Are there five fingerings for all twelve pentatonic scales? I thought that what ever pentatonic scale it was, the first note of the fingering always started on that note, but I've noticed that that's not always true. Also, in learning the minor pentatonic scales, is it necessary to learn all twelve?
There are only five "box shapes" for the almost all of the scales.
The root note, however, is not always the first note in the shape.
If you click here, you can see all the 5 shapes and how they relate to one another. I've shown G major, but all scales fit into the basic box patterns.
To change key, just move the root note up or down the string. So instead of Gmajor (having a root note on the 3rd fret of the 6th string) Amajor will have it's root on the 5th fret of the 6th string - you just move the patterns to fit.
As the patterns are cyclic (i.e. the top half of the 5th pattern is also the bottom half of the 1st pattern) you can always make full use of the entire fretboard
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
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Do the patterns keep the same order in every key? I've been studying the patterns on your page, and working on memorizing those, but are the patterns always in that same sequential order? Also, do I need to learn all 12 of them?
Do the patterns keep the same order in every key? I've been studying the patterns on your page, and working on memorizing those, but are the patterns always in that same sequential order?
Yes, they are. Every scale uses the same sequence of intervals - in the major scale the intervals are WWHWWWH. The patterns, therefore, remain the same
Also, do I need to learn all 12 of them?
You only need to learn the 5 patterns. They are the same in every key, the only difference being the position of the root note.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
Ofcourse the pattern always stays the same.
Imagine you're playing a C-major scale:
C D E F G A B
Now you want to play a D major scale:
D E F# G A B C#
As you can see are all notes of the D major scale exactly two semitones higher in pitch compared with their corresponding note in the C-major scale. So to play D-major, all you have to do is play C-major two frets higher. By sliding all boxes up you move all notes of the scale with the same distance.
If you know all five boxes that are in one octave you now the entire fretboard for that key, since after one octave you start with box1 again. And since you can slide them around, you also now them for every other chord.
