Pent A Tonic Guitar Success

PENTATONIC GUITAR SUCCESS www.GuitarScaleMastery.
com
Pentatonic Guitar Success

By Craig Bassett (A Guitar Mastery Publication)
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© Copyright 2006-2007 by Craig Bassett. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any form without the express
written consent of Craig Bassett is prohibited.
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PENTATONIC GUITAR SUCCESS www.GuitarScaleMastery.com
And now—the scary looking one. This is to protect me from complete idiots who:
1. Can’t follow instructions.
2. Have faulty technique and don’t go to a professional tutor to fix it.
3. Generally don’t exercise their common sense.
Legal Disclaimer:
This e-book is sold as information only. It is not meant to be a substitute

for lessons from a qualified and professional guitar tutor. The material
from this e-book should be used with the guidance of a qualified and
professional guitar tutor.
Please use your best judgment and make sure you consult with a
qualified and professional guitar tutor before trying anything from this
e-book. They will be able to analyse your technique to see if it is right.
Any new practice routine should be applied with caution and common
sense. You and you alone assume all risks and responsibilities for any
exercises or practice methods that you learn from this e-book. You and
you alone assume all risks and responsibilities for any injuries as a result
of practicing with incorrect technique.
While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided
in this guide, neither the author nor guitarscalemastery.com (nor its
dealers, distributors, successors, directors, agents, employees, or
independent contractors) nor the publisher assume any responsibility for
any errors, inaccuracies or omissions. This e-book is an information
product and is not meant to be a replacement for advice from a qualified
and professional guitar tutor.
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distributors, successors, directors, agents, employees, or independent
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other person or entity with respect to liability, loss, or damage caused or
alleged to have been caused either directly or indirectly by this e-book.
The author, his company (and its dealers, distributors, successors,
directors, agents, employees, or independent contractors) and the
publisher disclaim any liability whatsoever arising from use of any
exercises, practice methods or other materials mentioned or
recommended in this e-book.
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The Gratitude Page:
There are a few people that I would like to thank. In no particular order of
importance they are…
To my good friend Dave Klein ( HowToStopHairLoss.com). Thanks for inspiring

me with your drive, enthusiasm and energy. Your work ethic in both wealth creation
and music is fantastic. Thanks also for the help with the legals!
To my family—thanks for all the love and support over the years.
To my good friends both in New Zealand and overseas—it’s awesome knowing

you!
To Noel Clayton and Leigh Jackson—thanks for inspiring me with your guidance
and your incredible guitar playing. Your mentoring and help over the time I studied
with you truly helped me get closer to the vision that I have for my playing.
To Steve Vai—your music has helped inspire me to develop both as a guitarist and
as a musician.
Thanks to all my roommates, both past and present for putting up with many hours
of me practicing to my metronome. Your patience has been outstanding!
Thanks to all my students. You keep me wanting to grow as a guitarist, teacher and
musician. I wish you all the best with your own music!
“You can either become a great

guitarist, or you can make excuses,
but you can’t do both”
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Hi there, and thanks for making the decision to purchase Pentatonic Guitar Success.
I take your very decision to buy this very seriously—that’s why I’ve spent an insane
amount of time making this the most comprehensive and easy-to-understand guide
available on developing technique using major and minor pentatonics. I’ve given you
enough information and ideas to keep you busy for a very long time!
Before we get started, it would be valuable for you to find out a little bit of
background information about myself. That way you can be totally confident that the
information in this guide is accurate, powerful and trustworthy…
Rather than take up a lot of your time going into more detail here, please go to
www.GuitarMasteryCoach.com/guitar/ . If you click on “About Me” on the
navigation bar, you’ll be able to get all the info you need!
All done? Great! Let’s get started…
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What we will cover…
Here’s a quick outline of what this guide covers…

Þ SECTION ONE: Introduction. This will give you some background
information on the purpose of this guide. I’ll also give you some ideas on how
to get the most from this guide.
Þ SECTION TWO: Essential Theory. We’ll cover some background theory

and information that is needed to totally understand both major and minor
pentatonics.
Þ SECTION THREE: Common Fingerings. We’ll look at the five most

common fingerings for the minor and major pentatonic scales.
Þ SECTION FOUR: Techniques Used. I’ll break down all the techniques that
you will need to use to play all the ideas in this guide.
Þ SECTION FIVE: The 5-minute practice technique. We’ll look at

something that I call the 5-minute practice technique. This technique alone is
probably worth the cost of this guide!
Þ SECTION SIX: Melodic Ideas. We’ll look at 420 different ideas using the
fingerings that you learnt in Section Three. I’ll make sure that you feel totally
comfortable using all five fingerings.
Þ SECTION SEVEN: Linear Exercises. We’ll look at 264 powerful exercises

to help you learn to connect the five fingerings in a seamless way.
Þ SECTION EIGHT: Conclusion. I’ll give you a few parting comments and
hints.
On the next page is a diagram showing you the content of this guide in a much more
pretty way!
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Section One: Introduction.
Benefits of this guide…

Your time is valuable. You shouldn’t practice things that don’t benefit you greatly…
So why practice the stuff in this guide? Well…here are some of the benefits you will
receive from working on the material diligently…
Þ Your overall technique will improve drastically. You will notice
improvements to the following techniques
§ Alternate Picking.
§ Position Shifts.
§ String Skipping.
§ Finger-rolls.
§ Hammer-ons.
§ Pull-offs.
Þ Your speed will increase.
Þ Your timing will improve.
Þ You will learn a system to master any scale. You can apply what you
learn from this guide to ANY scale.
Þ You’ll gain an understanding of some essential theory.
Þ You’ll be internalizing a huge number of melodic ideas. This will lead to

an improved ability to hear melodies more clearly.
Þ Your ability to visualize will improve. What do I mean by this? It means

that you will learn how to develop the ability to see scales clearly over the
entire fretboard.
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Þ You will learn a powerful practice technique that you can apply to almost
anything.
The benefits I’ve mentioned above will lead to a couple of ultimate benefits…
1. Your ability to improvise will improve.
2. Your ability to learn licks and solos will improve.
How to use this Guide…
There are two types of exercises in this guide:

