Ultimate Pentatonic Scale Guide [Every Essential Shape!]

[@luapsel77]

This man probably isn't HALF as old as ME, but he's one of the Best guitar teachers I've ever seen on KZbin and I've seen a LOT, believe me! Someone asked, "Yeah, this is Great, but HOW do you take this information and make music with it?." Well, I don't know quite how to SAY this, so I'll try the only way I CAN... Improvisations come from TWO places... Your Musical "Soul", The Sounds you hear in your HEAD that you would LOVE to express , and the SECOND place is your EXPERIENCE, the YEARS of beating up your fingers, of learning and playing scales and chords and licks and riffs, and LISTENING!.. To your Favorites, but ALSO to OTHERS, OUTSIDE your favorite genre, or favorite players... LISTEN AND LEARN FROM ALL GUITARISTS!! If you TRULY have ALL of those scale positions "under your fingers", meaning you've PRACTICED them SO many Times, that you can DO it with your eyes closed, and without even THINKING about it.. if you KNOW all of those notes, and more IMPORTANTLY, your FINGERS know where all those notes are, then after THAT, my friend, it's ALL just improvisation... You have to LISTEN to ENOUGH BB King, and Lightnin' Hopkins, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, (or whatever blues artists you like), you have to have HEARD and Listened to enough Blues to HAVE those intervals, those solos, in your MEMORY and in your Soul..! I guess you have to FEEL the Blues if you REALLY want to be a GOOD Blues improviser! SAME THING, with ROCK or Jazz or ANYTHING!... You can LEARN where EVERY note on the neck IS, and you can practice Hard enough, to build up superhuman SPEED... But, do you WANT to sound like Yngwie Malmsteen playing the Blues?.. I DON'T... I'd LOVE to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan, on a HOT night... And Eric Johnson, with his big interval jumps... And throw in something from the MASTER, Johann Sebastian Bach, with his Counterpoint melodies, moving in opposing directions!... I guess you have to FEEL something like the blues, to get the type of bends that David Gilmour pulls off!... HE is a PERFECT example... The Man HAS NEVER, probably COULD Never, play a Solo, with the SPEED of Steve Vai... But I wouldn't CARE, if I could play with just HALF the FEEL of a David Gilmour SOLO!... LISTEN... and PLAY.... Repeat and Rinse, till your fingers are sore... then REPEAT some MORE, until your calluses are too TOUGH, to get sore!.... THAT'S ALL MY 50 Years of Guitar Wisdom, wrapped up in ONE paragraph!... My GIFT to the World of my Brothers, guitar players!

[@-R3DB4R0N-]

I hear you man, and your long text proves that you really wanted to speak this out, haha. You're totally right! I'm playing 3,5 years now, the pandemic brought me to it. And I know people which play much longer than me but they cannot compete with my dedication. I play literally every day and now I feel that I get into it, more and more. It takes some time and even more dedication. Nowadays people are often to impatient. Best sentence I read in this regard: The guitar is like a universe and you're set off on a journey 🫡🎸🔥

[@lelandgaunt7130]

Improvisation comes from 3 places. The first one you mentioned is major BULLSHIT! You got the second correct. The 3rd is knowing your chord tones, and knowing a couple of sequences IF you want to sound good. Learn all 5 boxes, learn 2-3 sequences, learn the intervals in all those 5 boxes and the TRIADS, practice a couple of years with a solid routine. Learn a few licks, although not as important because once you learn a couple of sequences and the triads, you'll be coming up with your own licks. Jam to backing tracks 2-3 times a week and no more than that. In a couple years, you'll understand why only 2-3 times. The more you practice, the easier it becomes to connect the boxes. Don't need to practice any connecting shapes because again, you will come up with your own. This will take time, it's not a 6 month or a year thing. Keep practicing the above and be patient.

[@itisinickt]

calm down boomer. i bet most kids are WAY better than you at everything

[@jameswaters5888]

You are absolutely correct about the diagram of the fret board being shown incorrectly and confusing. I, and others have pointed this out before, and it is never corrected. I wish Jules would listen to subscribers and show diagrams correctly for the many viewers that see his videos. Jules is one of the best if not the best instructor on KZbin. I have learned a great deal from him as I am sure the vast collective of his viewers/subscribers. Please listen to your subscribers, Jules.

