How to Solo on the Ukulele - All Five Pentatonic Shapes! - Ukulele Tutorial
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
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Today we are going to look at how to jam on the Ukulele, or to be more specific we are going to examine the A minor pentatonic and all of 5 of its shapes.
All pentatonic scales no matter what key they are in have five different pentatonic shapes. If you know your fretboard you are able to find the root note and plug in all five of these shapes for any key, which means you can create melody and solo up and down the entire neck of the Ukulele!
If you want more help on how to put this into practice with other musicians here is a video on how to jam: • Ukulele Tutorial - How...
Here is extra help on finding the key, so you know which scale that you need. • Ukulele Improvisation ...
Some tips on how to turn guitar tabs into ukulele tabs: • Guitar to Ukulele Tab ...
Lastly here is a link for you to learn how to turn all five of your pentatonic shapes into all five shapes of the blue scales to hammer out some wicked blues! • Ukulele Blues Soloing ...
How to Solo on the Ukulele - All Five Pentatonic Shapes! - Ukulele Tutorial
Patreons download your printable tabs here: www.patreon.com/posts/18118663
Shape 1 - 1:51
Shape 2 - 2:14
Shape 3 - 2:54
Shape 4 - 3:28
Shape 5 - 4:15
Transposing With Roots - 4:55
Connecting Shapes - 5:33
Thanks to *Jay Bay* for the time stamps.
hi guys, the greatest success that i've ever had was by using the Arthurs Uke Blog (just google it) without a doubt the most helpful method i've tried.
The only good thing about COVID (and there is nothing good about it), it's that I now have time to play my uke. Thanks for the tutorial! Stay safe!
My husband got me a uke for Valentine's Day, about a month before we locked down. He gave me the uke because he plays bass and I said I wished I could learn to play a uke, a completely offhand comment. I thought it was so sweet, and I also thought, "OMG, I have zero musical ability, what am I going to do?" and hoped he wouldn't be offended when I never learned to play it. Well COVID fixed that, lol. Eight months later I have a solid 12 bar blues in three different keys and a handful of songs under my belt. And I LOVE playing! Love these tutorials! Will ask my husband to play this with me.
your skills are goals, Ty!
Thank you again Tyler for making this video.
I'm 3 months in and at a whole new level. I encourage others to try a 30 day challenge with these scales. It's one of the best things I ever did. 🦋
Where all your technical work meets your creative side. It’s literally where the right and left side smash together. So. Cool.
@@TenThumbsProductions 😎
Incredible! Finally someone who explains how to play it correctly!
Thanks a lot 😊
My Dear Teacher. You are awesome. I am you Big Fan. I became your patreon and would honestly say you are the Best Teacher and Guru i found online. My respect and Regards to you. You are awesome Sir.
finally someone who doesn't underestimate their student
Thanks so much Tyler..... I've revisited this video after a long time and now I can suddenly get it and make funky tunes.... Feels amazing... I need practice but it's a great start.. Love your lessons.🏆
Thanks LJ! Great to hear.
Me too!!! I'm a repeat visitor. Today's the day to start Getting Down to business. 😎
Still at it. The Pony 🐎 is beginning to trot! I just wrote a song "Getting Old" with a solo. Ta-da! Shape 3, sliding into shape 5. So impressive 😁👍 for "Getting Old". Hey, I'm not Done YET! Just getting old. Thanks for the Big Box of 🖍️ Crayons Tyler! Adds pizzazz to my 🖊️ Pen.
~M🦋
Absolutle stunig, thank you, that helped me so much 👏🏾
How do you know when to use the major or minor pentatonic scale? And if the song is in C, do use use the C major pentatonic scale or A minor pentatonic scale? since Am is the relative 3rd of C
Sitting here laughing at how much sense it all makes! Mate you explain it perfectly thank you
Man, this is exactly the lesson I've been looking for! Thank you!
It's so fun to mix it out these, thanks men, hi from Brasil
Tudo bem! Happy to help.
I almost forgot 🤣
It's Day 30*!!!!!
This 30 day challenge I've created for myself is just the Bud before the Bloom!
I'm a slow learner and realize my handicaps. But I was determined. I took my time and broke every scale down and am really getting to know and love my fret board. On day 16, I had a major breakthrough. I'm starting to solo with ease and actually understand what I'm doing.
I'm not feeling the HorsePower yet! I'm still a Pony. But, I have a Great Trainer!!!
Thanks Tyler*****
~M🦋
Amazing job pushing yourself M, congratulations, this is how progress is made.
