Omg! Somebody finally showed me how to work the fret board in a language that is understandable. Nobel Peace Prize coming you way. Thanks so much, now I can go learn how to use this with practice and confidence. Sooooo appreciated.
Hey Steve! This is a great comment, so glad this one landed well. Once you start to look at the fretboard like this it unlocks rapidly. Chords, scales, arpeggios all follow this mechanism. Welcome to the open door!!
I’ve been playing for 20 years, and I’ve been in a rut these past few months. You just reignited my passion, and gave me something exciting to learn again
Watching your extraordinary explanation I come to the conclusion that the Master is not the person from which you will learn "everything" you need to know, but the person from which you will learn "the only" thing you need to know. Thank you so much
Thank you Chris, much appreciated. I've played for over 25 years, mostly as a vocalist and rhythm guitarist so I have the dexterity... these little nuggets are super valuable to guys like me who are wanting to get into more lead guitar.
Man, Ive been playing for ages and hit the famous intermediate plateau. Im trying to break this with learning the basics of the pentatonic scales. Your vid helped me find the logic in the guitar again! Much appreciated!!!
It's been about 3 weeks. Got Am mapped and playing all over the fret board... up and down.Got an Am backing track. I impressed myself. Throwing in some slides, vibratos and bends...yeah baby!
Thank You for this lesson Chris ! I combined your technique with Stich’s “never-lost” system and now I am INVINCIBLE ! (both systems compliment one another) 👍🏻🎸🤘
@pathological Flyer I instantly thought of the stitch "never lost" as well. I agree, these complement each other .. Next up the Major Pentatonic "Sherland" method
Doing the Exact Same thing Myself. Can’t Wait til it All clicks together ….. I’m gettin there, and enjoying the SHIT out of it the Whole Way Through !!!
That's actually a very good exercise and one that, unusually, provides more benefit the longer you've been playing. It's very easy to play scales the same way over and over again, which means that when we land on a note and our brain finds an appropriate scale pattern we will end up playing the same way over and over. Being able to switch to a different shape than we're used to opens up all sorts of ideas that normally would never see the light of day. Great lesson!
This looks really helpful to me. Anything that requires memorization causes me to struggle and learning scales in various positions has been slow and challenging and worse, demotivating. I like how this strips away things that, while they may be useful to know eventually, aren't really a prerequisite. Kudos for providing such clarity.
It’s so great to hear this is helpful! You can take this approach with any scale, as well as any chord too. This idea can really crack things open. Thanks for posting
@@curiousguitarist After watching your video and applying the knowledge you shared I suddenly find similar posts in my News feed. One instructs to halve the pattern and move the second half to the 5th fret or the A note on the lower E string. It sounds exactly like the first half. I use your method of switching from index to ring finger here too.
"Taking the cognitive load out of mapping the pentatonic scale across the entire fretboard" is an incredible hook and deserves a subscribe on that alone.
Excellent video Chris. As a 50 plus year veteran of the guitar, I am constantly amazed of the multitude of approaches, that can be applied to learning the fretboard!
You only need one approach. Take the time to learn basic music theory, chord and scale construction, and note and interval names. You only have to learn this once and you can discard all of the nonsense you learned up to now.
@@danqodusk8140 Brother, I have been playing guitar for 55 years now. I just now am a fan, of all of the innovations that are constantly occuring with the instrument! Peace!
Thank you. I simply jam. I am very green. On the harmonica I jam by ear. Now jamming on the guitar. I am boring. I have a visual of the 5 pentatonic patterns. All blues keys are now possible to have fun with because of the patterns. A well placed half tone sets it up good for some melodic latin stuff. I want to learn more and when I end up jamming with backing tracks I fall into my meditative mood and just jam. I can certainly say that I learned something I will remember from your video. Baby steps for an old guy lol. Your teaching sets it up for me to search the root from a different approach. Normally using the G string to find my favorite pattern to start with. It will change as of today. Index and ring finger. My name is not Django he was great.
Great video once again. The minor pent is perfect for minor 7 chords, seriously so perfect. I like to call the major pent, the major pentatonic, plus. Haha, because because if you wanna cover a chord, you’re hitting the chord tones, plus whatever you wanna add or what you think is important
Ty so much! I'm an intermediate player and this breaks down the wall for me in transcending to the next step with improvising solos! Splitting each position into two halves alone is huge for me! I can't believe I've never thought of it like this (using only 2 fingers for root placement too), but now with some more practice and quizing my memory I won't have to pause before knowing exactly where I need/want to be in a scale to improvise solos with new phrases/runs!
👌 great stuff Chris. I've been waiting for one of my you tubers to release this very thing. When I figured this out couple years ago I think it was my biggest AH HA moment ever. Only thing to accompany this is learning where all the root notes are.
Knowing that there are guitarists that utilize some tools better than The Guitarcheologist and that there is more to learn is the both awesomely inspiring and depressing.
Chris, Don’t feel bad about it. A lot of musicians are better than me and you and a whole bunch of other musicians out there. However, when you go out and get a bar gig hopefully you learned a lot of tunes and how to play them flawlessly and hopefully you don’t spend a bunch of time blabbing in between tunes and for the love of GOD Do Not play Loud! The best way to wreck a gig is to play to Loud ! I went to hear the Johnny Winter Band at Pinckney Park Rowayton CT And the opening band was Manny and the Mojomatics . The opening band was no where near as loud and everyone could HEAR them! The Johnny Winter Band was so loud I had to walk a few blocks away to lower the volume to be able to hear them and yes they were rather good!
