01/31/2024
Major Pentatonic Scale
The word “pentatonic” comes from the Greek word pente which means five and tonic which means tone. This scale is often referred to as a five-tone scale or a five-note scale. It is believed to have been used way back in ancient times. The major pentatonic is the basic scale of the music of China and Mongolia.
This type of scale has five notes per octave unlike a heptatonic scale which has seven notes. Examples of heptatonic scales are the major scale and the minor scale. Unlike major and minor scales, the pentatonic has no semitones.
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Pentatonic Scales are used in lots of different types of music. You'll find it in:
Jazz
Blues
Celtic
Scottish
African and European Folk Music
In early Folk music, Pentatonic Scales established a melody that was then easily improvised upon by the musicians. Later, as it began being used in Jazz and especially Rock music. Many rock n roll solos are improved versions of the Major Pentatonic Scale, just in it's minor form.
What's even more interesting about a Pentatonic Scale, is that you can interchange keys within a scale. For example, if you're playing in the key of C, you can also incorporate other Pentatonic scales, such as A minor, or G minor within the same chords, which gives those of you that improvise, more options than if you were playing with 8 note scales.
Pentatonics are great for learning to improvise!
More teachers use Pentatonic Scales to get students going on improvisation than not.
That's why they are so popular with Jazz and Rock artists, who are known for their live improv performances and jam sessions.
And...because you can overlap keys when playing in this format, improving is easier because there are more options.
How Can You Start Playing with Pentatonic Scale ?
The major pentatonic consists of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of a major scale. For instance, let’s take a look at the C major scale. The notes of the C major scale are C – D – E – F – G – A – B. The C major pentatonic would therefore be, the 1st note, C, the 2nd note, D, the third note, E, the 5th note, G, and the 6th note, A, or C – D – E – G – A.
If you play the black keys on your piano, you will hear that pentatonic sound. The black keys on your piano are pentatonic and they’re in the key of G flat and its relative minor, E flat minor.
One way of forming the pentatonic is to use the following formula after picking the starting note of the scale. The formula is W, W, W+H, W, W+H (whole step, whole step, whole step plus half step, whole step, whole step plus half step). You can also use the intervals, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6. In terms of semitones, it’s 2 – 2 – 3 – 2 – 3.
Let’s take a look at the major pentatonic scale in all 12 keys.
C pentatonic: C, D, E, G, A, C
C # pentatonic: C #, D #, F, G #, A #, C #
Db pentatonic: Db, Eb, F, Ab, Bb, Db
D pentatonic: D, E, F #, A, B, D
Eb pentatonic: Eb, F, G, Bb, C, Eb
E pentatonic: E, F #, G #, B, C #, E
F pentatonic: F, G, A, C, D, F
F # pentatonic: F #, G #, A #, C #, D #, F #
Gb pentatonic: Gb, Ab, Bb, Db, Eb, Gb
G pentatonic: G, A, B, D, E, G
Ab pentatonic: Ab, Bb, C, Eb, F, Ab
A pentatonic: A, B, C #, E, F #, A
Bb pentatonic: Bb, C, D, F, G, Bb
B pentatonic: B, C #, D #, F #, G #, B
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