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The Pentatonic Cheat Code – Easy way to Find All 5 patterns of Major & Minor Pentatonic Scale – Guitar Lesson – ML135

Description

In this week’s lesson, I’ll show you a very simple way of visualizing all 5 patterns of both the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales by connecting them back to the 5 shapes from the CAGED System.

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Comments

    • Jack B says

      I really like the built in Cheat Codes. They really help to trigger the memory of which pentatonic box goes with each chord shape. I’ll use the heck out of these pages. I just renewed my annual subscription and this kind of lesson is the reason I stay, thanks for what you do

    • Rob M says

      I’ve been lazy in learning the notes underneath my fingers. This lesson can open up the fret board for me, but I need to think about the notes. There’s the motivation I needed!

  4. Martin K says

    Hi Brian,
    What crazy timing for this lesson! I was practicing Wednesday night and I had this exact same breakthrough/realization. My aha moment was realizing Root + 2 frets = major and Root+3 frets = minor start for each pentatonic pattern. Without over thinking it, my fingers knew where to go across the neck. This is a great lesson for helping put all of the patterns together as you move up and down the neck. I feel like I have made more progress in the last few weeks with your CAGED Blues lessons (and this lesson) than I have over the past year. Thank you.

          • Michael Krailo says

            Fred B, I was only pointing out the simple formula for finding blue notes without relying on memorization of additional patterns. If you know the formula’s and take a small amount of time to work with them, you will see the light and wisdom of what I said. If your not there yet, that’s perfectly OK. This is a more advanced lesson in my opinion and I didn’t learn about scale degrees or the number system for many many years after I got started with guitar so I wouldn’t expect that from anyone just starting out.

  7. Mike R says

    Been thinking the same thing but trying to find a good way to remember the 1, 4 &5 chord and their scales in the same bucket or position. Similar to what you have been doing with this last sequence of Caged lessons. Any memory hooks for that?

  8. JON S says

    i learned (memorized) the major and minor pentatonic patterns, but really never understood how to use them. I think this lesson is a breakthough for me to understand how to use the CAGED patterns. This has given me new inititative to get back to these patterns.

    • Michael Krailo says

      No, Mixolydian is not a scale. It’s one of the seven modes of the major scale that happens to be major. The diminished scale is neither major nor minor no matter what position it is played in.

      We are just talking about moving in and out of major or minor pentatonic scales with the same root note.

  12. Michael Krailo says

    That’s what it’s all about, one note. Everything is relative to the root note. The meat of it all started at 6:20 in the video. I’m very connected to this way of thinking. I highly recommend thinking in terms of root note intervals. Also consider going below the root note as well. If in a major pentatonic, it’s a minor 3rd below the root and a major 2nd below for the minor sound. It doesn’t matter which root note you start from, the same formula applies. I was going to do a members helping member on this very subject, but Brian beat me to it.

    In minor pentatonic, the b5 is a thing. And in the major pentatonic, the b3 is a thing. Then in the minor, the b3’s are those notes that are 1/4 bendable. But you can bend up into any note into either scale when blending the two!!! Slides or bends, it doesn’t matter, you can use all those notes to express your phrases. It’s weird how it takes as long as it did for me to see this, but once you see it, you still have to take advantage of that knowledge and use it to really get it down. The G note on the 8th fret is like he said, the OFFEST version due to the B string tuning, that’s the only part that can potentially throw you off. Just have to get used to it.

    @16:30 we get to the heart of the lesson. It is the secret to knowing how the patterns must be formed just from your knowledge of intervals relative to the root. This is it right here. Love it.

    And Bob M, this should be a huge light bulb moment for you. I know you are working on the five patterns.

  13. Michael B says

    ok, Brian it is getting scary how I understand all of this material. But my question is when will my fingers catch up to my brain?

    Thanks, man it is a blast, I can’t wait for each Friday to see what you are going to put down next!