Doing this helps to find the notes themselves. In other words, looking for all the A's and then doing it in each key, makes you familiar with where all the notes are in addition to being a great way to look at the scale. I've used the shapes for so long I don't think I can ever not be somewhat aware of them, at least in the background as I play. Great style of teaching. I became familiar with you through Marty Schwartz, another great teacher.
While practicing pentatonic scale shapes, I happened upon this method myself, where I started with the 1st and 3rd fingers and found all instances across the fretboard. I found it helped orient me to finding the scale at any point vs thinking 5 scale shapes first and backing into it. Good for quickly knowing the notes on the fretboard too as you anchor off the roots and finding them. I'm doing this same kind of method for major scale and its modes to with same success. Totally agree that guitarists should learn it this way first vs. going first to playing the full 5 scale shapes and thinking "shape" more than "scale from root".
This makes so much more sense to me because I also am confused by patterns, shapes n scales oh n boxes. I'm assuming u can use this same concept for all scales? I guess I'll find out. . . hopefully lol. Thanks for ur lesson
Hi Chris, you only have to watch Stevie Ray Vaghgn live at El Mocanbo once to have your pentatonic world change forever. The greatest blues palyer ever and a complete master of the scale.
What's remarkable about this approach is that it simplifies the problem by focusing on just two constraints, even though there are still numerous other factors and various patterns at play. However, when you approach it from this perspective, your brain naturally starts to make sense of it. It's truly an intriguing approach.
I like you saying about finding the limits of the instrument. Thanks for an interesting way to approach a minor pentatonic that I can put in my tool kit and always use.
This is incredible and definitely a light bulb moment! especially as i learnt to play that Am Penta shape all over to solo in different keys! It's the anchor shape now can use it more musically in each key anywhere! thanks Chris!
Great lesson! I have struggled with scales, and I believe this is really going to help me. Also, great philosophical advice in the first minute and a half.
Simple. Sweet. Straight to the point. A lovely lesson indeed. Going to grab an axe and learn my minor pentatonic from my ring finger now. Time for this old dog to learn new tricks and give that ring finger the starting role( and at least understand that I don’t always have to lead off with the index finger) 🙏
AHA! I have seen the light! Definitely an AHA moment so thanks a million! After days of agonizing over every which way to use the PS, you have simplified this so easily & have given me new energy! Its funny that when you have understanding of something, how much better you can make it work. Cant wait to go through your website. Thanks again Chris!
Absolute beginner (for the last 40 years or thereabouts) and often rant (drunkenly, usually) about how experienced guitarists don’t “get”, just by the insidious nature of muscle memory, the awful struggles of noobs. You’re definitely catering to people way past the noob stage, BUT this lesson really fired my brain. What a great exercise, for a true noob or a professional noob like me, to map this out on paper and make it a daily ritual. Awesome, thanks.
I am just starting to learn to play Blues guitar. I have played bass for years and sat in the pocket .. Thank you for demystifying this concept for me.
I've learned a lot of tips and tricks in my 52 years of playing guitar, now 1 more to play with. Thanks for that! At this point, I've learned a lot of 'what not to play'! I don't read music. I learned 'the Nashville system' long before I ever heard it called that. I got dragged on stage by some 'friends' when I knew about 9 chords. Several years of 'woodsheading' and trial by fire taught me to play rhythm pretty OK. LOL Linking some triads, I could muddle through a lead, of sorts. Then one night the bass player didn't show up. They handed me a bass and said I was the bass player that night. Long first 2 sets, the second 2 were better. Now I have 50 guitars and 2 bass's. LOL What a long strange trip it's been. LOLOL 8) Thanks for the tip(s)!! 8) --gary
Indeed Ted, I'm so glad the content here is helpful, and yes, all the TABs are available on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/chrissherland You can grab them there, and thanks in advance if you do decide to support the effort!
@@curiousguitarist It's like a lot of these videos (not just you) "Unlock the fretboard with the CAGED system!" " A new way to learn pentatonics!" Learn all of that stuff and what do you have? You have SHIT. Have a chick over and show her how you can find shapes all over the fretboard. I'm sure she'll be impressed. Not one....NOT ONE video on what any/all of it MEANS or how to use it. Oh and btw.... again not just you, without a different camera angle or a graphic, we can only estimate where your fingers are or what you are doing....
You know what I find interesting here, having just watched you for the first time, is your picking structure. Most people are probably dialed in to your left hand in this video, since that is what is being emphasized. One thing that stands out to me if my eyes aren't playing tricks - is when you play that sweet little lick at 9:48 that sounds so amazing especially at high speeds; your picking structure is top-down on all 3 strings if I am seeing that correctly. I think a lot of players would attempt that riff with alternating picking. I know that I would. Anyway, if you haven't already, (first time viewer) think about making videos with your picking structure. I find that super interesting, and a lot of players don't even stop to think about it because it is incorporated and cemented into their playing from years of practice and exploration.
This is a great idea DG, thanks. I use a variety of picking techniques and switch fairly regularly depending on what I’m trying to accomplish. Thanks for the suggestion, and I’m glad you’re here.
