Obviously, not all songs are in the key of E. Luckily, playing in different keys is pretty easy on the guitar: we just shift the scale to a different position. To explore this idea, let's work on the A minor pentatonic scale, another very common key.
To play in A minor, we move to the fifth fret, which is usually the second dot on the fretboard. Our pattern looks like this:
E --------------------------------5--8---8--5----------------------------------
B --------------------------5--8---------------8--5---------------------------
G --------------------5--7---------------------------7--5---------------------
D ------------5--7------------------------------------------7--5---------------
A -------5--7-------------------------------------------------------7--5-------
E --5---8------------------------------------------------------------------8--5-
Notice that we don't have any open strings now; we'll have to fret every note. To do that, we will play in the fifth position: our pointer finger will play every note on the fifth fret, the middle finger would play any notes on the sixth fret, the ring finger plays all the notes on the seventh fret, and the pinky plays notes on the eighth fret. With suggested fingerings, the pattern looks like this:
E --------------------------------5--8---8--5----------------------------------
B -------------------------5--8-----------------8--5----------------------------
G -----------------5--7--------------------------------7--5---------------------
D -----------5--7----------------------------------------------7--5--------------
A -------5-7--------------------------------------------------------7--5---------
E --5-8-------------------------------------------------------------------8--5--
__1 4 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 4 4 1 4 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 4 1
Using that pinky is really important, although it's also really hard at first. Keep working at it because your playing will be more limited if you only use three fingers to play. Make sure your left wrist is rolled forward so your wrist and hand make close to a ninety-degree angle. This makes it much, much easier to reach those pinky notes, especially on the lower strings, and it also reduces wrist fatigue.
The great thing about this scale pattern is that you can play it in any key simply by moving it up and down the guitar neck. The key is simply the first note on the low E string. So, to play it in F, move your hand to first position: first finger on the first fret. To play it in C, move to the eighth fret, and so on. This means that when you learn guitar scales, you get a lot of bang for your buck: one pattern can open up twelve new guitar scales for you!
Your mission now: practice this pattern until you can play it smoothly in any position, remembering to focus on alternate picking. And, of course, try different combinations of notes, different patterns, and anything else you can think of. Use your ears to find what sounds good to you, and then work to expand it.
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