No focussed practicing anymore before tomorrow eve. Instead I will search some random backing tracks and find some nice amp setting and simply improvise a bit with those very basic and limited scales from the early Grade 2 modules.
There is not much better than that for trying to stress less
These aren’t basic or limited scales, they are the same notes you’ll be using further up the neck later on in your journey. Explore them and find what sounds good. Have fun with your stress relief.
Phrased it badly, maybe… I mean I’m more or less still stuck in one position both in Em pentatonic open and the C major scale with the open strings… But then, why don’t I experiment using my ears? I might randomly find good sounding notes that belong to the respective scales further up the neck (and check later if I was correct).
While I was improvising - I mean making music, not just randomly checking notes to a backing track - I wrote down 11 notes located on different frets and strings across the whole neck that I thought did fit especially well. Then I checked. And … They were all correct.
Lessons learned:
Never forget that scales are there for making music - not to test how fast they can be played (though faster fingers will come in very handy in the future.)
Trust your ears. They are more sensitive and maybe even more musical than you think.
Try to remember once and for all that all the notes on the 12th string belong to Em minor pentatonic not just the E on the high e string and the B on the B string…
Figuring out notes belonging to a scale by trial and error during an improvising session is fun. Enourmous fun.
No harm in trying to complete black holes in the complete Em minor pentatonic scale trough more trial and error.
Em Minor Pentatonic Fretboard Diagram is now completed. More than of 50 % of the notes I found by playing to an Em backing track (I guess that’s the very definition of noodling? )
Starting point were the dark grey dots taken from the open minor pentatonic Em scale that Justin teaches in module 8. Then I found the “blue dot” notes by ear and playing along. After that I found the “pink dot” notes also by ear and playing along (apart from completing the missing notes in 12 fret, which is just logic in the end). The “yellow dot” notes I completed by checking.
Should someone wonder… No, I didn’t go completely made yet. There is actually logic to my chaos. Next step is filling in the notes and identifying root notes. Step after that = identifying the five patterns. To be followed by learning to play each pattern. To be followed by using each of the five patterns ( with or without extension(s))for improvising, Maybe I will even find a few nice phrases,
Is it btw really so that I’m playing G major pentatonic if I’m emphasizing the Gs instead 9f the Es?
Hi Nicole. My advice would be to stick to pattern 1, maybe also pattern 2 and improvise with them over your backing tracks. All the different patterns are using exactly the same notes, just in different places on the neck so they all sound the same. Once you become more advanced you may find a particular pattern makes the fingering easier and suits the lick you’re playing but that’s in the future.
You are correct but this is a dangerous slop to walk on. You need to train your ear to identify the Major and minor sound before you go noodling over G major backing tracks. Other wise you’ll fall into just playing the Em pentatonic scale over G which will work but you can’t play GM pentatonic over Em.
I also agree with Gordon on this Learn to use pattern 1 adding in the first 3 purple note before venturing off on the whole neck. You’re setting yourself up to crawl down a very deep Rabbit Hole. Which is OK if you don’t want to learn anything else for the next 2 years.
It seems it will be a long road for me trying to slow it down @MacOneill . There is so much to learn and so little time…
I have watched the video @stitch posted the point “if you can’t make music out of one pattern” hits home a lot. I’d wager I can, if slowly and without knowing any licks (and don’t most of those require sliding or bending at least?). But I can. So there shouldn’t be a real need for going overboard now.
In this particular case I ended up using the Octave as well when first improvising. So I was faced with a big black hole of what might be in-between that I wanted to fill. My question was which other notes are there that I can use for improvising in that scale.
But I very much see and understand your (and Justin’s) wisdom and I will limit myself
This right here is why learning to use these 5 notes(yes there is only 5) to make music is so important.
Here’s a grade 2 song to help you fill in some of that Black Hole. All the licks and turn around are in the Em pentatonic scale adding in those 3 purple notes. You can also play this on an electric guitar with a pick.
Fantastic Nicole it’s really satisfying to discover these things for yourself rather than have them spoonfed. It also speeds up the learning as you drag your brain through it.
The shape on the 12th fret is fundamental and is the key to unlocking lots of other things. It’s something you have to get under your fingers. John Mayer calls that the Equator.
Hmm … Honestly, I didn’t figure it out on my own. I saw somewhere in the Circle of fifths that E minor seems to be be the relative scale of G major
It will take a lot of PMT work to get a better understanding of these concepts. And a lot of dedicated learning of the notes on the fretboards.
The video you shared is sparking my interest, but I realize it’s way over my head at the moment. I will put it into my treasure chest of valuable guitar things and return to it at the right moment. Because… Oh yes, return I will.
Hang on a mo… you @JokuMuu posted a map of the entire E minor pentatonic across the fret board which you’d worked out for yourself. What I shared is really not far removed from that; the main difference being that it was in C minor pentatonic not E minor penta. You will have to learn things in different keys.
The difference between your E minor penta and A minor penta is ONE note (C instead of B). BLIM is being taught in A.
I’ve been accused on here of confusing people with more advanced stuff but if you’re already exploring pentatonics this is in that ball park. It’s not a million miles away…
Are “Patterns” of the pentatonic scales in Module 8?
What I shared was merely a look at how Pattern 5 relates to Pattern 1 (but in an interesting and thought provoking way). If someone is already demonstrating a thirst for learning there is nothing wrong in exploring this and stretching yourself even it’s beyond your playgrade. As someone pointed out elsewhere, learning at a snail’s pace came be demotivating.
Hi Deborah
You’re absolutely right , and I’m also reading this with a big grin, especially because after Nicole had that lesson she posted that pentatonic thing…Come on, that’s just funny. …and just to be clear… .very understandable to me, as I already confessed this morning
Greetings and Thanks Nicole still looking at those papers on the back with all the things gibberchaddernonsens I have written down there