I echo DG here, this is a great video, I too would like to see a video regarding your picking hand and what works and doesn’t regarding picking from your experience. Thanks
I'm a beginner but coming from piano and with a (small and recent) home studio. I want to be able to play drums, bass, piano/keys and guitar on my compositions, which will be quite basic in the beginning. Your video is what I was looking for, a kind of 'cheat' to be able to add - after much practicing - simple guitar solos. To my surprise I'm enjoying guitar more than I thought I would and am excited to expand my horizons. Keys, drums and bass are OK but not quite guitar! Really happy to be a new subscriber! :)
Super cool lesson and perspective of looking at that scale. EXTREMELY HELPFUL !!! Thank you for your time ! Also, you articulate your thoughts clearly. Good teacher
You're welcome, Al. Glad this one was helpful for you. And yeah, this LP is crazy wonderful. I've owned many Les Pauls in my day, but this one is by far the best. The color is called "Sweet Cherry" and originally it was a deeper red, but it's faded to this really pleasing red-orange and I've never seen a 'Paul quite this color before. I am a lucky man.
That looks like one of the newer Gibson Les Paul Standard 50's colours? I have bought 2 of these 50's Standards this year [both 2023 models]. One Gold Top, and a few weeks ago a new White Top. Beautiful! I've totally converted to Gibson Les Paul's now. These are some of the best Les Paul's Gibson has ever made. Great channel by the way...
Pentatonic is my sidewalk and you just introduced the escalator. Had to watch a couple of times but makes sense once you apply to the fretboard. Your approach is refreshing. Thanks from an old guy with a guitar.
Holy #!@$& Finally over getting lost!! Between this and your Circle of 5th's 101--I learned more than I have tried to learn ever! This puts everything together and makes the most sense out of anything I have ever seen. Patterns are how I can comprehend-because then, things make sense. Thank you sir!!
So very welcome, I'm so glad this stuff has landed well for you. Staying "found" is a bit of work at first, but eventually your ears start to lend a hand too and it gets easier and easier.
This was something floating around in my head on scale shapes and positions. The question are you starting with your index or ring finger just simplified all of that. Great lesson with immediate application in my playing. Thank you!
Glad I have found your channel and a few other relatively small ones. When I find a good teacher, I usually end up thinking the same thing "why doesnt everyone teach it this way?".
Thanks, Randy! So glad to hear this one clicked. Once I started to see scales this way my dependence on patterns vanished, and I could return to them when they posed value, rather than feeling stuck in them
I subscribed halfway in. I just like the way you present things. I'm going through some issues with my fretting hand, I don't know if it's nerve damage or something else, but I live to play. It sucks, but I'm hoping it can be fixed. Ring and Pinky fingers and weakening and there's numbness and pain in my wrist. I'll keep coming back. Thank you, Chris!
@@curiousguitarist will do, Chris. It's like a cosmic joke. You never think this is going to happen, but I sure appreciate the gift I was given, and will keep fighting. I just hope it's something that can be fixed. I've had to get tricky just to be able to play, but I can't be the only person this has happened to. Thanks again, Chris! 🤘✌️
@@jeffpodrug8942 had a crazy bout of tennis elbow (common for violinists actually), took me over a year to get it to heal and it STILL flares up occasionally. I'm sending the good vibes your way Jeff!
@@curiousguitarist I really appreciate it. I'm a 3rd generation Well drilled, and I had to get out in my mid 30s because it was just too hard on my body. I have tendinitis in both elbows, and bone spurs in both wrists, not to mention shoulder injuries. I think it's in my wrist because I feel the most pain there, but I'll be seeing my doctor to find out where to start. I'm an Owner Operator OTR trucker. I just turned 59, and I guess I should've expected something to happen like this, but you always feel invincible until you don't. I'm self taught, and continue to noodle around. I have no intention of putting my guitars away, unless I'm told to by a doctor. I have times where I can almost do it, however, they are rare. So I'm going to try to get myself fixed. It's just always been something I could lose myself in, and that's the hardest part. Thank you for the positive vibes. I'll be back destroying music the way I used to soon. It's the ultimate release. ✌️❤️🤘
Helpful aha. By focusing ‘small’ the bigger patterns take care of themselves. A related insight is…wherever you are on the neck, for any interval or melodic line, there’s always a ‘toward the bridge’ (starting on index) route and a toward the nut (ring finger) route. When you put that together with CAGED, it helps highlight the way the adjacent chord shapes interlock and hand off to one another. You may have already covered that. I really like your approach and teaching style.
He is a Great communicator = Certainly "One of the Best" teachers/instructors on You Tube for guitar lessons. He makes everything easily digestible. I'm telling everyone, to check-out this channel. oNe LovE from NYC
I gotta say, this is a much more useful way to explain the pentatonic scale. Ive been playing with the scale for 40 years and have a decent grasp on it. This lesson should save these young folks a lot of time and self discovery. Using the two different fingers as starting points opens every door possible and thats the trick. Learn the notes of the neck, know your roots and do this lesson. Fret board command will happen soon after.
First time watching one of your videos and I appreciate this approach. In my experience, the better I am at knowing each note on the fretboard, the better I become at pentatonic because it makes the patterns more apparent.
Chris! I used to work under you at ibotta. Good to see you jamming my friend! Wish we could played together and I coulda learned more from you while I was there. Cheers!
