Linkage Part IV
Next we will link Major Scale Pattern 4 to Major Scale Pattern 5. Once again, the Major Scale Pattern 5 does have the minor pentatonic pattern that we can use to link it to the previous pattern. This is probably the most used place for the minor pentatonic scale because it starts on the relative minor of the major key... Using G major as an example again, this position starts on E (which is the relative minor to G major).
And once again, the minor pentatonic scale is in black and the red notes are the “extra notes” from the
E|---|-O-|---|-O-|-O-|
B|---|-O-|-O-|---|-O-|
G|-O-|-O-|---|-O-|---|
D|---|-O-|---|-O-|---|
A|---|-O-|---|-O-|-O-|
E|---|-O-|---|-O-|-O-|
This one is a lot more interesting than Patterns 2 and 3, because the “extra notes” don’t really seem to come in any patterns at a first glance. However, when you look at the overall pattern you can see that there is indeed a pattern to it.
On the E and A strings, the extra notes make it so that both strings have the exact same fingering pattern – using the index finger, ring finger, and pinky. The High E string also has this exact same pattern.
The G and B strings both have the same fingering patterns, but do to the evil B string you have to shift this pattern up one fret on the B string.
The position of this scale starts two frets above the start of the Major Scale Pattern 4 and it also starts 3 frets BELOW the Root Note of the major key. So if the G note is on the 3rd and 15th fret, then Position 5 starts on the open E string and on the 12th fret respectively. At this point it is much easier to work backwards than it is to think of it starting 9 frets “above” the root note of the major key.