1. Melodic Ideas. These focus on helping you master the scale in a position.
2. Linear Exercises. These focus on helping you master the scale along the
length of the fretboard.
So to get the most from this guide, please do this:

1. Choose one melodic idea that you will work on.
2. Choose one linear exercise that you will work on.
3. Practice both exercises daily until they have been mastered.
4. Repeat steps 1-3.
Why would this approach be such a good one? Please write your answer below…
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How the exercises are presented…
Have a quick look at the music below…
Here are few important observations…

Þ I’ve written all exercises out in both proper music and tablature (TAB).
Þ I’ve added picking directions. Here’s what they mean…
Þ I’ve added left hand fingerings underneath the TAB. Just in case you don’t
know, here’s what they mean…
1=index finger
2=middle finger
3=ring finger
4=pinky
Þ I’ve written the exercises out as quarter notes (one-note-per-beat). This

keeps the rhythm easy for everyone to read.
Basically, I’ve gone to a huge amount of effort to make this book easy to understand!
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A quick note to advanced players…
Some of my more advanced students say things like this when they see the exercises
in this book…
“Craig, this is too easy…I can already shred it up! Why should I waste my time
with these wimpy exercises?”.
Usually what I say is this…
“Anything is hard if you play it fast enough”.
Check out the following exercise…
I know you can play this at 200 bpm.
But what about this one? (A whopping 10 notes-per-beat at 200bpm!).
Get the idea? Your challenge will be to get each exercise up to ridiculous speeds.
Sounds like fun? You bet!
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Frequently Asked Questions…
Here are a few questions that seem to crop up a lot…
“ Why have you written all the exercises in one key only?”
I’ve found through years of teaching that it is best to totally master a scale in one key
before moving onto another key. You’ll find that if you really internalise one key, the
next key you learn will take you a lot less time.
“Why do you want me to practice all the exercises as quarter notes?”.

Doing this will allow you to learn the exercises in a relaxed and effortless manner.
This is essential. It will allow you to program your muscle memory with no excess
muscle tension. If you practice too quickly you will “lock” tension into your muscle
memory. This excess muscle tension will stop you from becoming the best you can
be.
It is beyond the scope of this guide to go into detail about this, so you may want to
check out the work of Jamie Andreas. Jamie’s website can be found at:
www.guitarprinciples.com.
Once an exercise is mastered using quarter notes, feel free to practice it using different
timings.
“Do I have to learn ALL the exercises”.

The short answer is no. The best approach is to learn the exercises that you think look
interesting and would help your playing the most. Even just learning a few will help
your playing a lot.
At the same time— if you did work through them all over a period of time, your
pentatonic technique would be awesome!
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Getting the most from this guide…
Ok. Let’s now quickly talk about a few points so that you can get the most from this
guide…
1. Your Commitment.
I know that the exercises in this guide work. My students have proven that to me. But
there’s one catch…
This guide works if you do!
So what’s your level of commitment?
How much time will you invest on a daily basis working on your pentatonic
technique?
How will you keep yourself motivated?
Are you willing to do what it takes to become a great guitarist?
2. Practice Journal.
To keep track of your progress, I recommend keeping a practice journal.
This is a book where you document what you practice every day. This allows you to
monitor your practice habits. I also find it motivating to look through the book and see
all the hard work that I’ve done over the months and years.
Why does it work?
What you measure tends to improve.
If you don’t keep track of metronome speeds and how much time you practice, how
do you know for sure that you are improving?
You may say “but I feel like I’m getting better”. That’s cool—but if you can’t
measure it, you don’t know for sure!
3. Speed Goals.
Have a quick look at a few exercises. Notice that they all have a box next to them
which looks like this…
My Speed Goal=___________bpm
Date completed:
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Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to use speed goals:

1. Decide on a speed that you would eventually like to play the exercise at.
2. Practice the exercise daily to a metronome. Always practice at a speed where
you can play the exercise perfectly with no excess muscle tension.
3. Over a period of days (or weeks/months) gradually increase the metronome
speed until you reach your speed goal.
4. Write down the date that you achieved your goal.
Important:
Never speed up the metronome setting if it means that you will

make mistakes or play with excess muscle tension.
Simple huh? Speed goals serve too main purposes:

§ They give you something to work towards.
§ They tell you when you can stop practicing the exercise. That will
prevent you from practicing an exercise that you have already
mastered.
4. Checklist.
Please do the following and tick off when complete. (Yes—I know I’m being tough
on you!).
⁪ I have read Section One a minimum of three times.

⁪ I have read Section Two a minimum of three times.
⁪ I have read Section Three a minimum of three times.
⁪ I have read Section Four a minimum of three times.
⁪ I have read Section Five a minimum of three times.
That’s it for now. You’re ready to get started with the exercises! If you have any
questions about anything in this guide, please let me know. You can get hold of me at:
support@guitarscalemastery.com
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Section Two: Theory.
This section of the guide will explain some vital theory. This theory will help explain
exactly how minor pentatonic scales are constructed. If you already know all this
stuff, feel free to skip to the next section.
Let’s go through the theory step-by-step…
Step 1: Musical Alphabet.
The musical alphabet is simply this: A B C D E F G
Everything that you play which involves pitch (e.g. chords, scales, melodies) will use
these letters. Here are three very important things to remember…
Þ E and F are always a semitone (1 fret) apart.
Þ B and C are always a semitone (1 fret) apart.
Þ All other consecutive notes are a tone (2 frets) apart.
Here are the notes of the musical alphabet shown on the thickest E-string. Notice that
I have only gone up to the 12th fret. Why?(And no—it’s not laziness!J).
Here is the musical alphabet mapped out on the other strings…
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It would be a great idea to memorise the musical alphabet on all six strings!
To make it even clearer, on the next page I’ve put a fretboard diagram showing the
musical alphabet over the entire fretboard…
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There are couple of things which complicate matters a little. Here is a table showing
you these two nasty things…
Symbol. Name. Means.
b
Lowers a note by one
Flat semitone (1 fret).
# Sharp
Raises a note by one
semitone (1 fret).
Example:
If G is at the third fret then…
Þ Gb would be at the second fret
Þ G# would be at the fourth fret
All clear? Cool…let’s move onto the next step…
Step 2: Major Scale.
The next step is to understand the major scale. The major scale is probably the most
important scale there is. All other scales can be derived from it. If you totally
understand the major scale you will be able to understand every other scale there is!
You may have read in a book that the major scale has the following formula…
W W H W W W H W=Whole step=2 fret distance