As a 14 year old git whizz back in the 70s, I stopped playing solos in the 80s. Now at the age of 67 its time to return to my roots...I never had any theory back then, only ears and a old cassette recorder to learn riffs. For me, scales never existed. Your understanding of pentatonic scales and how to play intuitively is simply wicked (youth term in the UK!). Very intuitive and absolutely invaluable lesson for all beginners...like me...ha! Ha! thanks so much.
@@curiousguitarist so am I. I know there is a lot wrong with Utube, but for a person my age its a revelation! A great resource platform - I am sure your channel will flourish and grow with content like this and your cool approach to music and guitar playing. As they say around here ...more power to your elbow.
Omg! Somebody finally showed me how to work the fret board in a language that is understandable. Nobel Peace Prize coming you way. Thanks so much, now I can go learn how to use this with practice and confidence. Sooooo appreciated.
Hey Steve! This is a great comment, so glad this one landed well. Once you start to look at the fretboard like this it unlocks rapidly. Chords, scales, arpeggios all follow this mechanism.
Welcome to the open door!!
Great Lesson! Thanks again Chris🥰🎸🎸🎸
"It's always better for you to find the limits of the instrument than the instrument to be limited by your capability." That is gold sir.
Thanks, Mikey! See you at the end of the month!
@@curiousguitarist Stoked!
Wasn’t that LAO TSZU ?
@@lukeyduke9732 Who? Tzu?
Absolutely 24 karats!!!
I’ve been playing for 20 years, and I’ve been in a rut these past few months. You just reignited my passion, and gave me something exciting to learn again
Best thing I could have read today, Bobby! Thanks for this!
Been playing 25 years and this was a light bulb moment for me. Thank you!
You are so welcome, Ryan, glad you’re here!
me too!!!
Same here
Such a simple concept and an approach I’d never considered. This lesson is gold!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it ednaplate! I'm glad you're here.
And that's not even an exaggeration! 👍
Watching your extraordinary explanation I come to the conclusion that the Master is not the person from which you will learn "everything" you need to know, but the person from which you will learn "the only" thing you need to know. Thank you so much
That is so kind, Tudor. Thank you and I’m so glad you’re here
Thank you Chris, much appreciated. I've played for over 25 years, mostly as a vocalist and rhythm guitarist so I have the dexterity... these little nuggets are super valuable to guys like me who are wanting to get into more lead guitar.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Man, Ive been playing for ages and hit the famous intermediate plateau. Im trying to break this with learning the basics of the pentatonic scales. Your vid helped me find the logic in the guitar again! Much appreciated!!!
So glad to hear that! Happy that this one has landed well for you.
It's been about 3 weeks. Got Am mapped and playing all over the fret board... up and down.Got an Am backing track. I impressed myself. Throwing in some slides, vibratos and bends...yeah baby!
Man that's GREAT news! Thanks for the update.
Playing over 30 years. Learned something new. Many thanks
You bet!!
Thank You for this lesson Chris ! I combined your technique with Stich’s “never-lost” system and now I am INVINCIBLE ! (both systems compliment one another) 👍🏻🎸🤘
That is the greatest news I could get here! Glad you're here, and tell Stitch I said "hello!"
@pathological Flyer I instantly thought of the stitch "never lost" as well. I agree, these complement each other .. Next up the Major Pentatonic "Sherland" method
@@djbny2la I need to collab with Stitch someday!!
Doing the Exact Same thing Myself. Can’t Wait til it All clicks together ….. I’m gettin there, and enjoying the SHIT out of it the Whole Way Through !!!
[... link 2 'Stichs
technique'
PLZ !!! ??? ...]
That's actually a very good exercise and one that, unusually, provides more benefit the longer you've been playing. It's very easy to play scales the same way over and over again, which means that when we land on a note and our brain finds an appropriate scale pattern we will end up playing the same way over and over. Being able to switch to a different shape than we're used to opens up all sorts of ideas that normally would never see the light of day. Great lesson!
Thanks John, I’m glad you enjoyed this one!
This looks really helpful to me. Anything that requires memorization causes me to struggle and learning scales in various positions has been slow and challenging and worse, demotivating. I like how this strips away things that, while they may be useful to know eventually, aren't really a prerequisite. Kudos for providing such clarity.
That is EXACTLY it, John! Glad you’re here!
The simplicity here is mind blowing. I'm digging this approach and finally moving the scale around the fretboard. Yes!
It’s so great to hear this is helpful! You can take this approach with any scale, as well as any chord too. This idea can really crack things open. Thanks for posting
@@curiousguitarist After watching your video and applying the knowledge you shared I suddenly find similar posts in my News feed. One instructs to halve the pattern and move the second half to the 5th fret or the A note on the lower E string. It sounds exactly like the first half. I use your method of switching from index to ring finger here too.
"Taking the cognitive load out of mapping the pentatonic scale across the entire fretboard" is an incredible hook and deserves a subscribe on that alone.
Thanks Chris, I appreciate that. Glad you're here.
It is addicting isn't it
Excellent video Chris. As a 50 plus year veteran of the guitar, I am constantly amazed of the multitude of approaches, that can be applied to learning the fretboard!
You only need one approach. Take the time to learn basic music theory, chord and scale construction, and note and interval names. You only have to learn this once and you can discard all of the nonsense you learned up to now.