[@davemccarthy4695]

?

[@aeroprof]

It is not incorrect; it's simply perspective. He can either show us the fret board from *his* eyes (what you want) or have the tab diagrams match what *our* eyes are seeing his fingers do on the fret board in the video.

[@bradt.3555]

@@aeroprof Good to see someone has a brain.

[@cbaranovic]

Jules this is an exceptional lesson. Just one suggestion. Let everyone know that moving the minor positions back 3 frets gives you the same fingering but a major scale

[@stanparchaiski5394]

We’ve all seen these 5 pentatonic shapes before and most of us drag our feet to learn all the shapes in every key. However, this is a refreshingly better way to learn these important concepts and move us out of our practice ruts. Great lesson. Thanks for posting.

[@wvu982000]

One of the best teachers on KZbin.

[@JHENDRIXROCS]

I have been playing guitar for years and Jules is on the Mount Rushmore of KZbin guitar teachers! Probably the BEST comprehensive pentatonic scale lesson I have seen on KZbin! Excellent teacher! He will definitely take your playing to the next level!

[@jamieb7799]

Jules Ive watched this several times over the past few months and your explanation of this makes complete sense to me. I really like the way you explain concepts. Thank you 🙏 👍

[@JunkYour925]

I’m telling ya we are all connected. I was just thinking about all these ways of playing the pentatonic and you pump out this great video on it! Thanks!

[@mk8530]

Best Pentatonic scale video ever. BOOK MARKED!

[@flamencoprof]

I can't read music, but I'm pleased to say that I figured out the 2, 3 pattern when I was about 18 in the late 60s.I called it "twos and threes". It is simple to move it back and forth on the fretboard, to suit any key, and works with minor and major tunes.

[@mickh1402]

Thanks, Jules. It is just exceptional how you present your videos and your clear, precise instruction. 🎸👍

[@trichromatic5717]

I don’t know why people are complaining so much about the diagram he is using. Yeah it’s flipped but it doesn’t matter he’s still pressing the correct notes and it’s easy to follow honestly well done video

[@kirkwilliams2127]

His diagram is perfect. makes sense. I just built a version in Illustrator cause I’m so tied of all the music books with the fret board screwed up. This makes perfect sense. Viewed holding the guitar and looking down starting at low E. The one I created has already made way more sense to than any of the many music books I have. And I’m learning the correct notes now in short order since I don’t have to think about flipping it over…

[@guitarsolos89]

Well for someone who is teaching, u shouldnt do the opposite of the normal methods. I dont teach kids reading from right to left. Do it correct from the start, these videos are intended for beginners.

[@elkhornslough]

Wow! Jules, you are truly the best IMHO. You teach with such clarity. Thank you!

[@davebowman6497]

A long time ago I learned what you csll "the 3 + 2 diagonal". Person showing it said "here's something Hendrix used a lot". Ofcourse its one og the most generic and usable patterns out tgere, but that that triggered me Hendrix bait hooked me and I've been relying heavily on it ever since. Thanks for putting a good name on it!

[@KwanTao69]

That was so well done, I have never had it presented quite like this before.

[@geeinski]

You are an amazing teacher. I was in need of all of this information. Put into one place and you nailed it perfectly!!!!

[@martinlefox1983]

I wish I had seen a video like this when many years ago I learned the 5 positions of the pentatonic scale. It would taken me sooo much less time to learn exactly the same thing, and also understanding it in a much simpler way. This might be the video with the best explanation that I have seen on the internet, pure gold for any begginer Hoorah for your video!

[@nagarajbn4724]

Fantastic way of teaching pentatonic scale all over the frets . Making it so easy to understand

[@ninjamonk]

I have been playing for years and this is the best explanation and example I have come across 👍 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@espeardub]

Thank you, you couldn't have explained it better, all I have to do now is practice

[@kirkwilliams2127]

As more of a novice I need to check your Patrion site. Good stuff, thank you.

