Where you walk

Scales

Intervals, not just dots. Players remember “1–3–5.” Dots alone fade.

Minor pentatonic (box 1) — first scale

Key of A (5th fret). Fingers stay in one position. Notes: A C D E G.

e|---5---------8---
B|---5---------8---
G|---5-------7-----
D|---5-------7-----
A|---5-------7-----
E|---5---------8---
     1         4     (on G/D/A strings: 1 and 3)

This box is the default rock/blues vocabulary.

Major pentatonic — same box, different root

Same pattern two frets down is F# minor pentatonic, which is A major pentatonic. Don’t teach a second grid on day one. Teach: minor box + new home note.

Blues scale — pentatonic plus the flat 5

e|---5---------8---
B|---5---------8---
G|---5-----6-7-----
D|---5-------7-----
A|---5---6-7-------
E|---5---------8---
              ♭5 sits on the G and A strings

That extra fret is the “blue” note. Use it as a pass-through, not a campground.

Major scale (one-octave, G, open-friendly)

e|----------------2-3-
B|------------0-1-3---
G|--------0-2---------
D|----0-2-------------
A|--------------------
E|-3------------------
   G A B C D E F# G
   1 2 3 4 5 6 7  1

Then play the same major scale as a closed box at fret 3 so it moves to any key.

Natural minor (Aeolian) — A minor

e|----------------0-1-3-
B|------------0-1-3-----
G|--------0-2-----------
D|--0-2-3---------------
A|----------------------
E|----------------------

Rule to print in bold: A minor uses the same notes as C major. That one sentence saves months.

CAGED — one page, not a cult

Five major chord shapes: C, A, G, E, D. Each shape is a door into the same scale.

Site rule: show E-shape and A-shape first. The other three after the student can barre.

Related lessons

Open chords those scales sit on · Hammer-ons inside the box · How Drop D moves string 6