So what does it mean? H=Half step=1 fret distance
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This formula tells you the distance between each note of the major scale. (Some
geeky people call this the intervallic structure of the major scale).
For example…here’s the F major scale written out on the thick E-string…
Some of my students freak out when they see this diagram, so here’s the same
information shown in a table…
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
F G A Bb C D E F
Now…here’s a question for you. Why have I called the fourth note in F major “Bb”
and not “A#”?
This brings us to an important rule…
The major scale must contain EVERY letter of the musical alphabet. In the
example above, if we had called the fourth note A# it would mean we wouldn’t have
some kind of a B in the scale.
I’ve found through my experience with teaching that people learn best by doing, so
here is a great exercise for you to do…
On the next page is a table to fill out. You will need to work out the notes of all the
major scales. Don’t be afraid of using your guitar to help you work out the notes…
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major
F major
Bb major
Eb major
Ab major
Db major
Gb major
Cb major
G major
D major
A major
E major
B major
F# major
C# major
All done? Great! What did you learn? Were there any things that were a bit
confusing?
The main area where people can get confused is with major scales that contain weird
notes like Cb, B#, Fb and E#. A lot of students for example ask me “why do we call it
a Cb and not B”? I then have to remind them of the following rule…
The major scale must contain EVERY letter of the musical alphabet.
Let’s go through an example. Here is the Gb major scale
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb
Notice how the fourth note is a Cb. If we had called it a B, we wouldn’t be following
the rule…
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The major scale must contain EVERY letter of the musical alphabet.
Yes…I know I’m repeating myself—but it’s that important.
Here’s the same table with the answers. If you made some mistakes, figure out what
you did wrong.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major C D E F G A B C
F major F G A Bb C D E F
Bb major Bb C D Eb F G A Bb
Eb major Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb
Ab major Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab
Db major Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db
Gb major Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb
Cb major Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb
G major G A B C D E F# G
D major D E F# G A B C# D
A major A B C# D E F# G# A
E major E F# G# A B C# D# E
B major B C# D# E F# G# A# B
F# major F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#
C# major C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C#
ACTION STEP:
Before reading further, please do the following:
Þ Once a day (for the next week) work out the notes of all
the major scales.
I know I’m being tough on you—but by doing it you’ll gain a much deeper
understanding than someone who skips this action step.
To help you, here are the tables that you will need to fill out…
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DAY ONE:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major
F major
Bb major
Eb major
Ab major
Db major
Gb major
Cb major
G major
D major
A major
E major
B major
F# major
C# major
DAY TWO:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major
F major
Bb major
Eb major
Ab major
Db major
Gb major
Cb major
G major
D major
A major
E major
B major
F# major
C# major
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DAY THREE:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major
F major
Bb major
Eb major
Ab major
Db major
Gb major
Cb major
G major
D major
A major
E major
B major
F# major
C# major
DAY FOUR:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major
F major
Bb major
Eb major
Ab major
Db major
Gb major
Cb major
G major
D major
A major
E major
B major
F# major
C# major
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DAY FIVE:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major
F major
Bb major
Eb major
Ab major
Db major
Gb major
Cb major
G major
D major
A major
E major
B major
F# major
C# major
DAY SIX:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major
F major
Bb major
Eb major
Ab major
Db major
Gb major
Cb major
G major
D major
A major
E major
B major
F# major
C# major
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DAY SEVEN:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major
F major
Bb major
Eb major
Ab major
Db major
Gb major
Cb major
G major
D major
A major
E major
B major
F# major
C# major
All finished? Did you find that it got easier and easier the more times you did it?
Hopefully you’re not feeling like this now!
Don’t worry…we’ll get to the fun stuff soon enough.

I’m pretty impressed that you’ve done the exercise.
That’s awesome!
If by some chance, you skipped the Action Step, then