@@danqodusk8140 Brother, I have been playing guitar for 55 years now. I just now am a fan, of all of the innovations that are constantly occuring with the instrument! Peace!
You always turn the most boring theory and fretboard lessons into fun and exciting rides !
love your lessons and I thank you for them !
Of course, Rachel! Thanks for watching
Thank you. I simply jam. I am very green. On the harmonica I jam by ear. Now jamming on the guitar. I am boring. I have a visual of the 5 pentatonic patterns. All blues keys are now possible to have fun with because of the patterns. A well placed half tone sets it up good for some melodic latin stuff. I want to learn more and when I end up jamming with backing tracks I fall into my meditative mood and just jam. I can certainly say that I learned something I will remember from your video. Baby steps for an old guy lol. Your teaching sets it up for me to search the root from a different approach. Normally using the G string to find my favorite pattern to start with. It will change as of today. Index and ring finger. My name is not Django he was great.
Great video once again. The minor pent is perfect for minor 7 chords, seriously so perfect.
I like to call the major pent, the major pentatonic, plus. Haha, because because if you wanna cover a chord, you’re hitting the chord tones, plus whatever you wanna add or what you think is important
Nice way to look at it, Mark!
Ty so much! I'm an intermediate player and this breaks down the wall for me in transcending to the next step with improvising solos! Splitting each position into two halves alone is huge for me! I can't believe I've never thought of it like this (using only 2 fingers for root placement too), but now with some more practice and quizing my memory I won't have to pause before knowing exactly where I need/want to be in a scale to improvise solos with new phrases/runs!
That’s it, exactly!
👌 great stuff Chris. I've been waiting for one of my you tubers to release this very thing. When I figured this out couple years ago I think it was my biggest AH HA moment ever. Only thing to accompany this is learning where all the root notes are.
Exactly! Great context, thanks!
@@curiousguitarist I also see the relation to CAGED (where the root notes are) and am currently trying to apply same to modes, just a bit trickier.
Terrific video. Absolutely one of the clearest and most straightforward I’ve ever seen for guitar!
So glad you enjoyed this one!
Knowing that there are guitarists that utilize some tools better than The Guitarcheologist and that there is more to learn is the both awesomely inspiring and depressing.
Go for the inspiring impulse...it's SO much better than the second one.
Chris,
Don’t feel bad about it. A lot of musicians are better than me and you and a whole bunch of other musicians out there. However, when you go out and get a bar gig hopefully you learned a lot of tunes and how to play them flawlessly and hopefully you don’t spend a bunch of time blabbing in between tunes and for the love of GOD Do Not play Loud! The best way to wreck a gig is to play to Loud !
I went to hear the Johnny Winter Band at Pinckney Park Rowayton CT And the opening band was Manny and the Mojomatics . The opening band was no where near as loud and everyone could HEAR them!
The Johnny Winter Band was so loud I had to walk a few blocks away to lower the volume to be able to hear them and yes they were rather good!
Absolutely brilliant thank you 🙏
You’re so welcome!
Doing this helps to find the notes themselves. In other words, looking for all the A's and then doing it in each key, makes you familiar with where all the notes are in addition to being a great way to look at the scale. I've used the shapes for so long I don't think I can ever not be somewhat aware of them, at least in the background as I play. Great style of teaching. I became familiar with you through Marty Schwartz, another great teacher.
Great comment! Yeah, Marty is the man! I taught him to play when he was in college!
I'm glad you're here, and enjoying the videos.
While practicing pentatonic scale shapes, I happened upon this method myself, where I started with the 1st and 3rd fingers and found all instances across the fretboard. I found it helped orient me to finding the scale at any point vs thinking 5 scale shapes first and backing into it. Good for quickly knowing the notes on the fretboard too as you anchor off the roots and finding them. I'm doing this same kind of method for major scale and its modes to with same success. Totally agree that guitarists should learn it this way first vs. going first to playing the full 5 scale shapes and thinking "shape" more than "scale from root".
Great addition and enhancement on the last vid you did on this subject.
Thanks Kent. Still looking to get together in LA!!!
@@curiousguitarist Just lemme know when! I'm in Silver Lake.
Well, consider this old guitarist's curiosity piqued and mind kinda blown... amazing what happens when one can simplify things.
Thank you, Chris 🙏
Thanks Scott, so much. I really appreciate you being here, engaged, and all your support.
This makes so much more sense to me because I also am confused by patterns, shapes n scales oh n boxes. I'm assuming u can use this same concept for all scales? I guess I'll find out. . . hopefully lol. Thanks for ur lesson
Yup, all scales, and all chords too.
Hi Chris, you only have to watch Stevie Ray Vaghgn live at El Mocanbo once to have your pentatonic world change forever. The greatest blues palyer ever and a complete master of the scale.
So true! He also used Mixolydian, Natural Minor, and the Blues scale a ton.
Thanks for the comment!
What's remarkable about this approach is that it simplifies the problem by focusing on just two constraints, even though there are still numerous other factors and various patterns at play. However, when you approach it from this perspective, your brain naturally starts to make sense of it. It's truly an intriguing approach.
Thanks Brette, sometimes a fresh take with less noise helps reveal what’s already there :)
Thanks for the views and comment
I like you saying about finding the limits of the instrument. Thanks for an interesting way to approach a minor pentatonic that I can put in my tool kit and always use.
