With a few minor fingering adjustments another world of musical expression can be unlocked.
Beginner
Beginner
- Look at the pentatonic scale in a new light.
- Understand how to navigate diagonally across the fretboard.
- Use this newfound knowledge to create more musical phrases.
Likely the first melodic device any improvising musician learns is the pentatonic scale. It’s a simple pattern to learn on guitar, it’s easy to play, and it always sounds “correct.” It contains mostly the “good” notes and usually you don’t need to think too much about which notes to avoid. What’s not to love? After a while, however, a certain sameness begins to emerge, and one begins to wonder, “Is there something more here?” Well, it has much more to offer than what you see on the surface.
How do you play a pentatonic scale?
One of the first shapes that guitarists learn when starting to explore the pentatonic scale is the ubiquitous box in Ex. 1. And why not? It’s a simple pattern to memorize, it’s easy to play, and you can get musical sounding results almost immediately. In fact, if you play these notes in just about any order, play in time, and exercise some logical phrasing, you can’t really mess it up.
There is a wealth of guitar vocabulary in this simple device. Eric Johnson, Eric Clapton, Eric Gales, and other legendary guitarists not named Eric have demonstrated this for decades. However, the two-note-per-string nature of the pattern can limit your phrasing. Let’s dive into a few simple things we can do to inject some articulations into an otherwise choppy march across the fretboard.
This isn’t a “Stop doing this and start doing that” proposition but rather a supplement to your bag of badassery that you’ve accumulated. Let’s remap some of the notes found in Ex. 1 to other strings to elongate the scale along the neck rather than simply march across it (Ex. 2).
Notice that we alternate between two notes on a string and three notes on a string. Add some strategic slides into the mix and our little fretboard square dance gets a welcome dose of swagger. Naturally, we will need to practice this descending pattern (Ex. 3) as well. These fingerings have a certain hipness that the box lacks.
Ex. 4 features a nice blues gesture that exemplifies the articulations that this fingering invites. Judicious use of bends, slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs make the magic happen.
Double-Stop the Presses
The slippery fourths found on adjacent strings combined with an eighth-note delay summon an early ’80s funk/pop feeling. Play Ex. 5 with long legato notes and have a glass of chardonnay on hand for a funky smooth-jazz vibe.
Two often-used tricks are the sliding fourths/hammer-on double-stop phrases in Ex. 6. Once again, it’s the strategic use of slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs that make the slinky goodness happen. These tasty double-stop licks are useful chordal accents in your solos or R&B-style rhythm parts. Even though Ex. 6 is a bucket of pentatonic scale phrases over a I–VIm–IIm–V chord progression, the double-stops provide a harmonically informed sound. Think Mateus Asato, Stevie Ray Vaughan, or Jimi Hendrix.
Get Louder … Without Turning Up
Did you know that two notes are louder than one? How ’bout that? Next time you’re playing at your local blues jam and the well-intentioned but way-too-loud rhythm player tempts you to turn up your amp, don’t do it. You’ll just add to the problem. Instead try some double-stops (Ex. 7). It transforms otherwise basic melodies into majestic, purposeful, and yes, louder statements without adding to a never-ending volume war.
Peace, Love, and Understanding
Play some nice rhythm guitar without banging out all those barre chords. Yes, barre chords are useful but sometimes it’s just way too much. Guitarists already have to deal with the stigma of being eye-rolling loud. Why is that? The bottom portion of the chord (the power chord part) is an essential sound if you’re in a rock band. But in a blues, R&B, jazz, or country setting, it can sound muddy (and kinda stupid). The low-register notes are getting in your bass player’s way and the keyboard player, by default, is already annoyed at you. Let’s be friends with these folks and sound better in the process.
Reimagining the pentatonic box will add depth and vibe to your playing. And using smaller double-stops versus banging out giant fists-full of notes not only tends to make the band sound better but they’re easier to play too. As a bonus you just may find that your solos sound fuller and more interesting. Don’t forget to acknowledge the perceptive audience that applauds your tasty masterpiece.
Rethink your approach to pentatonic shapes by pushing the limits of your picking.
Advanced
Beginner
• Visualize different string groupings for pentatonic scales.
• Understand the basics of economy picking.
• Learn how to create lines in the style of Eric Johnson, Shawn Lane, and Joe Bonamassa.