go back and do it. (I’m watching you…)
OK. Enough talk, let’s go to the next step where we talk about the minor pentatonic
scale. “About time!” I hear you shout…
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Step Three: Minor Pentatonic.
In this section we’ll explore how the minor pentatonic scale is created from the major
scale. You have done the last Action Step haven’t you? If not, please go back and do
it.
So how do we build a minor pentatonic scale from the major scale? There’s a few bits
of information we need…
Þ Go back and have a look at the tables that you filled in for the major scale.
Notice how at the top there are some numbers. Have a look below…
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
These numbers are called scale degrees. Some people call this the musical spelling
of the major scale.
Þ The next bit of information we need is the musical spelling of the minor
pentatonic scale. Luckily, I can give you it! The minor pentatonic has the
following musical spelling…
1 b3 4 5 b7
One of the first questions my students sometimes ask is “how do you pronounce it”?
The musical spelling is pronounced: “One, Flat3, Four, Five, Flat7”.
All clear so far? Awesome!
Þ The last thing we need to know is how to use the musical spelling of the minor
pentatonic scale. At this stage it’s really important to note the following…
Þ
The musical spelling tells us what we have to do to the major scale in order to
create a minor pentatonic scale.
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At this stage it would be a great idea to go through some examples to make it really
clear for you…
Example 1:
Let’s work out the notes of the G minor pentatonic scale.
Step 1: Write out the notes of the G major scale. This gives us…
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
G A B C D E F# G
Step 2: Because the musical spelling of the minor pentatonic scale doesn’t include a 2
or 6, we need to remove these from the G major scale. So this would give us…
1 3 4 5 7 1
G B C D F# G
Step 3: Because the musical spelling of the minor pentatonic scale has a b3 and a b7,
we need to flatten the 3 and 7 of the G major scale. This would result in…
1 b3 4 5 b7 1
G Bb C D F G
These are the notes of the G minor pentatonic scale.
ACTION STEP:
Read through the example slowly at least 10 times. It is vital
that you understand it!
OK. Let’s look at one more example. Skip to the next page…
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Example 2:
Let’s now work out the notes of the C# minor pentatonic scale.
Step 1: Write out the notes of the C# major scale. This would give us…
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C#
Step 2: Because the musical spelling of the minor pentatonic scale doesn’t include a 2
or 6, we need to remove these from the C# major scale. This results in…
1 3 4 5 7 1
C# E# F# G# B# C#
Step 3: Because the musical spelling of the minor pentatonic scale has a b3 and a b7,
we need to flatten the 3 and 7 of the C# major scale. And here it is…
1 b3 4 5 b7 1
C# E F# G# B C#
These are the notes of the C# minor pentatonic scale.
ACTION STEP:
You guessed it! Please read the above example at least 10
times.
When I teach someone, I find it really helpful if they put the above process in their
own words. I get them to pretend that they are teaching me how to do it, and have to
explain clearly to me the steps involved.
In the space provided on the next page, please write down in your own words the
steps we took to create minor pentatonics from major scales…
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Because I’m feeling in a kind mood right now, here’s a table showing you the notes in
almost any minor pentatonic scale that you might encounter. That should save you a
bit of time! J
1 b3 4 5 b7 1
C minor pent C Eb F G Bb C
F minor pent F Ab Bb C Eb F
Bb minor pent Bb Db Eb F Ab Bb
Eb minor pent Eb Gb Ab Bb Db Eb
Ab minor pent Ab Cb Db Eb Gb Ab
Db minor pent Db Fb Gb Ab Cb Db
G minor pent G Bb C D F G
D minor pent D F G A C D
A minor pent A C D E G A
E minor pent E G A B D E
B minor pent B D E F# A B
F# minor pent F# A B C# E F#
C# minor pent C# E F# G# B C#
G# minor pent G# B C# D# F# G#
D# minor pent D# F# G# A# C# D#
A# minor pent A# C# D# E# G# A#
Have a quick look at this table. Why have I drawn a bold line around the G#, D# and
A# minor pentatonics?
I’ve drawn a bold line around them because you can’t use the normal method to
work these ones out. Why’s that? Because there are no G#, D# or A# major scales. If
you don’t believe me have a look at the major scale tables you filled out. See…I told
you! So how do we work these out? Any ideas?
Flip over to the next page, where all will be revealed…
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Probably the easiest way to work out these three wierdos is to take a normal one and
sharpen all the notes. Have a look at the example below to see what I mean…
Example:
Let’s work out the G# minor pentatonic scale.
Step 1: Write down the notes of the G minor pentatonic scale…

G Bb C D F G
Step 2: Sharpen all the notes. Keep in mind that when you sharpen Bb it would
become B. This gives us…
G# B C# D# F# G#
Pretty easy huh?
ACTION STEP:
OK…I admit it, I’m not so kind. For this action step please:
Þ Work out (once a day) for the next seven days the notes
for all the minor pentatonic scales.
On the next page I’ve put blank tables for you to fill out. Please don’t skip this
Action Step. Once you complete it, you’ll have a total understanding of how the
minor pentatonic scale is constructed.
Good luck! We’ll catch up in a week’s time…
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DAY ONE:
1 b3 4 5 b7 1
C minor pent
F minor pent
Bb minor pent
Eb minor pent
Ab minor pent
Db minor pent
G minor pent
D minor pent
A minor pent
E minor pent
B minor pent
F# minor pent
C# minor pent
G# minor pent
D# minor pent
A# minor pent
DAY TWO:
1 b3 4 5 b7 1
C minor pent
F minor pent
Bb minor pent
Eb minor pent
Ab minor pent
Db minor pent
G minor pent
D minor pent
A minor pent
E minor pent
B minor pent
F# minor pent
C# minor pent
G# minor pent
D# minor pent
A# minor pent
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DAY THREE:
1 b3 4 5 b7 1
C minor pent
F minor pent
Bb minor pent
Eb minor pent
Ab minor pent
Db minor pent
G minor pent
D minor pent
A minor pent
E minor pent
B minor pent
F# minor pent
C# minor pent
G# minor pent
D# minor pent
A# minor pent
DAY FOUR:
1 b3 4 5 b7 1
C minor pent
F minor pent
Bb minor pent
Eb minor pent
Ab minor pent
Db minor pent
G minor pent
D minor pent
A minor pent
E minor pent
B minor pent
F# minor pent
C# minor pent
G# minor pent
D# minor pent
A# minor pent
31
DAY FIVE:
1 b3 4 5 b7 1
C minor pent
F minor pent
Bb minor pent
Eb minor pent
Ab minor pent
Db minor pent
G minor pent
D minor pent
A minor pent
E minor pent
B minor pent
F# minor pent
C# minor pent
G# minor pent
D# minor pent
A# minor pent
DAY SIX:
1 b3 4 5 b7 1
C minor pent
F minor pent
Bb minor pent
Eb minor pent
Ab minor pent
Db minor pent
G minor pent
D minor pent
A minor pent
E minor pent
B minor pent
F# minor pent
C# minor pent
G# minor pent
D# minor pent
A# minor pent
32
DAY SEVEN:
1 b3 4 5 b7 1
C minor pent
F minor pent
Bb minor pent
Eb minor pent
Ab minor pent
Db minor pent
G minor pent
D minor pent
A minor pent
E minor pent
B minor pent
F# minor pent
C# minor pent
G# minor pent
D# minor pent
A# minor pent
Welcome back!
If you’ve just completed the Action Exercise…well done!
What about major pentatonics? Don’t worry…here’s all you need to know…
Step Four: Major Pentatonic.
The cool thing about major pentatonics is that they are easier to work out than minor
pentatonics. The major pentatonic scale has the following musical spelling…
1 2 3 5 6
Let’s go through a couple of examples…
Example 1:
Let’s work out the notes of the Bb major pentatonic scale…
33
Step 1: Write out the notes of the Bb major pentatonic scale.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
Bb C D Eb F G A Bb
Step 2: Remove the 4 and the 7. This gives us…
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
Bb C D F G Bb
These are the notes of the Bb major pentatonic scale.
Pretty easy huh?
The interesting thing about the major pentatonic scale is that it contains the
same notes as the minor pentatonic scale starting three frets lower.
For example, Bb major pentatonic contains the same notes as G minor pentatonic.
Here’s a table showing you what major and minor pentatonic scales contain the same
notes.
Major Pentatonic Minor Pentatonic