You bet!
This is incredible and definitely a light bulb moment! especially as i learnt to play that Am Penta shape all over to solo in different keys! It's the anchor shape now can use it more musically in each key anywhere! thanks Chris!
Of course!!
Great lesson! I have struggled with scales, and I believe this is really going to help me. Also, great philosophical advice in the first minute and a half.
Glad you enjoyed this one EE!
Thank you sir. I was in a rut with the pentatonic scale. This helped me play something new!
So glad! Playing from the root to the root again and focusing on that really allows the scale to be heard and thus, controlled as you play it
Got my guitar last week or so, this has helped me ao much, thank you
Ahhh, happy to hear this landed well for you.
Holy shit! 29 freaking years! This is amazing. I’ll be subscribing to your patreon.
Thanks Steven, looking forward to it!
Simple. Sweet. Straight to the point. A lovely lesson indeed. Going to grab an axe and learn my minor pentatonic from my ring finger now. Time for this old dog to learn new tricks and give that ring finger the starting role( and at least understand that I don’t always have to lead off with the index finger) 🙏
That’s it exactly Joe! Thanks for all your support, it’s great to have you here.
Love your teaching, you are the Pep Guardiola of Guitar - Pep Guitarola!
AHA! I have seen the light! Definitely an AHA moment so thanks a million! After days of agonizing over every which way to use the PS, you have simplified this so easily & have given me new energy! Its funny that when you have understanding of something, how much better you can make it work. Cant wait to go through your website. Thanks again Chris!
So glad it was helpful, Greg!
Absolute beginner (for the last 40 years or thereabouts) and often rant (drunkenly, usually) about how experienced guitarists don’t “get”, just by the insidious nature of muscle memory, the awful struggles of noobs. You’re definitely catering to people way past the noob stage, BUT this lesson really fired my brain. What a great exercise, for a true noob or a professional noob like me, to map this out on paper and make it a daily ritual. Awesome, thanks.
I try as much as I can to recall what it was like BEFORE I knew the subject in the lesson. I'm glad you enjoyed this one Patrick!
I am just starting to learn to play Blues guitar. I have played bass for years and sat in the pocket .. Thank you for demystifying this concept for me.
You are welcome 🙏
Brother, Wildwood was like Heaven to me as a kid in the 90s. I cried when I saw on the news Dracula's Castle was burned down. Great vid! 🎸
I've learned a lot of tips and tricks in my 52 years of playing guitar, now 1 more to play with. Thanks for that! At this point, I've learned a lot of 'what not to play'! I don't read music. I learned 'the Nashville system' long before I ever heard it called that. I got dragged on stage by some 'friends' when I knew about 9 chords. Several years of 'woodsheading' and trial by fire taught me to play rhythm pretty OK. LOL Linking some triads, I could muddle through a lead, of sorts. Then one night the bass player didn't show up. They handed me a bass and said I was the bass player that night. Long first 2 sets, the second 2 were better. Now I have 50 guitars and 2 bass's. LOL What a long strange trip it's been. LOLOL 8) Thanks for the tip(s)!! 8) --gary
Great to have you here, Gary!!
I'm starting at 74, some Tabs would really help me to see where to go.
Thanks for the great video
Indeed Ted, I'm so glad the content here is helpful, and yes, all the TABs are available on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/chrissherland
You can grab them there, and thanks in advance if you do decide to support the effort!
Great lesson for digging deeper for all cords used in a song.
CONGRATULATIONS! You've taken a complicated, difficult to understand topic and made it IMPOSSIBLE to understand. Bravo!
Did you try this?
I would argue that you haven't.
@@curiousguitarist It's like a lot of these videos (not just you) "Unlock the fretboard with the CAGED system!" " A new way to learn pentatonics!" Learn all of that stuff and what do you have? You have SHIT. Have a chick over and show her how you can find shapes all over the fretboard. I'm sure she'll be impressed. Not one....NOT ONE video on what any/all of it MEANS or how to use it. Oh and btw.... again not just you, without a different camera angle or a graphic, we can only estimate where your fingers are or what you are doing....
You know what I find interesting here, having just watched you for the first time, is your picking structure. Most people are probably dialed in to your left hand in this video, since that is what is being emphasized. One thing that stands out to me if my eyes aren't playing tricks - is when you play that sweet little lick at 9:48 that sounds so amazing especially at high speeds; your picking structure is top-down on all 3 strings if I am seeing that correctly. I think a lot of players would attempt that riff with alternating picking. I know that I would. Anyway, if you haven't already, (first time viewer) think about making videos with your picking structure. I find that super interesting, and a lot of players don't even stop to think about it because it is incorporated and cemented into their playing from years of practice and exploration.
This is a great idea DG, thanks. I use a variety of picking techniques and switch fairly regularly depending on what I’m trying to accomplish.
Thanks for the suggestion, and I’m glad you’re here.
I echo DG here, this is a great video, I too would like to see a video regarding your picking hand and what works and doesn’t regarding picking from your experience. Thanks
I’m a 60-year-old beginner and this is the first time the guitar has started to make sense to me!
@@hmcpimpslap480 fantastic! I’m so glad this channel is helping!
Very helpful. Thanks Chris.
I mapped B and D notes after the A. Learned a lot.
