Guitar Lessons - Minor Pentatonic Scales
By Bill McRea

Minor pentatonic scales are used extensively in modern and classic rock. A strong understanding of how pentatonic scales work, and can be used for soloing and creating riffs, is extremely important. They are also the easiest and generally the first scales most people learn.

Minor Pentatonic Basics:

I assume you know how to read basic TAB format for this lesson. If you have not been exposed to TAB then you should review our lesson on reading guitar TAB before moving on.

The Minor Pentatonic scale consists of the following intervals: 1 b3 4 5 b7 1. In the key of A the intervals would be the notes of A C D E G A. There are 5 scale shapes in “box” patterns for the pentatonic scales. For the A minor pentatonic the box shape follows:

E|-5-|—|—|-8-|—|
B|-5-|—|—|-8-|—|
G|-5-|—|-7-|—|—|
D|-5-|—|-7-|—|—|
A|-5-|—|-7-|—|—|
E|-5-|—|—|-8-|—|

The 5 is the fifth fret and is the root note, thus the name of the key and scale is A, the intervals determines the type Minor or Major. This scale shape above is the most scale and is used in rock, blues and most styles of music. If you move this entire shape up to positions on the guitar and play the same shape you will have a B minor pentatonic. Likewise if you slide the entire shape down two potions you have a G minor pentatonic. See Below:

E|-3-|—|—|-6-|—|
B|-3-|—|—|-6-|—|
G|-3-|—|-5-|—|—|
D|-3-|—|-5-|—|—|
A|-3-|—|-5-|—|—|
E|-3-|—|—|-6-|—|

Practice this scale shape several times a day, moving it into different positions or keys, for variety. Many of rocks most famous licks are derived form this shape. If you are going to play guitar learning this one basic shape is mandatory.

Next up – The Major Pentatonic Scale.

Bill McRea is the publisher of The
Guitar Warehouse and Guitar
Playing Techniques. Both sites offer free lesson and product sales.

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Guitar Lessons - String Bending
By Bill McRea

Bending strings is used to give the guitar a more personalized and harmonic quality. The technique is used mostly by lead guitar players but is also applied in all styles of playing. String bending and vibrato techniques are two large components in making up a guitar player’s style. The combination of these skills more or less defines a considerable part of what makes your playing different than the next guy.

Bending the strings far enough to reach a desired pitch is the goal. One of the keys is to use three fingers to bend the string, instead of just one finger. Use your third finger on the fret you’re bending and place your first and second fingers on the frets behind it, and use the strength of all three fingers when you do a bend.

Fret the note on the 7th fret of the third string with your third finger. Your other finger should follow on the 6th and 5th fret. Our goal is to bend this note up one step (the equivalent of two frets) and then release the note to its original pitch. Before you do your first bend hit the note on the 9th fret, this will be your reference note. When you do your bend the goal is to make the tone of your bend “reach” the tone of the reference note. Repeat: hit your reference note, then immediately jump to the correct position and play a bend until to can consistently match the reference note.

The length you hold the bend, how quickly you release it and any vibrato you add to the bend will define a large part of playing your style. It’s good to just have fun and try doing a number of bends and releases to hear all the different sounds you can generate. Try bending the note before you strike it so you just hear the release, or try using a wide or narrow vibrato so act character and color to your bends.

Be patient you haven’t used these muscles before, and is will take time to strengthen. Keep practicing, and you’ll get the hang of it eventually.

Bill McRea is the publisher of Guitar Warehouse the best place to Buy Guitar and learn Guitar Playing Techniques. Both sites offer free lesson and product sales.

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Guitar Lessons: Musical Expression Starts from Within
By Bill McRea

Great guitar playing is more than playing riffs and licks; it’s about presenting your emotions and feelings in musical terms. That’s why it’s called it musical expression.

When I first started playing I was so concerned about hitting every note right. I’d spend hours practicing scales and chord forms and making sure that each note sounded perfect. After about two years of practice I knew everything in the world about making chord shapes and playing scale, and nothing about making music. I’d record myself and the listen to the playback and it sounded like a bored guitar student trying to play every note perfectly.

Time to crack a few eggs and make a new omelet. I started to listening to some great guitar players that I admired like David Gilmore, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix to figure out what they were doing different then me. I knew the same scales, and chord progressions, but I sounded nothing like these legends. I decided I wanted to sound more like David Gilmore so I spent the time to learn the solo from Comfortably Numb, but it still sounded flat and unexciting. I was try to play it exactly the way David Gilmore did, when what I should have been doing was playing it the way I FEEL.

