I haven’t really looked much at lessons for a good few years. Apart from songs and PMT. After whizzing through the old beginners and intermediate courses I hit a brick wall, at a point where I fumbled around looking at the lessons but not acting. I did try the basic blues course but struggled with it. Think at the time I decided to try and improve stuff like my hand reach and chord playing and never picked up again. Those basics are still poor. Struggle to get notes ringing truly!
I replied to Toby before reading your post but in it I say how much I struggled with the basic blues lessons. Maybe a few years down the line I may cope better.
Amazing the way this thread has developed after Clint’s input! 
definitely…this is basically what I have done for years in the main. I listen out for songs I like and feel I can add to my songbook: the one with 3 sections. (I did watch at least 1 lesson!) Not a particularly big songbook atm but I’m trying to make it grow. I try to include songs that will expand technique. Fire and rain; Needle and The Damage Done; Sam Stone; The Wind (looking for a good lesson).
And absolutely nothing wrong with that, John. All really depends on the directions one wants to take one’s development.
If you are wanting to get into some lead play, maybe the new Intermediate Major Scale Maestro might be the way to go?
There’s definitely a whole lot more to playing the blues than just knowing a couple of minor pentatonic patterns. It sounds so good when those that can do, but I guess like all things guitar, one should not anticipate immediate success and settle in to put in the hours to learn the theory and techniques and use them musically.
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Fully understand that John and I think its common to lose some direction post the old BC and IM. I can’t say I have progressed as much as I would have wanted due hitting similar walls at times But what I would recommend, if you have not done it yet, is go through the additional material in Grades 1 and 2 (the old BC with extras) and Grade 3 which is an IM bridge. I think there will some new stuff there that will supplement your skills, even if you don’t want to dive of finto the land of solos! But certainly adding spice to songs.
But bringing it back around, if you get NeckDiagrams2 and need some assistance, just give me a shout. As I say it really is a good tool if visual aids help you to see things on the fretboard.
Cheers
Toby
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I thought I was stating a fact that you might actually agree with as you were asking for a better way forward. I really didn’t think you were especially happy with a full diagram of the fretboard with every pentatonic note and position laid out. My issue is that this doesn’t get you playing anything musical.
What music/progression/song do you want to play lead over? I think learning the “Pentatonic Highway” (I learned it as pentatonic extensions) is more useful and will have you playing music while learning how to use the scale in a useful manner:
The pentatonic highway links all the positions across the fretboard in any key without having to learn each position. If you watch any of my jam tracks you will see me riding the pentatonic highway at some point in time and often adding half-step notes, and chord tone notes and such in conjunction.
Note: Justin doesn’t teach this to my knowledge, so if you are on a path that he has laid out for you, stay that course.
EDIT: There’s a part two of the pentatonic highway. Seek it out if so inclined.
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I didn’t mean to disagree with you. That highway sounds interesting. I’ll take a look.
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Sure. Just know that you will lose musicality by just zipping up and down the highway as he does in the above lesson, he’s really just showing how it all flows together across the fretboard. The secret sauce is to break it up and dabble in various sections, to build & release tension, explore melody and provide space.
Lastly, most of those great lead chops where the guitar player slides up or down to a new spot on the fret board, they most likely took the pentatonic highway. Would love to see @JustinGuitar do a lesson on this. Something tells me he could open up some things about it that I never even considered. 
I’ve used this website to create neck diagrams. I like it.
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Clint, I’ve not yet had time to take a look at the video, but possibly this lesson from the Blues Lead 2 course in Grade 6 Linking Patterns: Licks & Concepts | JustinGuitar.com may be exploring a similar concept, be the launch point for a similar exploration?
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I like this one a lot! Not exactly the same thing as the highway, as he isn’t linking this to the key of the progression (which isn’t that hard to suss out on your own) and is focused on the “lick library” concept. Play a note, play a note, slide is interesting among other ideas and cool stuff in there that I want to explore further. Great gems in there for sure!
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@DavidP @CT
I’ve looked at both the Brewster pentatonic highway & Justin Licks & patterns videos and to me they look as if they are very similar, if not identical, techniques. Both good info.
