The Secrets of Learning the Fretboard

LRT-021 Prebend Pentatonic Lick

Learn a pentatonic lick that uses a prebend then shift it down by a fifth.

This lick requires you to nail the prebend cleanly. Practicing with a lick like this puts the technique into a fun exercise. If you have trouble with the prebend, play the target note of the bend. This not is two frets up. You can also play it on the next string so you don’t have to shift your hand much. I recommend practicing with the target note then trying to play it with the prebend. Train your ear to to hear the target note in both.

Another reason I like this lick is because it shifts between the root and fifth. The first lick is played in the C minor pentatonic scale in eighth position. The second measure repeats the lick using the G minor pentatonic scale in third position. G is the perfect fifth of C. Many chord progressions switch from the fifth degree to the root, so this will prepare you to use the same lick to follow the chord changes.


This lick was written and played by Charles Gervase.

LRT-021 Prebend Pentatonic Lick

About Patrick MacFarlane 127 Articles
I've been teaching guitar online for 25 years. My site has been featured in Rolling Stone and Acoustic Guitar magazine. I'm the author of The Secrets of Learning the Fretboard and Guitar Lesson World The Book.

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