Pentatonic Patterns

The 5 Basic Patterns

The most commonly used scales by guitarists are called pentatonic
scales. The word pentatonic gets it’s name from the
Greek word “penta” which means 5 and tonic which
stands for tone. That’s what pentatonic scales are: 5 tone
scales. The reason they are so commonly used is 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 the for many years to come. These patterns are
the same thing as the pentatonic major.

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 8th fret of
the A string which is an F note.

Notice that it looks the same when played. The only difference
is that the pattern is being played higher up on the fretboard:

A Scale Pattern

a scale form

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.

a scale pattern

G Scale Pattern

guitar scale

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.

guitar scale

E Scale Pattern

guitar scale

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.

guitar scale

D Scale Pattern

guitar scale

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.

guitar scale

Open Position Scale Patterns

These patterns can be used in your soloing and to play over
their representative open chords. As usual I have included
at least 2 diagrams for each pattern. The 1st diagram shows
the pattern with it’s correct fingerings and the second diagram
shows the chord counterpart that they are associated with.

The A, E, and D style patterns have some notes that cannot
be played in the open position with the same patterns, therefore
I have relocated those notes on adjacent strings (all are
on the 4th fret). This may be a little awkward for some people
so I have included a 3rd diagram with these patterns without
the relocated notes. Spend some time comparing these patterns
with their movable forms.

A tab example with audio shows the open scale pattern played
off of the open chord it is named after.