[@chisomokalumbe445]

Great one this is just what is needed to explain it simple and help everyone navigate easily! One Love!

[@enkuneheyob3499]

Wonderful idea! I am a beginner, but I created a custom diagonal pentatonic scale for myself months ago, placing roots on the 5th and 6th strings accordingly. When I saw it here, I was surprised to see it, as I am a beginner and afraid I may not be certain about my idea. However, I was right. People stuck on 5 shapes including myself, loses time, energy, and dynamics due to the lack of smooth movement along octaves, which the diagonal one provides. However, it is tough to get all major and minor scales within my single custom shape. Hence, I made one for major and one for minor since the pattern of roots changes. Yet, I need to construct a couple of shapes to easily reach some keys (not letting them far away along the fret).

[@optimus_rhymes6955]

The Telly, is and sounds beautiful. Great video!

[@-R3DB4R0N-]

This is an absolutely amazing video! I can not express how thankful I am, honestly. 🎉❤🎉 Thank you so much Sir 🙏🙏🙏

[@draster541]

Yet another excellent tutorial. You deserve 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@stephengreen9663]

Excellent way of tutorials for inspiring guitar players. So much can be taken from your lessons. Gr8 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@karjur78]

Great lesson, the 2 + 3 thing is really simple and effective..

[@stevefielding8324]

Absolutely brilliant lesson Jules! Thank you.

[@ojasatma11]

BEST TEACHER 🏆

[@RobChandler]

Great video, thanks for sharing! I have been playing the sliding pentatonic my whole life but you taught me some additional theory behind this great scale! I really like your teaching style, very relaxed and easy to follow, great work!!!

[@Chimp_No_1]

Fantastic video ! Incredibly helpful and inspiring ! Thank you for sharing !

[@Sandytuck]

Hi Jules, Great video mate really nice presentation just the best and covered a lot of info in one video. Love your style Les.

[@jamesbuhler5754]

You are an incredible teacher son !

[@shawnhorton2000]

Thanks Dad!

[@terazoom_]

I love your technics, go ahead🎉

[@gabrielfernandez9792]

Great Lesson Jules. Thanks!!

[@stevemerchant1862]

Quality and so enjoyable! Thanks.

[@ellysabourin2229]

Your Good! You are really helping me understand FINALLY! Thank You Jules!

[@alexispaganini4376]

finally i find the good way to practice the pentatonic scale. very clever and pragmatic. could you show more licks related to each specific position ? thanks a lot !

[@guilhermebrito4837]

An all in one tutorial! Thanks!

[@willcoxmnk]

Really clear and coherent lesson, thank you!

[@jimdep6542]

Real nice lesson and great tone, btw. That first solo you did in Cm had a short riff inside from the Stairway to Heaven solo.

[@lawncuttingplusdelta]

That nice little example at 8 minutes , sounded a lot like black crowes , jealous of him ….. great reminder to all players … the more songs and keys you can identify with … the more tools in your box 👍🏻

[@jixal]

Fun tip, when you are changing the note you start on but keeping to the same scale (notes played) then you are playing a different mode of the scale. Which all have their own crazy names, and make it sound more complicated than it is.

[@firatmaradona]

What a quality content, thank you!

[@dgmg1578]

Jules excellent lesson really came together for me😅

[@bobhoffman2777]

Terrific episode. Thanks!

[@ClarenceM.-mg8rt]

great lesson - thanks for sharing

[@tonyfoster986]

Hey great video dude, that's some useful information. Got me thinking a cool series could be licks inside these 3+2 and 2+3 shapes or licks inside similar shapes like the bb box. For me I've studied all these shapes and sequences but struggle to find a few licks in these shapes and get stuck playing the same stuff all the time. Cheers

[@jurgenmartens1999]

now this is a great lesson!!!

[@freefromleftwing]

Great lesson , lots of thanks .

[@alexgouy930]

Merci et respect pour tout vos travaux très utile ! ❤🎸😎❤👍

[@christopherfryda]

Love this channel!

[@pete194]

Thanks Jules, I'm going to give my guitar another go.

