Scale Patterns 3 The Pentatonic

Transcription

1 presents Scale Patterns 3 he written by Eric Vandenberg 2000 by Eric Vandenberg (used by permission) Note: For best viewing it is recommended to print out the article. Edited by Gunharth Randolf Guitar 4 u articles@guitar4u.com 1

2 Scale Patterns 3 - he by Eric Vandenberg Ok, letõs make a leap backwards in this last part of my "Scales & Patterns"-trilogyÉ we talked about major patterns and longform patterns, therefore covering patterns derived from the major scale. ut letõs not forget about the pentatonic scale. What? Do I hear complaints? Do I hear comments like "Geez, that olõ pentatonic, what are ya talkinõ about, itõs dead!" Well, my friends, I tend to disagree. he pentatonic scale is NO dead, old-fashioned or "just for beginners and blues-players"! Not at all! What is dead and old fashioned is the public approach to the pentatonic scale, the way it is used - the same old licks over and over again. he pentatonic scale was, is and hopefully always will be an important construction, i.e. helpful and musical tool for everyone with some creativity and curiosity. good example for a quite interesting and never dull use of pentatonic scales would be Eric Johnson. He uses it quite often and makes it sound interesting by approaching it in different waysé incorporating huge intervallic leaps and position changes, as well as a huge arsenal of phrasing tools. Did you ever listen to the amazing soloparts of EricÕs "Desert Rose"? Well, most of it is based on a simple pentatonic scale. Would you say that this solo (as well as many other soloparts) sounds dull, old-fashioned, boring or unmusical? (y the way, Eric Johnson himself, a very self-critical person, considers the parts in this very song as maybe his most satisfying solo effort). nd Johnson is not the only oneé Scott Henderson, Steve Vai, Michael Lee Firkins, countless Jazz- and fusion players are other examples. Now, before we jump in, letõs take a look at what the pentatonic scale is, after all. gain, we are using the key of C Major as an example: C-D-E-F-G---C Well, the C major pentatonic looks like this C-D-E-G--C s you might notice, there are no 4th and 7th (F and ). I mentioned before that these scale degrees deserve some extra attention (I might repeat the keyword "tensions"). Now, in the pentatonic scale they are not featured. Please, donõt see the 2

3 pentatonic scale just as a "major scale for beginners" or as a "characterless scale". elieve me, I heard terms like these during my workshops and lessons. he pentatonic scale is a scale on itõs own, with itõs very own special character and sound. s you will see in the exercises I added to this article, this character and sound does not have to be "dull"é ut letõs take a look at our fretboard, as we did in the previous two parts of this workshop. Here is the neck (up to the 15th fret) with all notes of the C Major pentatonic marked. s always, the root C is marked red. (Please refer to the other two articles of this trilogy to find an explanation why I consider that important). I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV nd here is the same diagram, I just separated the neck into single patternsé five of them (same as I did with the major scale). I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV Now, before I elaborate a bit more on the relationship between major scale and pentatonic patterns, let me give you a comparison of them. On the left you see the major scale patterns I-V, and right next to each one is the respective pentatonic pattern. Major Pattern I Major Pattern II 3

4 Major Pattern III Major Pattern IV Major Pattern V s you can see, all these patterns are related. Of course they areé basically we just took out each 4th and 7th (each F and, if weõd think in C Major) out of each major pattern to derive the respective pentatonic pattern. Many of my former students learned the major patterns by starting with the pentatonic patternsé memorizing them, learning them, studying and experimenting with them, until theyõd move on a step, "filling in some gaps" to get the major patterns. nd even if they moved on to the other diatonic scales, or rather their patterns (dorian, phrygian, lydian etc.), or to other merely related scales (country-blues-scale etc.), I experienced that starting with the pentatonic patterns can be extremely helpful. Well, I would like to point out a few things in betweené I know that approaching music with scales and patterns is a critical subjecté many people criticize this approach, and I would not feel very comfortable with all these articles if I would not remind you that all this is nothing but a rather mechanical process, an achievement of more tools to CREE music. So basically, IÕm giving you the tools here (i.e. the scales and patterns, which will hopefully help you to navigate the fretboard); So what you can do, e.g. with the major patterns, is playing a major scale in every key (just by moving the patterns according to the key youõre in) all over the fretboard. WH you actually play with them is up to you. If you just shred along on those patterns or create absolutely beautiful musicé itõs all in your hands, with those tools. People like me like to use nice romantic metaphors. So of course I wonõt spare you this oneé imagine you wanna make a sculptor, you have got the wish and will to do that, and you have got a huge block of stone. Now, I give you several tools, like 4

