Or maybe, you like collecting instruments. In that collection could pianos, horns, stringed instruments, you name it. Whoever you are whether you make a money playing gigs, you’re a classical nut or you just like collecting. They all share a common denominator. It can all be gone in less than a half hour.
What!?!?! You might say, but think about it is not all that out of the question. How many people lost all of their belongings in New Orleans when Katrina hit, including their instruments? What about fires? Or thieves? And let’s not for get accidents.

Whether it is in your house, a car, traveling or at gig. There are not really too many completely safe place for instruments and equipment. Thankfully there is something out there can help. Insurance.

Home insurance

You may say, I don’t play gigs and I am not a professional musican, my gear is pretty much always within my house. My homeowners insurance should cover my instruments. While many times this is true, homeowner insurance many times covers musical instruments, it is certainly not always the case.

Even if your homeowner’s insurance covers musical instruments, it is good know what the maximum is. Many policies will only cover up to $1000 for you instruments. For many of us it stops there. A $1000 should cover our instruments, but for other of us a $1000 doesn’t go very far.

Instrument Insurance

If this is your situation, it might be good to check into instrument insurance. I now what your thinking, sounds expensive, but depending on the price of your instruments and what you want to do, insurance can cost as a hundred dollars per year. Making it a viable option even for those who have less than $1000 worth of equipment.

There are many good companies that specialize in instrument insurance, which can customize a plan for your particular circumstances.

Things To Pay Attention To

Now, some things you need to pay attention to when looking for insurance for your equipment are:

1. Am I a musician by profession? If so will the insurance cover the cost of my rental while my instrument is being repaired or replaced?
2. If I am a musician by profession, is my recording equipment and computer insured?
3. Is my instrument covered under all circumstances? (Home, Car, Plane, Worldwide)
4. Has my instrument been appraised? Especially if it is unique or expensive is have the instrument appraised is essential.
5. Is my instrument insured for what it will cost to replace it? (Instruments are constantly increasing in price, you want it insured for what it will cost to replace it, not what it cost 5 years ago.)
6. Am I insured for liability if some trips over my equipment at a gig? (Yah, you need to worry about that.)

Not all of these apply to all of us, but if they do apply, we may not want to be caught with out this type of coverage. There are many companies that specialize in instrument insurance and the majority of them can be found on the Internet. If you are interested Google musical instrument insurance and you will find many options to choose from.

All you really need to do is memorize 12 frets. I know your probably thinking, “12 Frets of the scale that is still a lot to Memorize.� This is where box patterns are very useful. They break the scale up into 5 easy to learn sections. After you learn those sections, all you need to know is how to connect them. Here are the 5 box patterns.

1st Box Pattern

The 1st Box Pattern connects to the
2nd Box Pattern

The 2nd Box Pattern connects to the
3rd Box Pattern

The 3rd Box Pattern connects to the
4th Box Pattern

The 4th Box Pattern connects to the
5th Box Pattern

Then the 5th Box Pattern connects back to the 1st Box Pattern.
Here’s what all five put together on 13 frets looks like.

It is a never-ending cycle, when you play boxes 1 through 5, you just start over with one again. So all you really need to know is, what the 5 boxes are and how they connect. Now with these five box patterns you can go as far up the neck as you like, from the 1st fret all the way up to the 24th fret. And you are well on your way to creating great guitar solos.

If you would like to check out the the box patterns of the minor pentatonic in any key, A, A#, B, C … go to the page Minor Pentatonic Box Patterns.

If you have any questions ask them in a comment below and I will answer them as soon as possible.

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Did you know that most rock solos and songs are only played with 5 notes? No, that is not a typo and you don’t need to have your eyes examined. I said FIVE notes. So few notes you can count them on one hand. One, Two, Three, Four, Five. I know what your thinking, “FIVE notes, there has to be more than five notes. I’ve see guys like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton go all up and down the neck! They couldn’t possibly be playing only five notes.� But I assure you they are only five basic notes are needed to create a good guitar solo. Want to know How?

All you really need is the basic knowledge of scales and the pattern they create. Scales are just groups of notes played over and over at different pitches. The Minor Pentatonic Penta meaning five, only has five notes, but in Country and in Rock it has become a primary part of music. I have created diagrams of the guitar neck to show you how this works.

If you are unfamiliar with guitar tabs I suggest you read my entry on Guitar Tablature basics, but for now it will be enough for you to know that the top string on the chart is know as the 1st, it is the thinnest string and it is tuned to a E. The B-string is known as the 2nd, the G-string is known as the 3rd, the D-string is known as the 4th, the A-string is known as the 5th and the 6th string is the thickest, deepest sounding string and it is also tuned to E.

This particular set of notes makes up the minor pentatonic in the key of F. As you can see all five notes, F, G#, A#, C and D# can be played in many different places. To demonstrate this I encourage you to take out your guitar. Hit the 6th (thickest string) on the first fret. Then, hit the 6th string on the 13th fret. You notice that they sound very similar? That’s because they are the same note, just played at different pitches. Each note happens every 12 frets. So on the 6th string you get the note F on the 1st and 13th fret.
Scales are made up of these simple patterns and once you learn these patterns you will find soloing not that difficult.

Congratulations you have just completed the first step to soloing like a pro. Fill free to use this key of F to solo to. The individual box patterns of the minor pentatonic scale can also be very helpful when learning the scale.

If you have any questions ask them in a comment below and I will answer them as soon as possible.

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The starting fret is where the diagram begins. If the number is 1 the diagram begins on the 1st fret of your guitar.

The root is the base note of the scale and gives it that finished feeling.

If you have any questions ask them in a comment below and I will answer them as soon as possible.

The first box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of F#/Gb

The second box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of G#/Ab

 

The third box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of G#/Ab

The fourth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of G#/Ab

The fifth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of G#/Ab

A Full Octave of the Minor Pentatonic scale in the key of G#/Ab

 

The second box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of A

 

The third box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of A

 

The fourth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of A

 

The fifth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of A

 

A Full Octave of the Minor Pentatonic scale in the key of A

The first box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of A#/Bb

The second box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of A#/Bb

The third box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of A#/Bb

The fourth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of A#/Bb

The fifth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of A#/Bb

A Full Octave of the Minor Pentatonic scale in the key of A#/Bb

 

The Second box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of B

 

The Third box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of B

The Fourth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of B

The Fifth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of B

A Full Octave of the Minor Pentatonic scale in the key of B

 

 

The second box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of C

The third box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of C

The fourth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of C

The fifth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of C

A Full Octave of the Minor Pentatonic scale in the key of C

The first box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of C#/Db

 

The second box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of C#/Db

 

The third box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of C#/Db

 

The fourth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of C#/Db

 

The fifth box of the Minor Pentatonic in the key of C#/Db

 

A Full Octave of the Minor Pentatonic scale in the key of C#/Db