C Amin
F Dmin
Bb Gmin
Eb Cmin
Ab Fmin
Db Bbmin
Gb Ebmin
Cb Abmin
G Emin
D Bmin
A F#min
E C#min
B G#min
F# D#min
C# A#min
34
Because the focus of this book is on technique and not namby-pamby theory, that’s all
we are going to cover. Here’s a checklist. When you have completed it, you are ready
to move onto the next section.
⁪ I understand the musical alphabet and how to work out the notes on my guitar.
⁪ I understand how to construct the major scale in all keys.
⁪ I understand how to construct the notes of the minor pentatonic scale.
⁪ I understand how to construct the notes of the major pentatonic scale.
On the bottom of this page please write down some of the things you’ve learnt. Once
you have done that, move onto the next section. In that section we’ll look at five of
the most common fingerings for the minor and major pentatonic scale.
See you in the next section…

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35
Section Three: Common Fingerings.
In this section we’ll look at five of the most common fingerings for the minor and
major pentatonic scales. If you already know these, then skip to the next section.
Important:
I have written all the fingerings using the A minor pentatonic

scale. It is really important to realise that these are also the
fingerings for the C major pentatonic scale.
If you don’t understand this, please work through Section Two again.
I’ve mapped out the A minor pentatonic scale for you below. Have a quick look at
it…
Out of this huge sea of notes we are going to create five fingerings. All of them will
be two-notes-per-string. Here they are…
Fingering One:
Fingering Two:
36
Fingering Three:
Fingering Four:
Fingering Five:
Now I know that some of you out there prefer TAB rather than fretboard diagrams. So
here are the same fingerings written out in TAB. The numbers under the TAB tell
you what finger of your fretting hand plays each note.
Fingering One:
37
Fingering Two:
Fingering Three:
Fingering Four:
Fingering Five:
ACTION STEP:
For this action step please do the following:
Þ Memorise all five fingerings. Make sure that you use the
right fingers (as shown below the TAB).
All done? Fantastic!
Continue to the next section. I’ll explain all the techniques that you will need to
master to play the ideas in this book…
38
Section Four: Techniques Used.
In this section we’ll look at all the techniques that you must master in order to play the
ideas in this book. The techniques we will cover include:
Þ Alternate Picking
Þ Finger -rolls
Þ Hammer-ons
Þ Pull-offs
Þ String Skipping
IMPORTANT:
Þ This section is for the benefit of people who may be new to these techniques.
If you are already comfortable with all of them, please skip to Section Five.
Þ If you are new to these techniques I would highly recommend booking in for a
few lessons with a good guitar tutor. It’s very hard to learn correct technique
from a book. Please make sure that you do this. If you don’t, you may not do
the techniques properly. This would result in less than optimal progress
and potentially a nasty injury. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Technique One: Alternate Picking.
Alternate picking is when you use alternating downstrokes and upstrokes. With
alternate picking you never have two of the same pick motion in a row. It is always
down, up, down, up etc.
Here are a few important points:

Þ The symbols that guitar players use to indicate pick motions are…
Þ For fast picking I recommend using a heavy gauge pick. I prefer using Jim
Dunlop Jazz III picks.
39
Þ I prefer using mainly my wrist when I pick and I lightly anchor my picking
hand pinky on the guitar body. Check out the photos below…
Þ Your picking technique should be the same at any speed. The way you pick
fast should be exactly the same way as when you pick slow.
Þ Make your pick motions as small as possible. The less the pick moves the
faster you will be able to play.
Here’s one exercise to get you used to alternate picking…
ACTION STEP:
Þ Practice the alternate picking exercise for a minimum of
10 minutes a day for the next 7 days. Be sure that you
practice the exercise on all six strings.
40
Technique Two: Finger-rolls.

This technique is often needed when you move to an adjacent string at the same fret
as you are currently on. Clear as mud? Check out the examples below…
Example One:
In this example we are going to use the first finger of your
fretting hand to play both notes. Here is a step-by-step
breakdown of the technique…
Step 1: Start with your first finger playing the first note. Make sure that your finger is
right on its fingertip. Here’s a photo of what it should look like…
Important:
The first finger is on its tip.
All other fingers are hovering a

little bit above the B string.
Step 2: Collapse the joint closest to your fingernail of the first finger. Your finger
should now be fretting the second note. The fingertip of your first finger should be
“stubbed up” against the B string. Check out the photo below of what it should look
like…
Important:
The first joint of your first finger
should be collapsed. The tip
should be lightly stubbing up
against the B string. (Just enough
to mute it).
All other fingers are hovering

slightly above the E string.
41
Example Two:
In this example we are going to reverse the direction of the
finger-roll. Here’s how to do it…
Step 1: Start with your first finger fretting the first note. The joint closest to your
fingernail should be collapsed. Your fingertip should be “stubbed up” against the B
string. Here’s a photo of what it should look like…
Important:
The first joint of your first finger
should be collapsed. The tip
should be lightly stubbing up
against the B string. (Just enough
to mute it).
All other fingers are hovering

