MASTERCLAS MASTERC LASSS BO BOOKLET OKLET
Luca Mantovanelli
PENTATONICS MASTERCLASS BEGINNER INTRODUCTION Hi everybody, thanks for checking out my pentatonics masterclass! There are three par ts, increasing in difficulty, and this is the best place to star t. In this first section I’ll show you my approach to pentatonics and how to develop your fretboard visualization.
BASICS
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with 5 notes. In this volume we’ll be using the A minor pentatonic (A C D E G). The minor pentatonic p entatonic is one of the most common scales in rock, blues and other styles of music. In theory terms, it contains a root, minor 3rd, 4th, 5th and minor 7th.
SHAPES LAYOUT LAYOUT
Whenever you learn a new scale, it’s important to tr y and play it all over the fretboard, so you don’t get stuck in a single shape. Taking A minor pentatonic, we can build a fretboard shape starting from each note of the scale…
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PENTATONICS MASTERCLASS BEGINNER LUCA MANTOVANELLI
The circled notes are the root notes (A). Think of this as the “home” note. It’s very important to memorize the position of the root notes in each shape. INTERVALS
The next step is to work on memorising the other notes in each shape. It’s even better if you can learn them as intervals – their distance from the root note. The great thing about the guitar is that you can learn the patterns, but remember that things change between the 3rd and 2nd strings because of the tuning. Here’s where you can find all the minor 3rds in our five positions. These are all C notes, but remember, these shapes work the same for all minor pentatonic scales; all that changes is the fret position. The diagrams also show the position of the minor 3rds in relation to the roots.
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PENTATONICS MASTERCLASS BEGINNER LUCA MANTOVANELLI
The 4th is usually at the same fret as the root, one string up (except for when you jump from the G string to the B string, of course).
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PENTATONICS MASTERCLASS BEGINNER LUCA MANTOVANELLI
The 5th is usually at the same fret as the root, one string DOWN (and again, watch out for the G/B string jump).
The minor 7th is simply 2 frets below the root, but obviously you have different shapes when the two notes are on different strings.
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PENTATONICS MASTERCLASS BEGINNER LUCA MANTOVANELLI
I always keep the position of the root notes in my mind – they are my landmarks. This helps me if i want to switch to a different shape… because I know the position of the root notes, I can quickly navigate the new position. This might sound crazy, but in my mind I see the root notes lighting up all over the fretboard like stars in the sk y.
SHAPE PICTURES
Another thing you can tr y is to memorise is the “shape pictures” of each scale position. Think of drawing a line round all the notes in each position – each position has a different shaped outline. In my mind, I always see all the shapes with key notes and shape pictures. It all helps to reinforce the knowledge in your mind, developing your fretboard awareness.
VARIATIONS
Check out the separate “Variations” tab files to see some more exercises using the basic pentatonic shapes. These are designed to work more intensively on the possible note groups within each shape. Work with a metronome and drum machine and you will soon become more familiar with the shapes.
LINKING SHAPES
Our next step is to mix all the shapes together over the fretboard. This is a serious workout for your new scale knowledge, so take it slowly. Be careful when switching between the shapes, for example between the 3rd and 4th beats in the following example. The last note of the firs t position is the 8th fret on the top string, and then we jump up to the 10th fret and descend through the new position (10-8-10-8 etc). Play up and down the fretboard, through all 5 shapes, and use alternate picking.
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PENTATONICS MASTERCLASS BEGINNER LUCA MANTOVANELLI
V V V V V V V V V V V V VVVVVV V V V V I V V V V V V V V V V VV VV
1
Shape 1
Shape 2
T A B
5
I
4
8
5
7
5
7
VVVVVV Shape 4
15 12
T
15 13
A
5
5
7
8
5
8
10 8
10 8
Shape 3
9
7
10 7
10 7
B
9 12
10 12
V V V V V V V V V V V V VVVVVV V VVVVVV VVVVV 10 8
10 12
Shape 5
14 12
10 12
10 12
10 13
14 12
15 12
15 17
Shape 1 (octave)
14 17
14 17
15 17
15 17
20 17
20 17
19 17
19 17
19 17
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V VV VVV I V 15 12
15 17
20 17
7
Shape 1 (octave)
T A B
VVVVVV
17 20
I
10
17 19
17 19
Shape 3 T A B
12 10
13 10
Shape 5
17 19
17 20
17 20
17 15
17 15
Shape 4
17 14
17 14
17 15
17 15
12 15
12 14
12 15
V V V V VVVVVV V VVVVVV VVVVVVV VVVVV V Shape 2
12 9
12 15
12 14
13 15
12 10
12 10
12 10
8 10
8 10
Shape 1
7 10
7
9
8 10
8 10
8
5
8
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
8
5
PHRASE ISOLATION
Another thing is to take small parts of each shape to create patterns that you can then move through the scale. This requires good knowledge of shape pictures and root note locations. The “Phrase Isolation’’ exercise is very important to build your fretboard visualisation. Use whatever picking style you like here…
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PENTATONICS MASTERCLASS BEGINNER LUCA MANTOVANELLI
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V I V V V V V V V V V V V V V 8va
1
T A B
3
3
5
5
5
3
5
7
5
7
5
7
7
sl.
