The most commonly used scales by guitarists are called pentatonic scales. The pentatonic comes from the Greek word “penta” which means 5 and tonic which stands for tone. That’s what pentatonic
scales are: 5 tone scales. They are so commonly used because their patterns are extremely well suited to the guitar’s fretboard and allow a lot of musical freedom when you are playing them.
There are only 5 basic pentatonic patterns. They are the C, A, G, E, and D. They are similar to the 5 basic chord patterns because they can be closely associated with their chord counterparts. These patterns interlock
with each other, meaning each pattern has notes that overlap with patterns adjacent to it.
These are the fundamental building blocks of your soloing and you will use them for many years to come.
Memorize each pattern. You should be able to identify them by name and you should know exactly which note is their root note (marked by an “R” in the pictures on the right).
Remember that these are patterns. To play in different key signatures we move the patterns around.
The pictures on the left are the patterns with their suggested fingerings. The pictures on the right are the patterns with their CAGED chord counterpart
they are associated with highlighted.
C Scale Pattern
Here is the scale pattern played in the key of C#/Db, because the root note appears on the 4th fret of the A string.
As with all patterns it can be transposed to any key. The pattern remains the same. Here is the same pattern in the key of F, because the root note appears on the A string’s 8th fret, which is an F note.
A Scale Pattern
Below is the A scale pattern in the key of C#/Db, because the root note appears on the 4th fret of the A string.
G Scale Pattern
Below is the G scale pattern in the key of C#/Db, because the root note appears on the 9th fret of the low E string.
E Scale Pattern
Below is the E scale pattern in the key of D, because the root note appears on the 10th fret of the low E string.
D Scale Pattern
Below is the D scale pattern in the key of B, because the root note appears
on the 9th fret of the D string which is a B note.