[@juergenziskofen8015]

Whow, simple genial 👍Thank you, greetings from Germany

[@RalphPiepenburg]

Awesome job again, thank you so much

[@craig061002]

I'm having a lightbulb moment sir. Thx. 🙃🙂

[@michaelshansen7070]

Love this guy, great job

[@makkoy7]

Thank you Jules

[@rasbabo5319]

I prefer the way you show your tabs! Matches your guitar in the video. Much more intuitive😊

[@peteywheatstraws4909]

Man absolutely, this is a great teaching/learning system.

[@badgermost]

OMG I see it all "the other way around" ahaha but yeah... it is starting to make sense :P amazing value on these videos right?!

[@vadimlopatko6516]

Чувак, ты гений.

[@John-ob7dh]

It sure is not easy making up riffs even once you learned the scales all over the neck .And of course the other problem when playing say a blues made up solo ,is to not make it sound like you are NOT playing a scale .lol Great tuition.

[@Kirk1914]

Very very concise, with great graphics and illustrations of how to use them to solo. Top marks !

[@lordyo20]

awesome video. you only forgot one thing... your beer. lol. you make it easy to play the blues. thanks brother.

[@lawncuttingplusdelta]

Great outlines explanation .. this is exactly where I am at … craving to fully join the dots with caged and pentatonic positions 👍🏻

[@rebeltz2010]

Great, best tutorial on scales ever! thanks heaps...but ...please no criticism intended, But I just find the fret board diagram me, odd as to me at least should be as if, I'm looking at my guitar from my vantagepoint, or am I missing something? the nut should be on the left side of screen, E6 string represented at bottom of my screen, IMHO, I am right-handed or is it just me? Cheers all, and thanks again Jules!

[@NovaRedBaron]

Thank You for this. Great Lesson. Putting the note names in your fretboard diagrams makes it much easier to follow the scale pattern. Well done!!!

[@elvismortley5215]

Thanks

[@elvismortley5215]

You are great at what you do, and also a great teacher. I am glad to have found you. Keep up the good work.

[@JulesGuitar]

Thank you!

[@jr4233]

Great instructing !

[@jhunlimited_llc]

This was a lovely video. Subbing Jules. 💯💢

[@mrcrowley73]

Weird approach on the diagrams they're flipped. Usually this diagrams are read left to right. In this video are right to left which is a bit confusing for the intended audience 😅

[@karayuschij]

Yes, it is unusual, but they show the strings and the notes exactly like you see the guitar when you are in front of it. Maybe the most used not flipped diagrams are wrong… :D It is just a question of point of view (literally)

[@Brad-zb4nl]

From the person viewing the lesson, it’s backwards. The diagram is correct from the teacher looking down at the fretboard, but from most students view it’s backwards. Just a suggestion on future videos ,showing the diagram from student would be Prefered/ Thanks for doing these videos 👍🏻

[@Machia52612]

I like it🎸

[@berry5959]

At first glance! But It works well with the video above! You can see where he puts the fingers.

[@Playsinvain]

I like this if everyone did it

[@kessel7918]

Like your videos! Thank you!❤

[@dry509]

So is this information helpful if I want to learn to play Jazz standards using the chord melody approach?

[@meadish]

Using the pentatonic scale ties into most genres of music, but it doesn't *directly* help you with chord melody.

[@TheParcelDude]

Damn, this is good - thank you for that lesson :)

[@lukather1]

would love to see how to mix major and minor pentatonic over a chord progression ! PS .... Sire Guitars you need to try better Than most Fender with better features and finish ..... try the 335 brilliant guitars. 😀

[@JustFishin777]

Amazing!

[@richardburt9812]

EXCELLENT. LIKE YOOUR FST TALKING

[@alegutierrezmusic]

Nice great lesson, just one thing 8:28 the titles are inverted

[@scubasteve2189]

I’ve known this lead pattern for years, from the book Fretboard Logic. My problem is I find it really hard to make it sound musical, since the sliding around always seems to make it sound like a scale all the time for me. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Of course, the typical scale positions sound kind of like that when I use them as well. It’s frustrating.

