Just as there are moveable chord shapes, so there are also moveable scales. The most common scale used in lead guitar playing is the minor pentatonic scale. Pentatonic means five notes. It’s degrees are 1, b3, 4, 5 and b7. In the A minor pentatonic scale these notes are A C D E and G. The diagram below shows the A minor pentatonic scale in the 5th position. The notes with a box around them are the root notes (or key notes). In this particular scale, each of them is a different A note. This scale formation is often called pattern 1.
Play the scale as indicated here. It may sound familiar to you.
Now try starting at the highest note and playing down through the scale.
The next step is to play the scale ascending and descending, as shown here. Try to get a smooth, even sound.
To help develop your picking it is a good idea to practice playing each note twice.
Here is a riff which is derived from the A minor pentatonic scale.