When I first heard about economy picking, the simplicity intrigued me. The concept is relatively straightforward: After a downstroke, if you're moving to a higher string, you make another downstroke. If you travel to a lower string, that requires an upstroke. Many beginners often intuitively do this. It wasn't until a bit later that I adopted a regimen of strict alternate picking for scales and sweep picking for arpeggios. But the idea of economy picking echoed in my mind. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have one picking style that could fluidly transition from arpeggios to scales? As time went on, I explored players like Django Reinhardt, Frank Gambale, and George Bellas, and economy picking naturally found its way into more of my technique.
I want to preface this lesson by saying this picking option may be a useful addition to what you do, but not necessarily replace your picking style.
Picking can be related to drum sticking, where your upstrokes and downstrokes are similar to a drummer's right and left drum strokes. In a fill, the drum strokes aren't always going to alternate, and other sticking patterns are common to make the most efficient movement around the drum kit. For the audio examples here, I am playing everything on a nylon-string Martin 000C miked so that you can really hear the percussive attack, but the ideas in this lesson can be used on electric guitars and in any musical style.
Even early on in my economy picking exploration, I wanted to apply this technique to phrases built on pentatonic scales, which are typically played in a two-note-per-string (NPS), alternate-picking style. Consider this: Arpeggios are often associated with sweep picking, and they're often played in a one-note-per-string style. Major scales and modes typically use a three-note-per-string fingering. The examples presented in this lesson focus on combining these NPS numbers into what we'll refer to as "string groupings." All the examples in this lesson use the A minor pentatonic scale (A–C–D–E–G), so it should be familiar territory for you.
For Ex. 1, instead of playing the minor pentatonic as you commonly would with two NPS, we will play a string grouping that we'll call 2+1. That means we will play two notes on a string, then one on the next, and so on. Pay close attention to the picking directions here and think of it as a sweep picking effect, where the pick simply lands on the next string, ready to play it, without having to jump over it first or change direction.
As for the fretting hand, we'll use a bit of a rolling technique here: If two notes are played by the same finger on different strings, you roll your finger (from tip to pad or vice versa) to fret the next note. It's like a mini two-string barre chord, but the notes sound one at a time, rather than ringing out together.
Ex. 1
Ex. 2 has a different grouping: 1+1+2, i.e., one NPS, one NPS, then two. This will give us an even four-note phrase to ascend string sets, then descend. Also, notice how I tend to start with a downstroke but as the phrase continues, the next pattern starts on an upstroke. In the beginning, you have to really be mindful about the pick direction. But at some point, your hands will develop a synchronicity where your right hand naturally follows the notes that your left hand is playing. This requires less attention than alternate picking, and it allows you to just focus on the notes you're playing.
Ex. 2
Next up is a five-note phrase based on a 2+1+2 formula (Ex. 3). I've always been drawn to the rhythmic accents that phrasing in five gives you over a 16th-note subdivision. Also, pay attention to the left-hand fingering where you roll your index finger across strings. You don't want the notes to ring into each other; instead, strive for a clean separation when transitioning from note to note.
Ex. 3
Ex. 4 features another grouping of five. This example is a string grouping of 1+2+2 NPS. This has a similar sound to licks by Eric Johnson or the late Shawn Lane. Although both these players mostly used alternate picking for pentatonic scales, they would use economy picking to play phrases consisting of odd groupings.
Ex. 4
Ex. 5 delves into playing patterns across four strings at a time. This one uses a string grouping of 2+1+1+2 NPS. Notice that there is a string skip as the pattern begins on the next string set. For that leap, travel in the pick direction of the leap—this often yields two of the same pick directions in a row. Practice slowly and eventually this movement will become very natural.
Ex. 5
Now let's move into some three-note-per-string pentatonic scales. Ex. 6 includes all the notes of a pentatonic scale, but in a grouping of 3+1 NPS. This may be a bit of a stretch, but the sounds and sequenced patterns available in this approach are really captivating.
Ex. 6
One of the patterns achieved from this stretched-out pentatonic shape is found in a string grouping of 3+1+2, as shown in Ex. 7. Hopefully you can hear the smooth sound economy picking offers you. While you could play these same exact notes using two-NPS alternate picking, that would yield a different sound from how it's notated here.
