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As far as rock guitar lead is concerned, it is the scale of all scales, the mother lode so to speak, the scale used early and often by such lead guitar greats as Jimmy Page, Edward Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Slash, and Neal Schon, to name a few. If indeed a rock n’ roll encyclopedia exists specifically for rock lead guitar (and who knows, there might be one floating out on the web somewhere), this scale would and should appear on the top, right up front. In short, it is what we will call the minor pentatonic scale in the 4th pattern.

Basically, there are only 5 patterns on the guitar, in spite of the fact that every guitar (electric guitar, at least) is going to have at least 21 frets. The reason there are only 5 patterns is because the patterns are duplicated when playing higher than the 12th fret, regardless of what key is being played. The manner in which the patterns work will be explained in the key of C, even though most rock guitar players like to play tunes in the keys of A and E. Here are the single notes in C from the 1st to the 15th frets which provide the framework for the 5 patterns on the guitar in that key:

Pattern 1 - 1st fret 2nd string to 3rd fret 5th string

Pattern 2 - 3rd fret 5th string to 5th fret 3rd string

Pattern 3 - 5th fret 3rd string to 8th fret 1st & 6th strings

Pattern 4 - 8th fret 1st & 6th strings to 10th fret 4th string

Pattern 5 - 10th fret 4th string to 13 fret 2nd string

Pattern 1 - 13th fret 2nd string to 15th fret 5th string, duplicated past the 12th fret as previously noted. In other words, the notes for C on frets 13 & 15 have the same configuration as the notes for C on frets 1 & 3, only 12 frets higher. What this means is that once the guitar student learns the 5 patterns for any given scale, regardless of what that scale is (major, pentatonic, harmonic minor or whatever), the student can then begin to burn lead anywhere desired at any point up and down the guitar neck!

The above description then begs the question: Why focus on the minor pentatonic scale in pattern 4 only? What about the importance of the minor pentatonic scales constructed in patterns 1, 2, 3 & 5? Why have the great rock guitarists made use of pattern 4 so often and not so much the other patterns? In other words, what makes pattern 4 so special?

The answer lies in the structure of the scale pattern itself. Now to describe the construction of the C Minor Pentatonic scale in pattern 4, along with the fingerings commonly used by rock guitarists:

6th String - 8th fret (1), 11th fret (4)

5th String - 8th fret (1), 10th fret (3)

4th String - 8th fret (1), 10th fret (3)

3rd String - 8th fret (1), 10th fret (2, 3)

2nd String - 8th fret (1), 11th fret (3)

1st String - 8th fret (1), 11th fret (3)

The numbers in parentheses represent the fingers to be played on the corresponding frets. For clarification purposes, #1 is for the index finger, #2 the middle finger, #3 the ring finger, and #4 the pinky. What is interesting is how the index finger never moves from the 8th fret. In other words, this pattern can be played from top to bottom with the index finger never having to change position. The 2/3 fingering for the 10th fret on the 3rd string requires some explanation. The middle finger is used in conjunction with any lead played on the 2nd & 1st strings; the ring finger is used in conjunction with any lead played on the 4th, 5th & 6th strings. In short, when going up the scale from the 2/3 point, the middle finger should be used; when going down the scale from the 2/3 point, the ring finger should be used. This presents the only tricky part about playing this scale: to train the hand to play the middle finger when going up the scale (from the 3rd string), and the ring finger when going down the scale from that point. This may require a little getting used to. It is also interesting to note that fingering the 11th fret with the ring finger for both the 1st and 2nd strings would offend most, if not all, guitar players who play strictly classical music. They are usually quick to point out that each finger should be used for each fret and that those notes should properly be played with the pinky and not the ring finger. However, this is lead guitar for rock n’ roll, so the normal rules don’t apply.

Now to briefly cover the subject of string bending for this pattern. Rock and blues guitarists bend the 1st, 2nd & 3rd strings upward; in our example, they will bend from the 10th fret on the 3rd string, and from the 11th fret on both the 1st and 2nd strings. Almost always, the string is to be bent upward one whole step (guitarists such as Eric Clapton on occasion will bend the 3rd string upward as far as a minor third, but this is done rather infrequently). For beginning guitarists who may not be familiar with music theory as yet, all you have to do is bend any one of the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd strings upward far enough to match the sound you would get by playing the same note two frets up, or a whole step.

This then explains the appeal of this pattern to rock guitarists. The need of not having to change position facilitates ease of play; the three points from which to bend facilitate ease of expression. These two factors, however, don’t tell the entire story. The overriding factor that explains the popularity of this pattern is that it can be played EXTREMELY FAST. Matter of fact, this pattern can be played so fast that it is nearly impossible to duplicate the same rate of speed playing any of the other 4 minor pentatonic patterns.

To illustrate, let’s take a look at two well-known rock guitarists who play, and have played, this scale pattern at blazing rates of speed. For Metallica lovers in particular, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett utilized this scale pattern on practically every song found on “Kill ‘Em All”. Kirk uses a rather interesting technique on a few of the “Kill ‘Em All” tunes. On the final and rather lengthy solo at the end of “Hit The Lights” (one of my favorites by him), he begins the solo by playing B Minor Pentatonic, using pattern 4 (of course) with the index finger on the 7th fret; during the course of the solo, he then takes the same pattern and moves it up a perfect fifth, to F# (index on the 14th fret), and plays more lead at that location. Incidentally, he uses the same technique on “Motorbreath”, playing lead on that tune using C# and G# Minor Pentatonic instead. Now, how and why does Kirk know how to do this? Because he knows that two pentatonic scales separated by a perfect fifth essentially have the same notes. To illustrate:

B Minor Pentatonic - B D E F# A

F# Minor Pentatonic - F# A B C# E

The only difference between the two scales, of course, is that B Minor Pentatonic has the note D whereas F# Minor Pentatonic has the note C#. Both scales, however, will work over a tune that’s being played in B Minor. By using this technique then, Hammett gives himself two minor pentatonic scales in pattern 4 that he can use to burn lead on instead of just one. Using two scales rather than just one, in essence, opens up more lead guitar options and makes any given solo more interesting while retaining the ability to maintain play at a high rate of speed.

Zakk Wylde, lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, also was a member of the band Steel Dragon on the movie “Rock Star”. The Steel Dragon song “We All Die Young” has a solo of his in the middle of the song where he begins by playing B Minor Pentatonic (D Major Pentatonic, actually, B Minor being the relative minor of D Major) using the same exact pattern and location on the 7th fret as described before, for the entire first half of the solo. On the second half of the solo, however, he takes the pattern and moves it up a minor third, to D Minor Pentatonic (index finger on the 10th fret) and plays the rest of the solo there (very fast, of course). Two quick notes to avoid confusion: Zakk’s solo on “We All Die Young” appears only on the Rock Star soundtrack CD and does not appear as part of the movie itself. Also, “Hit The Lights” and “Motorbreath” are tuned to standard tuning (as is the rest of “Kill ‘Em All”); “We All Die Young”, on the other hand, is tuned one half step down from standard tuning with the 6th string tuned down an additional whole step, to C#.

In conclusion, we have seen that pattern 4 of the minor pentatonic scale is entirely essential for rock guitar lead playing, facilitating both expression and speed. The minor pentatonic scale can also be moved up a perfect fifth or up and down a minor third, depending on the underlying structure and needs of the song itself.

more articles by Tony Emanuele

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