  15. John I says

    This is a very useful way of looking at how to use those root notes as an anchor to play the scales literally at any position.
    Very helpful breakthrough!!
    You are an excellent teacher, Brian! Thanks

  21. charjo says

    I’ve always been able to see the major pentatonic pattern around the roots in the CAGED system but this is a helpful technique to see how the minor pentatonic overlays in each position. Once you incorporate the minor and major 3rd’s you’ve got everything. Nice lesson, Brian.

  24. Imerio A says

    you always have great ideas on how to explain in a different way things that maybe we have learned badly ( at least I did) in other ways.
    thanks for sharing your intuitions….for me its very helpfull.

  30. houliAK says

    I get the 5 shapes but was always confused or got lost trying to mix the M and m patterns in the CAGE chord system. This is very helpful and I can’t wait to internalize this stuff and add it to the tool box!

  31. Scott L says

    Great lesson! I really feel like it’s starting to come together in my mind. I find myself going back through all the CAGED sessions and picking up something new as it makes more sense. Thanks Brian, the last month or so has helped me a lot!

  32. Jeff ("Jeffro ") J says

    As I told you I’m the YT comments, this is one of those lessons that will go down in history!
    This is the one to remove the cloud of confusion that descends on every guitar player at a certain point in their journey.

    “Then the sun comes out from behind the clouds, and illuminates everything…”

    You got it, Brian! 👍

  33. Jack B says

    Hey Brian! Great lesson for sure! But, I am confused. At the end you say that will wrap it up for part one. But I don’t see a part two for premium members. Was that just a slip of the tongue? Or is there another part to the lesson?

  36. Mark H says

    Many thanks Brian for the work you put into this one. It directly addresses one of the weaker aspects of my playing, i.e. switching & combining the minor & major patterns in the same area of the fretboard. I had vaguely thought about this aspect myself but you really nailed the details. The PDF is excellent. Wow!

    To people just starting out with the pentatonic scale it sure would pay to know and have memorized all 5 pentatonic patterns. Brian has an improvisation course available that can help you with this.

  39. Todd B says

    Love it Brian, what a great lesson. Really brings those shapes to life and an easy way to locate them. it’s exactly where I’m at in my playing right now, trying to easily navigate through all the major and minor pentatonic shapes fluidly with artistic expression. This helped greatly very much appreciated

    ToddB

  42. James S says

    Brian: This is kind of similar to what is working best for me in terms of visualizing the fret board. I realized all the patterns are basically the same — they ust starti in different places depending on where the root note is. If you know pattern one, you can simply move the root note to another string as follow the pattern up and down, if that makes sense. Using simple box shapes and the moving up and down by two and three frets connects the root notes. Lots or practice involved to get comfortable and able to move quickly around.

  43. Brian P says

    I guess I need to research this a bit more. I was excited to see another way to help memorize/play the major and minor pentatonic scales, and “see” them on the fretboard. What is confusing to me is that the pattern numbers don’t completely line up with the CAGED shapes. The Major pattern numbers start with pattern 1 on the G shape, while the minor starts with pattern 1 on the E shape. Maybe there’s a simple explanation, or maybe I should just not worry about it.

    • Michael Krailo says

      What you are describing is the same pattern #1 shifting up or down three frets to effectively make the switch between major and minor. That is also a valid approach, but the root notes will not line up in that case.

      In this lesson, the approach is using two different shapes that overlap on the exact same root notes. This avoids shifting and keeps it all in one zone. See EP530 for more examples.

      Another way to look at it is pattern 1 minor overlaps with pattern 2 major. No shifting and root notes in both patterns line up.