That’s when it all started to come together for me. I figured out that I can learn for great guitarist, but the musical expression must come from inside me, to be of any interest. To channel what is in your soul to the guitar, I learned to simplify musical passages, and feel each note, and I learned not to be so worried about what my hands were doing. Magically my hand started singing because I had reached deep inside and cleared my head enough to allow for the musical expression I was unable to share in the past.

All the scales, chords and hours of practice just provide me with the tools I needed for self expression. My musical journey will never end, but my ability to explore is now at warp speed.

Bill McRea is the publisher of The
Guitar Warehouse and Guitar
Playing Techniques. Both sites offer free lesson and product sales.

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Guitar Lessons - Guitar Vibrato
By Bill McRea

Playing a guitar without vibrato is like eating Mexican food without salsa. Vibrato is one of the most definitive techniques in defining your musical style, your own personal unique sound. No two players have the same vibrato sound. Some play slow and wide while others play narrow and fast, and that’s the beauty behind spending a lot of time learning different vibrato techniques. It’s like eating different salsa’s every time you go to your favorite taco stand. Enough talk about food, lets talk technique.

Vibrato is sometimes confused with tremolo. Basically it is just a technique of vibrating the string sharp and flat around a root note. For example if you are playing the 7th fret on the 3rd string with your 3rd finger on your fret hand you can just push the note up slightly and them pull it down slightly. Do this in quick succession so the over riding effect is a “wobbly” tone around the root note you are playing. Use your hand, wrist, and arm to make the movements. Never just wiggle a finger. Some people use a technique of pulling the string down towards the floor and then releasing back up.

Try this in a variety of speeds and levels of bending during your vibrato. The trick is to be consistent and smooth with your motion. If you are playing a slow blues riff then you may want to slow down and make a wide circular motion with the string, or if you are playing a fast rock lick you may just ad a fast narrow vibrato to accent the final note in a run.

It is possible to add vibrato using any finger you play with, but it is most commonly done with the first and third finger on the fret hand. Using your first finger is a bit trickier. I usually use my first finger for fast vibratos similar to BB Kings style. I will literally lift my other finger far off the fret board, press down and just “vibrate” the string as fast and as open as possible. That’s funny the work vibrato is a lot like vibrate, because that’s actually what you are doing vibrating the string.

When you combine vibrato with string bending, harmonics and legato techniques you begin to discover the musician inside of you. Playing guitar is about discovering your inner flow of creativity and having the techniques to be able to express them. Vibrato is one of the more personal and effective techniques. As with all aspect of playing guitar you need to experiment with these techniques, and most of all have fun!

Bill McRea is the publisher of Guitar Warehouse the best place to Buy Guitar and learn Guitar Playing Techniques Both sites offer free lesson and product sales.

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Guitar Lessons - Just Relax and Slow Down
By Bill McRea

Relax Your Hand

Most people handle the guitar like it’s a baseball bat. They grab it and squeeze the hell out of it. There is nothing more simple to understand and so difficult to learn. Learning how to relax your hands and remove tension is critical. The more tension in your fingers the more difficult it will be to make changes on the guitar. Tension binds your fingers and makes it harder to perform the small movements needed to play guitar.

Beginners are often intimidated about pressing the strings hard enough to prevent string buzzing. A little string buzz is better than the tension. With time your fingers will develop calluses and strength, and the string buzzing will go away. For now focus on being relaxed and flexible in your fingers. I start every playing session by just simply making a fist and the extending my fingers several times. This had the affect of teaching my fingers the relaxed state when my fingers are half extended. This is the feeling I look for when playing guitar.

Slow Down to Speed Up

The best method to increasing the speed you play your guitar is to SLOW DOWN. This is so true. Most beginning guitarist want to play as fast as they can, but to do this and make it sound good, you have play some notes people want to hear. Not just a jumble of stuff.

To trick to speed is being able to play the notes or chords correctly and by instinct. The best way to develop instinct is to start slow and play the notes properly without building tension in your hands and with a consistent beat. You should purchase a metronome, or I prefer a drum machine.

Set the beat at a reasonable speed and play at that speed until you’ve mastered what you are trying to learn. Sometimes it needs to be annoying slow, but it pays off with a big dividend in a relatively short period of time. Once you are comfortable playing at the selected speed, kick the speed up about 15% and then repeat the process. Before long you’ll be flying up a sliding pentatonic scale flawlessly and at unbelievable speeds.

Slow down and relax and your playing will improve faster than you think. If you want to play the guitar the rest of your life, then give yourself the time to learn.

Bill McRea is the publisher of The
Guitar Warehouse and Guitar
Playing Techniques Both sites offer free lesson and product sales.

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