Head over to the app to check it out: Penta Patterns

The Background

I started playing guitar when I was around 13 years old. My default learning style was self-taught, relying heavily on YouTube tutorials and online resources. While trying to piece together information from various sources to understand scales, chords, and riffs from my favorite songs, I found myself struggling to visualize and memorize notes across the fretboard. It felt like I was memorizing tabs without truly understanding the underlying patterns.

I essentially stagnated in my playing for a long time. I would feel somewhat comfortable playing in a few keys, but I couldn't easily transpose or improvise. And when I tried to improvise, I would often stray off-key, which completely threw me off.

Discovering Something New

After going to a local concert and meeting a brilliant guitarist, the stars aligned and I was able to take a few lessons from him — my first ever, after more than a decade of playing! He introduced me to the concept of pentatonic scale patterns across the fretboard. This was a game-changer for me. Suddenly, I could see how the notes connected, and I started to navigate the fretboard more intuitively.

More Confidence, More Freedom

With this new understanding, I began to experiment more with improvisation. I found that by knowing the pentatonic patterns, I could easily stay within the key and create solos that sounded coherent and musical. This newfound confidence allowed me to explore different genres and styles, as I was no longer confined to memorized tabs. I now jam along with the wonderful YouTube channel Now You Shred and even try to improvise over random music I hear while my wife scrolls through TikTok and Instagram reels.

I encourage any guitarist, whether beginner or experienced, to explore the pentatonic scale patterns. They’ve truly transformed my playing and opened up a world of musical possibilities.

I created this application to help others learn and visualize these patterns across the fretboard. By practicing with them, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the guitar and enhance your improvisational skills. You can also use the built-in chord finder to see how chords are constructed from these scales.