Hridoyo Pinjirar Posha Pakhi (হৃদয়ও পিঞ্জিরার পোষা পাখি)

Hridoyo Pinjirar Posha Pakhi (হৃদয়ও পিঞ্জিরার পোষা পাখি)

আমার হৃদয় পিঞ্জিরার পোষা পাখি রে,
আমারে কান্দাইয়া পাও কি সুখ ।।
তুমি কার পোষা পাখি , কাজল বরন আঁখি,
রক্ত জবার মত তোমার মুখ।

প্রথম জীবনের কালে যেদিন তোমায় দেখেছি,
এই দেহ পিঞ্জিরার মাঝে আপন করে রেখেছি।।
জানতাম যদি পাখি দিয়া যাবি ফাঁকি,
বানতাম না আর তোর আশায় বুক।

আদর সোহাগের পাখি কোন দিন জানি উড়ে যায়
ফাঁক পেলে পলাইয়া যাবে জঙ্গলের কোন অজানায়।।
জানতাম যদি পাখি দিয়া যাবি ফাঁকি,
দেখতাম না আর তোর মায়া মুখ।

আজিজুল দেওয়ান ভেবে বলে ওরে আমার মন ভোলা
দিন থাকিতে গেল বেলা একবার ফিরে না চাইলা।।
তুমি ছেড়ে দাও এই রঙ এর খেলা,
ডুবে যায় যে তোমার বেলা
তোমার আশায় পাইলাম না ঐ সুখ
আমারে কান্দাইয়া পাও কি সুখ ।।

Minor Pentatonic Scale on Guitar

This lesson we'll be looking at the minor pentatonic scale on guitar - probably the most used scale in rock music, definitely the most used scale in blues (although there is an extended "blues scale" which we'll look at another time). This scale uses only five tones, hence the name pentatonic.


One of the major limitations I see guitarists put on their playing is boxing themselves in. What I mean is, they just play the pentatonic scale in one position and neglect the rest of the fretboard - is this you? If so, I'll show you how to unbox your pentatonic licks so you have the freedom to roam the fretboard for fluid, effortless soloing (get a head start with this here).

Here's a great introductory video to minor pentatonic by Mark Brennan...

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The basic minor pentatonic scale patterns

Although I mentioned not getting boxed in with your scales, you have to start somewhere, so it may as well be the boxed pattern that is most commonly used by guitarists. So those are the patterns I'll reference first.

First, let's put minor pentatonic into context. It's essentially a five tone minor scale. We can see it as a "stripped down" version of other seven-note minor scales. So minor pentatonic should always be an option if you're soloing in a minor key.

Minor pentatonic first position pattern

Hear G minor pentatonic

The 1 note is known as the root note of the scale, and the note which defines the key in which you play the scale. So if the root note was positioned on G, the scale would be G minor pentatonic.

What makes the scale minor? The minor 3rd (also known as a flat 3rd/b3).

Now let's look at the suggested fingering for this boxed pattern...

We can also learn a boxed pattern with an A string root note:

So now we're able to apply the minor pentatonic scale around those familiar chord shapes that use E and A string root notes (e.g. the E and A shape barre chords).

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Basic soloing using minor pentatonic

As mentioned before, minor pentatonic works predominantly over minor chords due to its minor 3rd interval. Let's have a play around with the boxed patterns to begin with.

The idea is not just to play it in sequence, from root to root, but rather skip around the scale and find interesting hooks and phrases. Move up and down the scale, vertically and horizontally.

Many guitarists use the "call and response" technique, which is where you play a phrase that sounds unresolved (e.g. it might have the characteristics of asking a question), then you "respond" with a more resolving phrase (e.g. a sequence that ends on the root note or another "safe note").

Click to hear a simple "call and response" example

That particular phrase started and ended on the root note, which is seen as a strong "safe note", which is useful for naturally resolving a sequence.

Other safe target notes for your phrases are the minor 3rd and 5th of the scale. Incidentally, these are referred to as "chord tones" because they make up the minor triad (1 b3 5). Targetting chord tones helps to keep your solos connected to the backing music. Remember that!

Another common technique is to stagger your way up or down the scale in a run. This is where you move up and/or down a scale in a repetitive sequence.

In this first run example we're taking 3 steps (notes) forward, 1 step back, another 3 forward, 1 back, 3 more forward etc.