Ex. 7
Now for a fun seven-note grouping: Ex. 8 uses a string grouping of 3+1+3. When you have an odd pattern of notes like this superimposed over a steady current of 16th-notes, it creates an interesting sound. Now, instead of isolating the ascending and descending versions, try playing each grouping up and then back down. Invent your own combinations!
Ex. 8
Since we have stretched to this wider scale shape, let's try it with some of the previous string groupings. Ex. 9 uses the three-note-per-string pentatonic stretch, but only plays the outer two notes. This example is with a 2+1 string grouping that gives you some interesting interval leaps—some notes are far apart and others close together.
Ex. 9
Our last example (Ex. 10) uses a wider stretch in a 2+1+2 string grouping. It moves around vertically in its five-note phrase. Notice how this is more like arpeggio sweep picking than some of the previous examples.
Ex. 10
Take the ideas presented here and elaborate on them. Imagine these economy picking examples transposed into the four other pentatonic shapes and into other keys. Another approach I love to play with is side-slipping a fret higher or lower in and out of key. Also, instead of playing long streams of notes without pause, try isolating each grouping with sustained notes between them, or use different rhythmic subdivisions, such as triplets. One of the cool things about economy picking is how a specific combination of pick directions can yield a cascade of notes from one smooth movement. Happy picking.
This article was last updated on August 20, 2021
You don't have to want to play like a jazz legend to practice like one.
Intermediate
Intermediate
- Develop a systematic method for mapping out arpeggios all over the fretboard.
- Learn to develop your own practice material.
- Understand how world-class musicians seem to never run out of ideas to practice.
Do you want to play like Pat Metheny? Me too. But truth be told, I have no idea how to do so, though I’ve really tried. It was very difficult to wrap my head around writing a lesson on Pat because the elements that make up his style are so varied and complex—the result of decades of investment on his part. Since he’s one of my very favorite musicians, the thought of writing a lesson about him seemed even more daunting. Of course, if it was easy, we’d all sound like our heroes.
So, where do we start? When studying great artists, it’s usually a good idea to study their process—not necessarily their final products. I’ve found that when you study the creative process, you can apply it to your own music and come up with your own individual style, rather than just resorting to mimicry and copying licks. Pat has a few signature licks, but mastering those don’t really get you that close to sounding like Pat. One thing we can say about Pat Metheny with confidence is that the man knows his guitar, music theory, and fretboard at a higher level than 99.9 percent of guitarists. I recently stumbled upon a video that proves this. It’s a rare glimpse into how Pat practices that will serve as the creative spark for this lesson. Maybe we can learn to practice like Pat.
The story goes that Pat was doing a clinic in Italy and had just answered a question from the audience. While the interpreter was translating Pat’s response for the audience, Pat started to practice. (Why not practice when you get a few spare minutes?) What an amazing glimpse we get into his mind during this time. The audience knew it was something special as they sat in stunned silence and let Pat play for nearly eight minutes. And the resulting music is incredible in its own right. I mean, who on earth practices this musically? There’s a lot of music in those eight minutes and we could study it for years at a time, but let’s focus on one aspect. It’s striking that what Pat is practicing sounds nothing like how he plays when he is improvising. And this is the central concept to our lesson and the key question to answer. What building blocks do great players study and practice that allow them to create? We’re going to focus on just the first element that Pat played: major 7 arpeggios.
You can and should study the rest of the video—it’s full of amazing ideas you can spin out into amazing things to practice. A great companion to this lesson would be Pat’s book, Guitar Etudes: Warmup Exercises for Guitar.
If you’re an improvising guitarist, major 7 arpeggios are one of the central building blocks you’ll need to improvise. Learn these really, really well. Jazz is largely made up of three arpeggios that serve as building blocks: major 7, minor 7, and dominant 7. Let’s tackle just part of the arpeggio puzzle here. In Ex. 1 you can see a simple Gmaj7 arpeggio (G–B–D–F#).
Ex. 1
We’re lucky that not only do major 7 arpeggios sound good, but we can easily take this particular fingering pattern and move it up the 6th string to transpose it. For example, shift Ex. 1 up three frets and you have a Bbmaj7 arpeggio (Bb–D–F–A), as shown in Ex. 2.
Ex. 2
Now, to make this much more interesting, we’re going to link the arpeggios together and follow the cycle of fourths to keep jumping from key to key. The pattern is going to go as follows: Ascend two octaves in 16th-notes and then descend until reaching the end of the measure. You’ll end up playing 16 notes and at the end of the measure, you stop on the 3 (B) of the Gmaj7 arpeggio (Ex. 3).
