E minor pentatonic scale — position 1
Position 1 of the E minor pentatonic is the first scale almost every blues and rock guitarist learns, for a simple reason: played open (frets 0 to 3), it has only two notes per string, one fingering to memorise, and its root sits on the low E string. It removes from the natural minor scale the two notes hardest to pitch accurately by ear (the half-steps), which is why you can improvise over it almost anywhere with no glaring wrong note. The diagram below highlights the E notes in colour.
Tips
Go up and down slowly with alternate picking (one downstroke, one upstroke) from the start: that's the habit to build now.
One finger per fret, each finger staying close to its fret even when it isn't playing.
Name the root (E) out loud every time you play it - it's what resolves a phrase.
Understanding this type of exercise
Why start with this position
Position 1 of the minor pentatonic is the most used shape in blues and rock because it's the easiest to locate: two notes per string, one fingering to memorise, and the root sits on the low string. It's the entry point to improvising, not an end in itself — see position 1 vs CAGED positions for what comes next.
How to work the ascent
- Alternate picking from the start, not just downstrokes: the habit is built now, not in six months.
- One finger per fret, each finger staying close to its fret even when it isn't playing.
- Find and name the root out loud every time you play it: it's what "resolves" a phrase.
- Don't loop up and down mechanically — as soon as it's fluent, move to 3-4 note fragments (see the riff sheets).
The fingering is identical in all 12 keys: only the starting fret changes, the shape slides along the neck unchanged.
Fretboard position
root note other scale note
Suggested progression plan
The same exercise in other keys
- A minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- C minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- G minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- D minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- B minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- F minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- F# minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- C# minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- G# minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- D# minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- A# minor pentatonic scale — position 1
Related sheets
- Blues in A — chord changes (Level 3)
- Double stop on two neighbouring strings (Level 3)
- C minor pentatonic scale — working the descent (Level 3)