Sheet music and mp3s for exercises can be accessed here. The solution below shows the e major pentatonic scale on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. E d g b e a pentaton c minor scale box 1 glitarsik. C major pentatonic scales can also be viewed as a minor pentatonic scales. Youll remember in the g major scale shape, there are seven notes repeated in multiple octaves. Pentatonic scales were very popular among ancient civilizations across the globe. But as with major, there are pentatonic scales better suited to certain minor chord types, based on the intervals being used. The major pentatonic scale d major pentatonic box shape. The seventh scale degree is a half step away from the tonic. Different pentatonic scales for guitar altered pentatonics. Immediate download and email link of professional pdf file for the neverlost system. This fivenote scale is similar to the major scale, but with the 4th and 7th degrees removed. Jul 28, 2017 just a quick video to demonstrate the fun of major pentatonic scale flutes.
Be sure to change scales as the chords change and listen for the sound differences between the major and minor, get lost in the fun. Practicing in all keys is essential for your musical development. Get your free instant download of the pdf version of this guide now. Here is a video that shows how to play the pentatonic scale in its 1st position across the guitar neck and how to use it. Language sitemap guitars scales major pentatonic pattern 15 fingerings major pentatonic scale pattern 15 fingerings in a. How to play the pentatonic scale beginner guitar hq. Below in tab is the a pentatonic minor scale in its most popular pattern the e minor scale pattern with its root on the 5th fret. The most important of these are both major and minor pentatonic.
Conversely, a minor pentatonic scale is the major pentatonic scale of the key three half steps up, called the relative major. The notes in a pentatonic scale are i, ii, iii, v and vi from the major scale. Boost the blues with diminished scale spanish subtitles. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. A pentatonic scale is like any other scale notes separated by intervals, but it contains just 5 tones, hence the greek word pentatonic, which simply means five. Compare these scales c major pentatonic and a minor pentatonic with the c major and a minor scales, respectively. A major pentatonic guitar scales guitar scales chart.
These notes create a pentatonic 5note scale that is easy to see, and can be accompanied effectively by just one or two chords. Many guitarists get stuck in a rut playing the minor pentatonic scale. The best way to learn them is to choose one scale that appeals to you and spend a considerable. Printable downloadable major pentatonic scale guitar chart. Major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitars fingerings. The sample scale is given in g and all the red notes refers to root note.
Guitar major pentatonic scale chart printable pdf subject. Later on we shall take a look at the minor pentatonic. Recall that most scales in western music contain 7 notes e. In these bass scales pdf we leave you the three most common fingering to play well this pentatonic minor scale. This is normal, because the notes are positioned differently in the minor pentatonic scale then in the major pentatonic scale. 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. Notice that the major pentatonic took 5 notes from the major scale, as we said, and were 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 degrees.
This popular scale is frequently the first scale a guitarist. Aminor pentatonic is a reasonable starting place with the minor pentatonic scale and has the 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, and 14th fret respectively as the first fret on the different positions. The natural minor is the aeolian mode of the relative major scale. They may be only fivenote scales, but they are musically very powerful. As with all other guides in these series, we will focus in playing the scales on saxophone, specifically, how to finger the major pentatonic scale on the saxophone. Label the scale degrees of the major pentatonic scales. Major pentatonic blues scales effective music practice. Com the 5 patterns of the major pentatonic scale for guitar. We are going to take as tonic the 4th string in the fifth fret, in the pitch note a the numbers are the fingers of the left hand, so, we have to master 3 ways to start the scale, with fingers 1, 3 and 4. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. The lesson steps then explain how to construct the scale using the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th major scale notes.
The pentatonic scale is a major scale excluding the 4th and 7th degrees. C minor pentatonic scales 5 fingerings from practice jazz guitar on youtube. A minor pentatonic also know as c major pentatonic. Here is the second installment of my scales for jazz improvisation series. You can practice these major pentatonic box patterns just shifting the position using a different root. A minor pentatonicblues scale weeping willow guitar. The minor pentatonic scale using scale tones 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the natural minor scale by omitting 2nd and 6th notes. Not all scales will be eight notes long, in popular music you will often see the pentatonic scale, which is only five notes. Here is an overview of all the charts and other resources that are available on this site to view and also to download. C major pentatonic uke scale w,w,wh,w,wh on the soprano.
