# Pentatonic Exercises for beginners



## dolphinstreet (Sep 11, 2006)

Practice these exercises daily and you will never have cavities again.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

That is a great set of exercises. Moving up and down the neck between the "boxes" is a great skill to develop. The only thing that I would suggest is that you may want to add the option of using the pinky - not all beginning guitarists enjoy the reach that you have. 

Keep up the great work!


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

Isn't it better though to get out of the "box" mindset and look at the fretboard as a whole set of giant scales?


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## dolphinstreet (Sep 11, 2006)

Thanks, but I think using the pinky or not is optional. It's the notes that matter more than what fingers you use. Not everyone has the same strength in their fingers, so a player should always use the technique they are most comfortable with. Look at Gary Moore for example.


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## dolphinstreet (Sep 11, 2006)

Lola said:


> Isn't it better though to get out of the "box" mindset and look at the fretboard as a whole set of giant scales?


You want to be able to do both - once you see the whole scale all over the neck, you'll automatically stop thinking about boxes. For the newbie, it can be a help to visualize the scale by the boxes, but I don't think it's the only or even the "right" way to learn scales. In the end, all that matters is the music you make with the notes, and how you approach learning them is your own choice.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

dolphinstreet said:


> Thanks, but I think using the pinky or not is optional. It's the notes that matter more than what fingers you use. Not everyone has the same strength in their fingers, so a player should always use the technique they are most comfortable with. Look at Gary Moore for example.


Absolutely. I'm just saying present it as an option and let the student decide what works best - ideally, one would eventually be able to do it either way.


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