Ex. 3
Ending on the B is awesome, because the next arpeggio in the cycle is Cmaj7. And wouldn’t you know it that C is just one fret higher than B. We can now elegantly jump from the Gmaj7 arpeggio to the Cmaj7 by moving only one fret. Let’s do the same thing we did before: ascend and then descend, again stopping on the 3 (Ex. 4).
Ex. 4
We end the example on the 3 of Cmaj7 (E), which is yet again one fret below our next arpeggio of Fmaj7. We now have a quick little pattern that we can loop around the neck (Ex. 5).
Ex. 5
At this point, we have traversed from the 2nd position to the 10th position. We are not only learning about arpeggios, but we’re also getting a chance to explore the upper regions of the fretboard.
Now, we can’t keep looping like this indefinitely. We’re going to run out of room if we take the Bbmaj7 arpeggio up the neck like this, so we’re going to have to be flexible with the pattern. We still want to keep the cycle of fourths going, but we can’t continue the exact pattern. Thankfully, we can just drop one half of the arpeggio pattern down an octave and keep moving (Ex. 6).
Ex. 6
Now that we moved to a lower place on the neck, we can use the earlier pattern to take us from Fmaj7 to Bbmaj7. You basically have only a few shapes: one with a 6th-string root and two with roots on the 5th string.
Now it’s time for you to learn to fish. I’m not going to write out any more of the patterns—you have enough building blocks to complete this. What I will provide is the full pattern of the cycle of fourths, so you can play the right arpeggios in the right sequence to loop this around. Here it is:
G–C–F–Bb–Eb–Ab–Db–Gb–B–E–A–D
The pattern of fourths is symmetrical. The goal is to be able to start anywhere, in any key, and loop your arpeggios through the cycle of fourths. Once you get the hang of it, you should be able to loop this endlessly.
Beyond just learning the examples above, there are a couple of things to take away from this set of exercises.
Ditch the Patterns
If you watch the video a few times, you’ll quickly realize that Pat isn’t playing a set pattern. It’s not a specific etude that he’s practicing, but rather he’s generating music within some simple boundaries. Pat has created an algorithm for generating practice material: Play a measure of a major 7 arpeggio, smoothly transition to another major 7 arpeggio in the cycle of fourths, and repeat.
He’s jumping around the neck, changing octaves, sometimes playing some scales to connect. It doesn’t matter that it’s morphing and changing a little over time. What matters is that he’s sticking within the harmony for some set period of time and being creative about how he generates materials. And that’s the trick. The building blocks allow for tons of flexibility, especially in jazz. Next time, instead of thinking about this as a strict practice exercise, imagine this is a jazz standard that only has one chord per measure, but the tune is just major 7 chords that ascend in fourths. How can you take these arpeggios and add some passing tones to make them into jazz lines? (Hint: “Autumn Leaves” has two major 7 chords a fourth apart in the changes.)
It’s the Notes, Not the Shapes
You have to learn the notes in the arpeggios. To players at Pat’s level, they’re not just fingering patterns—they are collections of notes. It’s totally fine to start with shapes and refine as you go, but if you want to operate at this level, you’re going to have to know the names of the notes on the fretboard and the notes that belong in any arpeggio, chord, scale or key. This is just a single exercise to help you get there.
Move Beyond Major
You can now easily take the major 7 arpeggios and morph them in minor 7 and dominant 7 concepts to generate additional material to practice with. This lesson is just one example of arpeggios you can move in the cycle of fourths; dominant 7 arpeggios work exceptionally well in this context.
Your Job
Now it’s up to you to generate your own musical materials. This lesson was just a single example. But go back to the video for inspiration. Could you just play freely for seven minutes like Pat did? Could you play in a structured enough way that you’re improvising ways to practice and generating material like he can? Not everyone can do this for that long, but you’ll hear Pat joke that he could continue for hours ... and I totally believe him.
Find the elements that make up your own style and find interesting ways to apply them to the neck. Constraining yourself to a single measure per key and shifting in the cycle of fourths is a super fun way to give yourself just enough structure to follow, while staying loose enough to create something. Pat has been doing this for over 40 years, so we all have a lot of catching up to do!
