Weird Trick to Help You Memorize Pentatonic Patterns

Some of you might recognize Steve Stine, the guitarist in the July 2016 video below, from his many lessons (which include tab and video) on GuitarWorld.com (click here to see 'em all).

But even if you don't, we think you'll find this video pretty handy; if nothing else, it shows why Stine is one of the most accomplished and talented guitar instructors on YouTube (We're also fond of our own Jimmy Brown).

The clip is called "One Weird Trick to Memorizing Pentatonic Patterns," and, as one viewer puts it on YouTube, it's really kind of ingenious.

"It's not as hard as you think it is if you start learning to visualize each one of these five patterns as two groups of 1-4 and three groups of 1-3," Stine says in the clip. "That's all they ever are." To find out what exactly he's talking about, check out the clip. To download tabs for this lesson, head here. You'll have to enter your email address.

This video was posted by Guitar Zoom. For more information, visit GuitarZoom.com.

Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.