When you start soloing over major chords the easiest scale to work with is the major pentatonic.

It’s a sound that our ears are conditioned to hear and Country solos are no exception!

A major pentatonic scale is almost a major scale without the 4th and 7th notes.

Here’s a closer look:

G major scale:

G A B C D E F#

G major pentatonic scale:

G A B D E

The application for a major pentatonic scale is for any major chord.

For example, if you need to solo over a G chord – use a G major pentatonic.

Below are a few popular patterns for a G major pentatonic scale.

Open Zone:

E |-----------------------------------0--3--|
B |--------------------—-----0--3-----------|
G |-------------------0--2------------------|
D |------------0--2-------------------------|
A |----0--2---------------------------------|
E |-3---------------------------------------|

6th String Form:

E |-----------------------------------3---|
B |--------------------—------3--5--------|
G |---------------------2--4--------------|
D |--------------2--5---------------------|
A |--------2--5---------------------------|
E |-3--5----------------------------------|

5th String Form:

E |------------------------------------10--12--|
B |--------------------—----10--12-------------|
G |------------------9--12---------------------|
D |----------9--12-----------------------------|
A |-10--12-------------------------------------|
E |--------------------------------------------|

Want To Learn More …

country-boxIn my experience with guitarist I found a lot of newer players assume that learning how to play country guitar is much easier than other types.

Reality is that this couldn’t be further from the truth. It actually requires a lot of practice and dedication to get to a level to play comfortably.

If you sit and listen to some real country songs you may be able to hear difficult picking patterns that require a lot of skill to play.

Country is one genre of guitar that I like to tell students to really immerse themselves into all types of country music to get a real feeling or how the music should be played.