5 hammers, chisels etc. nd I point out a few areas of the stone that you can just chisel away. ut whatõs left after that, which is you with your tools and a still pretty rough and unshaped block of granite, demands your own creativity. I just helped you with the first steps and gave you the tools to continue, the rest is up to you. WasnÕt that pretty? Geez, I should be a poetéwell, maybe not. ut seriously, those patterns are the mechanical side. You should see them as tools and guidelines, which you can use or alter according to your own ideas. You donõt have to stay within the patterns. ctually you also should experiment with thoughts like soloing only along one string or in huge leaps all over the fretboard. ry all this, donõt get too stuck with them neither. So basically, what I am saying isé ah, I guess you get the idea anyway. OK, whatõs next? Well, of course I will now go ahead and talk a little bit about the practical approach, like exercises. his time though I will try not only to show you how to make up your own licks, which might help to get used to those new patterns - I will also try to show you a few licks which might convince you that I was right when I said "he is not dead or old-fashionedé itõs the approach". Ok, straight ahead to Lick No.1 I agree that you wonõt get much mileage out of playing just one pentatonic pattern upwards / downwards. Remember, we only have 5 notes in each octave. ut what if we repeat a few of those notes, like small sequences, while moving up through the pattern? One application, often used by Paul Gilbert, is shown in No he other, straight approach, is demonstrated in our lick No.2, see it as a comparisoné C Major, Pattern 3, played once up and then all the way down again, using hammer onõs / pull offõs

6 Now, I mentioned the use of repeating patterns (a la Mark Knopfler, end of the mainsolo in "SultanÕs of Swing", or Randy RhoadsÕ licks in "Mr. Crowley", Solo No.2 ) Here is one of those repeating patterns, based on the pentatonic scaleé Now a bit more shred, this time we move up diagonally (as I said, experiment with different approaches, like in this case different directions of moving up or down the fretboard). I also included a little tap as "icing on the cake". ap nother example for pentatonic repeating patterns can be found in lick No. 5. y the way, this time IÕll leave it to you to figure out the key and pattern number for those licks I receive quite some mail based on my work for Guitar4U (thatõs why I include my address in each article, so please feel free to contact me with any requests, complaints or questions you might have). Quite a few times I was asked about 3 Notes Per String patterns using the pentatonic scale. Well, this is a critical subject. Of course there RE licks using this approach, but I would like to point out that in the pentatonic scale, we have got some huge intervals (even more important in the lower areas of the necké). Stretches over more than 5 or 6 frets might be necessary.his is not very economic, and can be dangerous if you are not thoroughly warmed up and stretched. nother problem would be that, added to those wide intervals on each string, we also have to incorporate position shifts, because: 6

7 Imagine you are in the key of Major, and you wanna play a NPS (three note per string) run in the low areas of your guitar neck. LetÕs say you start with the lowest F# (2nd fret, low E-String ), and to get your three notes, you play the (5th fret) and the (7th fret). Ok, thatõs quite some distance to cross, and we of course want it to be clean and accurate, and maybe at some tempo. People which name does not end on "ldsworth" might therefore already have a problem to deal with. Now, letõs go oné you wanna continue your lick (NOE: Not that something like that would not sound good, thatõs not the point, it usually does, buté ) on the -StringÉ well, if you start on the 2nd fret again, you get the É! You just played that note on the E-String. So, to get a higher note, you have to play the C#. he next notes would be E (7th fret) and F# (9th fret, and that means we just crossed an octave). o play these wide intervals you will most likely have to use your first finger to fret the C#É so you gotta move the whole hand ND play those wide stretchesé Very demanding regarding concentration, flexibility, accuracy and scale-navigation. gain, donõt get me wrong, I rather encourage you to experiment, try it for yourself and challenge yourself. ut I hope you will agree that the pentatonic scale is not exactly the perfect base for NPS. nother method to get those three notes (as I said, it does not sound bad) is by tapping the highest one, as shown in the next exampleé OK, last but not least, letõs go a bit over the edge and experiment with the position shifts I mentioned beforeé but letõs cut out the wide intervals and concentrate on the pure shifts (challenging enough, I think)é take a look at our last lick, and I hope you like the fact that we really cross some tonal distance hereé more than 2 octaves in one bar, than even higher andéback!

8 OK, this might be the basic material I wanted to provide you with regarding pentatonics. ut IÕm not quite done yeté FINL HOUGHS I hope you keep in mind the little break-down I wrote down in this article, about all the patterns in those three articles being merely tools to help you create your music. I know that the patterns might sound like a cold and very mathematical approach. Well, music is often related to mathematics, but if you have got an open mind and if you wanna use your creativity, there is nothing that could keep your imagination and talent from taking all these tools and using them to create something rather unmathematical, something "human" and artistic, beautiful and heartfelt, creative and imaginativeé music. nd that is my pointé please donõt see all this as a surrogate for being imaginative and using your ear and emotions to create your musicé see it as a tool to give a bit more shape, to help you filter the music you like to create. Use this pattern-concept to navigate on your fretboard, to get used to other scales you wanna experiment with (you donõt have to learn new scales all over the board if you are not sure if you can actually use themé just make up maybe one pattern and try how it sounds and if you like it, then continueé ), to get secure and self confident, to make up you own licks and exercises that you might use to improve your abilities or to complement your music. ll I have left to say is: I hope all this will help you a little in your studies. DonÕt forget to think about the general concept, donõt forget to experiment and study with all those patterns and the different scales.. they all need attention to be fully explored. he patterns, again are just a little tool, more important are your ears and imagination. Good luck and donõt forget about the fun! If you have any questions, complaints or requests (or anything else) feel free to contact me at earxtasy@hotmail.com Eric 8