Learn Beginning Guitar Soloing

Rock guitar is a love affair. A love affair subject to the same emotional roller-coaster you might have felt for your first love. Before you get ready to kick your main squeeze to the curb and move on to the next hottie (I don't know...maybe the cello), why not try learning the first step to developing a detailed knowledge of what you and your guitar can do!

The E pentatonic Scale!

Assuming you have a handle on standard tuning (at least you have a tuner I hope!), the E pentatonic Scale is easy to learn and "Tons O' Fun" to mess around with. This scale is also compatible with roughly 50% of the rock songs you probably listen to. There's this kinda inside joke with serious musicians, that the E scale is a joke, too easy, perfect for us low-life scum referred to as..."ROCKERS!"(headbangers,metal-headz,punks,etc.) As a painfully practiced participant of the Public School System, I was told the same thing. Fear not intrepid seeker of the universal knowledge that is ROCK!...these music snobs are just a little jaded.

Standard tuning is E A D G B E, notice that two of the notes when played "open"(without touching the strings) are actually E. Pretty convenient huh? Take a look at this piece of tablature.

------------------------------------0--3-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------0--3------------------------------------------------------
----------------------0--2-------------------------------------------------------------
---------------0--2--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------0--2---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-0--3----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's the E pentatonic Scale in first position, and your assignment!

The way to play this is to imagine that each dotted line is one of your guitar strings...