[@henok346]

I like it how many month it take to be a gutarst like you

[@wvu982000]

So using the 2-3 or 3-2. Do you just move to the root to move this around?

[@cali3168]

The diagram of the fretboard is confusing. It's making me actually want to move on and find other videos. I hope you fix this in the future.

[@mabblers]

Nice!

[@troysilvia7935]

Why do you show the fretboard upside down?

[@shinton100]

Why are the fretboards reversed? Sixth string goes on the bottom.

[@patrickguarda2941]

Don't mind the bashing about the charts being upside down. That's OK: this is more intuitive for beginners as it corresponds to what they see on screen when you play, and therefore this is also readable for more advanced players

[@shawnhorton2000]

It all makes perfect sense. But there seems to be no way to teach how to take this knowledge and play musically.

[@lukepyron7468]

Well said. I’ve watched tons of these types of videos and can okay the scales/positions up and down the neck, but when I try to solo, it just sounds like I’m playing scales up and down the neck. Oh well, maybe someday it will click.

[@paulkelly6853]

Use hammer ons pull offs .........string bends......slide into notes........ But most importantly to make it sound like music after a few seconds STOP.......PAUSE......then continue....... Do this after every phrase ........using the techniques I told you it will sound musical

[@lukepyron7468]

@@paulkelly6853 thanks. Will definitely give it a try.

[@paulkelly6853]

@lukepyron7468 that's why it'd called phrasing.......its a musical conversation........when a conversation happens there's a pause at the end of every sentence or paragraph.........music is exactly the same

[@lukepyron7468]

@@paulkelly6853 that makes sense. I’ve heard the term phrasing but hadn’t heard it explained that way. Thanks again

[@edwardpekot7925]

Can you start the 2-3 pattern or the 3-2 pattern on the 5th string

[@JulesGuitar]

Yes, if you look at the 2+3, but ignore the bottom string, then you see it’s the same as the 3+2. Also the other way round, the 3+2 becomes 2+3 if you ignore the bottom string.

[@strobers]

I thought it was very interesting. The only thing that throws me off is, I know you showed us all the shapes in the context of Am Pent. But how do we switch the patterns into other Keys? This is what I am not understanding.

[@user-tj9ew1hz4b]

You just shift the whole pattern up or down the fretboard, depending on what key you want to play in (I.e. shift pattern down one fret from A = G#min; shift up two frets from A = Bmin). The root note you start the pattern on gives you the key. If you know all the notes on the low E string, you can run through all the positions on every key.

[@mjt106]

Mega top 👌🤪🙏

[@mattmatt6906]

why are all these fret diagrams backwards

[@dekypradana212]

1:32

[@mikebosdet1990]

Thanks!

[@raybeeger1529]

I've never played the pentatonic in the "regular" way. The reason is: my fingers are short and the tendens of the ring and little finger are shortened...

[@laker6943]

Get a short scale guitar like a Fender Duosonic . It has a 24” scale neck instead of a 25.5 inch neck like Strats, Tele’s, etc. Makes a big difference, I have one

[@lukather1]

think your diagram on Am pent at 9.33 is wrong !

[@felixratcliff4407]

👍👍

[@bradt.3555]

Ah, people complaining about the box being flipped? Are they that dumb? That's exactly how it looks if you look at a guitar from the same position as watching him play!!! Not from a holding the guitar position, seriously??? WOW! Actually the reason I was responding is cause that diagonal pattern is what I learned from the start. Got it from watching what little video of Alvin Lee was available when I started, ( when records and tapes were how you got music. Computers took up a whole room and used tubes). Never saw a "box" till about 5 years ago. Just thought how limiting is that? Two diagonal patterns moved up n down the neck gives you all key's major n minor all over the neck.

[@BogeyDopeYT]

Can’t look at those upside down backwards diagrams. Feel like I had a stroke.

[@khmerjamesgoodness8712]

👍👍👍👍

[@stringfish100]

You've almost got it but not quite lol wish I could show you the difference but....?

[@michaelshansen7070]

Ho do I give money the page is in e. I am in america