      Pattern 2 minor overlaps with pattern 3 major. Etc…

  44. Wil W says

    Excellent lesson Brian.
    Some people are troubled with finding the correct shape/pattern. Maybe the problem is, like I did in the past, they put note numbers in the shapes and patterns. This way you’ll get major shapes and minor shapes/patterns with different numbers. Which is very confusing and hard to determine which shape/pattern to use. At this moment I look at this, and Brian you gave me this insight, as follows: back to basics. Major consists of the notes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and minor of the notes 1, b3, 4, 5, b7. So if you play the G-major (blue notes in the sheets) 1, 2, 5, 6 and you play the G-minor 1, b3, 5, b7 then only the notes 1 and 5 are the same and it is obvious that they use different patterns (finger patterns without note numbers!). In position 3 this pattern 2 for major and pattern 1 for minor.
    So far I think it is clear, but now comes the names we’ll give these patterns. In the major pentatonic pattern 2 it is obvious that we identify this shape with the E-chord form, so we call it the E shape. But what about minor pentatonic pattern 1? I would call it an Em shape (Brian calls it the E shape) and if you look at it from a major standpoint it would be called a G shape, and this is very confusing. I for myself try to omit the shape names, and use only pattern numbers. Like Brian said: “The fingers know the dance” and this I found to be very true.
    This also solves problems like “the blue note is in the major a b3 and in the minor a b5”, because a blue note is related to the key always the b5. Here we play in the key of G and therefore all the note numbers are fixed to this scale, whether you play a major of minor key, you only use different numbers of this key.

  46. Georg B says

    Hi Brian,
    Thank you so much for this excellent lesson. You described exactly what’s happening to me – and probably to many others as well – namely that while we know the five pentatonic scales, when it comes down to it, we’re at a loss when we need to access them quickly. Your lesson is a brilliant door opener, another milestone for me that brings me closer to being able to read the fretboard quickly and thus have the right notes immediately at my disposal.
    Your approach of building on simple prior knowledge, such as a single note, and then taking further steps from there works exceptionally well for me. You’ve done this in several of the past lessons – starting with a single note, moving on to a chord, and then to the major pentatonic or minor pentatonic scale, etc. These are the best tips for eventually reaching the point where you can play freely. Thanks again.
    Have a lovely Sunday,
    Georg

  47. Laurel C says

    I notice that too with the labelling, don’t worry about it, as the visual patterns are correct . This lesson is pivotal with the angle of overlaying the major and minor in each shape from the anchor of the root note rather than seeing major and minor as separate identities. Just the movement of 2 frets major, 3 frets minor as the base from the shapes was a lightbulb. The rest of a pattern can be added later, but it’s having the starting point from anywhere on the fretboard to apply this knowledge which is the game changer and in any key. I think I will revisit Ep530 again to complement this lesson. Love the Microlessons, for that reason, fundamental lightbulbs that have so much mileage beyond the lesson.

  49. Torquil O says

    Major square and minor rectangle; a simple and surprisingly helpful idea! Thanks Brian; now on to noodeling and blending the intervals/patterns surrounding the roots in search of that dissonant and harmonic soulful blues tone!😎🎵

  50. Daniel H says

    The GOAL: I-IV-V Blues – Play Major pentatonic over the I chord, play Minor pentatonic (of the I chord) over the IV chord, play Minor pentatonic (of the V chord) over the V chord.
    The biggest CHALLENGE: recalling the minor pentatonic of the 1 chord while playing over the IV chord.
    The SOLUTION: This lesson! No matter where you are on the neck, recall Brian’s box pattern of the 1 chord’s pentatonic scale and when you start leading over the IV chord you have the minor pentatonic of the I chord at your fingertips.
    Brian, this lesson was brilliant. Thank you. I was struggling finding the I chord minor pentatonic while playing over the IV chord. This lesson is a huge help.

  52. MANUEL M says

    Bonjour Brian,
    Les leçons que vous faites sur le Système CAGED sont très importantes pour bien jouer de la guitare. Je commence à improviser en essayant de réfléchir à l ‘harmonie et le lien qu’ il y a entre les accords et les gammes.
    Merci pour tout le matériel pédagogique que vous mettez à notre disposition,
    Manuel,

  55. Douglas C says

    Brian it’s been a while since I have gotten something from your teaching that I really liked , but I like this one very much. It was very educational and it helps. I have been a member of yours for several years and I will continue. I’ve been playing for over 40 years, but I never really tried to play lead until about five years ago and I can do it somewhat now not perfect but you said that I would get in and I did. One thing that has really helped me to play and learn lead . GABDE Pentatonix G Major, if you start on the G run that pattern, then A then B And so on and actually help me a lot Can Ashley start anywhere you want thanks

  57. Lyn C says

    Hi Brian.. this is a breakthrough lesson for me.. this simplifies the fretboard immensely. Knowing all the positions of the root notes sure makes sense, and I like your explanations of determining which scale pattern the box shapes fit into.

