F# minor pentatonic scale — position 1
Position 1 of the F# minor pentatonic scale, played from fret 2: a less common key in this catalog, using the exact same fingering shape as every other position-1 shape of this type.
Tips
Compare this shape with the E minor version (fret 0): it's the same shape, just shifted two frets higher.
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
The same exercise in other keys
- E minor pentatonic scale — position 1
- 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
- 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
- G minor pentatonic scale — working the descent (Level 3)
- syncopation power riff — B (Level 3)
- Metal in G — syncopated rhythm (Level 3)