re: Official: Guitar beginners question and answer thread.

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So, can I play all 5 minor pentatonic shapes anywhere on fretboard, or is their a specific order they fit in to link them together?

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Ok, so all 5 shapes fit together as one, and you can slide the shapes up and down the fretboard to play in different keys. Now where it gets tricky is the twelfth fret. When you reach the twelfth fret, you’ve gone a full octave. So the high or low E string is a full octave higher at the twelfth fret than playing an open E string. So with all that in mind, you have to think of the shapes as one big loop. If you start a shape 1 at the tenth fret for example, you’ll find shapes 2, 3, 4 and 5 starting around the first fret or open string. So shapes 1,2,3,4 and 5 would end up looking like 2,3,4,5 and 1 if laid out on the guitar neck from the nut to the twelfth fret.

Edit: don’t just learn the shapes vertically, learn to play them horizontally across the neck too. It will help you avoid getting trapped in the “box”.

Glad I could help. Also, the shapes work exactly the same going from the 12th fret on down the neck. You’re simply playing them an octave higher.

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Nailed the my first minor pentatonic scale last night. Just posting bc I’m excited lol.

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Awesome. Are you able to stretch your fingers that wide or are you walking it.

My guy showed me one where Im going from the 5th to 8th fret and I cant stretch that far. I am having to walk it and its been tough for me

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When I used to play every day, a 4-fret stretch was no big deal - some passages require a 5-fret stretch and near the neck that effing sucks.

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Yea I used to think the long stretches, especially something like 1-3-5 or 3-5-7, were anatomically impossible for me since my hands are not large. Eventually I got those though. Just took time and lots of perseverance.

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You playing the 5-8 with pointer and pinky or pointer and ring?

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Trying both. Pointer and pinky looks the most realistic.

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Awesome. Are you able to stretch your fingers that wide or are you walking it.

My guy showed me one where Im going from the 5th to 8th fret and I cant stretch that far. I am having to walk it and its been tough for me

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Sounds like we’re working on the same one, most likely. 1st pattern of A minor pentatonic scale?

The first stretch between 5 and 8, is the hardest for my hand, but after fingering it a few times it falls into place. I use my pinky. Pinky don’t like that but it’s doing it anyway lol

ETA: also my pinky’s are crooked. They curve inwards towards the rest of my fingers. This takes some distance off my reach, but no excuses

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1st pattern of A minor pentatonic scale?

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is that the one where I always get " God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" stuck in my head?

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You playing the 5-8 with pointer and pinky or pointer and ring?



Trying both. Pointer and pinky looks the most realistic.

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May help to adjust your thumb placement.

I've never been one to unduly fret over adjusting my thumb. Sometimes it's center of back pushing up, or even lower, and other times gripping the neck tight like a baseball bat. Not going to bore (overload) you with when or why. Just suggesting that as your thumb goes up or down it might have a major impact on your where your wrist is.... and this dramatically impacts how far my fingers will stretch/span. Depends on the song and especially when doing leads.

There’s a reason classical guitar players hold and play the way they do. The thumb naturally falls to the middle of the neck giving greater reach.

Some guys have huge hands, so it doesn’t matter, really how they wear/hold the guitar. Some guys with huge hands still wear the guitar high and play things most mortals never could. Alan Holdsworth. If your hands are smaller consider using a more traditional approach, as mentioned above.

I would recommend incorporating the pinky into your playing, but it takes discipline. Work each transition from the other fingers to the pinky and back. Then do it from adjacent strings. Then alternate adjacent strings. Etc.

As always, it’s not the number of years you’ve played. It’s the number of hours.