To play outside on guitar with the pentatonic, keep the five-note minor pentatonic but move its center. Over a ii-V-I in E flat, start with minor pentatonics that sit inside the key, then mix two centers, then pick centers that add tension on the dominant chord and resolve them. The tension only works when you hear it and mean it.
This post walks through four pentatonic hacks to play in and out, the same four I solo through in the video over F minor 7, B flat 7 and E flat: big centers, mixed centers, extension centers and an extreme version that mixes everything.
How can the pentatonic scale take you outside the chords?
By choosing which minor pentatonic you play over each chord. Every center gives you a different set of extensions and tensions, from safe and inside to very harsh.
We all know the pentatonic is awesome. It isn’t hard to play, but it’s actually very deep. Penta means five, so the scale has only five notes. The repetition is high, so we hear it very strongly, and very strong melodies get created while we play it.
When you’re playing songs with more complex harmonic progressions, like jazz, the question comes up: how can we use it? The answer here is to use the pentatonic as a center and get different extensions and tensions from where you put that center. If you’re still getting the five positions under your fingers, start with the pentatonic scale lesson and come back.
One thing before the hacks. When we play, we’re basically playing tension and release against the chords. If we can imagine that tension and really experience it, we can play out. There’s no problem with it.
The problem is when we’re playing out and we don’t really listen and we don’t really mean that. So try to mean it, and try to listen carefully.
Rotem Sivan
Hack 1: which pentatonics fit inside a ii-V-I in E flat?
F minor, G minor and C minor pentatonic. They’re diatonic to E flat, so most of the notes you choose from them will sound pretty good over all three chords. I call these the big centers.
- F minor pentatonic. F, A flat, B flat, C, E flat.
- G minor pentatonic. G, B flat, C, D, F.
- C minor pentatonic. C, E flat, F, G, B flat.
Every one of those notes belongs to the E flat major scale (E flat, F, G, A flat, B flat, C, D), which is why they sit so comfortably over the progression.
When I’m thinking about the big centers, I’m still listening to the harmonic progression. I hear the ii-V, but I’m choosing notes from within one pentatonic center at a time, so my framework is five notes. In a way it’s very limited, but that limitation is actually very liberating.
Different minor pentatonics work better on different chords. On the F minor 7, F minor, C minor and G minor pentatonic all sound great. There are a few more options, but those are really solid ones. If the ii-V-I itself is new to you, the ii-V-I guitar lesson builds it from the ground up.
Hack 2: mix two pentatonic centers
Take two pentatonic centers and switch between them over the progression, and start leaning on the dominant chord for extra tension.
I’m still thinking generally about two centers changing the sound, but I’m thinking about the B flat 7 a little more and giving it an extra tension. In the video you’ll hear moves like B flat minor pentatonic to C minor, C minor to F minor, and G minor to D minor.
On the ii chord, F minor, I can definitely play F minor, C minor and G minor pentatonic, and they’ll sound great. On the B flat 7 I can experiment with different tensions. This is where I start getting out of the diatonic: A flat minor pentatonic gives me the flat 9. Its notes are A flat, C flat, D flat, E flat and G flat, and that C flat is the flat 9 of B flat.
It also brings some avoid notes, and this is where your ears come into play. I’m not going to play the scale just up and down. I need to make choices and listen carefully to the sounds.
Hack 3: extension centers that put tension on the dominant
Pick pentatonics that give you extensions and tensions on the B flat 7, even further from the diatonic centers, and then resolve them.
Here I’m starting to think even more about the B flat 7 and getting some extensions on it as well. I’m getting much more tension. These sounds are very harsh, but then the resolution sounds much sweeter.
C sharp minor pentatonic is a good example. Its notes are C sharp, E, F sharp, G sharp and B. Against B flat 7 (B flat, D, F, A flat), almost every one of them is a tension: B is the flat 9, C sharp is the sharp 9, E is the sharp 11, F sharp is the flat 13, and G sharp is the same pitch as the flat 7. Playing C sharp minor pentatonic to D minor, or to C minor, sounds like a great resolution, but the C sharp minor on its own is extremely harsh.
Other moves I play in the video: B minor to D minor, F minor to B minor to C minor, and A flat minor to G minor.
Hack 4: go extreme and mix all of them
Mix all of these options and mess around with different centers over the ii-V’s: big centers, mixed centers and extension centers in one solo.
The rule from the start still holds: hear the tension, mean it, and listen to where it resolves. If you’re stuck in one pentatonic box and none of this feels reachable yet, Solo Vision is built for that: you hear each sound, sing the note names, and work the position through double stops, three-note groupings and legato.
A practice idea for today
- Stay inside. Loop F minor 7, B flat 7, E flat and solo with only F minor pentatonic. Keep listening to the chords move underneath.
- Add one tension. Keep F minor pentatonic for the ii chord, and on the B flat 7 switch to A flat minor pentatonic for the flat 9.
- Go out and land. Try C sharp minor pentatonic and resolve it to C minor or D minor. Play it slowly enough to hear the harsh part and the release.
If you want the bigger picture of how these concepts fit into improvising, Solo Mastery is my full framework: over 40 concepts for soloing, 10 real performances broken down note by note, plus shell chords, harmony, ear training and rhythm work.
Frequently asked questions
What does playing outside mean on guitar?
It means choosing notes that create tension against the chords instead of sitting inside them, then releasing that tension. With the pentatonic, you do it by moving the center away from the key, like A flat or C sharp minor pentatonic over B flat 7.
Which minor pentatonic scales work over a ii-V-I in E flat?
F minor, G minor and C minor pentatonic. All their notes belong to E flat major, so most of what you choose will sound good over F minor 7, B flat 7 and E flat. On the F minor 7 chord, all three sound great.
What pentatonic gives you a flat 9 on a dominant chord?
Over B flat 7, A flat minor pentatonic gives you the flat 9. Its notes are A flat, C flat, D flat, E flat and G flat, and C flat is the flat 9 of B flat. It brings some avoid notes too, so listen and choose.
How do you make outside notes sound intentional?
Hear the tension and mean it, then resolve it. The harsher the outside center, the sweeter the resolution sounds, like C sharp minor pentatonic moving to D minor or C minor. Playing out without listening is where it goes wrong.
Put on a ii-V-I in E flat, choose one outside center for the B flat 7, and keep playing it until the landing feels like yours.
