Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to another video lesson with me, Tony G from Guitarwithtonyg.com. Today we’re going to keep focusing on our 1-5-6-4 chord progression for guitar, but with a twist. I’m going to show you how to use the minor pentatonic scale for guitar to add in some leads, hooks and maybe even a solo! Make sure to watch the entire video to get your own personal backing track at the end! Please be sure to Like the video and Subscribe to my Youtube Channel if you haven’t already.
1-5-6-4 Chord Progression for Guitar
We’ve been talking about a couple different keys for a 1-5-6-4 but today we’re focusing on the key of C. Let’s review those four chords again: The 1 chord will be C, the 5 chord is going to be our G which you can play any way you like as long as it’s G major, the 6 chord will be Am and the 4 chord is F.
Minor Pentatonic Scale on Guitar – Key of C Major
Raise your hand if you know where the minor pentatonic scale on guitar would be in the key of C major.
How about you!
Yep! Nice work! We will be playing this scale in the 5th position which is in the key of A minor, which happens to be the relative minor of C major. That’s a quick little theory lesson for you, but if you want to explore more theory, check out my free lessons I have available for you!
However, when we play the minor pentatonic in the key of C major, our main focus will actually be the pinky finger on the 6th string instead of the first finger. That’s because that is the C note which is the tonic (home base) of the key. That being said, all of the pentatonic notes will sound good and be safe to play over the key of C major.
Using Chord Tones Over Popular Chord Progressions
When we are making a lick, a melody or a solo, it’s always great to play a note in the chord while the chord is being played. It really makes the note lock in with the chord and sound great!
I’m going to teach you some of these chord tones we can so that when these chords are being played, you can use the chord tones to really bring out the sound of the chord.
We will be using these chord tones as target notes, which are notes that we want to start or end on when playing a solo, lick or melody. Let me teach you how!
C Major Chord Tones as Target Notes in Minor Pentatonic Scale on Guitar
The first target note is going to be for the 1 chord – C major. We’re going to use a chord tone which is a note straight from the C chord itself and find it in the pentatonic scale. That way, when the rhythm section goes to the C chord, we can play the chord tone as a target note and make a great sound. The note we will use from the C chord is, C!
There are a couple different C notes in the minor pentatonic scale for guitar in 5th position: We have one with pinky finger on 8th fret of the 6th string which also corresponds to the 8th fret of the 1st string.
This is because the 6th string and the 1st string are both tuned to the same note. Because of this, any note you play on the 6th string will be the same note if you play the same fret on the 1st string.
The C note I’m going to focus on today is actually on the 5th fret of the 3rd string. Anytime the rhythm section goes to the C chord, we can play this note and really lock it in, especially when they transition from the 4 chord – F.
Stay tuned later in the video because I will show you a solo that I play over a backing track. Afterward, I will give you the same backing track to make your own solo, licks or melodies over!
G Major Chord Tones as Target Notes in Minor Pentatonic Scale on Guitar
The next chord we go to is the 5 chord – G major. I’m going to keep our target note simple again and choose the main chord tone, G! I know in my head that this chord tone is on the 5th fret of the 4th string. I know that because of the octave trick which tells me where a G note is in relation to the G note I know on the 6th string. For a free lesson on how to effectively learn shortcuts to the fretboard like this, check out my free lesson right here!
Quick Mind-Blowing Moment for Chord Tones in the Minor Pentatonic Scale on Guitar
You might be saying to yourself, “Hey Tony, this is great to be learning this for the key of C major, but now I have to memorize it for every other key too!”
Actually, this pentatonic scale shape can be moved anywhere along the neck to accommodate any key and we can keep the same chord tones!
Moving forward, I want you to think about the minor pentatonic shape and which fingers you use on which strings. For the 1 chord – C major, we use first finger on 3rd string. Don’t think about the frets, think about the shape. For the 5 chord – G major, we use first finger on the 4th string.
So if I changed the key to D major which would slide the scale into 7th position, we can still use the same chord tones over the 1-5-6-4 chord progression for guitar in D major. The chord tone for the 1 chord – D major would still be first finger on the 3rd string but this time it would be on 7th fret. The chord tone for the 5 chord – A major would still be the first finger on the 4th string.
Scale shape and awareness of the minor pentatonic scale really goes a long way!
Let’s get back to our chord tones to learn the target notes for the 6 and 4 chords!
A Minor Chord Tones as Target Notes in Minor Pentatonic Scale on Guitar
Moving on to the 6 chord – A minor, the chord tone will again be simple and we’re going to use the note, A. The A note is just one full step (two frets) above a G. We just found the G note on the 5th fret of the 4th string. Therefore, we will use our ring finger on the 7th fret of the 4th string to play the A note.
Just as a recap, for the 1 chord we’re playing first finger on the 3rd string, for the 5 chord we’re playing first finger on the 4th string and for the 6 chord, we’re playing 3rd finger on the 4th string.
Now let’s check out the 4 chord with a little twist!
F Major Chord Tones as Target Notes in Minor Pentatonic Scale on Guitar
This chord is going to get a little tricky. We’re not going to take the simple route and choose F as the chord tone. Instead, we’re going to go with a different chord tone from our F major triad. An F major triad consists of three notes (triad = three) which are F, A and C. We’re going to choose the A as the chord tone to use over the 4 chord. As we just went over the A note for the 6 chord, we know we will be playing it with ring finger on the 4th string.
To recap all the chord tones/target notes over the 1-5-6-4 chord progression for guitar, we’re using the first finger on the 3rd string for the 1 chord and first finger on the 4th string for the 5 chord. Then, we will use the ring finger on the 4th string for both the 6 and 4 chord tones.
Using Chord Tones Over a Pop Song Chord Progression
Now that we have the chord tones, I want to teach you how to use them to create a lick or a melody.
These target notes can be used to start a lick or to end a lick. Therefore, if I’m writing a lick, I can either start with the target note, or I can make a little lick and end on it. Watch the video because I’m about to show you how I do that over every single chord over a backing track.
“You ready other Tony?!”
The Trick to Great Licks Over Popular Chord Progressions
If you noticed, sometimes I was sticking to the chord tones with a little flair in between, and sometimes I completely ignored them and went wild! Either way is just fine because at the end of the day, it’s what sound you like best that matters. I am simply giving you a tool to add to your toolbox to use when crafting licks, solos and melodies.
If you would like to go much more in-depth on learning how to write your own solos, licks and melodies, make sure to check out my awesome eBook right here!
Not only will it help you become more comfortable with how to improvise in any key, it will also help you learn techniques to make your solos sound like the pros!
If you want to stop flubbing through the pentatonic scale and coming up with basic licks, this book will take you to the next level!
As promised, at the end of the video, I have given you the 1-5-6-4 chord progression on guitar as your own backing track to play over. I’ll bet you’re going to write something great! Just remember to focus on the target notes over the specific chords and I know you’ll have a blast.
Until next time!