Bluesy Melody Using the Pentatonic Scale

Fingerstyle Guitar Lesson for Beginners

Usually, we use the Pentatonic scale to solo over a chord progression.

This scale is one of the most intuitive scales you’ll find on guitar, and it is so simple that any guitar player can easily start soloing using it.

But what about writing a melody using the Pentatonic scale?

Today we will be working on a simple fingerstyle melody for beginners in E minor. I wrote the melody using the Pentatonic scale only combined with a few simple chords.

This melody sounds bluesy and groovy, so I am sure you will have fun playing it. I also did my best to make the arrangement as simple as possible so that anyone can give it a try.

So what’s the catch? … There isn’t!

Have fun.

The Video

Melodic Pentatonic

I wrote this arrangement in E minor key to use the E minor Pentatonic in mainly one position only.

Just spend a few minutes playing around with this position before you start this exercise. It is easier to memorize the melody if you know the notes of the Pentatonic scales.

Check the diagram below.

The Intro

The exercise starts with a riff played on the bass notes.

I really like to play the phrase with the right-hand thumb, but you can always experiment and develop your own pattern.

The intro should be played quietly and with groove and not too fast.

One of the things that really gives a ton of groove to this intro is the percussive thumb slap played between the riff’s notes. It is indicated with a cross.

Check the intro below.

The Melody

I really wanted to come up with something bluesy and groove, so I wrote this arrangement using the Pentatonic in position 3.

This Pentatonic box is one of the most popular on guitar, and it sounds really nice with this chord progression.

One challenging part will be to change between melody and accompaniment, so I highly recommend practicing each bar separately then slowly putting everything together.

Check the melody below.