Pentatonic scales are very common and are found in musical cultures all over the world. Pentatonic scales for guitar a pentatonic scale has just 5 notes. And if you were looking for just the minor scales instead, here is the saxophone minor scales guide. There are major and minor pentatonic scales that share the same notes. The pentatonic scale chose 5 from these notes and created another scale, this is why it is called penta. In this guide i want to discuss major pentatonic scales for the saxophone. Lets take a look at what makes up this scale and how its applied to the guitar fretboard.
Major pentatonic scales in open position closed mobile major pentatonic scales forms horizontal. You could play these licks over a iivv blues progression where a7 is the i. Note that a minor pentatonic has identical notes with c major pentatonic but in different order. The natural minor is the aeolian mode of the relative major scale. The last scale shape begins with your fourth finger on the 15th fret. As the name suggests, a pentatonic scale only has five notes.
The diagram 1 has root notes on the sixht and fourth string. Several typical pentatonic blues licks will be used as a starting point to develop your knowledge of the pentatonic scale. A free pdf of the entire lessons material is available at. The horizontal scale forms shown to the right are one way around this problem. Ukulele scales are created from a family of notes that sound pleasing together. So pentatonic scale has five notes and the blues scale has six. In this lesson you will be learning some ways to use the pentatonic scale in a solo. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. There are both pentatonic major and minor the minor is slightly more often used. You could play these licks over a iivv blues progression where a7 is the i chord, d7 iv chord and e7 v chord. Something that cannot be said of the two notes of the major scale that are not included in the major pentatonic scale the 4th and 7th. Scales you can use in the real world, created by a human guitarist. This post is about the pentatonic scale, and how to use it.
This lesson will help you build licks that move smoothly between the two scales, in a. The first, second, third, fifth, and sixth notes of the major scale become the five notes in the. You can play a pentatonic scale by walking your fingers across the neck at any one of these positions, playing 2 notes per string. Lets compare the notes of the c major pentatonic and a minor pentatonic scales, respectively. All of the below applies to the major minor scale, but can easily be applied to the pentatonic and blues without issues. This is the home position of the pentatonic scale in c major or a minor. Most of the same qualities discussed can be applied to c major as well. The aeolian mode natural minor is the 6th mode of the major scale. The intervals in minor pentatonic are root or 1, b3rd, 4th, 5th, and b7th. There are three ways youll want to learn your major pentatonic scale forms. The first, second, third, fifth, and sixth notes of the major scale become the five notes in the major pentatonic scale. The third form have roots on the fourth and second string whereas the fourth shape have roots on the g and e string.
Jan 02, 2017 4 pentatonic exercises every guitarist should know. A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitches per octave, in contrast to a heptatonic sevennote scale such as the major and minor scales. The widget that used to diplay them as a downloadable pdf kept crashing, so they are here as jpegs instead. The 6th and final note in the diagram is the octave note, named the same as the tonic note, and is the note where the scale starts repeating all the way up the piano keyboard. Also, the pentatonic scale can be easily turned into the blues scale by adding the blues notes. So major scales are bright happy cheerful sounding scales, and the major pentatonic is just that, happy and upbeat. The major pentatonic scale shares the same notes as its relative minor counterpart so although the diagrams might seem familiar its important to take note of where the root notes differ for the major pentatonic positions as opposed to minor pentatonic. Pentatonic scale has notes that when played generate a pleasant melody, even if it is just the. Overview of major and minor pentatonic piano scales. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic.
However the major g pentatonic scale pattern is the exact same pattern in the same fret position. Mar 17, 2018 the major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar. The pattern for the major and minor scales are different. Major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale shares five notes with the major scale. If you have ever wondered what the major pentatonic scale is, here you will learn how to use it and how to play it on the electric bass. The minor pentatonic scale is constructed from five notes of the natural minor scale. The four oneoctave shapes show you how to play the major pentatonic scale on guitar. Notice that the major pentatonic took 5 notes from the major scale, as we said, and were 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 degrees. We are going to take as tonic the 4th string in the fifth fret, in the pitch note a. The minor pentatonic scale by paul tauterouff the minor pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly scales used in rock, blues, country and jazz music. The only difference is which root notes you choose to target.
