The pentatonic scale

There are two frequently used Pentatonic scales the major and minor. It forms the basis of most blues and rock solos and no doubt you will have heard it used at some point. They both contain only five notes making it an ideal scale for beginners as it is simple, versitile and sounds great.

Many blues guitarists never really bother learning anything more than this scale and it has a very blues and country sound to it. It is pretty much for responsible for all those blues licks you here so often. Hendrix and the alot of early blues rock players made extensive use of both major and minor pentatonics.

Obviously the minor pentatonic can be used on minor 7 chords and the major pentatonic can be used on major chords. You should notice that C major pentatonic and its relative A minor pentatonic contain the same notes.

The major pentatonic scale contains the intervals

1, 2, 3, 5, 6

In the key of C this would translate as

C, D, E, G, A

The minor pentatonic scale contains the intervals

1, 2, b3, 5, b7

In the key of C this would translate as

C, D, Eb, G, Bb

A minor pentatonic position 1

Practice this scale in all the positions on the neck to make sure you really get the most out of it. Most players get stuck in playing box shapes in one position. Try playing the scale up and down the neck on only two strings to get a better understanding of how the shapes fit together.

A minor pentatonic starting on G

Despite it being associated with a scale just for blues guitarists it can create some really terrifying wide interval lines when used well. Listen to Shawn Lane and Eric Johnson for some really advanced use of the pentatonic scale. Alot of jazz players use the scale to great effect playing it over altered chords to create a more fusion type sound.

You can get an even more "blues" sound by adding another note to the minor pentatonic (a b5 note) giving you what is usually referred to as the blues scale.

Pentatonics can be useful in playing over chages you are unsure of becuase they can be made to fit over most chords simply because of the limited number of notes in the scale.

Eric johnson (above) is a great example of a player who is expanding the range of the pentatonic scale

As well as the major and minor pentatonics there are several other interesting five note scales. You can create your own but some of the most common are outlined in the table below.

Name	Notes	Description
Major Pentatonic	1, 2, 3, 5, 6	The major pentatonic scale can be heard often in country music over major chords
Minor Pentatonic	1, 2, b3, 5, b7	Mostly used for a blues sound over minor chords
Minor 6 Pentatonic	1, b3, 4, 5, 6	This pentatonic is taken from the melodic minor scale and should be played over a minor 6 chord. It has a minor third and major sixth note. Use this for a jazz sound
Japanese In sen scale	1, b2, 4, 5, b7	This traditional japanese scale is taken from the phyrgian mode. You could use it over phrygian progressions or the Lydian mode. (C in sen over C# lydian)
Dominant pentatonic	1, 3, 4, 5, b7	This pentatonic is taken from the mixolydian mode and can be used over dominant chords

Thats it for this lesson. Take time to experiment with the different sounds and try and use this versatile little scale in interesting ways.

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