Using Minor & Major Pentatonic Together Effectively

Learn how to combine the minor and major pentatonic scales effectively and play smoothly between the two scales.

Sometimes, one scale is all you need to create the perfect guitar solo. But by marrying major and minor pentatonic, your vocabulary doubles and you can "say" a lot more.

Usually, mixing major and minor scales creates too much dissonance, but in this lesson, I show you how the two scales can really complement each other, as long as you know how to move between them.

I'm sure that, if you haven't already been combining these two scales in your licks, you will after going through the lesson.

You see, minor pentatonic gives us those bluesy b3 and b7 intervals.

Whereas major pentatonic gives us the sweeter 2, 3 and 6 intervals.

If you're unsure what these numbers mean, don't worry! They simply refer to the position of a note in the scale. I'll show you these in the diagrams in the lesson so you know exactly where to put your fingers to get the note you want.

When you combine these major/minor tones, you can express yourself more freely than if you were restricted to one scale. You have more notes to choose from, which can be more difficult at first, but the more you play around with the "merged scale" the more you'll get to know what works.

[SuperLead]

These lessons are the best I've seen anywhere, and I've been playing guitar for 35 years and have watched many thousands of instructional videos. My guitar playing has radically improved after watching just two Fretjam videos. The first thing I did this morning was pee and then plug in my guitar so I could practice what I learned last night about target notes. I feel like a painter who has just discovered the color red. It completely changed my sound. Now I sound like I really know what I'm doing.Thank you so much. I wish I learned this stuff 35 years ago.   

[ferdoman]

I tried to learn this mixing thing for days with hundreds of leading you tube channels, but no one teaches like you guys do. very clear and theoretical and practical. coolest thing is no any fancy backgrounds, fancy guitars and fancy teachers....just the subject. really appreciate your work here. nicley illustrate, even without showing a guitar. remarkable teaching ability. please accept my humble gratitude.

[francescocaridi]

1 year of guitar course in 12 minutes ....i love you

[Smoothaltheleet]

Hey man,

I really want to take a moment to sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for these amazing lessons.

Very, very rarely does one come across such a concise, clear lesson with such useful examples-- visually, aurally, etc.

I don't know who you are, but I want you to know just how useful and appreciated these have been, and I really hope to see some more.

Thank you so much.

[murf]

Absolute gold! The charts are amazing and we don’t have to put up with some guy saying “ 12 fret a string to 9 fret d string and constantly rewinding it top quality!

[inspird]

This is by far the best major/minor pentatonic guitar lesson on YouTube!! Thanks!

[gitsurfer]

You're by far the best guitar teacher online. You don't just give a few examples of whatever it is, you shine light on HOW and WHY it works. And your theory breakdown is so concise and well structured. I can't believe you haven't got more subscribers. Thank you for all the amazing lessons.

[tranceencounter]

The fact that you added phrasing, makes this lesson gold! Thanks so much!

[stevekap]

I've learned the note and scales already, but it's the meaning that you add that makes this so good. The idea that some notes are bluesy, so are sweet, what creates tension.... that's what i was missing. Thank you so much for this. IT IS EXCELLENT!

[bodywithoutasoul]

WOW! This is basically everything I spent the past couple years and 400+ youtube videos trying to learn! Thank you!!

[DeepakEapenKoothoor]

Great explanation! I think no one else has explained this interchange so simply on YouTube. Although a bit confusing initially, it really pays to understand these concepts for becoming a complete musician. Thank you for your immense effort in putting this video together!

[resb]

Not one word too much ... not one missing ... through all the lessons! One of the must know pages for every guitar player. No matter of what league you think you are playing in! Cheers

[sellisrodrigo]

Fretjam has the best guitar videos ever!!! Tks

[gtrdoc]

Thanks Mike. I bought a book ca 1980 titled"the Heavy Guitar Bible" that talked about this concept of mixing minor and major pentatonic. It had the mixed scales mapped all over the fret board but never mentioned your point of never losing track of the chord tones of the particular chord being played at the time. That's ultra important in making the solo jive with the progression. Great pithy lesson. Thanks for making those notes light up as you play them. I'll be coming back to this lesson lots.

[fretjamguitar]

Thanks Alex that means a lot. Yes there is more on the way and I'm always open to requests.

[Now-in-the-Now]

Superb outstanding lesson! target notes, intervals involved, backing chord, all integrated, I finally find an excellent teacher and lesson that dissect the point to the bone, so clearly. This depth of integration of concept plus graphs is unmatched. As a beginner I was stuck until this gem EXPLAINS what is going on. Thank you so so much, I wish you 1M subscribers! You deserve it. Greetings from Argentina, cheers.

[ckjjclan]

THANK YOU... This is such a well laid out lesson. I'm actually starting to get this. My translation to the fretboard, and actually using this in a song is still behind my "understanding"... but thanks to lessons like this, at least I have a shot at getting there!!!

[johndoeit]

Absolutely incredible lesson and masterful instruction. Thank you for helping me take my playing to a totally new level.

[VGlover]

Every time I say to myself let me go and find someone who explains it in a way that's easier to understand I always seem to come back to your channel. Lol

[Jake]

Just recently got more comfortable with the Dom7 arpeggios and targeting changes over a 1-4-5. I had started to explore this, but found myself hitting a lot of notes that clash. This is perfectly timed!