  59. Capt Dan says

    Thanks Brian, This is a new way of looking at it for me as well. Thanks to many years (8) as a AM member, I am very familiar with the all 5 positions of CAGED, Maj/Min Scales, Maj/Min Pentatonics….This is a different way to located yourself on the fretboard….Ill give it a try

    • Capt Dan says

      Brian,
      Here is my followup from the comment above on the 16th.
      I have been using this lesson over and over and Im finding it is very USEFUL. I didn’t have to learned any new positions/scales with this method. I LOVE IT! Thank you for sharing this gem. I use this method all over the neck to jump or walk into a new position (neighborhood) using the root as the anchor to blend a major or minor sound. By just locating the root and 2nd interval & 5th & 6th above it, then let my fingers go, they (my brain) instinctively knows exactly what Maj or Minor pattern Im in without thinking about it…..GREAT Piece of Fretboard Knowledge to hang on to. Thank you…

  62. Spencer M says

    Ive been waiting for that nudge to mix major and minor pentatonic, almost like i was too scared to do it! C’mon i could’ve broken my guitar ha ha
    Thanks for making me see things differently Brian

  64. Lawrence W says

    Great idea for an easy and memorable pattern that can be shifted across the fretboard. Wonder if it mightn’t be useful to have a lesson in which you illustrate actually connecting all these patterns to improvise a solo that covers the fretboard and combines some of the major with minor shapes?

  65. Edmund S says

    Many years ago I was given this full neck cheat sheet but without Brian’s “aha” teaching instruction. I studied the scales laid out across the neck and memorized them by rout. It raised my level of play immensely. But then I took time off from the guitar, lost the cheat sheet, and left the cake out in the rain. After watching this I have not only identified the lost cheat sheet….but learned how to recreate it myself. WOW!

    Not just any old “aha” moment…I renewed my subscription as a result. Not going to leave my cake out in the rain again!
    Ed

  68. Peter R says

    This really did unlock the blending of major and minor scales for me beyond the E shape. Really happy about that. Now I just need to do something about my infantile brain playing the sesame street tune over and over while practicing the blending. Common brain, I am trying to be a cool blues guitar player here. 🙄

  69. Ed L says

    An excellent lesson. I applaud your discovery and ability to communicate it simply. As a musician myself, I truly appreciate your musical talent and teaching skills. Thank you.

  70. Sam P says

    Thanks Brian, A lot of great information in this lesson. Is the pattern numbering a standard? I have always looked at the Major E shape as Pattern #1 (Rather than #2), the reason is that it then will line up with the mode scale shape, ie; the IONIAN scale fits into the E Shape major pattern and IONIAN is Mode #1, Mode #2 Dorian scale fits into Pentatonic Major Pattern #2, Phrygian = Penta Pattern #3, Lydian & MixoLydian = Pattern 4 and Aeolian = Pattern #5. Is there a better way to look at this to remember the scale patterns?

    • Michael Krailo says

      This has always been confusing to me as well, but not for the same reason that you mentioned. There really should be an agreed standard for how we name the patterns. In my analysis the reason for the confusion is that if just looking at the patterns themselves without regard to root notes within them, there are only five possible patterns. So labeling the same exact pattern differently is very confusing. Of course when you take into account the root note position within them, it does make sense in the way you laid it out in your comment. That took me a long time to figure out. Unfortunately there is no standard for naming the patterns. I prefer keeping it simple and calling pattern #1 the same regardless of root notes within them. Then if necessary, point out different root note positions if required.

      This is another good reason to know basic theory first to avoid confusion. In the end, as long as you understand both ways exist, then you can quickly recognize which one someone is describing and not get too confused.

  71. Paul S says

    This lesson is great. While watching it occurred to me that it is possible extend this lesson by teaching the patterns ascending from the second or third finger root notes

    e.g. major:
    -o-o–
    -o–R-

    minor:
    -o-o-
    -o-R-

    with the normal shift between the d-b strings

    if you add that to the patterns in this lesson then you can construct all five pentatonic patterns from the root notes.