slightly above the E string.
Step 2: To play the second note you will need to roll your first finger onto the B
string. You do this by making the collapsed joint curved again. Here’s a photo of what
it should look like…
Important:
The first finger is on its tip.
All other fingers are hovering a

little bit above the B string.
IMPORTANT:
Þ This technique is a tricky one to learn from a book. If you are not sure whether
or not you are doing it right, please book a lesson with a good guitar tutor.
Þ Keep your left hand as relaxed as possible.
On the next page are two finger-roll exercises. They will get you used to doing finger-
rolls with every finger of your left hand…
42
Exercise One:
Þ Play this exercise very slowly. Make sure that you can play it perfectly in a
very relaxed manner.
Þ Use all downstrokes to pick the notes.
Þ Once you master it as written, be sure to practice it on the following pairs of
strings:
§ G and B strings.
§ D and G strings.
§ A and D strings.
§ Low E and A strings.
Exercise Two:
Þ Like Exercise One, play this exercise very slowly. Make sure that you can
play it perfectly in a very relaxed manner.
Þ Use all downstrokes to pick the notes.
Þ Once you master it as written, be sure to practice it on the following pairs of
strings:
§ G and B strings.
§ D and G strings.
§ A and D strings.
§ Low E and A strings.
ACTION STEP:
Þ Practice each finger-roll exercise for 5 minutes daily.
Do this for the next seven days.
43
Technique Three: Hammer-ons.
Hammer-ons are used to sound a note without picking. Have a quick look at the
example shown below…
You would play this example in the following way…

Step 1:Pick the first note while fretting using the first finger of
your left hand.
Step 2:Play the next note by whacking your second finger onto
the sixth fret. You don’t pick the note—it is created entirely by
the second finger hammering onto the note. As the second
finger hammers the note, lift your first finger up.
Check out the photos below. These should give you a better idea of how the two steps
should look…
Important: Important:
The first finger is pressing down (Just The second finger is pressing down.
behind fret). (Just behind fret).
All other fingers are hovering a little bit All other fingers are hovering a little
above the E string. bit above the E string.
44
Let’s look at an exercise to develop your hammer-ons…
IMPORTANT:
Þ Be careful when practicing hammer-ons. If your technique is faulty, you will
injure yourself.
Þ Make sure that when one finger plays a note, the other finger lifts up. You will
never have more than one finger pressing down at once.
Þ Keep your left hand fingers close to the fretboard at all times.
Þ Keep your left hand relaxed.
Þ Practice the exercise super slow.
Þ Experiment with playing the exercise on different strings.
Þ If you feel any pain or discomfort then stop immediately!
Hammer-on Exercise:
ACTION STEP:
Þ Practice the hammer-on exercise for a few minutes every
day for the next seven days.
Technique Four: Pull-offs.
Pull-offs are a more complex motion than hammer-ons. Let’s look at an example….
You would play this example in the following way…

Step One: Your second fingers frets the 6th fret while at the
same time your first finger frets the 5th fret. Both fingers will be
pressing down at the same time.
45
Step Two: Pick the first note and then (without using any
picking) make a small downwards flick with your second finger.
This downwards flick causes the second note to ring.
Have a look at the photos below to see what each step looks like…
Important: Important:
Both the first and second fingers are The first finger is pressing down. (Just
pressing down. (Just behinds frets). behind fret).
All other fingers are hovering a little All other fingers are hovering a little bit
bit above the E string. above the E string.
Let’s now look at an exercise to help you get used to pull-offs…
IMPORTANT:
Þ Be careful when practising pull-offs. If your technique is faulty, you will
injure yourself.
Þ Keep your left hand fingers close to the fretboard at all times.
Þ Keep your left hand relaxed.
Þ Practice the exercise super slow.
Þ Experiment with playing the exercise on different strings.
Þ If you feel any pain or discomfort then stop immediately!
46
Pull-off exercise:
ACTION STEP:
Þ Practice the pull-off exercise for a few minutes a day for
the next seven days.
Technique Five: String Skipping.
It’s really funny when you hear some guitar players talk about string skipping. They
talk about it as if it’s some unusual, amazing (even magical) new thing. So what is it, I
hear you ask?
String skipping is when you play a note on string and then move to a nonadjacent
string. That’s all! Here’s an exercise to get you used to it…
String Skipping exercise:
ACTION STEP:
Þ Practice the string skipping
exercise for a few minutes a day
for the next seven days.
OK…that’s all the techniques that you need to know in order to play all the ideas in
the book. In the next section I’ll be teaching you a powerful practice technique called
The 5-minute Practice Technique. See you then…
47
Section Five: The 5-minute Practice Technique.
IMPORTANT:
Þ If you use this practice technique with faulty technique you will
hurt yourself. I highly recommend getting your technique
analysed by a qualified and professional guitar tutor before
starting to use this technique.
Þ Everyone has a different tolerance to this sort of practicing. If 5-

minutes is too long, then do it for less than 5 minutes.
Þ All the examples that are mentioned are what I do. You may
have to make adjustments depending on your level of experience
and technique. Please seek out the advice of a qualified guitar
tutor who can advise you how to make the adjustments.
Þ STOP IMMEDIATELY if you feel any pain or discomfort.
Þ Don’t use this practice technique on things that require huge

amounts of hand strength. For example, if you use this technique
on exercises that require very big hand stretches you are asking
for trouble.
ACTION STEP:
Please do the following before using the 5-minute practice
technique…
Þ Get your technique analysed by a qualified and
professional guitar tutor.
Þ Get your posture analysed by a qualified physiotherapist
who has had a lot of experience dealing with musicians.
All done? Great!
So what is the 5-minute practice technique?
Quite simply, it means to practice something for 5 minutes non-stop. Here are a few
really important points…
Þ Always take regular micro-pauses throughout the five minutes. (A
micro-pause is a short break of a few seconds).
48
Þ Never do more than two 5-minute blocks without taking a break for a
couple of minutes.
Þ Stop if you feel any discomfort or pain.
Þ This technique shouldn’t be used for things that are extremely
technically demanding such as really wide stretches.
Þ Everyone has a different tolerance for this sort of practice so if you
find 5 minutes is too long, then do shorter blocks.
Here’s an example of how I use this technique in my practice…
Let’s say that I want to practice an exercise for 10 minutes every day. Here are a few
tables showing you how I would gradually increase the metronome speed over a
period of three weeks.
Week One:
Day First 5 minute block Second Five minute block
1 80 84
2 80 88
3 80 92
4 80 96
5 80 100
6 80 104
7 80 108
Week Two:
1 80 112
2 80 116
3 80 120
4 80 126
5 80 132
6 80 138
7 80 144
Week Three:
1 80 152
2 80 160
3 80 168
4 80 176
5 80 184
6 80 192
7 80 200
49
As you can see, over a period of three weeks I have increased the speed substantially!
Here are a few more important points…