It tabs out the pentatonic scales in all 12 major and minor keys. It also helps to think of modes as major 3 or minor b3, which depends on the third. There will be a lot more stuff to come, so these basic diagrams showing where your fingers should go when you play the major and minor pentatonic scales will be the first of many free resources to come. In the major pentatonic scale, we simply take two of those notes out of each octave. The a minor pentatonic comes from the natural minor scale. Try playing up and down the a minor pentatonic scale while playing the songs audio sample above. Welcome to lesson 3 of the pentatonic scale, pentatonic blues licks. If you are playing in g major, use e minor pentatonic scale also know as g major pentatonic you have probably noticed that the pentatonic scale can be either a major or minor scale. The major pentatonic scale next level guitar lessons. The intervals in minor pentatonic are root or 1, b3rd, 4th, 5th, and b7th. How to construct major and minor pentatonic scales music.
For instance, lets take a look at the c major scale. The solution below shows the a major pentatonic scale on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. This scale has its low root played with the first finger on the low e string. Major pentatonic scales are especially common in traditional folk music, country and gospel. The minor pentatonic scale is one that pretty much everyone should learn. Each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard. Next notice how each mode has one or two notes that makes it unique from the major or natural minor scale. Print and download in pdf or midi pentatonic scales. 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 catalog is meant to be a tool for exploration of scales from world music traditions.
Then notate its relative minor scale and its scale degrees. In this exercise we play our major pentatonic scale over the entire range of our instrument up and back down again. Essentially well play the g major scale, but leave out the fourth and seventh note out. Illustrated below is the basic box shape c major pentatonic and its relative minor, a minor pentatonic. Your starting and emphasis notes determine which scale will sound. Cs relative minor pentatonic scale, a minor pentatonic, begins on the 6 th scale degree of the major pentatonic scale shown above. If these diagrams dont make any sense to you, dont worry click here for a a brief introduction to the pentatonic scale. When we hear the seventh scale degree in the context of a piece of. Some people find it easier to think in minor terms, and some find it easier to think in minor and. The major pentatonic scale box patterns on guitar fretboard. With its clean, folky sound, the major pentatonic scale is a common scale in folk, blues, country and pop music. Pentatonic scales are very common and are found in musical cultures all over the world. The name pentatonic indicates that there are only five notes in this scale penta means five, unlike most other scales which have six, seven or more notes. Each individual lesson depending on what is covered has either, sheet music often with tabs but not always as a pdf file, a audio mp3, the written lesson, and a video video lesson and sheet music often with tabs but not always as a pdf file.
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. A major pentatonic guitar scales chart scott van zen. Penta stands for five, meaning the pentatonic scale is a fivenote scale. Pentatonic scale has notes that when played generate a pleasant melody, even if it is just the. In this lesson you will be learning some ways to use the pentatonic scale in a solo. The aeolian mode natural minor is the 6th mode of the major scale. The pentatonic scale compendia found in section one list all three hundre d thirty pentatonic scales 2 that contain the note c. Theyve learned some of the standard box shapes, derived from the caged system, for the major pentatonic and minor pentatonic scales, but now they find they cant break out of those shapes.
The major and minor pentatonic scales are some of the most common scales in pop, rock and blues music. Use the form below to select one or more scales, hit go, and the harmonizer will tell you what chords will sound good when played with the selected scales. A minor pentatonic guitar scales guitar scales chart. The minor pentatonic scale is constructed from five notes of the natural minor scale. The root notes a in these examples are circled so that you can learn their locations. 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. As you will learn, these patterns can be transferred to all keys. There are three ways youll want to learn your major pentatonic scale forms. I can take notes from this scale to create a solo or melody.
The major pentatonic scale may be considered as an incomplete major scale as this scale removes 2 notes off the major scale. That will keep your root note of the minor pentatonic scale the same as the major pentatonic scale but theres a simpler way start with a major pentatonic scale notes. The major pentatonic consists of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of a major scale. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most used scales in modern and ancient music. The scale illustrated on the right is the most common basic box position. So basically, as with major scales, the minor pentatonic scale is the relative 6th minor of the major pentatonic scale. Pentatonic scales for guitar a pentatonic scale has just 5 notes. A way to practice the pentatonic patterns free pdf an easy way to remember all the notes of the minor pentatonic scale. Several typical pentatonic blues licks will be used as a starting point to develop your knowledge of the pentatonic scale. 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. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. E major pentatonic scale lesson matched with caged chord positions everywhere on the guitar. Although music takes many different forms crossculturally, scientists.
