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How to Play Diagonal Pentatonic Runs

Author: Brian Kelly • Published: September 14, 2020 • Updated: September 14, 2020 • 2 comments

20:14

Video Cliffs:

0:00 – Lesson Intro

1:05 – Minor Pentatonic Diagonal Runs
7:44 – Major Pentatonic Diagonal Runs
12:53 – Major Pentatonic vs. Minor Pentatonic

Relevant Lesssons:

The 5 Pentatonic Positions (Part 1)

The 5 Penatonic Positions (Part 2) – Applications

Break Away from “Box Pattern” Thinking by Focusing on Intervals

The Two-Three Approach

In this lesson we will be using what I like to call the two-three approach to soloing with the pentatonic scale.
Rather than thinking in terms of “box patterns” a la the 5 pentatonic positions, we will instead be focusing on
playing 2 notes on one string followed by 3 notes on the next string. It will always alternate in that fashion – 2
notes on one string, 3 notes on the adjacent string and vise-versa.

The pentatonic scale contains 5 notes, which is what “pent” stands for. Therefore this “cluster” of two notes and
three notes will contain all 5 notes of the scale!

Minor Penatonic Diagonal Runs

The minor pentatonic scale is usually one of the first scales that you learn on the guitar, and you are probably
used to starting the scale with your 1st finger:

For the purposes of this lesson, you will be starting the scale with your third finger instead. So whenever you see
an ‘A’ note, play it with your 3rd finger. If you play an ‘A’ on the G-string, use your 2nd finger instead.

So instead of playing the A minor pentatonic scale like this:

Try playing it like this instead:

If you start on the lowest-pitched white dot and play through until you reach the highest-pitched white dot in
either image, you will notice that you are playing exactly the same thing!

Some things to note:

Anywhere you find your scale root ‘A’, you will always have another available pentatonic note one whole-
step lower (2 frets)

Any time you have two notes on a string, you will have the remaining three pentatonic notes on the
adjacent string(s)

There is a “shift” once you get to the B-string, so it helps to play the scale root on the G-string with your
2nd finger instead of your 3rd (not shown in this image, but this applies wherever you have an ‘A’ on the the
G-string)

By using this “two-three” approach, you can always find all 5 notes of the minor pentatonic scale as long as you
can find your note ‘A’.

Try this approach on some other areas of the fretboard wherever you can find your note ‘A’…You will find it
VERY easy to create pentatonic licks on the fly without necessarily needing to know which “pentatonic box
pattern” you are in.

Major Penatonic Diagonal Runs

You can always locate your pentatonic postion #1 for the MAJOR pentatonic scale by locating the scale root on
the low E-string with your PINKY finger (instead of your index finger).

Here is position #1 for the A major pentatonic

Notice how the “box pattern” looks exactly the same as in the previous example. The difference is where the root
note is located within the box pattern. Starting on the note ‘A’ and then playing through 5 notes until reaching the
next note ‘A’ will result in a different sound now.

You can take the same “two-three” approach to create diagonal runs. The difference here is that you will be
playing three notes on the string that contains the root note, and the adjacent string(s) will contain the
remaining two notes of the pentatonic scale.

Try playing the A major pentatonic scale like this instead:

Again, you can play either of these examples, and you will be playing the exact same thing!

Some things to note:

Anywhere you find your scale root ‘A’, you will always have 2 additional pentatonic notes on the same
string, each 1-fret apart

Any time you have three notes on a string, you will have the remaining two pentatonic notes on the
adjacent string(s)

Again, there is a “shift” once you get to the B-string

As you can see, the “two-three” approach works for the major pentatonic scale too. It’s just reversed from that of
the minor pentatonic scale as far as the “two” and “three” notes are concerned.

Major Pentatonic vs. Minor Pentatonic

The reason that the major pentatonic and minor pentatonic scale have different sounds despite the fact that they
have the exact same “box patterns” is because of the intervals between the notes.

Minor Pentatonic Scale Formula: 1 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b7

Major Pentatonic Scale Formula: 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 6

The difference in intervals isn’t always clear when looking at the box patterns. However, things become very clear
when you understand where these scale formulas are coming from.

Everything is always derived from the major scale.

The A minor pentatonic scale is derived from the A major scale.

The A major pentatonic scale is derived from the A major scale.

Every other scale that has the root note ‘A’ is also derived from the A major scale as well…

Here is the A major scale, which has the scale formula 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7

Applying the minor pentatonic scale formula (1 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b7) you have this:

Applying the major pentatonic scale formula (1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 6) you have this:

It’s pretty obvious when you look at it like this, but it’s not always so obvious when you are sticking purely to box
patterns.

Why do Intervals Matter

As long as you know where your scale root is, which is the note ‘A’ in this case, you can always play the
surrounding intervals that make up the rest of the scale.

For instance if you are trying to play the A minor pentatonic scale…

As long as you know where the note ‘A’ is, you know that you will always have a ‘b7’ one whole-step lower

You will also have a ‘b3’ nearby either 3 frets higher, or on the adjacent higher-pitched string

Wherever you find your ‘b3’, you will find your ‘4’ one whole step higher

Wherever you have your ‘4’, you will always find your ‘5’ one whole-step higher

If you are trying to play the A major pentatonic scale…

As long as you know where the note ‘A’ is, you know that your ‘2’ will be one whole-step higher on the
same string

Wherever you have a ‘2’, your ‘3’ will be one whole-step higher on the same string

Your ‘5’ will be on the adjacent higher-pitched string

Your ‘6’ will be one whole-step higher on the same string as the ‘5’

If you think in terms of intervals, you will never need to rely on box patterns. Not that there is anything wrong
with visualizing the fretboard in that manner. This is just another way of visualizing the same scale.

Give it a shot, and have fun!

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About the author: I’ve been playing in bands and studying the fretboard since I was 11. I’m old
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2 comments… add one ↓

Blackie • Sep 15, 2020 @ 9:13

Hi Brian!
Great lesson, thank you so much Brian!!!

reply link

gonetroppo • Sep 14, 2020 @ 22:00

Thanks for always doing such a great job explaining things. I’ve only been a member for several weeks
but have had numerous “light bulb” moments and I’ve been playing for years. Diagonal patterns now make sense.
I was locked into the box patterns before.

reply link

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