Pattern 4 (Low), in the key of Am, covers the open strings and the first three frets. Pattern IV has root notes on the 5th string and the 3rd string. The many open strings in the scale make this open position handy for pull-off licks and riffs.
Pattern 4 (Low)
Fingering
Patterns involving open stings complicate things. If you've been working through the A Minor Pentatonic patterns in sequence, you've already seen Pattern 4. But the fingerings you learned for it aren't very useful here. The only way you could make use of them would be to move your index finger behind the nut, which is odd.
Instead, what most people do is play this pattern as if it were in First Position (i.e., frets 1-4), but using just fingers 1-3. After playing the open low-E, they play the G (on 3rd fret of the A string) with their ring finger. They do the same for string 5. Then, for string 4, they play the open D and play the E (on the second fret of the D string) with their middle finger. The B string is the only one in Pattern 4 (Low) which can't be played open. Thus, the fingering pattern, from low to high, goes 0-3, 0-3, 0-2, 0-2, 1-3, 0-3.
Using the open strings is odd at first, but using hammer-ons and pull-offs here is a lot of fun. It's so common in a lot of clasic rock songs that you'll likely stumble into some riffs from songs you know.
Connections
This shape is identical to Pattern 4, but the use of open strings makes it feel quite different.
Last Update
This page was last updated on 07/07/2026.