Þ Always start at the slowest speed each day. It helps to warm up your
muscles and gets you used to the exercise.
Þ Always practice at a speed where you can play without making any
mistakes. If you are making mistakes, you need to slow down.
Þ Always practice at a speed where you can play the exercise in a very
relaxed manner. Practicing with excess muscle tension is worse than
not practicing at all.
Þ Never increase the speed if it will cause you to make mistakes.
So there we have it! Many of my students have gotten great results by using this
practice technique. Try it out on the ideas later on in this book.
ACTION STEP:
Þ Have a think about why this practice technique works so
well. Write down some of your reasons in the space below.
Come up with as many reasons as possible!
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50
Section Six: Melodic Ideas.
Now we get to the fun stuff! In this section we look at 84 ideas in each of the five
minor pentatonic fingerings. That’s 420 ideas in total!
Let’s get started…
IMPORTANT:
Þ For ease of learning I’ve put all the exercises in the A minor pentatonic
scale. Remember that A minor pentatonic contains the same notes as the C
major pentatonic scale. This means that the exercises will help you
master both scales.
Þ Practice the exercises one-note-per-click of your metronome. Use the 5-
minute practice technique and gradually build them up to at least 200 beats
per minute.
Þ Set a speed goal for each one.
Þ Stop if you feel any pain or discomfort.
Þ If you find playing the whole exercise too challenging, then practice it one
bar at a time.
51
A minor pentatonic: Fingering One
My Speed Goal=________bpm
Date completed:
Idea 1:
Idea 2:
Date completed:
Idea 3:
Date completed:
Idea 4:
Date completed:
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Idea 5: Date completed:
Idea 6:
Date completed:
Idea 8:
Date completed:
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Idea 10:
Date completed:
Idea 12:
Date completed:
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Idea 14:
Date completed:
Idea 16:
Date completed:
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Idea 18:
Date completed:
Idea 20:
Date completed:
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Idea 22:
Date completed:
Idea 24:
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57
Idea 26:
Date completed:
Idea 28:
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Idea 30:
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Idea 34:
Date completed:
Idea 36:
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60
Idea 38:
Date completed:
Idea 40:
Date completed:
61
Idea 42:
Date completed:
Idea 44:
Date completed:
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Idea 46:
Date completed:
Idea 48:
Date completed:
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Idea 49:
Date completed:
Idea 50: My Speed Goal=________bpm
Date completed:
Idea 52:
Date completed:
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Idea 53:
Date completed:
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Date completed:
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65
Date completed:
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Idea 62:
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Idea 71:
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Idea 74:
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Idea 78:
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Idea 82:
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72
A minor pentatonic: Fingering Two
Idea 86:
Date completed:
Idea 87:
Date completed:
Idea 88:
Date completed:
73
Idea 90:
Date completed:
Idea 92:
Date completed:
74
Idea 94:
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75
Idea 97:
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Idea 101:
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Idea 110:
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Idea 114:
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Idea 118:
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Idea 122:
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Idea 126:
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Idea 130:
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84
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Idea 139:
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86
Idea 142:
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87
Idea 146:
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Idea 149:
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Date completed:
Idea 153:
Idea 155:
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91
Idea 162:
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Idea 164:
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92
Date completed:
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93
A minor pentatonic: Fingering Three
Idea 169:
Date completed:
Idea 170:
Date completed:
Idea 172:
Date completed:
94
Idea 174:
Date completed:
Idea 176:
Date completed:
95
Idea 178:
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96
Date completed:
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Idea 182:
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Idea 210:
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Idea 214:
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Idea 230:
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Idea 237:
Idea 238:
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Idea 240:
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111
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Idea 244:
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112
Idea 246:
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113
Idea 250:
Date completed:
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Idea 252:
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114
A minor pentatonic: Fingering Four
Date completed:
Idea 253:
Date completed:
Idea 255:
Date completed:
115
Date completed:
Idea 257:
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Idea 259:
Date completed:
116
Date completed:
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117
Idea 265:
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118
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Idea 269:
Idea 270:
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Idea 272:
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119
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Idea 274:
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120
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Idea 279:
121
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Idea 284:
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Idea 286:
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125
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Idea 316:
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Idea 332:
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Idea 333:
Idea 334:
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135
A minor pentatonic: Fingering Five
Idea 337:
Date completed:
Idea 338:
Date completed:
Idea 340:
Date completed:
136
Idea 341:
Date completed:
Idea 344:
Date completed:
137
Idea 345:
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Idea 350:
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140
141
Idea 362:
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143
Idea 370:
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145
146
147
Idea 386:
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Section Seven: Linear Exercises.
A lot of guitar players can sometimes have trouble moving fluidly between the five
fingerings. They often feel like they get locked into a particular fingering when they
solo. If this sounds like you then don’t worry—the answer is here!
This section will give you the tools to gain a complete mastery of the fretboard when
playing the minor and major pentatonic scales. If you work hard at the following
exercises you will gain the following benefits…
Þ You’ll be able to move between the five fingerings effortlessly.
Þ You’ll gain a greater ability to visualise the scale over the entire neck.
Þ Your ability to shift positions will increase substantially.
Þ Your overall technique will improve.
The exercises in this section are broken down into three types:
1. Single string exercises.
2. Two string exercises (adjacent strings).
3. Two string exercises (non-adjacent strings).
Let’s get started!
IMPORTANT:
Þ All the exercises use A minor pentatonic. As you know, this is the same as
C major pentatonic.
Þ Practice the exercises one-note-per-click of your metronome. Use the 5-
minute practice technique and gradually build them up to at least 200 beats
per minute.
Þ Set a speed goal for each one.
Þ Stop if you feel any pain or discomfort.
Þ If you find playing the whole exercise too challenging, then practice it one
bar at a time.
And here are the exercises…
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Single String Exercises
Linear Exercise 1:
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Two String Exercises: Adjacent Strings
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Linear Exercise 51: My Speed Goal=___________bpm