Aug 07, 2015 now lets combine the notes of the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scale and create some soloing ideas. For instance, lets take a look at the c major scale. D minor pentatonic has the same notes as f major pentatonic and so. Now lets combine the notes of the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scale and create some soloing ideas. Major pentatonic scales in open position closed mobile major pentatonic scales forms horizontal scale forms although the scale forms above make it relatively easy to see how the scale relates to the underlying chord, they do not always o. The pentatonic scale is frequently used in lots of popular music styles. The scales are provided in tablature and standard notation. The fretboard is shown with the lowest pitch string at the bottom and the highest pitch string at the top unless youve tuned your instrument differently. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used scales. If you have chosen a scale other than the one that is used in these exercises which is number three hundred twenty six3 in the pentatonic scale compendium, often referred to as the major 326 or minor 330 pentatonic scale 4, play the shapes found in the exercises, but replace the. Sep 26, 2018 the pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used scales used in music. This lesson is a complete breakdown of all the major pentatonic scale forms.
The diagram below shows the 5 major pentatonic scale patterns spread over the length of the guitar. However, it starts on the tonic 1st note of the scale of g. The major pentatonic scale guitar shapes and theory. The only difference is the root in red, the starting note. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. Guitar major pentatonic scale chart printable pdf subject. Guitarists with an interest in learning to play lead guitar must learn their pentatonic scales. The major pentatonic consists of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of a major scale. The major pentatonic guitar scale is usually played over major chords, and is used in rock music as well as country music. The most important of these are both major and minor pentatonic.
Minor pentatonic scales to introduce a novice guitar player to the world of rock music requires that he learn a series of scales, which we can call the tools of the trade. Compare these scales c major pentatonic and a minor pentatonic with the c major and a minor scales, respectively. Major and minor pentatonic scales avoid significant harmonic dissonance by adverting this tritone. The major pentatonic scale is mostly used in country, folk country rock, blues and jazz. This scale is perhaps less familiar to most guitarists than the minor pentatonic, but it is equally useful.
You hear this sound all the time in just about every style of music rock, blues, country, jazz, you name it heres a video taking you through some major pentatonic essentials, and i develop these ideas in a. A better way to learn major pentatonic on guitar duration. With each of the shapes we learn, there will be a chord. Jguitars scale calculator will draw scale diagrams showing the fretboard with notes in the selected scale highlighted. Later on we shall take a look at the minor pentatonic. Using minor and major pentatonic together effectively minor and major pentatonic work great together in major keys and can say a lot more than if you were to just use one scale. However, when most people talk about the pentatonic scale they are referring to either one of two scales. Click here for a free printable pdf file of this scale. That 6thstring, 5thfret a minor pentatonic scale is also a c major pentatonic scale. Is part of the bass scales to practice for the bass player. The major pentatonic scale uses the 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 notes of the major scale. This lesson will help you build licks that move smoothly between the two scales, in a blues context but you can use what you learn in any style. The pentatonic scale is used both for soloing, and for basing song riffs around.
The major pentatonic scale is made from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes from the major scale for a given key. Pentatonic and blues scales are effectively equivalent. For the most part, im going to deal with pentatonic scales, but you can do blues scales instead if you want. If you were to play a c major pentatonic scale you would play the notes c, d, e, g, a. Here you will find scale diagrams for the five patterns of the minor pentatonic scale and tips on the fingerings for each however, i repeat, you will be best learning these patterns in context over the first two blues lead guitar modules essential blues lead guitar and all over blues lead guitar which is all about using all five patterns all over the neck. C d e g a c formula 2 2 3 2 3 now lets look at the complete, 5position diagram of the pentatonic scale. Bass scales chart a free printable bass guitar scales.
The versatility and playability of the scale makes it a popular choice for use in guitar soloing and melodies. There are three ways youll want to learn your major. Guitar pentatonic scales the 3 types of pentatonic scales, easy to. Show me chords that sound good with an e major pentatonic scale. Pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. They serve as the foundation to a tonality major or minor. Get your free instant download of the pdf version of this guide now. Click here to gain instant access to pdf filled with pentatonic scales. Retain the shape of the gesture, but replace the notes with notes from other pentatonic, diatonic, diminished, augmented, or other scales interval sets. The minor pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly scales used in rock, blues, country and jazz music. Using minor and major pentatonic together effectively. Link to page dedicated to the major pentatonic scale link to pdf file with all.
