The 5 Pentatonic Scale Boxes

The 5 Pentatonic Scale Boxes – Lessons For Bass Guitar Series…

Pentatonic scales are the most used when playing backing patterns, melodies, and even bass solos. They consist of 5 notes, which is why it is called pentatonic, Penta means 5. This scale has its major version and its relative minor. Its ease of use and comfortable fingering allows the bassist to create excellent and memorable bass lines in all musical styles.

Before we start, I want to clarify that we are going to keep the fingering of the four-fret finger technique, which consists of playing with one finger per fret, each one on the corresponding fret.

Example 1 – Next, I am going to show you the first box corresponding to the minor pentatonic scale. This is characterized by its bluesy sound and is one of the most used scales in different musical styles from rock to jazz.

• The 1st box is known as the A minor pentatonic scale and I’m going to play it with the 1st finger from the 5th fret of the E string.

Example 2 – The second box is the major pentatonic scale. This one date back thousands of years and is still one of the most used today.

• The 2nd box corresponds to the C major pentatonic scale, and I am going to play it with the 2nd finger from the 8th fret of the E string, just where the box of the A minor pentatonic scale ends. That means that where one box ends, the next begins, that is, right there the notes of the boxes are connected to maintain the sequence of the pentatonic scales.

Example 3 – This is the third box and I’m going to play it with the 2nd finger from the 10th fret on the E string.

Example 4 – For box number four, I’m going to play it with my 1st finger from the 12th fret on the E string.

Example 5 – The fifth and last box, I’m going to play it with the 2nd finger from the 15th fret on the E string.

Always slope to the points where each of the blocks connects to maintain the sequence of the pentatonic scales.

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