The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music. Scales covers the essential guitar theory for the minor pentatonic scale, major pentatonic scale. Oct 07, 2019 however, most people agree that the blues scale is a variation on the major and minor pentatonic scales, and those pentatonic scales are derived from the major scale and the natural minor scale. The scale degrees refer to the notes of a major 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. The major scale is actually the basis of western music as we know it. Pentatonic scales including pentatonic minor scales and pentatonic major. The trick is to find interesting and effective exercises to make your fingers remember those scales. With its clean, folky sound, the major pentatonic scale is a common scale in folk, blues, country and pop music. Although various hemitonic pentatonic scales might be called minor, the term is most commonly applied to the relative minor pentatonic derived from the major pentatonic, using scale tones 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the natural minor scale.
Pentatonic scale has notes that when played generate a pleasant melody, even if it is just the. As you can see, weve taken only the first, third, fourth, fifth and seventh notes from the a major scale. Pentatonic and blues scales covers the essential guitar theory for the minor pentatonic scale, major pentatonic scale and the blues scale and highlights the characteristics of each scale with useful licks and exercises. The difference is which note is functioning as the tonic primary pitch.
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. If you take the first, second, third, fifth and sixth notes. The versatility and playability of the scale makes it a popular choice for use in guitar soloing and melodies. These arpeggios are very similar to the major and minor arpeggios, but with an added 7th interval. The best way to practice any guitar scale is to memorize. Major pentatonic guitar scale and songs guitar music theory. Playing the major scale legato require a better level of the technique because you most often have 3 notes on each string and so have to make two hammer ons or flick offs in a row but that is good. The two most common pentatonic scales are the major pentatonic and minor pentatonic scales.
Notice how both an e minor em chord and a g major chord fit. The major pentatonic scale is mostly used in country, folk country rock, blues and jazz. The c major and a minor pentatonic scales consist of the very same notes and patterns. Lets take a look at what makes up this scale and how its applied to the guitar fretboard. A very easy to use lesson in basic major scale theory. It is one of the most commonly used scales in rock music, with a timeless bluesy sound that is favored in every genre from country to metal. Jun 19, 2019 1octave c major pentatonic scale in guitar tab.
Introducing pentatonic scales for jazz guitar explores the use of major and minor pentatonic scales. A simple trick to memorize the major scale steve stine. The pentatonic scale can function as both major and minor on the guitar. My pentatonic lead guitar studies are 55 pages of must know musical information that really works built around the pentatonic scale. The following scale pattern can be used to play the major. You see the same pentatonic notes and pattern in these diagrams. It is a warm contrast to the minor pentatonicblues scale and is often used right next to the minor pentatonic to suddenly lift a solo into a happier, major territory. Music theory 1 guitar course scales lesson 8 youtube.
A little bit of theory perhaps the best way of looking at this scale is to see it as a subset of the major scale. There are three ways youll want to learn your major. Major and minor pentatonic scales on the guitar online guitar. The lessons on this page are geared towards helping you build a strong understanding of each of the various pentatonic scales, how they are built, how they are related and how they relate to chords and arpeggios when. The major pentatonic scale is probably the most commonly used major key scale, not only in guitar solos, but also other instrumental and vocal melodies. Easily master pentatonic scales in minutesquickly and easily learn to play pe. The tonalities are called relative major and relative minor. In this lead guitar lesson, well go over the five pentatonic scale shapes. They just ooze that minor bluesy vibe or sweet major vibe. Each major pentatonic scale has a relative minor pentatonic scale attached to it. Lets first learn the building blocks of major pentatonic and where it comes from. In this lesson, we are going to discuss the theory behind pentatonic scales and look at how to play them up and down the neck. In this lesson were going to take a look at the major 7th, minor 7th, and dominant 7th arpeggios. Welcome to video four of the lead guitar quickstart series.
This is because most players learn the minor pentatonic scale first and assume that the pentatonic is always applied that way. This means that they are often one of the first scales that guitarists learn and use. Every pentatonic key can have one of two possible tonalities. 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. The more melodic a line is, the more likely it is to use a seventone major scale. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading guitar. Pdf guitar scales major pentatonic download full pdf. With a tonic note of a the notes of a pentatonic minor scale are.