Intro to the minor pentatonic scale, the caged system. The scales and arpeggios are split up into 3 main categories. The pentatonic scale, major and minor free piano lessons. 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. There are numerous ways of playing a g major pentatonic scale on guitar. How to play the g major pentatonic scale on guitar. Answers on page 7 a closer look at the major and minor pentatonic scales in the traditional ionian major and aeolian natural minor scales, there exists a tritone augmented 4 th diminished 5 th between the 4 th and 7 th. The easy way to learn the pentatonic scales is with the 5 box.
Chapter 6 major scales and key signatures 1 the seventh scale degree ti is a step below the tonic, so following the previous logic it should be called the subtonic. Pentatonic patterns for improvisation sample preparatory exercises below is an example of what i call pentatonic exercise 1 in the key of c major. Scale pentatonic minor 1,b3,4,5,b7 fullth pattern root note a guitar tuning. Lets first learn the building blocks of major pentatonic and where it comes from. Click here to gain instant access to pdf filled with pentatonic scales. The pentatonic scale chose 5 from these notes and created another scale, this is why it is called penta. This article serves as a reference for navigating major pentatonic scales all over the guitar fretboard. Both scales consist of the same notes c, d, e, g, and a. The progression is a ii v i in em with a b7 altered dominant. How to learn the pentatonic scales with 5 box patterns. Major pentatonic scales in open position closed mobile major pentatonic scales forms horizontal. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic only. Major pentatonic scale diagrams beginning on each of the 12 chromatic tones.
Whole and a half, whole, whole, whole and a half, whole. Diagonal pentatonics ive encountered countless intermediate guitar players who find themselves stuck inside the pentatonic box. Ive written them out in the key of a but they of course work in any key. Pentatonic scales pdf and instructional video guitar alliance. This is under construction but will be done in the coming weeks. They are still used all over the world, for example traditional music, country music, blues and metal. Wikipedia has a nice article on these scales including the others here. For a quick summary of this topic, have a look at pentatonic scale. A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave such as the major scale and minor scale pentatonic scales were developed independently by many ancient civilizations. Using minor and major pentatonic together effectively. However, it starts on the tonic 1st note of the scale of g. As the name denotes, major pentatonic is a major scale with just five tones like every scale, major pentatonic can be given a whole and half step interval formula that tells us the distance between each tone in the scale starting on a given root 1. Now, we will look at the major and minor pentatonic scales, and see how. Look at the scale diagram below and notice the position of.
The pdf is for members only, so youll need to login to download it. Below is a download link for the pentatonic scale pdf. Major and minor pentatonic scales avoid significant harmonic dissonance by adverting this tritone. The comprehensive scale catalog is an extensive set of scales that can serve to inspire melodies in your flute playing. The minor pentatonic scale consists of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th notes of. In this section you will find free backing track playlists that work well with major pentatonic and major blues scales. This makes it easy to transpose the scale into different keys and will help give you a broader view of the concepts. Try playing minor pentatonic over minor chords and major pentatonic over major chords within the same jam track. Scales for jazz improvisation minor pentatonics youtube. A better way to learn the major pentatonic scale on guitar. Chords that sound good with a major pentatonic scales jguitars harmonizer allows you to easily identify chords and scales that will sound good when played together.
In this tutorial instead of using note names ill refer to scale degree numbers 1 7 of the major and minor scales. Many players use them to get out of a rut and expand their music. The minor pentatonic penta five scale is a five note scale with no second or sixth degrees. Caged does a great job of associating major chords with pentatonic scale positions, but you. The pentatonic scale is use primarily used for soloing. Now youll want to get these 2 shapes under your fingers right away. How to play the g major pentatonic scale on guitar youtube. The guitar pentatonic scales are the most useful scales there are. Guitar pentatonic scales the 3 types of pentatonic.