The minor pentatonic scale has 5 notes: 1, b3, 4, 5 and b7. We can find all of those on one string by understanding the intervals between them. Let’s start with the 1 note on the 2nd fret of D/4
If we want to play E minor pentatonic on the D string, our 1st note is E, and that’s on the 2nd fret of the D string. If we move back two frets to the open D string we can get our flat seventh, often written “b7” and referred to as a ‘dominant’ 7. In this case, that’s a D, a whole step below E. Moving back to 1 on the 2nd fret (E), we can find our b3 note (G) on the 5th fret one whole and one-half interval above the 1. Next up is the 4 note, a whole step up from the b3 so that’s A on the 7th fret. Now the 5, a whole step up from 4 so that’s B on the 9th fret of D. The pattern repeats with b7 (D) on the 12th fret.
Now this is the really cool part: a ‘power’ chord is a diad (two note chord) with no 3rd! It just has the 1 and 5 notes. Because the A & D strings are a 4th apart, the 5 of any note on the D string is on the same fret as that note on the A string! that means if you play both the D and A strings at the same time, you will be playing power chords! And since we are moving notes on the 4 string pentatonically, we are playing a power chord for each note in the scale! Try it out! You can probably hear dozens of rock tunes you already know! And I bet you can make up some of your own!
- Make sure the 1 note, that is, the note on the D string sounds stronger than the note on the 5 string!