Pentatonics are very handy scales for bass guitar players and are often the backbone of so many classic bass lines and riffs. The first scale most guitar players learn is the minor pentatonic scale. This book provides the pentatonic scale fingerings, diagrams, lessons and licks that every guitarist needs to know. The right kind of music theory gives us a better understanding of the scales we play and why we play them. Pdf e book lead guitar licks lesson pentatonic scales rock blues theory tab. So even if you hit a nonchord tone at a lessthanoptimal moment these notes will be relatively forgiving. Major and minor pentatonic scales on the guitar online. All blues soloing for jazz guitar tab music bookcd scales licks concepts. How to use the pentatonic scale as major and minor on the.
Other notes you can add to a major pentatonic scale to blues it up. No doubt about it, this fivenote scale packs a punch. Think joy to the world, which is simply a descending major scale. Its designed to give you a good overview of the basic building blocks for. Contains guitar theory, pentatonic licks, exercises and sequences. Pdf e book lead guitar licks lesson pentatonic scales rock. And its not that you want to know all music theory. Should a guitar beginner start with chords or scales. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. There are a few reasons that the penatonic scales are the short cut for the scales. You can hear how this scale sounds by playing the tab below. Pentatonic and blues scales covers the essential guitar theory for the minor. On this page we take a look at the two main pentatonic scales used in guitar playing. Rock blues licks scales and applications in pdf ebook format shipped to you on a plain nonlabeled cd for you to label any way you wish.
The major scale is your starting point should be the first scale you learn, because it is the basis of chords and other types of scales. Plus, major pentatonic works over a number of different chord. You can play the major pentatonic scale over almost any major or dominant chord without clashing with the chord. There are many different ways of playing an a major pentatonic scale on guitar. Above you see the scale boxes for the minor pentatonic scale as they progress up the guitar neck. If playback doesnt begin shortly, try restarting your device. Pentatonic scale construction major and minor pentatonic analysis and modes how to study pentatonic scales. Sep 26, 2018 the pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music.
To understand how this works, look at this example. The better you understand the features and functions of your musical tools, the better youll develop as a guitar player. Various positions of the major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitar with the fingering on the guitar neck. Major pentatonic licks for guitar fundamental changes. Click on the required key for scale notes and fret position diagrams in each key. Another note you can add to a major pentatonic scale is a flat 3rd. Mar 17, 2018 the major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar. How to play the pentatonic scale beginner guitar hq. Music theory 1 is a guitar lesson course for anyone brand new to music theory. Well also go over a muting technique in this lesson, so you can play a clean sound with every note. You buy a book that has a lot of guitar scales in it and start learning them all, in all.
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. You see how the major scale just simply adds a few notes to the pentatonic major scale actually its only 2 notes that are added. The major pentatonic is great for creating rock n roll style riffs and fills over major or 7th chords. My concern is with content and quality of educational material not fancy labels and pretty pictures. There is both a major and a minor pentatonic scale which, as the name implies, contain. I thougt this book 25 major pentatonic licks for blues guitar by joseph alexander is very well written in easy to understand language. So with that said, lets take a look at how the major scale can be derived from the simple pentatonic shape from the diagram above. So you can start using it to learn and even write songs, solo, and make lasting progress with your guitar. Scales you can use in the real world, created by a human guitarist.
In this lesson, well be learning the major pentatonic scale, which is very versatile and used in many music genres. Guitar theory is an area of study that explains how you can play, improvise, and compose popular music on the guitar fretboard and why certain elements of music go together the way they do. Lets take a look at what makes up this scale and how its applied to. Jun 19, 2019 from the basic pentatonic scale guitar fretboard pattern to improvising using minor pentatonic scales all over the guitar neck. Which you can find by taking the major pentatonic scale, for example the c major pentatonic scale, and playing the same notes but starting from the 5th note of the scale, in this case the a. To figure out where to place the scale boxes you need to look to the. Guitar pentatonic and blues scales fundamental changes music. Online guitar books guitar lessons by genaaron diamente. The minor pentatonic scale is usually what people mean when they simply say the pentatonic scale as it works well over any chord. 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. D major pentatonic positions on the guitar online guitar. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. A must know set of basic theory to get you started off on the right theoretical foot.
