Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

  • Log In
  • Weekly Lessons
  • Take The Tour
  • Forum
  • Hear From Our Members
  • Membership Sign Up

A minor Pentatonic scale using the 4th position (open string position)

Home › Forums › Blues Guitar Discussions › A minor Pentatonic scale using the 4th position (open string position)

  • This topic has 2 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 3 months ago by bluesbird.
Viewing 2 reply threads
  • Author
    Posts
    • October 2, 2011 at 12:07 am #3915
      Rickey
      Keymaster

        I was wondering if people use the 4th position A minor pentatonic scale (above the 5th position) That uses the open strings.I was making a video while doing a solo in Aminor pentatonic scales and putting the video of the positions during the Aminor backing track to all the different positions (there are 7 of them 5 regular ones and another of the fith and another of the 4th)..I figure if I can target the notes eventually seeing them on video I will be able to remember them in all the 7 positions in time! I was reading when doing a solo it sounds nice if you end your lick or your passing notes on the chord it is in.. A chord ends in A , D chord ends in D.. You know.. Knowing all the 5 positions I came across a picture that had the forth position up past the neck using the open strings so I decided to put this one on the video (to be) as well.. I am wondering if people actually use this Aminor pentatonic scale in 4th position using the open strings.. It is nice playing in G or E minor when you have all the open notes to pull off.. I did not know you could do it in Aminor as well! Hey , what do you want , I am a newbie at 47, but this theory part intrigues me.. I look at MODES and I still can’t get my head around them yet, but have been only playing seriously for a year or so.. Was just wondering what you seasoned guitarists think..
        Thanks for looking, and be sure to comment!
        I am making the videos to help me learn, but if anyone else is interested, I could post them in Youtube.. Remember though, they are for beginners who want to play the blues but just can’t remember all the licks or where to end them.

        Craig

      • October 11, 2011 at 1:13 am #7673
        Rickey
        Keymaster

          hmmm obviously you have fingers,cuz u play guitar…
          No one plays A minor pentatonic scale 4th position using the open strings?

        • March 25, 2012 at 5:52 pm #7893
          bluesbird
          Participant

            Your diagram is just showing the 4th position (Box 4) of the A minor pentatonic scale which can be played either at the 12th fret (going up the fretboard) or an octave lower at the open E position which allows you to incorporate open strings. Either way is fine.

            Regarding modes, they are simply the same notes as the major scale but played with a different starting note which produces different intervals from the WWHWWWH of the major scale and a different sound. They are called modes because they use the same notes as the major scale so are not really a different scale. I haven’t paid much attention to them yet as I am still working on the major and minor scales and their pentatonic equivalents. But more experienced players make use of them, particularly certain ones.

        • Author
          Posts
        Viewing 2 reply threads
        • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
        Log In

        Search Forums

        Quick Links

        • Latest posts
        • Most popular posts
        • Posts Freshness
        • Posts with most replies
        • My active posts
        • All my posts
        • Posts with my reply

        Links

        • Blog
        • Resources
        • About
        • Contact
        • FAQ
        • Refunds & Cancellations
        • Sitemap

        Recent Lessons

        Improvise a Ragtime Blues lead PLUS a fingerstyle rhythm – Guitar Lesson – EP613

        Classic Blues by yourself (on acoustic or electric guitar) – Full of Blues lick ideas – Guitar Lesson EP612

        Funky Dorian Groove + Swing rhythm strum pattern for your right hand – Guitar Lesson – EP611

        Contact

        For all support questions email: support@activemelody.com
        For all other inquires email: brian@activemelody.com
        • Facebook
        • Twitter
        • YouTube

        © 2025 · Active Melody. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

        Free Weekly Guitar Lessons

        Enter your email address below to have the weekly guitar lesson delivered to your email address. I take privacy very seriously and will not share your email address.

        • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

        Active MelodyLogo Header Menu
        • Weekly Lessons
        • Take The Tour
        • Forum
        • Hear From Our Members
        • Membership Sign Up
        • Log In

        Insert/edit link

        Enter the destination URL

        Or link to existing content

          No search term specified. Showing recent items. Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item.