Technique II - Pentatonic Scales; C Major up - F♯ Major Down
This month’s technique exercise varies last month’s by changing the scale every time the direction of the melody changes. On the ascent, play C pentatonic and on the way down, F#. Why these two keys? They have no common tones. Of course, pentatonic scales a semi-tone apart also have no common tones. So why not ascend C pentatonic and come down Db? Since these two keys are a semitone apart, the physical pattern created on the fretboard on the ascent would repeat on the descent only one fret higher. When one alternates between C and F# pentatonic, or any two pentatonic scales separated by a tritone, the fretboard pattern will be different on the ascent than on the descent. I don’t like to create habits based on shapes and patterns and so I prefer this latter option.
As I mentioned last month, these exercises are based on a set of constraints and rules. The rules for this month’s exercise are:
Using three notes per string, play a C major pentatonic scale starting on the lowest available note in the scale found on the guitar (the low E string).
When you switch strings, repeat the last note of the previous string (E-G-A, switch strings, A-C-D).
When you exhaust the strings of the guitar switch to an F# major pentatonic scale and change direction. To continue this pattern all the way up and down the fretboard you could generalize the rule as follows: when you exhaust the strings of the guitar in one direction, add one more note on that string in the direction you want to travel along the fretboard.
Because the rules of this exercise are a little more complicated than the last one, it may be helpful to refer to my transcription. You can watch me play it here.