The major pentatonic scale is often overlooked and misunderstood by guitar players. How to learn and use guitar scales learn guitar malta. This next level guitar blues masters dvd course comes complete with seven dvds and. Apr 18, 2016 so with that said, lets take a look at how the major scale can be derived from the simple pentatonic shape from the diagram above. Well find out how theyre constructed and how both can be used in your own guitar playing. Because the pentatonic has fewer tones than do major scales which have seven. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. Pentatonic and blues scales is a minibook a fundessential that gives. The pentatonic scale chose 5 from these notes and created another scale, this is why it is called penta. Heres a lesson that walks guitarists through learning to play the major and minor pentatonic scale in five positions, all over the guitar fretboard. A resource for learning guitar theory and applying it to the guitar fretboard.
Mastering pentatonic scale theory welcome to the learning pentatonic scales page at gmc run by yours truly, the professor. They are still used all over the world, for example traditional music, country music, blues and metal. Jul 11, 2015 in the video, steves going to show you a simple trick to memorize the major scale. After receiving his first guitar at the age of 8, bob began his now 42 pdf. Learn the major and minor pentatonic scales, their patterns, when to use them. May 09, 2014 the major pentatonic scale is mostly used in country, folk country rock, blues and jazz. The above is meant to show you the intervals of the major scale. But, just enough to help give meaning to fretboard movement. Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues and over iivv changes.
As the name suggests, a pentatonic scale is a 5note scale. Pentatonic guitar magic how to use the simple pentatonic scale to solo over chords from blues to rock tojazz. We can connect all these scales with a little bit of music theory. Learn the 3 simple rules for building a major scale. In the video, steves going to show you a simple trick to memorize the major scale. In the first diagram, you see where the c note and c chord tones are located in the pattern. You just need to know how the root note changes in the pattern. In my attempt to explain guitar scale theory, ill use enough theory to thoroughly discuss the concept while avoiding. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar. Can somebody recommend a good book on pentatonic scales for. Major pentatonic licks for guitar fundamental changes music. A better way to learn the major pentatonic scale on guitar. Recall that most scales in western music contain 7 notes e.
The scale were about to learn is used loads in country, blues and rock. The difference between major and minor pentatonic scales. In pentatonic scale pattern one as i teach it in my fretboard theory guitar theory program the first note is always the relative. Since the root is on the e note open low e string, this is an e major scale. E book master guitar lessons scales theory made easy. Once we return to the root at fret 12, the e note one octave higher than the open e, the scale would start over again, so it can be viewed as a cycle. This is just one of the many benefits to learning guitar theory and how music works. The major pentatonic scale is a wonderful, simple way to add colour to your blues playing. Learn to master both major and minor pentatonic scales in all 12 keys. For these reasons, guitar players often learn pentatonic scale patterns first. The major pentatonic scale pentatonic scale, learn guitar. This is because they sound great over many styles of music, and are relatively easy to start improvising with.
For an in depth lesson on the theory behind the major pentatonic scale, read the post on pentatonic scales. So, for example, if youre trying to find the notes of the a minor pentatonic scale, apply the corresponding formula to an a major scale. Its a little strange to get used to at first, because the patterns are the same as for the minor pentatonic, but the root note is different huh. 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. 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. The major pentatonic scale pentatonic scale, learn. Major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitar fingering. If you take the first, second, third, fifth and sixth notes of any major scale, you have a major pentatonic scale.
The 5 major pentatonic scale shapes positions guitarhabits. This book gives you a quick guide to playing basic riffs while teaching and explaining the pentatonic scales and more. Its also one of the simplest scales to play as there are only five tones to negotiate, making the patterns very easy to memorise. You can start with e minor pentatonic, but the same notes and patterns can also produce g major pentatonic. Learn to play major and minor pentatonic scale patterns and licks all over the neck play guitar in 14 days connecting pentatonic patterns the essential guide for all guitarists book audio the guitarists scale book. Mastering pentatonic scale theory guitar masterclass. Guitar pentatonic and blues scales fundamental changes. The 5 easy scales for beginner bass guitar players yt122.
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