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. Master the minor pentatonic scale using the whole fretboard. 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. Scales you can use in the real world, created by a human guitarist. For a quick summary to this topic, have a look at pentatonic scale. The minor pentatonic scale is constructed from five notes of the natural minor scale. So if you play a minor pentatonic pattern in some key, and you want to use that same pattern in the major pentatonic scale with the same root.
Pentatonic scales with images pentatonic scale, guitar scales. Learn the major and minor pentatonic scales, their patterns, when to use them, and why theyre the scale shortcut. To understand how this works, look at this example. Try to follow the picking indication from the video for now and dont forget the pdf download for the lesson as well. Pentatonic scales are very common and are found in musical cultures all over the world. One is a pentatonic scale, meaning it has five notes, and the other is a major scale, which has 7. The root notes a in these examples are circled so that you can learn their locations. The scale illustrated on the right is the most common basic box position. This lesson will help you build licks that move smoothly between the two scales, in a blues context but. Major pentatonic scales in open position closed mobile major pentatonic scales forms horizontal.
How to use the pentatonic scale as major and minor on the. A minor pentatonic contains scale degrees 1, b3, 4, 5, and b7. Major and minor pentatonic scales avoid significant harmonic dissonance by adverting this tritone. Im between this lesson and the second pentatonic lesson. But the important difference is the location of the root, which is of course different for major and minor pentatonic scales. Using minor and major pentatonic together effectively. The minor pentatonic scale is 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 of the natural minor scale. The minor pentatonic scale is quite possibly the most used and, suffice it to say, overused scale on the guitar.
The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music. Remember that you can find all the major pentatonics by going through the relative minor pentatonic scales. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. The minor pentatonic is probably the scale that a great part of all guitarists learn as a first scale. So ya have to memorize the root notes to move from pentatonic box to box. Minor pentatonic scale in all keys the key to playin in key. A major pentatonic scale guitar chords diagrams scales. The solution below shows the a minor pentatonic scale, on the piano, bass and treble clef the lesson steps then explain how to construct the scale using the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th minor scale notes for a quick summary to this topic, have a look at pentatonic scale. Jguitars scale calculator will draw scale diagrams showing the fretboard with notes in the selected scale highlighted. A pentatonic minor scale box 3 tuned d g be glitarsik.
The minor pentatonic scale is probably the most commonly learned, practiced and used scale by guitarists of all genres. The minor pentatonic scale consists of the 1, b3, 4, 5 and b7 of the natural minor scale the aeolian mode. The pentatonic scale can function as both major and minor on the guitar. The major pentatonic scale is constructed from five notes of the major scale. Welcome to video five in the lead guitar quickstart series. Chords that sound good with e minor pentatonic scales. 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. The 2nd note of any minor pentatonic scale is the root of the relative major pentatonic scale. The solution below shows the d minor pentatonic scale, on the piano, bass and treble clef. Meter, scales, and key signatures because the white keys running from c to the next c an octave higher form a sequence of notes that have minor 2nds only between ef the 3rd and 4th notes and bc the 7th and 8th notes, musicians call that series of notes a c major scale. In this lesson, were going to switch it up from major scales and learn the minor pentatonic scale next. The solution below shows the a minor pentatonic scale, on the piano, bass and treble clef. 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. If you are stuck in the pentatonic box then this is the way.
The minor pentatonic scale has 5 different shapes, or positions, that can be played on the guitar. Both of these scales are played in position, which means that each finger plays all of the notes at a particular fret. You could play these licks over a iivv blues progression where a7 is the i. The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music. Now, we will look at the major and minor pentatonic scales, and see how. It is now time to learn how to use the minor pentatonic scale, which is a must if you want to learn to play lead guitar and improvise this practical guide to using the minor pentatonic scale will be of true benefit to you once you are. Still, this scales importance cannot be underestimated, as it is used in so many genres of music, from rock and blues to country and bluegrass. 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. Since most players are far more familiar with the minor pentatonic scale shapes, this is an easy cheat for getting the major pentatonic notes under your fingers. The pentatonic scale is frequently used in lots of popular music styles. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used. So if you play a minor pentatonic pattern in some key, and you want to use that same pattern in the major pentatonic scale with the same root, then you need to shift that pattern down by three frets. Intro to the minor pentatonic scale, the caged system, scale degrees vs. Stay tuned if these free lessons help you, please donate to keep new ones coming daily.
Later on we shall take a look at the minor pentatonic. Apr 16, 2016 the minor pentatonic scale in the 1st position. Its arguably the most popular guitar scale, and no matter what type of music you play, this will add valuable skills for you as a lead guitarist. Some people find it easier to think in minor terms, and some find it. Note that a minor pentatonic has identical notes with c major pentatonic but in different order.
The 5 minor pentatonic scale patterns learning to play. The next lesson will focus on alternate picking exercises using the pentatonic scale forms. 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. Chords that sound good with e minor pentatonic scales jguitars harmonizer allows you to easily identify chords and scales that will sound good when played together. The two licks below use notes of both minor and major pentatonic scales. The lesson steps then explain how to construct the scale using the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th minor scale notes. The major pentatonic consists of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of a major scale. Sitemap guitar scale major pentatonic pattern 15 fingering major pentatonic scale pattern 15 fingering in a major root. The pentatonic scale is a major scale excluding the 4th and 7th degrees. For instance, lets take a look at the c major scale. Major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitar fingering.
