Determine the key of the song you will be playing in. The pentatonic scale can be used as the relative minor of a major key song, or it can be played in a minor key. The notes of the scale are tonic (also called first), flat third, fourth, fifth, flat seventh, and tonic (one octave higher).
Experiment with the notes of the pentatonic scale. Visually on a guitar, every other note bars the same fret. This means that if you place your index finger along this fret, every string will play a note within the pentatonic scale. So, if you begin on the seventh fret, every other note will be barred at the seventh fret on the string above the preceding note.
Use short runs up or down a pentatonic scale for phrasing within a solo. However, extending these runs too long won't provide an interesting line. Try a few notes in a run, up or down, and then jump up or down the scale.
Use the pentatonic scale for barring or for small chords, such as thirds. Because the pentatonic scale is so easily laid out, barring along the fret in which the scale begins can be a handy way to create a short blast of thicker sound during a solo, and riffs can be created by using notes exclusive to the barred fret. Third chords and fifth chords can be made by simply playing one note from the barred fret and one note off the barred fret on either the D and A strings or the G and D strings.
Sustain the barred fret on the B string and bend up on the unbarred fret on the G string. Or sustain the barred fret on the high E string and bend up on the unbarred fret on the B string. This is a popular technique in pentatonic guitar playing and has a highly distinct sound.