@@TenThumbsProductions Sweet Rewards!⭐
Can you explain how to make chords while playing along with pentatonic shapes. Your videos have helped me so much and I thank you for all your tutorials
I came back for more! This time...in search of.
I'm ready to Get Down to business starting right now! I'll report back in 30 days. Thanks Tyler.😎
Merry Christmas 🎄
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Looking forward to hearing how the month goes.
@@TenThumbsProductions I'll let you know for sure 😊. I already started 👍
@@TenThumbsProductions ... day 7
Better 😎👍
New Discoveries:
Shape 4
'I Got Rhythm' - Gershwin 1930.
This is Fun! Thanks again T! 😎✌️
Hey man you’re really inspiring and make learning really fun. I love the energy 👍🏻
Fantastic lesson! Will take a while to assimilate and apply but so worth it. Thank you so much for this!
Thank you for this lesson, Tyler 🙏
Just what I was looking for. You rock! 👍👍👍
Excellent to hear, happy to help.
Hi! Good content but i think there is one important information missing, the root notes u related to the 5 shapes are the roots of the pentatonic Minor scale. If u set the root on the c instead of the a you get the pentatonic major scale. Sometines u dont want to sound bluesy then its useful to know that there are more options. Anyway great job.
You are correct. However this a lesson that is teaching all 5 shapes of the A minor pentatonic that is why we focused only on the minor. The concept of relative majors and minors is a fundamental one, that needs to be explored, so have a tutorial for that here.. To ake the concept further we did a big lesson on intervals in general. I think to understand music theory you have to understand intervals. If you can establish a foundation of what an interval is and what intervals create what chords and scales you an start to have a deeper understanding of music theory in general.
ua-cam.com/video/3DOvU2-TTTA/v-deo.html
@@TenThumbsProductions whats a root note?
@@alessiogallerano7563 the root note is the base note of a key. So if the key is C major, the root note is C. If the key is F minor, the root note is F. It works the same for majors or minors. It also functions like home base, the root note is the last note played in a song because it resolves the song, making it sound complete and finished.
@@TenThumbsProductions Thanks man for taking the time to reply. I've been playing the uke for a couple for years, However some terminology and concept are still new to me. Spent the whole afternoon today learning scales with your videos. Big fan of your work. Cheers mate
You're the best, Tyler! I love your lessons, my friend!
Michael Dyer my pleasure friend!
Came here from your recommendation. Solid .👊
Incredibly useful and you made it so simple even though music theory is the most complicated! Thank youuuu!
Amazing thank you so much 👏👏👌🎵
This Will help me with am arrangement I'm working on
I love this video so much! really well explained and that lil lightbulb above my head totally switched on! thank youuu
Thanks this helped me alot!!!!!!
Great lesson thanks
@@UkeDudeTex happy to help uke dude!
this helped me sooo much!! thank youuuu
Awesome this is super helpful, thanks! Love your videos they’ve helped me learn so much in the 2 months I’ve been playing
Thank you for being the best instructor on the web. I am a beginner and I tell everyone about your qualities. Cheers.
Thanks Chris! Happy learning friend!
Nice!!! Thanks 😎
GReatest lesson in the web!! Thanks
Does it hold true with ukulele that if I play the minor pentatonic scale for the major key the song is in, I should be ok? Meaning if the song is in the key of G, I can play the Em pentatonic scale and it will work. Or if the song is in C I can play the Am pentatonic scale. Using the minor third pentatonic scale of the songs major key.
Yep! You are referring to something called relative major and minor and that works on every instrument, piano to the ukelele, banjo to the mandolin. Concepts of music apply equally to all instruments.
~Thank you. Subscribed & want to understand music...😊
Every Wednesday the lesson is focused on technique and/or theory!
Many thanks. very helpful and clear.
Super cool lesson:)
Awesome vid Tyler! Thanks! Theory in small doses FTW!
`This is GOLD!! Takes me to a new level, thank you!
Bravo...just what i was looking for! Ty
Cheers friend!
Thank you
Will these be the same shapes for a Baritone ukulele just in a different key?
Thanks for all the videos! They have helped me immensely!
This is awesome. Thank you
Love from ‘who cares where’!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💕
Thank you for the love!
thank you for this!!
Schon schön erklärt.
A great help to me,,, Many thanks ..
Is your shop website still up?
Tried to visit today and it didn’t load. Thanks
@@behindwillslens3513 yeah it is, what what were you looking for, I can help you out while I look into the tech issue
awesome!