  72. Jonathan L says

    I never really comment a lot on these forums, but I want to say how much I appreciate your approach to teaching Brian. As a very visual learner of the instrument, your style is spot on for me. Keep up the great work- it is sincerely helpful and makes me a better musician.

  73. Colin B says

    This is great. I had handwritten this with the Pattern Number for the Major and Minor pentatonics for each shape but your cheat sheet is so much clearer. This is fabulous. Thank you so much.

  74. Victor T says

    Wow, Never thought to use the CAGED system to play the Minor and the Major square areas close to each other over all 5 shapes, (the entire Fretboard). And easily find the Minor and Major scales connected to these squares. Now I’m able to mix Minor and Major and to find all related scales !
    The Cheat Sheet contains it all, it’s really helpful.

    Thanks Brian !!!

  75. Bob C says

    Brian, just by the way, that tidbit of hearing the minor interval vs. the major interval shed a huge light. I’ve been paying attention to using my ‘ears over eyes’ as I practice.. and this was great!
    Thank you! That seemingly small insight is actually huge!
    You’re the best

  77. Glen B says

    Truly an excellent lesson on how to easily find the root note and how to move from major to minor pentatonic scales. One point of confusion for me was that I have always considered the E-shape as #1 , followed by D (#2) C (#3), A (#4,) and G (#5). You say in this lesson that the C shape and its scale patterns are #4. It’s not a big thing, because I don’ t think of the pattern number, but the shape., But it is a problem when you reference scale pattern numbers in other lessons. Do always reference the scale patterns using the same pattern numbers or am I missing something here?

  78. Tom G says

    Brian, I’m 79. I’m a semi-retired psychotherapist and performing musician. For years I stuck to cowboy chords in my song-writing and I’ve always been intriqued but baffled about how things work higher up the neck. I knew voicings but not what to do with them. I signed on with active melody about six years ago and it’s been a great ride. The less interest I have in perfoming, the greater interest I have in expanding my guitar skills. I’ve been spending time with you almost every day for six years and have learned to truly entertain myself because of your ability to break things down clearly and eloquently. I get ideas from all your lessons but I study some of them because they’re so rich in information. I’ve been staying with ML 135 because the lesson becomes clearer with each viewing and the insights lead to ah-ha moments and big breakthroughs emerge like fireflies on a summer night. I’m planning to continue my daily coffee and guitar with Brian for as long as you’re teaching. My goal is to feel like I’ve gotten pretty good by the time I’m 99.

  79. James M says

    Huge lesson! Once you’re familiar with the 5 shapes you can see where these boxes fall within each shape. l like what you said, how it’s a kick start into the rest of the pattern. Another way to think of this, if it helps anybody is: to keep the same 4 note box shape (short rectangle one whole step apart) for BOTH major and minor pentatonic patterns. MAJOR is the box coming toward the 6th string and moving toward the bridge . For G on the fifth fret: G,A,D,E. Pattern #3 MINOR is the box coming toward the 1st string moving toward the neck. For G on the fifth fret: G,F,C,Bflat. Pattern #4.

  80. Tim Moran says

    Very cool! I’m going to have to think about this a bit and study the cheat sheet and noodle with it. I know the pentatonic patterns, but relating them to the CAGED chord shapes really helps.

  81. Ronald J says

    Brian,
    Just Brilliant. I am trying to stitch these 5 pentatonic shapes together and was working on different approaches. This one makes incredible sense. Game changer for me.
    Thanks,
    Ron

  83. MANUEL M says

    Bonjour Brian,
    Il ne me reste plus qu’à mettre en application votre leçon. Je connais maintenant grâce à vos cours le système Caged mais il faut que je rajoute les gammes majeures et mineures pentatoniques aux cinq formes d’accords comme vous m’expliquez dans la leçon. ML 135,

  85. Jan van Wijk says

    Brilliant concept Brian!