I'm a beginner but coming from piano and with a (small and recent) home studio. I want to be able to play drums, bass, piano/keys and guitar on my compositions, which will be quite basic in the beginning. Your video is what I was looking for, a kind of 'cheat' to be able to add - after much practicing - simple guitar solos. To my surprise I'm enjoying guitar more than I thought I would and am excited to expand my horizons. Keys, drums and bass are OK but not quite guitar!
Really happy to be a new subscriber! :)
So great to have you on board! Welcome
@@curiousguitarist Thanks a lot! :)
That was a brilliant lesson. You made it so easy.
Glad you enjoyed it Ken.
Super cool lesson and perspective of looking at that scale. EXTREMELY HELPFUL !!! Thank you for your time ! Also, you articulate your thoughts clearly. Good teacher
Thanks Morgan, I appreciate that, and I'm so glad this was helpful.
Very helpful for me--thanks! btw, that is one awesome looking Les Paul Chris!!
You're welcome, Al. Glad this one was helpful for you. And yeah, this LP is crazy wonderful. I've owned many Les Pauls in my day, but this one is by far the best.
The color is called "Sweet Cherry" and originally it was a deeper red, but it's faded to this really pleasing red-orange and I've never seen a 'Paul quite this color before.
I am a lucky man.
@@curiousguitarist awesome color on the LP, thanks again!
That looks like one of the newer Gibson Les Paul Standard 50's colours? I have bought 2 of these 50's Standards this year [both 2023 models]. One Gold Top, and a few weeks ago a new White Top. Beautiful! I've totally converted to Gibson Les Paul's now. These are some of the best Les Paul's Gibson has ever made. Great channel by the way...
I’m with ya! Love love love this guitar!
Yo Chris stating that you always look at someone better,,, makes you a great teacher,,, regard from India
Thank you Noel! Welcome!
Way to break it down Brother! Easily digestible and transferable directly to my practice sessions!
Beautiful!
Light bulb moment for me, wow. Thanks for this lesson. This is beautiful.
I'm so glad it was helpful, DeerFeeder.
Really opened my eyes. Simple but very effective. Many thanks.
You bet! A simple point of view shift is always refreshing and usually insightful as well. Glad you enjoyed this one
Very helpful and I look forward to working on this for the foreseeable future. Thanks for the great stuff you do 👍
Of course!
Pentatonic is my sidewalk and you just introduced the escalator. Had to watch a couple of times but makes sense once you apply to the fretboard. Your approach is refreshing. Thanks from an old guy with a guitar.
Glad it was helpful, welcome to the channel!
i have watched a ton of pentatonic videos & have never seen it presented like this!! thanks!!
Ha! So glad you enjoyed this perspective, Ron.
Great guitar science! I like the ease of moving up and down the neck off the root.
@@pipertime1 glad you enjoyed it!
That 'just' made my day! Now am on my way to playing with confidence; thank you soooo much sir!
You are so welcome!
Years of playing,... I see your AH-HA and raise you to 1M. Your teaching style and method is a palatable feast. Thank you.🎉
Ha! So glad you found your way here, Frank!
Thank you Chris. I’m impressed with how much “simplicity” is the key to solving “complex”. Thank you!
So true, reducing to the core elements allows for such great focus.
Holy #!@$& Finally over getting lost!! Between this and your Circle of 5th's 101--I learned more than I have tried to learn ever! This puts everything together and makes the most sense out of anything I have ever seen. Patterns are how I can comprehend-because then, things make sense. Thank you sir!!
So very welcome, I'm so glad this stuff has landed well for you.
Staying "found" is a bit of work at first, but eventually your ears start to lend a hand too and it gets easier and easier.
This was something floating around in my head on scale shapes and positions. The question are you starting with your index or ring finger just simplified all of that. Great lesson with immediate application in my playing. Thank you!
Thanks for this great comment, so glad it was helpful!
Nice! Great pointers much appreciated. Thanks
You bet, David!
Glad I have found your channel and a few other relatively small ones. When I find a good teacher, I usually end up thinking the same thing "why doesnt everyone teach it this way?".
Thanks Doc! Glad you found the channel, welcome!
Thank you so much for this lesson , learn something new everyday is what i love about Guitar thanks again .
You bet!
Refreshing kind of a way looking at the Am pentatonic.
It’s really fun to understand and goo deeper
Exactly!
I'm in love with this lesson. Thank you sir.
You are so welcome, Victor!
Interesting and useful way to look at it. Thanks!
You bet, Jim
This is exactly the the lesson I needed. And I love that guitar.
Thanks, Randy! So glad to hear this one clicked. Once I started to see scales this way my dependence on patterns vanished, and I could return to them when they posed value, rather than feeling stuck in them
I subscribed halfway in. I just like the way you present things. I'm going through some issues with my fretting hand, I don't know if it's nerve damage or something else, but I live to play. It sucks, but I'm hoping it can be fixed. Ring and Pinky fingers and weakening and there's numbness and pain in my wrist. I'll keep coming back. Thank you, Chris!
Ouch! Thanks for the sub, but do take care of that hand! Keep us posted.
