Cascade Licks with A Minor Pentatonic

In this and the next few lessons, we're looking at Cascade Licks. This is when we combine open strings and fretted notes to create a cascading effect. These licks have an open and flowing sound, and can be a very effective technique for creating beautiful pieces of music.

This lesson uses the common A minor pentatonic scale - but most likely played in a manner that you have never played before!

Lesson aims

• Learn the example lick
• Focus on fluidity - this pattern should flow smoothly
• Pay attention to the picking pattern and keeping good timing between your picking and fretting hands

A Minor Pentatonic Scale

You can see here that we're essentially playing this exercise in Am Pentatonic first position, but the A, D, G and E notes on the fifth fret (marked in light blue) are substituted for the open strings above them.

Need help with how to play this scale the normal way? Check out this video

Study Piece 8 - Cascade Lick 1

Top tip - activate the fretboard graphic and slow down the video & tab to make learning this lick a LOT easier!