Click to hear

Now try 5 steps forward, 2 back, 5 forward etc.

Click to hear

You can just mirror or invert that pattern when coming back down the scale for a similar effect.

Finally, let's try a more complex sequence which I'll tab out to help (click the tab to hear):



I've only scratched the surface there! Try and come up with your own runs and staggered sequences.

Now let's try some more vertical movements across the 6 strings as opposed to just horizontal movements.

The below sequence is: 1 - 5 - 1 - b3 - b7 - 1 - 5 - 4 - b3 - 1 - 5 - b3 - 1

Click to hear example

Remember, these are all using the boxed pattern from earlier.

These "one note per string" vertical movements are the foundation for playing arpeggios (another lesson altogether!), and as we're playing minor pentatonic, you can play a basic minor arpeggio by playing the root note (1), minor 3rd (b3) and 5th (5). Those 3 notes make up the basic minor triad and can be used to compliment the other types of phrases we heard above. Mix it up!

We'll look at more complex sequences in another lesson. One step at a time!

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Extended minor pentatonic scale patterns

Ironically, the easiest way to expand out of boxed scale patterns is to create more boxes, either side, and link them through your knowledge of the sequence of notes in the scale. In the case of minor pentatonic, that's:

1  b3  4  5  b7

It's also useful to learn the intervals between these notes so you know how to get to the next or previous note no matter where you are.

Let's start by simply extending that original boxed pattern either side:



Tip: It's a good idea to learn the relationship between intervals in the scale. For example, the root - 3rd interval has a distinct sound, as does the 5th - root interval.

More on building large minor pentatonic scale patterns here.

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Minor pentatonic scale backing tracks

When you're ready, time to put things into practise (and practice).

Use the below backing tracks to experiment with minor pentatonic (and any other minor scale that's compatible). Some things to focus on:

• String skipping and jumping around the scale rather than just one note after the other in sequence.
• Try the occasional run and think about which notes you start and finish the run/phrase on (e.g. ending a phrase on the minor 3rd can sound good).
• When the chord changes, try and highlight this in your solo by choosing a note that compliments the change. When the chord changes back to the tonic ("home" chord), think about which landing notes sound good.

Enjoy!

Download/Play	Key	E string root note	A string root note
Download here	B	Fret 7, Fret 19	Fret 2, Fret 14
Download here	D	Fret 10, Fret 20	Fret 5, Fret 17
Download here	D	Fret 10, Fret 20	Fret 5, Fret 17
Download here	Eb	Fret 11, Fret 23	Fret 6, Fret 18
Download here	F#	Fret 2, Fret 14	Fret 9, Fret 21
Download here	A	Fret 5, Fret 17	Open, Fret 12
Download here	A	Fret 5, Fret 17	Open, Fret 12

Make Guitar Scales Sound Musical

Once you learn the roadmap (pattern) for a scale, you'll naturally start looking for different ways to navigate it musically. A lot of guitarists get into the habit of simply playing up and down a scale in a linear sequence. This soon becomes predictable and boring.

But there are simple ways to avoid this linear noodling and make scales sound musical, using various types of sequences. Before you start to embellish your scale phrases with techniques such as slides and bends, you need to work on your ability to move around the scale in interesting and musical ways.

Watch the presentation below for an overview of these "sequencing forms" and then scroll down for tabs and more examples...

Turning Scales Into Music

A scale, in its purest form, can be seen as an ordered sequence of pitches/notes - e.g. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or C D E F G A B.

This may be how we learn the pitch formula of a scale, but when it comes to making music from it, we can arrange that sequence of pitches in many different ways.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with using linear sequential movements, but the more variation you have at your disposal, the broader your improvisational/writing palette will be!

Skipped Note Sequences

By skipping notes in the natural scale sequence, you can instantly create more musical phrases.

To begin with, we can create exercises that get you used to playing the skipping technique on all strings. In the examples below I'm using a familiar pentatonic pattern (C major or its relative A minor - same pattern). But you can apply these exercises to any scale/pattern you know...

Ex 1.

The "Rolling" Technique

As mentioned in the video, to keep our fingering economical, we need to use a technique known as rolling in order to play two consecutive notes on the same fret - a common movement you'll have to negotiate when skipping notes.

Let's say we wanted to play two consecutive notes on the G and B string. Here's how we would "roll" between them using the index finger...