FYI I’m actually starting to learn scales with the notion of being able to play anywhere along the neck. It’s where I was hoping my learning would take me. So it’s not a surprise to me to hear about the videos mentioned. I just feel I want the basic patterns down before I start to try to move from one to the other. Baby steps .And in truth I’m not aiming high with where I want to go with it.
I hear you. Both are examples of how the positions can be linked together, and neither really provides useful musical context for improvisation or for developing lead lines. It’s sort of implied that you can. So yeah, these sorts of things are just ways into wrapping your head around the fretboard and making sense of it in a useful way. By all means, find your own way in.
For me 1st position minor pentatonic is home base. There are actually two different pentatonic highways in each key and both were discussed in great detail on the old message board. I don’t think they gained much traction there, and would assume the same here. They are bedrock for me. YMMV.
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@Willsie
John, I have a similar aim. Baby steps are key and knowing that getting to grips with this is not an over night thing.
In the long run I think knowing the five patterns and being able to play musically in each pattern is one part and being able to transition horizontally between patterns is the other. Obviously a lot more to learn than just that, but it is a milestone along the way.
The Layla-inspired noodles and study of a couple of lessons is helping me to learn the theory and develop technique in the context of a song. The acoustic intro solo that Justin teaches in Layla (Unplugged) [1/3] by Eric Clapton | JustinGuitar.com is a great example of a lick in pattern 4 followed by lick(s) that pass through 5 to reach 2. Then a line in 2, before moving back to 4. This uses D minor pentatonic, which I’ve found beneficial. It’s a good exercise to be playing in a different key.
I don’t like to reference out to other online teachers, even though there’s nothing wrong with using everything at your disposal, this being a JustinGuitar Community, but I think this particular lesson is a helpful supplement to this idea of playing in a single position as well as moving horizontally up and down. He explores some of the concepts/ideas that are used in the solo but in just position 1.
I think these two lessons plus the linking licks and highway ideas provide sufficient material to study, practice, and apply that can keep one busy for quite some while and would lead to significant progress down the path to the goal you described.
Have fun and at the right moment it’s a good idea to post recordings for all the usual good reasons.
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Don’t be trippin’! Here’s another easy to follow demo of the pentatonic highway:
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@CT
Thanks for sharing Clint. I liked the way he played over a drone. I think that is a great idea that simplifies things when getting started. Perhaps add a drum beat to provide a sense of rhythm.
I’m pleased to be able to see the patterns - 5, 1, 2 and a note from 3 - in how these SFs are formed.
As I said to @Willsie I think putting together the patterns to play in particular position and these techniques to traverse up and down the neck equips one to play solos.
Slow and steady, we can get to grips with this and rock 'n roll.
Been following the latter part of this thread with interest, as Im in a similar ballpark to you guys, except you Clint, of course😃. Lots of gold information for me to get into there mate.
Came across this highway idea a couple of months back, when I was looking into extensions, and its really helping to open things up after bedding down and playing around a bit within the standard patterns. Makes doing slides , hammers more fluent, and is often more musical and free flowing. Whats also been very beneficial is improvising on single strings, then on 2 strings, then on 3. I feel its really helped to focus on the intervals/sounds, rather than just the patterns, and you sort of start to sometimes ‘hear’ the note before you play it. Its like moving across all the patterns in smaller threads, so is less intimidating as I try to develop this. Its also helped to just move around a lot more freely.
Lots of flubs and errors, trial and error, experimentation, missing the chord tones etc, but its all part of it. Also, I’ve found investing alot of time into triads at this stage of my learning has heIped enormously with improvising, as well as general fretboard navigation.
I realise this stuff is years of development, but its very engaging, and with guys like Clint around, I think we’re in good hands.
Cheers Shane.
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Thanks! That was another interesting look at a pentatonic path along the neck.
All this is very new to me but Is it the case that playing these forms vertically and horizontally on the fretboard both have their place? We’re not saying that a diagonal path should replace anything are we? Perhaps showing my ignorance here.