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You should already know the major and minor scales from the Basic Theory lesson, and the pentatonics are a derivative.
Pentatonic scales are among the most important scales in modern guitar
music. They fit over a wider variety of chords than other scales because
they contain only five notes, as opposed to the seven of the normal minor scale. As a result there is less chance of choosing a note which clashes with a chord and so these scales are often used in soloing.
The major and minor pentatonic scales can be played all over the neck by
using shapes which fit together by the second note of one shape equaling
the first note of the next shape. Both the major and minor pentatonic scales
share the same shapes, but start in different places.
THE MAJOR PENTATONIC POSITIONS (FORMULA: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6)
Position 1  |
Position 2  |
Position 3  |
Position 4  |
Position 5  |
THE MINOR PENTATONIC POSITIONS (FORMULA: 1, b3, 4, 5, b7)
Position 1 |
Position 2 |
Position 3 |
Position 4 |
Position 5 |
 |
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