Am at C

Am pentatonic at C

Am pentatonic at C

By now you should be familiar with the A minor pentatonic scale in the root note fret position, tablature, exercises. I would now like to expand a little more on the A minor pentatonic scale at a different position. What I mean by position is, another position of the guitar to play the A minor pentatonic scale. The root note fret for the A minor pentatonic scale starts on the 5th fret. But, the same scale can be played starting at other positions of the guitar. We will now learn the blue position in the image above.

Once again the illustration above is the A minor pentatonic scale in the root note position. The root note fret for A minor starts at the 5th fret. In the image above, the numbers on each fret illustrate what finger plays each note of the scale.

Look above, notice the same A minor pentatonic scale with the notes that make up the scale. The notes for the A minor pentatonic scale are (A C D E G)
Fingers 1-4,1-3,1-3,1-3,1-4,1-4 = notes A-C, D-E, G-A, C-D, E-G, A-C.

Look at the scale below and notice that the scale now starts at the 8th fret or C note. This is the same A minor pentatonic scale as above, but starting at a different fret and has a different fingering pattern. Remember I stated that the root note fret is the easiest to play. This is true because the 1 finger can play every note of this scale on 5th fret. In the next position you have a different fingering pattern to learn. All of the patterns of the Am pentatonic scale have the same notes, A C D E and G.

	Video C to C
	Drum Track

The new fingering for this position will be 2-4 1-4 1-4 1-3 1-3 1-3. This will be starting at the C note 8th fret Low E string, look below. Remember to pick down and up. Work your way down the scale and then back up. So the illustration above shows the A minor pentatonic scale with the notes and the lower illustration shows the A minor pentatonic scale with the fingers in the VIII position. Notice that the C notes are highlighted in blue and the Root note A in yellow. Play from A to A for Am pentatonic and C to C for C major pentatonic. This is a popular position to play over the C chord. Notice the root 6 E type bar chord for the C chord in this position.

This is a Root 6 E type bar chord. The note on the Low E string determines the chord. If you played this chord with your 1 finger at the 8th fret using this fingering pattern, it would be the C chord. Strum this chord and play from C to C using the illustration below.

C	D	E	G	A

Tablature used for the scale above.

------------------------------------------8-10--
---------------------------------8-10----------
-------------------------7--9------------------
-----------------7-10--------------------------
---------7-10----------------------------------
-8-10------------------------------------------

	The notes that make up the C chord are C E and G. The chord illustrated to the left is the Root 6 C bar chord. The note on the Low E string determines the chord. Notice how the C chord fits over this pattern above.
	Try to play the C E and G notes only, one note at a time. Once you can pick each note of the C chord one at a time, strum the C chord. Then play lead from C to C starting on the Low E string to the high E string.

So we have learned the fingering of the root note fret above and the VIII position below. Each position has a different fingering pattern, but the same notes. Remember, all of the A minor pentatonic positions you learn will have the same notes. A C D E and G. Start with the 2 finger at the 8th fret below Low E string, play that note. Then the 4 finger on the 10th fret Low E string, play that note and continue through the scale.

Shows notes used in riff below.

The illustration to the left shows another way to play the Am chord. The riff below starts on this A note. Notice each of these notes in the scale above

Here is a riff played in the VIII position starting on the A note. Illustration 2 below finishes up the riff and plays the notes of the C chord.

Once you play the lead above play this lead to finish it off. It starts on the C note and ends on the C note. Both of these leads are played over the VIII position of the Am scale.

The illustration to the left is the exact same thing as illustration 2 above. Illustration 2 is played at the 8th fret, VIII position starting on the C note. Illustration 3 to the left also starts on the C note, but plays the lead at the root note fret. Each of these two illustrations play the exact same notes, but are played in a different position of the Am pentatonic scale.

This riff uses the root fret position and the VIII position of the Am pentatonic scale. Notice the slide, hit that note and slide to the 10th fret. You also have three pull-offs and a hammer on.

So far I think you should be a little familiar with the guitar fretboard, tablature, exercises and up to now, two positions of the A minor pentatonic scale.

So far you have learned the A minor pentatonic scale root note fret position and the VIII position. In the next lesson I would like to expand on the A minor pentatonic scale in the 10th position, starting on the D note, 10th fret.

	Once you review the next position of the pentatonic scale, you can learn to play triplets. Once you review that lesson, you can return to this lesson. Always return to the lesson you started on.
	Drum Track
	C major Pentatonic and exercises

Good Luck,

From the Jam Room