Here are pictures and notes of the minor pentatonic scales. Go ahead and play that note with the boxes, and you will see, your pentatonic scale turns into a pure blues scale. You can start with e minor pentatonic, but the same notes and patterns can also produce g major pentatonic. The major pentatonic scale guitar shapes and theory. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic only. There are both pentatonic major and minor the minor is slightly more often used. The most important of these are both major and minor pentatonic. To start this scale shape, notice the designated finger concept shifts down one fret, so your first finger has its notes on the third fret, third finger has the notes on the fifth fret, and your. Sometimes its easier to think of a major pentatonic scale that starts and ends on degree 6. To begin, lets take a look at the interval structure of the minor pentatonic scale so that you will have an understanding of how this popular scale is built from a theoretical standpoint.
Having read the theory behind the pentatonic scales, you should already be familiar with the basic intervals and use of the major and minor pentatonic scale. Knowing this will make it easier for you to memorize the scales. How to construct major and minor pentatonic scales music. 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.
When you play this scale, it sort of sounds like blues, but not quite. I practice scales, beginer licks, picking, and am working all 5 pentatonic boxes,basic tapping, and using a metronome 100 bpm. This means that, in the a minor pentatonic scales first position, the a on the fifth fret of the first string is played with your index finger. Beginner acoustic guitar lesson tom petty i wont back down how to. The 5 minor pentatonic positions deft digits guitar lessons. As you will learn, these patterns can be transferred to all keys. Compare these scales c major pentatonic and a minor pentatonic with the c major and a minor scales, respectively. Were going to take a look at two very useful scales. The a on the fifth fret of the first string is the root note of both the a minor pentatonic and a major pentatonic scales. That is because the blue note is not part of the pentatonic scale. The most common pentatonic scale is the pentatonic minor scale, the scale that weve been discussing throughout this page. This scale is a mustknow melodic device for guitarists exploring the world of improvised music, be it in the jazz genre or otherwise. You could play these licks over a iivv blues progression where a7 is the i chord, d7 iv chord and e7 v chord. That is, a natural minor scale without degrees 2 and 6.
The only difference is that the tonic first note of the scale of the minor pentatonic is 3 semitones half steps below the tonic of the major pentatonic. Notice how both an e minor em chord and a g major chord fit into pentatonic pattern 1 in the open position. Click graphic to play audio deactivate arrows on your keyboard for page navigation with alt k. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. The intervals in minor pentatonic are root or 1, b3rd, 4th, 5th, and b7th. Hybrid scales how to combine the major and minor pentatonic. The pentatonic scale, major and minor free piano lessons. 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 written notes with the notes of your chos en scale. A major pentatonic guitar scales guitar scales chart. Minor pentatonic pattern 1 major pentatonic pattern 5 playing this pattern from left to right and up across the strings means you will be playing the e minor pentatonic scale.
Aug 07, 2015 now lets combine the notes of the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scale and create some soloing ideas. The minor pentatonic scale consists of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th notes of. Major scales and key signatures s o, now you can use the letters a through g to name notes on the treble and bass staff and accidentals to create major and minor seconds, aka, whole and half steps if you cant do this yet, stop here, go back to the previous chapters, and practice until you can. This article serves as a reference for navigating minor pentatonic scales all over the guitar fretboard. Get your free instant download of the pdf version of this guide now. D minor pentatonic has the same notes as f major pentatonic and so it goes. I have already done several lessons on how to apply the minor pentatonic scale in jazz. The key to understanding the minor pentatonic scale guitar.
This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. Sep 26, 2018 so, for example, lets focus on the key of a. The a minor pentatonic comes from the natural minor scale. You can also download the chart as a pdf by entering your email here. The 5 minor pentatonic scale patterns learning to play the. The minor pentatonic scale has 5 patterns along the guitar neck that act as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and provide a fret board path of what notes to play in a song or key. The open strings themselves even make up the notes of the e minor pentatonic scale. B minor pentatonic scale diagrams b minor pentatonic fretboard diagram. The 14 most common and usable guitar scales printable and ready to use 1. Each mode has a characteristic note, a note which sets it apart from the other modes.
Most guitar players learn pattern 1 first as its an easy pattern to learn. 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. Apr, 2018 the minor pentatonic scale is quite possibly the most used and, suffice it to say, overused scale on the guitar. Adjust the start fret option to further highlight a finger pattern for playing the selected scale in a different position on the fretboard. The key to understanding the minor pentatonic scale. Simply move the minor pentatonic scale 3 frets down and youll. If playing in c major use a minor pentatonic also know as c major pentatonic. Different pentatonic scales for guitar altered pentatonics. Notice how both an e minor em chord and a g major chord fit. This is similar to how the minor pentatonic scale is constructed from five notes of the natural minor scale, see below table.
I practice about an hour a night, more on the weekends. Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. Jun 19, 2019 the most common pentatonic scale is the pentatonic minor scale, the scale that weve been discussing throughout this page. 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. A minor pentatonic is the relative minor scale of c major pentatonic. Now lets combine the notes of the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scale and create some soloing ideas. Cs relative minor pentatonic scale, a minor pentatonic, begins on the 6 th scale degree of the major pentatonic scale shown above. One of the things that the minor pentatonic scale does not do that well is minor 6 th, half diminished and dominant chords. Intermediate guitar lesson major pentatonic scales. Pentatonic scales for guitar a pentatonic scale has just 5 notes. The natural minor is the aeolian mode of the relative major scale. There are three ways youll want to learn your major pentatonic scale forms. Scale combining through hybrid scales in this lesson here, we take a look at another way to combine scales that differs from the type of scale combining you see in this lesson here.
1054 940 1399 978 569 1027 1388 769 1008 271 1193 1227 1557 1018 665 1421 494 926 778 473 75 160 227 1281 1099 435 67 299 554 1030 1070 1093 52 269 758 1455 309 1211