The lower string is fretted using the tip of the finger.

The higher string is fretted using the pad of the finger tip.

Let's try some more note skipping sequences (note: to play up the scale simply start the tab at the end and work backwards!)...

Ex 2.



Ex 3.



Ex 4.



We can also skip two notes in our sequences for more dynamic phrasing. This is more challenging as not only are we skipping notes, we're now skipping strings...

Ex 5.



Ex 6.



And there are probably more. But I'm sure you get the idea! By practicing these non-linear exercises, ideally using a metronome, you'll be able to "borrow" from them, in part or whole, when building your phrases. Mix them with target notes (see the first major pentatonic lesson for more on target notes) and things will start to sound a lot more musical!

"Staggered" Run Sequences

These movements don't involve any skipped notes. Instead we "stagger" the straight run by stepping back a note (or more) every three or more notes in the sequence...

Ex 7.



Ex 8.



Remember, the idea is not to necessarily do a full run of the scale every time, rather isolate parts of the sequence and mix them with other phrasing sequences and held target notes.

Pedal Sequences

A great way to make your scales sound musical. Here we pick a static note as our "pedal point" and then alternate between that note and two or more notes around it from the scale.

There are countless possible examples of this, but here are a few (pedal note in red, and for exercise purposes simply repeat at the end of the tab)...

Ex 9.



Ex 10.



Ex 11.

Combining Sequences

Once you're confident with these sequencing techniques individually, it's time to practice combining them and build up a solo.

Here's an example, again using A major pentatonic...

Once you're up to speed with your phrasing ideas, try them over some good backing tracks (I recommend Jonathan Boettcher's Blues or Rock package) so you can practice playing them in a live band context. Your improvisation skills will positively soar this way.

Major Pentatonic Patterns

Eventually, you'll want to "break out of the box" in order to free up your playing across the guitar fretboard. This lesson will help you to build a full-neck roadmap for major pentatonic in any key. This is crucial in being able to improvise freely and fluidly, no matter where you find yourself on the neck.

As memorising patterns can get pretty dull, we're going to jam our way gradually through different major pentatonic patterns until we have a complete neck-wide roadmap for the scale. Not only will this help you memorise the patterns, it'll also train your ear to develop hooks and phrases that sound good and give you physical confidence in navigating the scale.

Start with the video below and then scroll down for more backing tracks, diagrams and useful exercises..

Now try it in the key of E

As you change keys, the sequence of patterns remains the same, but obviously we move to a different root (E)..

Major Pentatonic - All Positions

If you take the intervals of the scale and lay them across the 6th string, you get five positions around which to build five box patterns. Some people call it the five modes of the scale.

The idea is, you learn each position box and then merge them into one large pattern. The video above guided you through this process for C major pentatonic...



Let's look at each position one by one. Each has a unique pattern (you could also see them as scale shapes) to help you memorise them. Remember, the 1 note is your root, so if you can memorise its place within each pattern it'll help you find your bearings in any key. Can you see how each pattern links to the next/previous? There's always some overlap...



So, whichever position you start on, you should know which position preceeds and proceeds from it.

Merging Patterns

In the video I showed you some wider, horizontal patterns that spanned a few positions. With major pentatonic, the two most convenient in terms of fingering are as follows...


The red marker shows you where that 1st box pattern is in relation to the wide pattern.



Notice this pattern starts on that familiar 6th string root.

Major Pentatonic Backing Tracks

As mentioned, here are some backing tracks to try out in different keys, including the C and E major tracks used in the guided jam videos. Here's your chance to put into practice the large roadmap you built up in the guided jams.

C major         E major

A Major

C Major

C# Major



Want more high quality, major pentatonic compatible jam tracks? Take a look at Jonathan Boettcher's 30 Rock Jam Tracks.

Pattern Exercises

These exercises will get you moving through patterns like a pro. These are just examples of exercises you can easily create yourself, even on the fly, once you're confident with playing through the individual positions. Suggested fingering in blue.

C Major

E Major

Even with just half an hour per day devoted to exploring these patterns, whether jamming over a backing track or using a metronome, you'll be surprised at how quickly your confidence grows with improvising major pentatonic.

You may not yet realise it, but by mastering these major pentatonic patterns, you'll also have minor pentatonic covered, as it uses exactly the same pattern sequence, just in a relative position (it starts on the 6 of major pentatonic). More on that later!