Hey man welcome to the forums, here's basically what Doog said with a little more explanation of how everything fits together. This is a paste from an old thread.
Whats important about the minor pentatonic is knowing what notes fall directly 'ontop' of it. This may help some of you who like to add notes to the pentatonic as these notes work almost all the time.
The minor pentatonic is as follows.
E-------------------------------1---4
B-------------------------1---4
G-------------------1---3 (flatted third by bending this note to the 4th fret)
D-------------1---3
A--------1---3 (you can add a flatted 3rd on the second fret here)
E---1---4
However, Aeolian Mode or the Minor Scale falls directly "ontop" of this scale (I don't know how else to phrase it).
E-----------------------------------------1
B-----------------------------------2--4
G---------------------------1--3--5
D-------------------1--3--5
A-----------1--3--4
E--1--3--4
You see all the notes of the pentatonic fall within this scale, so you can add these notes randomly to the pentatonic for color and phrasing purposes.
The major pentatonic that occurs in conjunction with the F minor listed above is G# Major pentatonic and can be used in conjunction with G# Ionian Mode (or the standard major scale). It is as follows.
E---------------------------4---6
B----------------------4---6
G-----------------3---5
D------------3---6
A-------3---6
E--4---6
Here the major scale falls directly on top of this as follows:
E----------------------------------3--4
B-----------------------------4--6
G---------------------3--5--6
D-------------3--5--6
A------3--4--6
E--4--6
This scale is interchangeable with the pentatonic just above, and this major pentatonic listed (G#) is interchangeable with the minor listed above it (F natural minor).
So you see, all the scales listed above are relative to each other and are really the only patterns required in becoming a proficient lead guitarist. Just practice Phrasing over these scales, adding and mixing the notes by bending, sliding, and hammering on and off slowly and then work up to speed. You can move these patterns everywhere, just find where one starts and realize that the pattern works here and the notes are all the same distances apart.
Also buy a metronome, it will make a huge difference.
If you don't know what phrasing means tell me and I'll explain it to you.
Learning arpeggios can really help too, but thats something I'm not very good at myself and am just now learning to do with any considerable ability.