Super helpful Thanks!
i love the way he says 'chvelve'
Thank you very much 😍
Can you do a Blues Scale in C?
Serían fantásticos tus tutoriales en español
If i learn this, does it transition easily onto the Baritone scales?
Yes! You got it. You play it the exact same way except it is E minot instead of A minor, but instead of telling you let me show you ua-cam.com/video/XqPH3cbrUgo/v-deo.html
i’m a beginner ukelele player and what does the root note mean? why is it important? what’s its role in improvisation?
cool nice lesson ! Good work!°
There's a lot of "hoowaahhs powahh" 😂 you right.
Oh maaan! That's so powerfull!!!
So powerful.
I bouth an ukulele after watching this lmao. ITS CORONA TIMEEEEE
Holy fuck this is the most interesting thing ever, I’m interested!
Trying to understand... in min. 5:20 you are showing the shape that would work for B minor, but I thought this is B, D, E, F#, A. Aren't you playing some different notes? Sorry if I messed sth up...
Great video!
Thank you very much friend.
Hi Tyler, thank you for this. Can you recommend any fingerpicking tutorial in AM pentatonic or C major pentatonic to help me embed this info? I had thought my version of ye banks and braes would do but I now find that is a 'Scottish pentatonic' with F rather than E ... best wishes
I am just learning Ukelele. I am learning songs but need to learn about uke. Can you help me? What do you offer?
You can get printable tabs by becoming a Patreon, the printables for our Wednesday lessons are focused on theory and technique. I also do private lessons if you’d like to email me about price and availability my email is tenthumbsproductions@gmail.com.
Any way you can talk about the use of “shapes” I get it but not really. Can you break that down please?
Mark Sherman this
What am I doing here?
I don't even have an ukulele!
D:
Then get one
D:
You should get one man, you can get a decent soprano to start for like $30
You don't have exam tomorrow??
So can I use any of the 5 shapes for any root just be moving the shape? Also, how do I know that the B Minor is in the 7th fret if the chord isn't played on that fret? .... sorry, I'm a beginner :/
Daniel Dr no worries friend,
I am teacher! Here to answer your questions. Check this video out and see if it answers questions ua-cam.com/video/6ehtXuK9dY8/v-deo.html
Cool
Omg!!! Thank you!
Toonami94 my pleasure
#goals!
Please can someone tell me the fingerings for those scales? Thanks a lot!
Warriors Hat ! Are you local Oakland ?
No, I grew up in Michigan but live in Medellín Colombia. In 2017 two buddies I have from Colombia formed a band and went busking around USA in a mini-van. I bought that the day we were busking in San Fransisco.
I did live off California Highway 84 in the Santa Cruz mountains for 7 years when I was just a little kid.
This may be a silly question but why don't we use the g string again?...
Can anyone tell me what the "Root" of a pattern means in this?
Yes, in fancy words it is the tonal center, in easier terms if the scale is A Minor, the note root note is A. Eb major, it’s Eb. F melodic minor, it’s F. The root note is the principal note of the scale, the note that the scale is built from.
@@TenThumbsProductions Thank you so much for this. You're a natural teacher 😊.
So I learned five pentatonic shapes on A minor by covering the whole fretboard and can play it without a problem with a backing track. Amazing video thanks a heaps 🤟🏻
Now the problem is I use indicators on the Fretboards (little dots on top of the ukulele frets ) to guide my fingers. Now when I try to move up and down one note/key its all messed up. cuz my brain is functioned to follow the little dots 🙈
Any tips to solve the problem?
First and foremost, great work! So, the dots are exactly for that, they are made for you to use as a reference. I can see the confusion with shifting over new keys but try and associate the dots with important notes in the new keys!
@@TenThumbsProductions Thanks a heaps for the swift reply. I'll give it a go as soon as the strings on my new uke (Mahalo MH3CVTVNA) settles.
Also, just a recommendation to anyone reading this... if you have a Populele, it allows you to light up the customized pattern on your uke, its heaps easy especially when you are trying to learn a pentatonic scale. I learned it by lighting up the shapes in no-time.
Hi, I am confused with your definition of boxes for Am pentatonic scales. Strictly speaking, only 5-th box scale is Am pentatonic, spanning from note A4 to A5. First box spans from note C4 to C5 is just a C major pentatonic. All other three boxes begin with D4, E4, G4, respectively, and end with the same notes in 5th octave. They all use notes of C/Am scales, but the root is somewhere in the middle... It is hard to memorize, where is the root and it is not clear why it is named as Am pentatonic? I am not sure that these reversed scales can be named as Am in music theory. Using five C/Am scale boxes I could build three true Am pentatonic scales from A4 to A5. It is much easy to memorize and transpose them for other scales than in your case.