10
7
9
10
7
9
sl.
12
10 13
12
10 13 15
sl.
12 15
15
12 15 17
sl.
sl.
V V V V VVVVVVVV V V V V V V V V V V V V V I VV VVVVV 8va
3
T
15
17 15
15 17 15
17 15
15
17 15 13
A
14 12
13
14
12
9
B sl.
12 10
9
12 10
sl.
7
10
7
7
10
sl.
7
5
sl.
8
5
Using the same basic approach, this time we’ll phrase the line in a triplet rhythm…
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V
I 44
3
3
1
3
3
3
3
T A B
3
5
3
5
5
3
5
7
5
7
7
5
7
sl.
3
3
7
10
9
7
10
9
sl.
12
10
13
12
10
sl.
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V I V 8va
2
3
T
13
15
3
3
12
15
15
3
3
3
15
15
3
12
15
17
15
17
15
15
17
17
15
17
15
13
A
3
14
12
13
14
B sl.
sl.
V I V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V 3
3
3
3
3
3
3
T A B
12
9
3
3
12
10
9
12
10
7
10
7
7
10
7
5
8
5
5
8
5
3
5
3
5
3
sl.
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PENTATONICS MASTERCLASS BEGINNER LUCA MANTOVANELLI
LICKS
Now we’ll move onto some of the pentatonic licks. You can work on these in any order, but let’s start with the ones where I’m using the “linking shapes” technique. By examining just three licks in detail, you should then be able to analyse the others and understand what’s happening. The Tabs are all in separate files, but here’s a detailed explanation of what I’m doing.
LICK 3
Starting over Shape 2, you can see I play the notes around the root (A) in the first bar, then i switch to the Shape 1 and again play notes around the root. At bar 3, I play t wo notes from Shape 1, two notes from Shape 2 and then I switch to Shape 3 with a bend (see the next section for more info on bends). The lick finishes on the root note in Shape 3. LICK 4
This lick involves linked shapes. It starts with a typical blues phrase in Shape 1, then switches to Shape 2 in bar 2. We then move up through the shapes, using just the B and E strings. Use slides to connect the positions and let the pairs of notes ring together for a cool sound. The lick ends with a series of bends over Shape 1 (octave position). LICK 9
This one starts from Shape 5, switching immediately to Shape 1 on the second beat. After the little blues phrase, we switch to Shape 2 and Shape 3 in bar .
BENDS
The most important things for bending is the intonation – hitting the correct note. In this Beginner volume we’ll study 2- and 3-fret bends on the top 3 strings. For all the bending exercises I want you to work slowly and carefully. Say we wanted to bend the 8th fret on the B string up a wholetone (2 frets). Play the starting note (8th fret). Then play the target note (10th fret). Listen carefully and tr y to memorise the pitch. Then go back to the 8th fret, bend the string and try to hit the target note EX ACTLY! For this first exercise, we’ll simply examine the locations of all the bends on the top 3 strings.
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PENTATONICS MASTERCLASS BEGINNER LUCA MANTOVANELLI
V V W I 44 A Shape 1
U
1
M
V V W
8
10
8
V V W
B Shape 2
I
(8)
7
5
8
Full
T A B
10
12
10
Full
8
V V W
(8)
U
5
7
10
8
M
10
7
V V W
(7)
U M
1 1/2
(10)
U M
Full
U M
V V W
M
Full
T A B
U
1 1/2
(10)
9
8
9
(9)
V V W
U
C Shape 3
V V W I 8va
U
13
M
V V W M
1 1/2
T A B
12
15
12
D Shape 4
V W V I
Full
(12)
U
8va
19
M
13
10
13
15
17
15
U M
12
10
15
12
15
12
V V W
Full
(15)
M
Full
(13)
V V W
Full
T A B
U
(12)
M
U
1 1/2
(15)
14
13
14
(14)
E Shape 5
V V W
8va
I
25
U M
V V W
1 1/2
T A B
17
20
17
U
V V W
M
M
1 1/2
(17)
17
15
17
U Full
(17)
17
15
17
(17)
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PENTATONICS MASTERCLASS BEGINNER LUCA MANTOVANELLI
In the other bending exercises the approach is a bit different – I play three types of licks for each shape. The goal is to get a perfect intonation on the bent notes. (Please refer to the Bending Exercise TAB and videos 2 - 6) After these exercises, turn your attention to the 10 licks. Look carefully through each one, just as we did with Licks 3, 4 and 9 above, considering which pentatonic shapes are being used. And then focus on the bends, aiming for absolute accuracy every time. Finally, I played a sample solo, showing how all this stuff can be used in a real improvisation. Good luck learning my approach to Pentatonics and i look forward to seeing you in the Intermediate Course!
Luca
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