Pentatonic Scale Exercises
Unlock your picking technique with focused pentatonic scale exercises. Practice alternate picking, triplets, and legato patterns with interactive tabs, audio playback, and clear practice tips—perfect for building speed, accuracy, and fretboard mastery.
Why Pentatonic Scales Are Good for Picking Practice
The pentatonic scale is the backbone of rock, blues, and countless other musical styles. But beyond its musical applications, it's also the perfect vehicle for developing picking technique. Here's why:
All of these examples use the Am pentatonic shape 1. See the pentatonic scale diagram.
Left-hand fingering is shown above the standard notation staff. Note that some patterns require a finger to be barred, either the first or third finger.
- 2 notes per string: Easy to remember shapes and perfect for alternate picking (even number of notes per string means you always play a downstroke when changing strings)
- String crossing: Natural opportunities to practice crossing between strings
- Position playing: Develops fretboard knowledge while improving technique
- Scalable difficulty: Works for beginners through advanced players
Pentatonic Scale Tab Player
Use the dropdown below to select and practice different pentatonic exercises.
Partial legato exercises involve hammer-ons and pull-offs with picked notes, as opposed to pure legato which only picks the first note on every string.
Note: Each exercise repeats twice in the tab.
How to Read This Tab
- Standard Notation: The top staff shows traditional music notation for rhythm and pitch.
- Tablature (TAB): The lower staff shows fret numbers for each string—play the indicated fret on the matching string.
- Picking Symbols: ⊓ = Downstroke, ∨ = Upstroke.
- Slurs: Curved lines between notes indicate hammer-ons or pull-offs (pick the first note, then use your left hand for the next note without picking).
- Fingering: Numbers above the top staff suggest which left-hand finger to use (1 = index, 2 = middle, 3 = ring, 4 = pinky).
How to Practice Pentatonic Scales
The examples start at 20 BPM. This is a beginner speed—since these are 16th notes and 16th note triplets, we're slowing down significantly to ensure clean execution. Players with a bit more experience may prefer to start at 40 BPM. Start at a speed that you can play the exercise comfortably and cleanly. Increase the tempo by 5–10 BPM at a time and stay at that speed until you can play it comfortably and cleanly.
It's also beneficial to occasionally push above your comfortable speed in short bursts—this can help break through plateaus and build confidence. For more on this approach, see 6 Essential Practice Tips for Guitar Students.
Tempo Reference Guide
16th Notes:
- Medium/Intermediate: 100-130 BPM
- Fast/Advanced: 130-160 BPM
- Very Fast/Professional: 160-180+ BPM
- Elite/Virtuoso: 200+ BPM
16th Note Triplets:
- Medium: 70-100 BPM
- Fast: 100-130 BPM
- Very Fast: 130-160+ BPM
Note: Average rock/pop songs are typically 80-140 BPM. At 120 BPM, 16th notes become quite challenging for most players, which is why we start much slower for practice.
Important: 16th note triplets are faster than 16th notes at the same tempo (6 notes per beat vs 4 notes per beat), making them significantly harder to play cleanly at the same BPM.
Practice Wisdom: Most players are tempted to practice faster than they can play cleanly. Remember: fast players get that way by practicing slowly and with intention. If you stick to the method above, you will see results!
Next Steps in Your Picking Journey
- Exploring other scale patterns (major scales, modes, exotic scales)
- Developing sweep picking and economy picking techniques
- Creating your own practice exercises and variations
- Applying these techniques to real musical situations
- Building repertoire with picking-focused pieces
- Apply these exercises to the other pentatonic shapes (see the guide) and different keys
Remember: Consistent daily practice with focused attention beats sporadic long sessions. Quality over quantity!