After checking out our left handed chord chart one LeftyFretz reader recently asked if I could produce some left handed scale charts for some of the more popular scales. Let’s first take a look at the ridiculously useful minor pentatonic scale – lefty style!
The minor pentatonic is usually the first scale that new guitarists will learn – it’s very easy to play and is useable in almost any musical scenario. For these reasons it is a great scale to use when practicing your improvisational skills.
Before we dive in let me add that if you’re finding it difficult figuring out a scale or chord from a (right handed) diagram, the easiest thing to do is to look up the scale/chord in tablature format. Tab makes it very easy to see what you should be playing, and I’ve included tab of the minor pentatonic scale to allow you to see how it translates over from diagrams.
Minor Pentatonic Scale Shapes
The easiest way to learn the scale over the entire guitar neck is to split it up into smaller, easily digestible shapes or patterns. I’ve shown the five different shapes below. Pay attention to the blue notes as these are the root notes and will indicate which key you are playing in.