    I am using a slightly different way of visualizing the CAGED patterns (GMM Guitar Pattern Recognition System) but I will surely add this 2-frets for major and 3 frets for minor to my trick bag! Very useful to get major/minor tonality that easy from knowing just the root note. Great reminder when improvising!

    I do have a minor issue (pun intended) with your cheat-cheat for Minor-Pentatonic though.

    I see how you use the same major chord-shapes to identify them, which makes kind of sense since they are the same then for major and minor.
    However, looking at your minor cheat-sheet you can see there is some friction there, several of the chord-notes do NOT line up with the actual pattern played.
    Of course this is because of the major versus minor-3rd being used.

    For that reason it makes more sense to me to use/show the MINOR version of the chord there.

    For example, in your pattern-1 (E shape) I would omit the 4th fret on the G-string (major 3rd) and use/show the 3th fret instead (minor 3rd) making it an Em barre chord shape.
    Same goes for the other 4 patterns, Dm instead of D, Cm instead of C, Am instead of A and Gm instead of G respectively. Makes it a ‘cleaner’ cheat-sheet in my opinion.

    But otherwise, great lesson! Like most of your stuff. Really love the simplicity you usually are able to achieve!
    I have been using a very similar cheat-sheet (with those minor chord shapes in there) for targeting chord-tones while improvising for a while now.

    Regards, Jan van Wijk

    • Michael Krailo says

      I think what you have pointed out about the minor versions of the chord shapes is noteworthy as a point of confusion. It’s just the way the CAGED system works to refer to the five main shapes. If you prefer to complicate it by introducing five more shapes, then go right ahead but you are missing the point on how the CAGED system works. If you take guitar out of it, on any other instrument, there is only one thing you need to know about major verses minor and that is the 3rd interval. Is it major 3rd or a minor 3rd? That’s all there is to it and was one of the main takeaways from this particular lesson.

      • Jan van Wijk says

        I partly agree with you there.

        However, the 3rd interval being major 3rd or minor 3rd is exactly the difference between the chord shapes too of course.
        So the chord shapes are VERY similar. And it feels cleaner to me seeing them that way.

        But just for identifying the 5 caged patterns, it is not needed …

  86. MANUEL M says

    C’est dommage vous n’avez pas mis un backing track dans la leçon pour que l’on puisse s’entraîner. Car maintenant je commence à comprendre et à appliquer les gammes au système Caged en tonalité de G mais savoir s’en servir c’est autre chose Comment se sert on intelligement des gammes sur trois accords de blues sans faire n’importe quoi mais en sachant quelle note jouer sur chaque accord, pouvez vous me m’expliquer ?
    Thank you, Manuel,

  87. MANUEL M says

    Pour l’instant je mets un backing track sur YouTube à tempo lent d’un blues en G et sur les trois accords je joue les gammes qui correspondent aux trois formes d’accords Sur G shape je joue Major Pentatonic pattern one et minor Pentatonic patter 5.Sur C shape , Je joue Major Pentatonic pattern 4 et minor Pentatonic pattern 3.Sur D shape je joue Major Pentatonic pattern 3 et minor Pentatonic pattern 2.Pour l’instant je ne mélange pas les deux gammes.
    Manuel Wollman, Paris 15ème, France,

  89. Michael M says

    I’ve been a member for over a year now. Learned a lot in the past lessons for sure.

    But this recent CAGED series has been great. But THIS lesson really was the bigest eye opener for me as far as opening up the fret board.

    I was having a hard time figuring out a key’s minor pentatonic scale from the major (Gmag –> Gmin). It did not intuitively click. I had to do a few steps to get to it.

    This was truly an important and critical lesson.

    Thank you so very much!

  90. michael s says

    Terrific! Anytime you can provide fretboard patterns, laid out as clearly as you did (along with your always great narration), I find it to be extremely helpful in visualizing what to do and what to look for. Much more so than tabs. So thanks for taking the time to do that.

  92. Dave K says

    Brian, this and EP631 are excellent sessions that payoff having worked through the ML129-134 series. Very well conceived and constructed. Even more awesome is my fingers are starting to “know” where to go more fluidly as the chords change.

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