Last time you made a comment you were so rude, then I explained why and you were like “yeah, I already knew that!” When you clearly didn’t. So I am not going to answer your question again. Good luck.
Now all I need is a ukulele
Voldemort hahaha
I’ve learned this about a 6 months ago, and I still can’t solo, it just doesn’t happen.
Feru just do it, and you’ll be able to!
I mean, it's just been 6 months you need to keep practicing
Amazing as always Tyler. Can you tell me what a root is? Why is it always one note? Is it the note you start the scale on? It seems important😁
Same question here rs
A root note is a note that you end on. It makes what you're playing sound more complete. Think of it like ending a sentence.
Where are your tuning pegs?
YES!
RockinRollRuby1 now it’s time to rock’n’roll !
So are these shapes in essence different modes?
Veggiemite Games it depends on how you play, modes are the same scales from different starting points
OXK's RULE!
Why are you only using 3 of the 4 string? I know usually ukes have a high top string but can't you still use it?
You answered your own question. He is using a high G. So using the 4th string with only repeat notes available from the other strings and that will mess up the shapes he is teaching.
Can you help me? I googled it and there was said that a pentatonic is 5 notes but you are playing 6. This really confuses me :D Sorry for mistakes in my english, I m from germany.
He is playing it through different octaves, but there are the same notes, in the first shape the lowest note is a C, and the highest is a C.
The pentatonic scale has 5 notes but you can play em in every octave.
Hey when you are fingerpicking, you slightly wobble your fret finger. Is there a particular reason? Does it stop the string from buzzing - am i missing something? :) Btw loved this video
Real way to play regee on ukuleyle
Marie S he's doing a vibrato rock n blues guitarist uses it a lot check out BBKing he's the king of it.
it adds vibrato
The site says I’m subscribed I have a hard time downloading pdf etc specifically the minor pentatonic scales . Is my subscription still active hope your Sunday is great
Tom Melia hi Tom, I just got an email right about two minutes ago saying you have a pledge so you should be good to go. If you click the link pinned in the first comment it should take you to the PDF file, does it?
What is the root note?
Giovanna Barros the root note is the note that the scales are built on. For example if you hear A minor scale, the root note is A. If you hear G major scale the root note is G, if you hear Dd blues scale the root note is Db. To make your song sound complete you want this to be the last note that you play at the very end of your solo or melody. Strum on!
Oh, thank you! I’ve been playing for bout 6 months now, but most of the time I was just looking for song tutorials and didn’t pay much attention to this theoretical part and I think it’s cause I thought it was way too hard or advanced for me. However, since I found your channel, you have inspired me to learn deeper, and I really like how you present this stuff, you make it easier to understand! I only have compliments to give you and your channel, it’s so far the most complete channel of tutorials (great lessons of great songs AND musical theory) plus you are fun to watch 😊 sorry for this big reply, I had to say it haha
I must work on how to connect each shape... I'm a little bit confused!
You’re pretty fucking dope🔥🔥
Boooom. Thanks friend.
TenThumbs Productions 😊❤️❤️
How do i know its a root tone?
What do you mean by "root"?
Precilla Del Rosario the first note of scale, for example in A minor the note is A, the root for F# minor is F#.
That was really helpful
Why do you not include the g string ?
If I ever get a chance to finish sonething...I'm gonna be knockin' for criticising. I can take it. Hahahaha!
I love the into diggin' and respecting!
If you close your eyes it's like Chris Pratt is teaching you.
Haha it does
wheres the printable?
In the top comment you will see a comment made by me, there will be a direct link to the Patreon post there
@@TenThumbsProductions goes to patreon page but tough to find there
@@57raytay the link shouldn’t take you to the home page, it should take you to the A minor pentatonic page, there you scroll down and you’ll see an orange link, click that and it is the download to the pdf.
@@TenThumbsProductions no patreon link here
@@57raytay Is this the link you are clicking? www.patreon.com/posts/18118663 It is the one pinned in the comment. It is a little clunky and clumsy at first, it is not intuitive, but once you get it it is fast and easy. If this is still tricky for you write me on Patreon and I'll email you some screen shots or something showing you how.
.
Are you on your computer? Or are you using the app?