Scale diagrams can also be labeled with either letters or scale degrees. The best way to learn them is to choose one scale that appeals to you and spend a considerable amount of time an d energy practicing and thinking of ways. Major, minor, pentatonic, and blues its important to memorize at least one simple major scale shape on the guitar to be able to improvise. The first major pentatonic scale shape starts with our g root note on the 3rd fret of the 6th string. There are other pentatonic scales including the pentatonic major scale, but as weve found, when most guitarists talk about the pentatonic scale, they mean the pentatonic minor scale. The a minor pentatonic comes from the natural minor scale.
A major pentatonic scale guitar chords diagrams scales. This pdf method for guitar contains 40 ii v i jazz guitar lines with tab, standard notation, analysis, scale charts and audio files. So basically, as with major scales, the minor pentatonic scale is the relative 6th minor of the major pentatonic scale. Difference between minor and major pentatonic scale boxes. As you will learn, these patterns can be transferred to all keys. The notes are the same, therefore, the pattern is the same. Pentatonic scales are cleaner as far as diagrams so theyre a little easier to work with. A great thing to do is play a minor pentatonic lick then move it down 3 frets it will be then the major pentatonic, and listen to the difference you will often find that you can use a minor pentatonic lick but you just have to adapt it a little, maybe starting or finishing on a different note. Com the 5 patterns of the major pentatonic scale for guitar. To know how to play the major pentatonic we leave the three most common fingerings for this scale in the bass. The scale illustrated on the right is the most common basic box position.
Free pdf scales collection download over 150 pages. Before we get started, here are the 5 pentatonic boxes in the way i look at them. If you were looking for just the major scales, here is the saxophone major scales guide. This guitar lesson provides some fretboard diagrams, charts and licks to expand your improvisation skills. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic only. How to use the moveable pentatonic scale to play lead rock. In these bass scales pdf we leave you the three most common fingering to play well this pentatonic minor scale. Printable downloadable major pentatonic scale guitar chart. Various positions of the major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitar with the fingering on the guitar neck. Welcome to lesson 3 of the pentatonic scale, pentatonic blues licks. Each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard. Major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitar fingering.
This is the a minor pentatonic scale in 5th position, shown in tab and a vertically oriented diagram. The major pentatonic bass scale, as its name indicates, pentafive has 5 notes and is major. Master the pentatonic scale for guitar with these 5 easy. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the scales in all keys. The pentatonic scale compendia found in section one list all three hundre d thirty pentatonic scales 2 that contain the note c.
Strictly speaking, a pentatonic scale is any scale that is comprised of 5 notes. Now, we will look at the major and minor pentatonic scales, and see how. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. The pentatonic scale pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. So even if you hit a nonchord tone at a lessthanoptimal moment these notes will be relatively forgiving. Detailed information for the scale c major pentatonic. Adjust the start fret option to further highlight a finger pattern for playing the selected scale in a different position on the fretboard. The two licks below use notes of both minor and major pentatonic scales. The root notes a in these examples are circled so that you can learn their locations. The musical styles that use the major pentatonic are country, blues, fusion, jazz and rock. Both the pentatonic major scale and minor scale have the same patterns. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most used of the pentatonic scales family. Click here for instant access to the 17 page pentatonic scales chart. It is actually a major arpeggio with the 2nd and 6th added.
Download a free pdf of major pentatonic scales on every root for the banjo. Combining minor and major pentatonic scales guitarhabits. Fingering of the major pentatonic scale for electric bass. Notes, intervals and relations to other scales in the database. A major pentatonic guitar scales chart scott van zen. When the player wants to lighten things up, the major pentatonic is the scale of choice. Fingering to play the minor pentatonic scale on the electric bass. It is a must know for any jazz guitar student who wants to improvise over major chords. Once you know the five major pentatonic scale shapes, you automatically know the five minor pentatonic scale shapes. Major pentatonic guitar scale learn all five positions. Click on the required key for scale notes and fret position diagrams in each key. Jun 19, 2019 the most common pentatonic scale is the pentatonic minor scale, the scale that weve been discussing throughout this page. Major pentatonic scales 27 a major pentatonic 27, bb major pentatonic 28, b major pentatonic 29, c major pentatonic. You might be wondering the difference between the the major and minor pentatonic scales.
If you were playing the c minor pentatonic you would play the notes c, eb, f, g, bb. The shapes of the major pentatonic scale are exactly the same as those of the minor pentatonic scale, except the root note is located else where. The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used scales used in music. The shape 2 have roots on the fifth and third string.
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