greybeard's Scale Patterns - A Minor Pentatonic + Blue Note
|
Key
|
Root
|
x
|
ii
|
x
|
iii
|
IV
|
xx
|
V
|
x
|
vi
|
x
|
vii
|
I
|
|
x
|
x
|
xx
|
x
|
xx
|
x
|
x
|
xx
|
x
|
xx
|
x
|
xx
|
x
|
x
|
|
A minor
|
A
|
A#
|
B
|
C
|
C#
|
D
|
D#
|
E
|
F
|
F#
|
G
|
G#
|
A
|
| Pentatonic |
R
|
x
|
x
|
iiib
|
x
|
IV
|
Blue
|
V
|
x
|
x
|
viib
|
x
|
x
|
Look at the following diagram. It shows the chord of A minor pentatonic at various places along the fretboard. Note how the upper half of one pattern becomes the lower half of the next. If you can learn all the patterns, you can play riffs all the way up and down the neck and stay in key.
Although only A minor pentatonic is shown here this applies to all keys simply by shifting to the relevant root note on the low E string.
The basic pattern is that of the A minor Pentatonic scale but by adding in the pale blue "B" notes (the so-called Blue Note) you get the A Blues scale (lot of "blues" in there, but that's the way I like it). You will notice that, in the second pattern, the higher blue note can be played in two places and which you choose is up to you, it's the same note.
|
|----3---5---|
|----3---5---|
|--2-----5---|
|--2-----5---|
|----3---5---|
|----3---5---|
|--------5---8--|
|--------5---8--|
|--------5-7----|
|--------5-7----|
|--------5-7----|
|--------5---8--|
|------------8---10-|
|------------8---10-|
|----------7---9----|
|----------7-----10-|
|----------7-----10-|
|------------8---10-|
|----------------10----12-----|
|----------------10-------13--|
|--------------9-------12-----|
|----------------10----12-----|
|----------------10----12-----|
|----------------10----12-----|
|----------------------12-------15-|
|-------------------------13----15-|
|----------------------12----14----|
|----------------------12----14----|
|----------------------12-------15-|
|----------------------12-------15-|
|---------------------3-5--|
|-----------------3-5------|
|-------------2-5----------|
|---------2-5--------------|
|-----3-5------------------|
|-3-5----------------------|
|---------------------5-8--|
|-----------------5-8------|
|-------------5-7----------|
|---------5-7--------------|
|-----5-7------------------|
|-5-8----------------------|
|-------------------------8-10-|
|--------------------8-10------|
|----------------7-9-----------|
|-----------7-10---------------|
|------7-10--------------------|
|-8-10-------------------------|
|------------------------------10-12-|
|------------------------10-13-------|
|-------------------9-12-------------|
|-------------10-12------------------|
|-------10-12------------------------|
|-10-12------------------------------|
|-------------------------------12-15-|
|-------------------------13-15-------|
|-------------------12-14-------------|
|-------------12-14-------------------|
|-------12-15-------------------------|
|-12-15-------------------------------|
© Graham Merry 2004