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A Visual Learning Experience. Lead Guitar Made Easy

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[ A minor pentatonic scale root note 5th ] [ Am pentatonic scale C note ] [ Am pentatonic scale at D ]
[ Am pentatonic scale at E ] [ Am pentatonic scale at G ] [ Am pentatonic root 17 ] [ Am pentatonic open position ] [ Am at the G ]

A minor pentatonic scale root note fret position

Burn up the guitar fretboard with the pentatonic scale

Don’t let the word pentatonic scare you off, it just means a five note scale. You will be learning two types of pentatonic scales, one is the minor pentatonic scale and the other will be the major pentatonic scale. Our guitar lessons will be a bit unconventional and won’t follow the instructional guide you buy at the local book or music store. Why? Because you want to learn how to play the guitar and want to learn fast.  There’s a good reason why I want you to learn every position of the Am pentatonic scale. This lesson will help you gain speed and burn up the fretboard.

The Am pentatonic scale is a basic scale, but really the building block to playing and understanding other scales and playing lead guitar. Also, once you learn to play this scale, playing guitar modes in the key of C major or any other key, will be that much easier. You will be learning guitar modes a bit later down the road. The illustration below, shows all of the A minor pentatonic scale notes on the guitar fretboard. I’m going to show you each position of this pentatonic scale and break it up a little so it will be easier to visualize. 

The first position of the minor pentatonic scale that we’ll learn, will be the A minor pentatonic scale at the root note fret. The A minor pentatonic scale, root note fret, starts at the 5th fret of the Low E string. Look at the illustration above and notice that some of the notes have been outlined in yellow. This is what I’m going to call the root note fret. The root note fret is the A note for the A minor pentatonic scale. Find that A note at the 5th fret of the Low E string.

The B note would be the root note fret for the B minor pentatonic and so on. 

The illustration below, shows the notes of the A minor pentatonic scale. This is also the root note fret position for the A minor pentatonic scale. The notes of the A minor pentatonic scale are A – C – D – E and G. The root note fret is the most popular position to play this scale. Can you see why? Notice that all the notes line up in the 5th fret. Your 1 finger would never have to go out of position to play the A minor pentatonic scale in this position. 

Look at the image below and notice that your 1 finger never has to leave the 5th fret. You can really burn up the guitar fretboard using this particular pattern and position.  Also notice the A note is on the 5th fret, Low E string, this is the root note (A). For example, if we moved this complete fingering pattern up 2 frets, to the B note, 7th fret, it would be called the B minor pentatonic, root note fret and you would have the same exact fingering pattern.

The Am pentatonic scale, root note fret, in my opinion, is by far the most important guitar scale position pattern to learn. You will use this scale as the building block to other scales and guitar modes. By adding two notes to the pentatonic scale, you can play every mode in the major key. I highly recommend that you learn this pentatonic scale fingering pattern, you will be amazed how the musical doors will begin to open. For those of you who are serious and want to be part of Guitar Secrets, join now, become a Gold Level Member and I will personally answer your questions as we move through the lessons. Membership includes over 150 online lessons and A Visual Learning Experience and all the locked lessons.

Look at the image above. The numbers on the image shown with numbers 1 through 4 are not a chord, but the fingering pattern you use to play the A minor pentatonic scale at the low E string, 5th fret position.

It’s very important that you learn the fingering pattern and you should have in the previous lessons. The numbers on the image above, correspond to the numbers below.

1 =  Index finger
2 =  Middle finger
3 =  Ring finger
4 =  Pinkie
T =  Thumb

Before you do anything else, you need to memorize the fingering pattern above. Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen and just about everyone else have used this scale in some variation or another to play lead guitar. We will be using this scale for a while to help you become familiar with the guitar fretboard and to build your foundation. Listen to this scale and become accustomed to hearing it. The scale is played from the 5th fret, A note, on the Low E string, down through the scale, to the 8th fret, high E string.

The YouTube video below explains the A minor pentatonic scale at the root note fret position.

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