Why Pentatonic Scales Are Essential for All Guitarists

Why Pentatonic Scales Are Essential for All Guitarists Megan L. Want to learn scales on guitar but not sure where to start? Guitar teacher  Joey I.  explains why pentatonic is the way to go The title of this article says it all: Why pentaonic scales are  essential for guitarists. Learning these scales is an absolute necessity. Now is it really necessary to know pentatonic scales to be able to play the guitar? No! A lot of guitarists go their whole career learning riffs, songs, and making up licks based off of the knowledge that they have while enjoying every minute of it. However, a lot of these guitarists know in the back of their mind that they should learn their scales. If you have been a guitarist for a little while, you have probably heard about it from other guitarists, musicians, teachers, and Internet articles that you should know your scales. And most guitarists have the desire to learn scales, but become overwhelmed because of how many scales there are to learn, and let’s be frank: there are a lot to learn and when you learn them, they are not easy to immediately apply to your playing. Well, I’m here to tell you that the pentatonic scale is the easiest and most useful scale to learn. The pentatonic scale can be used in almost every single song. Even if the song you are playing to uses a scale other than the pentatonic, you can play pentatonic over it and it will sound amazing. The pentatonic scale gets more miles per gallon than any other scale, and the fuel is recyclable. You can just keep using it and using it, and it never gets old. It is truly the bread and butter of guitar soloing, and song writing. Most songs that you love that sound “complicated” are actually using pentatonic guitar scales. Let’s look at what makes the pentatonic scale so easy: To start, the pentatonic scale has fewer notes than other scales.   The word pentatonic literally translates to 5 tones. Pent, meaning five. And tonic, meaning tone. “Our brains are inherently wired to know the pentatonic scale,” says famous musician Bobby McFerrin.   Check out this Ted Talk video where Bobby uses the audience to show how we all naturally know the pentatonic scale: Finally, you can play this scale over virtually every song, so this makes practicing a lot easier. Now, here are a few tips when practicing this scale: Practice slowly. When youre ready, try out these pentatonic scale exercises for guitarists. Make sure each note rings out and sounds good. The benefits of learning the pentatonic guitar scales: Learning the scale shapes allows you to improvise over virtually any song or backing track. Once you unlock this ability, practicing becomes easier and far more enjoyable. Not sure what we mean? Watch the video below. The pentatonic scale is the foundation for almost every other scale there is. Learning this foundation will set you up to easily play the other scales. Especially the blues scale, natural minor scale, harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale. It will increase your confidence in playing dramatically. No more feelings of being overwhelmed by scales or the guitar. Your skill level will increase two fold because of this. Finally, it will allow you to seamlessly improvise with other musicians in a real live setting. Your friends will be thoroughly impressed and your confidence will soar. Once you have become comfortable with the pentatonic scales, try applying them by improvising over a backing track or your favorite song. Change the speed and rhythm, but most importantly, HAVE FUN! For a visual reminder of the G Major pentatonic scale, see the infographic below. Do you have any more questions about how the pentatonic scales work, or how to play them? Leave a comment and let us know. Joey I. teaches guitar, bass guitar, and drum lessons in Aurora, CO. He studied music production and recording arts at Berklee School of Music and he has been teaching music lessons for seven years. Learn more about Joey! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by Dan Cox

Should I Go To Marquette University

Should I Go To Marquette University Sarah earned her bachelors degree in environmental engineering from Marquette University. She specializes in geometry tutoring, engineering tutoring, and a number of other subjects. Below, she shares her experience at Marquette University: Describe the campus setting and transportation options. Sarah: Marquette is situated on the border of downtown Milwaukee. There are tons of great things to do downtown or in the surrounding area that are only a short walk, bus ride (the bus runs through campus), or LIMO (campus shuttle service) away. It is really easy to get around without a car, and you can essentially make it to any of your classes by walking. How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Sarah:For the most part, the faculty is really good about making themselves available for questions and for instruction. They understand the value of a good education, and work to make sure that you are satisfied with the quality of education you are receiving. How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Sarah:I really enjoyed dorm life. I lived in Carpenter and Straz, where I shared a room with one other girl and we had our own bathroom. The rooms were nice sizes and had great views of Milwaukee. I am a big fan of dorm food, not only because Im not the one making it, but also because there are so many options. Recently, they have made the selection for vegetarians/vegans more extensive. So, whether you are hungry for pancakes, burgers, stir-fry, or a salad, you will always find something to fill you up. Which majors/programs are best represented and supported? Sarah:I think Marquette is well known for a lot of different programs, including dentistry, law, physical training, nursing, and engineering, but thats certainly not a comprehensive list. I studied environmental engineering with a minor in Spanish for the health professions. I chose this because I like solving problems and I have a love for the environment and for people. So, environmental engineering was a way for me to improve the quality of life for all people. I think the university did a great job of supporting me; there were always professors who genuinely cared about me as a person and as an academic and were able to guide me to develop my career. How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Sarah:I found it relatively easy to make friends because of the way Marquette sets up its orientation week. The freshmen come a couple of days early and have a ton of activities to mingle with each other. On top of that, RAs (resident advisors) on your floor made sure you knew everyone on the floor and that you knew what was happening on campus. I myself was in Greek life and found it to be one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever done. It created lasting friendships and great professional opportunities that I dont think I would have otherwise had. Its best if you put aside the stereotypes that you think you know about Greek life and try it for yourself. How helpful are the Career Centerand other student support services? Sarah:The Career Center on campus is extremely helpful. They host a few career fairs each semester where companies come and talk with students about internships, volunteer positions, jobs, and co-ops. The Career Center also will help with your resume, print out free business cards for you, and conduct mock-interviews to help you sell your best qualities. When its time for graduation, they help you get in touch with alumni in your field. How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Sarah:There are a lot of nooks and crannies for studying at Marquette. I think I was still finding new places up until my final semester. As with any school, the libraries get crowded around midterms and finals, but they do a good job of opening up other study spaces around campus to compensate for this. The student union has some good study spaces, as do the individual academic buildings. Describe the surrounding town. Sarah:Marquette is situated in Milwaukee, so there is a lot to do. The Rave, a popular concert venue, is a couple blocks off campus to the west. To the east, you have downtown where there are plays, restaurants, ice skating, jazz concerts, and literally anything you could want to do. Miller Park, home to the Milwaukee Brewers, is a bus ride away for those who like baseball. How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Sarah:I think Marquette is about 20,000 students, including graduate students. This was a manageable size for me. There were always new people to meet, but also you knew most of the people in your classes. I was generally pleased with the sizes of my classes. Some of the more general classes, like chemistry and physics, might be in a larger lecture setting, but as you get more into your major they become smaller, with around 25-30 students. Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Sarah:I think one of my most memorable experiences with a class was service learning. At Marquette, one of the values is giving back to the community. So, with some classes you are able to do service learning where you volunteer once a week for the duration of the class doing something related to your class work, but also helping the community. For one of my medical Spanish classes, I volunteered at a dental clinic as an interpreter for the patients. It was a fantastic experience to use my classroom knowledge to do something in the real world. Check out Sarahs tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.