Breaking these well-known chord shapes down into single notes or triads creates a road map for experimentation, improvisation and an escape route from cliched licks ...

You should be able to see that the C major pentatonic scale uses all the notes from a C chord, plus a couple of extras. (Image credit: Future) Play through the chord and scale before attempting this ...

The Byzantine, also referred to as the double harmonic scale, has a formula of R-b2-3-4-5-b6-7 and makes for an interesting alternative to the major scale when soloing over major 7th chords.

Still, we do recommend using the minor pentatonic scale as a framework. Keep the basic shape in mind and try briefly targeting the notes highlighted in green here. You’ll be hinting at the blues scale ...

6. "Let There Be Rock" From: Let There Be Rock (1977) Geez, Angus, give us a break, will ya? This is yet another extreme example of Young's sonic tension building, with nerve-shattering results.