How To REALLY Learn PENTATONIC Scales (on Bass!)

Tip #1: The 5 Minor Pentatonic Positions

These are the 5 basic positions we can use for moving outside the basic one octave ‘root position’ box shape. These 5 shapes are what most people learn when they start out, and it does help you get out of that box and all over the fretboard.

Here are the 5 minor pentatonic positions in the key of C minor. In position 1, we start with the root note. Position 2 starts from the minor 3rd, position 3 from the 4th, position 4 from the 5th and finally position 5 from the minor 7th.

Play up and down through these positions in C minor as shown below, before moving on to other minor keys. Remember, to change the key you just need to change your root note and go from there. I recommend using the cycle of 4th’s as a guide when running the minor keys.

Tip #2: Root Notes

Finding the root notes for each position will help you find your bearings no matter where you are on the fretboard. When playing through position 2, 3, 4 and 5, you won’t be starting on the root, so you need to be mindful of where your root is at all times. The root equals home and you can’t go wrong playing the root.

If you know where your root note is, you can play around in the scale and easily get back to home position. As shown in each of the examples below, you can resolve each of these positions back to C to give you a more musical phrase and resolution to the tonic.

Try playing these through all the minor keys, you’ll start to recognise the connection between each pattern.

Tip #3: Tonic Arpeggios

After finding the root note within each position, you can add the tonic arpeggio within each position. For example, the C minor arpeggio is found within the framework of the C minor pentatonic scale. The arpeggio is the skeleton of the scale, it highlights the important chord tones.

Once you’ve identified the arpeggio at position 1 or root position, move on to 2, 3, 4 and 5. In C minor the notes/degrees are: C (root), Eb (minor 3rd) and G (perfect 5th). In each position, look for these notes and play them as arpeggios.

Tip #4: Expanding Positions

Next we can add the extra notes within each position, these are the notes or extensions that go beyond the 1 octave shape. Go above and below your starting note in each position. As shown below, always start on the correct starting note for each position so you don’t get lost as you move through them.

Tip #5: Position Shifting

As homework, practice moving from one position into the next. This will give you more fluency to move through the positions in a more fluid and natural way rather than just jumping from one to another. Use each string as a doorway for moving into the next adjacent position. Try this ascending and descending to help you develop your fretboard fluency throughout.