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Two String Exercises: String Skipping
This part of the book will be particularly fun for you! It contains all the string
skipping exercises.
Here are a couple of important points:

Þ Pay careful attention to clean playing. The only sound that you want to hear is
the note you’re playing.
Þ Don’t work on this section until you have worked on at least a couple of the
adjacent string exercises.
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Section Eight: Conclusion.
Well my friend, we’ve reached the end of our intensive look at pentatonic technique.
In this section I’ll give you a few ideas as to how to take this stuff even further.
Some cool ideas…
Idea 1: Compose licks.
Making up your own licks is a great way of developing your own style. You can have
hours of fun designing monster licks that will terrify even the fastest of shredders!
I like to take small chunks of the ideas in this book and join them into a cool sounding
idea. Have a look at one I made up below
Pretty cool huh?
Idea 2: Practice the melodic ideas chromatically.
What do I mean by this? It simple—let’s say that you’ve just mastered Melodic Idea
One…
You could then use the following approach:

1. Play Melodic Idea 1 four times at the 12th fret.
2. Play Melodic Idea 1 four times at the 11th fret.
3. Continue this until you reach the 1st fret.
What would be some of the advantages of this approach?
244
I think there are a couple of benefits…

Þ It gets your fingers used to playing the Melodic Idea in every key.
Þ It gets your ears used to hearing the Melodic Idea in every key.
So how would this help your…

§ Soloing?
§ Musicianship?
§ Improvising?
§ Composing?
I’ve found it to be a very powerful approach!
Idea 3: Learn the Linear Exercises in ALL keys.
This is one of the most effective ways of learning to visualize pentatonics in all keys.
Here’s how it works…
1. Master a linear exercise in the key shown in this guide.

2. Choose another key and master it in that key.
3. Repeat Step 2 until you have learnt the linear exercise in all keys.
It takes a lot of hard work—but the results are definitely worth it!
A few parting comments…

I’ve really enjoyed helping you develop your pentatonic technique. With disciplined
practice I have absolutely no doubt you will reach the technical level that you want!
I hope you will stay in touch and let me know any questions you might have about the
stuff in this guide. You can get hold of me at: support@guitarscalemastery.com
I would also love to hear your own personal success story. These can be sent to:
support@guitarscalemastery.com.
245
Oh well…that’s all from me. I wish you all the best with your guitar playing and your
music.
All the very best,
Craig Bassett.
“Slay your enemies with furious,

blindingly fast, pentatonic licks”
246

Pent A Tonic Guitar Success

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PENTATONIC GUITAR SUCCESS www.GuitarScaleMastery.

Pentatonic Guitar Success

IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT & LEGAL NOTICE:

You Do NOT Have The Right To Reprint, Resell, Auction or

Electronic books, also known as e-books, are protected worldwide under

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: No part of this e-book may be reproduced or

This e-book is sold as information only. It is not meant to be a substitute

Neither the author nor guitarscalemastery.com (nor its dealers,

The Gratitude Page:

To my good friend Dave Klein ( HowToStopHairLoss.com). Thanks for inspiring

To my good friends both in New Zealand and overseas—it’s awesome knowing

“You can either become a great

All done? Great! Let’s get started…

What we will cover…

Here’s a quick outline of what this guide covers…

Þ SECTION TWO: Essential Theory. We’ll cover some background theory

Þ SECTION THREE: Common Fingerings. We’ll look at the five most

Þ SECTION FIVE: The 5-minute practice technique. We’ll look at

Þ SECTION SEVEN: Linear Exercises. We’ll look at 264 powerful exercises

Section One: Introduction.

Benefits of this guide…

Þ Your speed will increase.

Þ Your timing will improve.

Þ You’ll gain an understanding of some essential theory.

Þ You’ll be internalizing a huge number of melodic ideas. This will lead to

Þ Your ability to visualize will improve. What do I mean by this? It means

1. Your ability to improvise will improve.

2. Your ability to learn licks and solos will improve.

How to use this Guide…

There are two types of exercises in this guide:

So to get the most from this guide, please do this:

How the exercises are presented…

Have a quick look at the music below…

Here are few important observations…

Þ I’ve written the exercises out as quarter notes (one-note-per-beat). This

A quick note to advanced players…

Usually what I say is this…

“Anything is hard if you play it fast enough”.

Check out the following exercise…

I know you can play this at 200 bpm.

But what about this one? (A whopping 10 notes-per-beat at 200bpm!).

Frequently Asked Questions…

Here are a few questions that seem to crop up a lot…

“Why do you want me to practice all the exercises as quarter notes?”.

“Do I have to learn ALL the exercises”.

Getting the most from this guide…

This guide works if you do!

So what’s your level of commitment?

How will you keep yourself motivated?

Are you willing to do what it takes to become a great guitarist?

To keep track of your progress, I recommend keeping a practice journal.

Why does it work?

What you measure tends to improve.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to use speed goals:

Never speed up the metronome setting if it means that you will

Simple huh? Speed goals serve too main purposes:

⁪ I have read Section One a minimum of three times.

Section Two: Theory.

Let’s go through the theory step-by-step…

Step 1: Musical Alphabet.

The musical alphabet is simply this: A B C D E F G

Here is the musical alphabet mapped out on the other strings…