@@curiousguitarist will do, Chris. It's like a cosmic joke. You never think this is going to happen, but I sure appreciate the gift I was given, and will keep fighting. I just hope it's something that can be fixed. I've had to get tricky just to be able to play, but I can't be the only person this has happened to. Thanks again, Chris! 🤘✌️
@@jeffpodrug8942 had a crazy bout of tennis elbow (common for violinists actually), took me over a year to get it to heal and it STILL flares up occasionally.
I'm sending the good vibes your way Jeff!
@@curiousguitarist I really appreciate it. I'm a 3rd generation Well drilled, and I had to get out in my mid 30s because it was just too hard on my body. I have tendinitis in both elbows, and bone spurs in both wrists, not to mention shoulder injuries. I think it's in my wrist because I feel the most pain there, but I'll be seeing my doctor to find out where to start. I'm an Owner Operator OTR trucker. I just turned 59, and I guess I should've expected something to happen like this, but you always feel invincible until you don't. I'm self taught, and continue to noodle around. I have no intention of putting my guitars away, unless I'm told to by a doctor. I have times where I can almost do it, however, they are rare. So I'm going to try to get myself fixed. It's just always been something I could lose myself in, and that's the hardest part. Thank you for the positive vibes. I'll be back destroying music the way I used to soon. It's the ultimate release. ✌️❤️🤘
@@jeffpodrug8942 you have to chase it, music is that kind of thing. Peace!
Helpful aha. By focusing ‘small’ the bigger patterns take care of themselves.
A related insight is…wherever you are on the neck, for any interval or melodic line, there’s always a ‘toward the bridge’ (starting on index) route and a toward the nut (ring finger) route. When you put that together with CAGED, it helps highlight the way the adjacent chord shapes interlock and hand off to one another.
You may have already covered that. I really like your approach and teaching style.
Hey David!
No I haven’t covered that yet, but I probably should! Great context!
Didn't know it could be so easy. I play for 15 years but never realized this. Thank you 👍
You are so welcome, Tom!
Thanks for the concise and clear explanation. What a beautiful LP!
Thanks, Timothy. I'm glad you enjoyed this one. I'm also pretty smitten by this LP myself :)
Very nice & fresh look at the pentatonic scale! Great video Chris!!👍🏻
Thanks, David.
He is a Great communicator = Certainly "One of the Best" teachers/instructors on You Tube for guitar lessons. He makes everything easily digestible. I'm telling everyone, to check-out this channel. oNe LovE from NYC
Wow, thanks, Michael. I appreciate it!
I gotta say, this is a much more useful way to explain the pentatonic scale. Ive been playing with the scale for 40 years and have a decent grasp on it. This lesson should save these young folks a lot of time and self discovery. Using the two different fingers as starting points opens every door possible and thats the trick. Learn the notes of the neck, know your roots and do this lesson. Fret board command will happen soon after.
Great comment! Thanks, Rick!
First time watching one of your videos and I appreciate this approach.
In my experience, the better I am at knowing each note on the fretboard, the better I become at pentatonic because it makes the patterns more apparent.
Of course, that makes huge sense. Glad you’re here WhoWho84.
Chris! I used to work under you at ibotta. Good to see you jamming my friend! Wish we could played together and I coulda learned more from you while I was there. Cheers!
Hey Eddie! Hope all is well these days.
As a 14 year old git whizz back in the 70s, I stopped playing solos in the 80s. Now at the age of 67 its time to return to my roots...I never had any theory back then, only ears and a old cassette recorder to learn riffs. For me, scales never existed. Your understanding of pentatonic scales and how to play intuitively is simply wicked (youth term in the UK!). Very intuitive and absolutely invaluable lesson for all beginners...like me...ha! Ha! thanks so much.
That's the kind of comment I cherish, thank you! I'm glad you're here.
@@curiousguitarist so am I. I know there is a lot wrong with Utube, but for a person my age its a revelation! A great resource platform - I am sure your channel will flourish and grow with content like this and your cool approach to music and guitar playing. As they say around here ...more power to your elbow.
Thanks! I've watched tons of this stuff and you've the best presentation of all! Well, time to practice...
Wow, thanks Michael!
Thank you Sir for taking/showing us a slightly different approach on a widely used scale. 👍
Very welcome
Wow! Speechless. Pentatonic scales while learning where the root notes are. So important. So helpful. Thank you Chris.
Glad you enjoyed it, Stephen. Thanks for the views and comments!
Another enriching tutorial. Thank Chris!
Glad you enjoyed it, Claudio!
You’re welcome anytime. Oh ok.. never been out west but hear the scenery in Colorado is amazing. Jersey is boring lol 😂
Really like this approach. Thank you
You're welcome, Wes!
Awesome video.
Need to watch it a few times but the info is gold. 🎶🎶🎶🎸🎸🎸
So glad you're enjoying this one!
Nice lesson Chris 👌🏻
Thanks Timothy!
Thank you for sharing this sir ..this is really helpful for us
It's my pleasure, glad this one was helpful!
THIS might be the key for me. Thank you for this video!
Once you see scales (and eventually chords) like this, you won’t be able to see the fretboard in any other way.
Thunder Bolt! The Pentatonic Heavens are opening! Thank you Chris!!!!
Thanks for watching, and I'm so glad this was helpful, Rolando.
This is one of the best lessons ever. By anyone.
Ha, thanks so much, Chris. That's very kind of you.
Wow. This is great information. Thank you for sharing
You’re so welcome
very useful video Chris ! Thanks a lot
Of course, Ekin!