Scales And Modes

Hello There
I'm stuck in a rut with E minor pentatonic scales is there a tried and tested way of learning different scales etc and how to use them properly???????????????

try this,
you are playing E pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D-E)
change a note, lets say make the G->F# and play this scale
E-F#-A-B-D-E all over the fretboard untill you get used of that sound, then change another note and so on...

you can record yourself playing a few chords and then jam over that, since you know the E pentatonic you can record chords like Em Am Bm C, this will also make you a better rhythm guitarist

And always listen to what you play

Try incorporating the E major Pentatonic scale into your playing. The fingerings for the minor and major pentatonic forms are exactly the same, but located at different points on the guitar neck. For example, if your playing E minor pentatonic starting on the 6th string at the 12th fret, take that fingering pattern and play it starting on the 6th string at the 9th fret. Keep in mind, the root note (the E) is in a different place than it was when you played that same pattern starting at the 12th fret. Also, if you only know one minor pentatonic form, there are at least four other commonly used forms.

You can try linear scale, this one is quite simple.
Exemple Em:

e------12--14--15--------
b------12--13--15--------
g--11--12--14------------
d------12--14------------
a------12--14--15--------
e------12--14--15--------
it's just a few notes added to petatonic. To see (hear?) how you can use it just listen to Thin Lizzy's or Metallica's solo to Whisky in th jar. (Although Metallinca might have this solo in different key???)