Try to follow the picking indication from the video for now and dont forget the pdf download for the lesson as well. A comprehensive collection of scales is provided, suitable for use in blues, rock, metal, jazz and classical music. The lack of the major scales 4th and 7th scale tones makes the pentatonic sound wonderfully generic. The numerical name for a scale degree comes from its position in the order of the scale from low to high. Guitar major pentatonic scale chart printable pdf subject. The solution below shows the e major pentatonic scale on the piano, treble clef and bass clef the lesson steps then explain how to construct the scale using the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th major scale notes for a quick summary of this topic, have a look at pentatonic scale. In this case, the minor pentatonic scale contains the minor seventh, so that note sounds great. Chapter 6 major scales and key signatures 111 scale degrees and solfege because there are seven different notes in a major scale, there are seven scale degrees. Guitarists with an interest in learning to play lead guitar must learn their pentatonic scales. As you will learn, these patterns can be transferred to all keys. So even if you hit a nonchord tone at a lessthanoptimal moment these notes will be relatively forgiving.
The interactive app below lets you generate fretboard charts of pentatonic scales in all keys with custom. Use the e minor pentatonic scale when playing 12 bar blues in either e major or e minor, it works equally well over both. Once learned, the player can immediately start improvising rock guitar. Charts for d minor pentatonic on guitar and piano all scales not normal were excluded from the results, please use the options below to see d minor pentatonic again with all the other scales compared to it. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used. How to tell when you can use the e minor pentatonic scale in a way that musically works and. This scale is transpositional and can be played in, and should be practiced in, all keys.
For a start, the positions and fingering are easier to memorise. If you are playing in a minor key, use that minor pentatonic. And look again at one of the licks we did a while back to see how it fits in this pentatonic and blues scale mold example 40. This week i run through the underlying principles that exist in all pentatonic scales on the guitar pdf attached below. Straight away, seeing these, its obvious why the minor scales are preferred by most guitarists. One is a pentatonic scale, meaning it has five notes, and the other is a major scale, which has 7. The sample scale is given in g and all the red notes refers to root note.
Be aware that the key signature of both scales will always be the same. The aeolian mode natural minor is the 6th mode of the major scale. The minor pentatonic scale has a minor third, which may clash with the chords minor third. I could never figure out how or when to do that and you made so simple. But by all means, practicing the 3 notes per string scale forms with the segovia scales as well can be a great all around workout. Major and minor pentatonic scales avoid significant harmonic dissonance by adverting this tritone. Whether you want to brush up on your pentatonics, play blues in an unusual key, rock out with an easternsounding scale or improvise. The major pentatonic scale is similar to major diatonic scale 7 notes per octave, but without the fourth and the seventh note. Were going to take a look at two very useful scales. Penta stands for five, meaning the pentatonic scale is a fivenote scale.
Excellent theory on sliding from the minor pentatonic scale to the major pentatonic. You can play a pentatonic scale by walking your fingers across the neck at any one of these positions, playing 2 notes per string. If playing in c major use a minor pentatonic also know as c major pentatonic. Introduction to the major pentatonic scale zombie guitar. Intermediate guitar lesson pentatonic scale picking. The e minor pentatonic scale the e minor blues scale. This entry was posted in resource and tagged 3 notes per string, arpeggio, chord, download, fingering, maj7, major 7th, minor pentatonic, pdf, pentatonic scale, positions, scale on october 12, 2014 by jens.
Acoustic blues guitar unleashed playing on the porch style blues griff hamlin. By cutting out the 4 and 6 from the major scale, we get a more direct major 7th sound. For a start, the positions and fingering are easier to memorise, plus the minor scale will always be more forgiving. The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used scales used in music. The a minor pentatonic comes from the natural minor scale. Using the same approach, here is an even better trick. 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 guitar shapes and theory. 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. For your convenience, i have included a pdf of all the pentatonics. Pentatonic scales pdf and instructional video guitar alliance. The open strings themselves even make up the notes of the e minor pentatonic scale.
The most important of these are both major and minor pentatonic. Use the g major pentatonic in folk, country and rock in the key of g when you dont want the blues sound. Simply follow the chart which represents your guitar neck. The minor pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly scales used in rock, blues, country and jazz music. C d e g a c formula 2 2 3 2 3 now lets look at the complete, 5position diagram of the pentatonic scale. The major pentatonic scale uses the following scale degrees from the major scale.
For a quick summary of this topic, have a look at pentatonic scale. 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. Dominant chords have a major third and a minor seventh b7. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. Scale diagrams can also be labeled with either letters or scale degrees. Well take a closer look at each of the new patterns below. Different pentatonic scales for guitar altered pentatonics. If you start at the g on the 3rd fret of the low e string youll get a g 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. Dec 04, 2009 hey peter, the names on the scale forms are based on that notes position within a major key. Many translated example sentences containing pentatonic scale spanish english. Its an old tricked used by solo guitar playersand bass players for that matter. One of the most important pentatonic guitar scales is the pentatonic minor scale.
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. There are three ways youll want to learn your major pentatonic scale forms. The root notes a in these examples are circled so that you can learn their locations. 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.
Difference between minor and major pentatonic scale boxes. Click graphic to play audio deactivate arrows on your keyboard for page navigation with alt k. You can play the major pentatonic scale over almost any major or dominant chord without clashing with the chord. Before the solo starts, the track plays through the rhythm part for several measures tab included at the bottom of this page. Above is the a major pentatonic scale shown in 5 positions. 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. Get your free instant download of the pdf version of this guide now. The diagram 1 has root notes on the sixht and fourth string. If you use scales to improvise and composewhatever style of music you playthen the guitar scales chart book is the reference book you need.
Each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard. Jun 19, 2019 the most common pentatonic scale is the pentatonic minor scale, the scale that weve been discussing throughout this page. Chords that sound good with a major pentatonic scales. Scale pentatonic minor 1,b3,4,5,b7 fullth pattern root note a guitar tuning. 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. Printable downloadable major pentatonic scale guitar chart. Two notes per string, and lined up perfectly along a single fret as well, you cant really ask for a more simple scale pattern. Play guitar solo in any key with 5 major pentatonic scale. Understanding the major and the minor blues pentatonic. A tab example has been provided for each of the new patterns. A pentatonic scale is made up of five notes per octave penta five. Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. Various positions of the major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitars with fingerings on the guitar neck.
The solution below shows the e major pentatonic scale on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Jul 06, 2016 after showing you the 5 minor pentatonic scale patterns and 5 major scale patterns it would be remiss of us not to post the 5 major pentatonic positions as wellso here you go. Show me chords that sound good with an e major pentatonic scale. Jun 22, 2016 a minor pentatonic scale 3rd position 9th fret comparing the major and minor pentatonic scales, the minor scale just gets first prize as the most versatile, which is why weve featured it here and suggest you learn the a minor pentatonic scale to begin with. If you are playing in a major key, then use the relative minor pentatonic scale. Intermediate guitar lesson major pentatonic scales.
May 06, 2014 the scale degrees and the pattern of half steps and whole steps are important to know in developing the pentatonic scales. In the diagram below the first pentatonic scale pattern is shown together with four more patterns. Learn the pentatonic scale on the guitar with this online guitar lesson from six string country. 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. Pentatonic scales for guitar a pentatonic scale has just 5 notes. Learn a complete blues solo based on the pentatonic scale, written and recorded by francesco cagnacci.
The word pentatonic implies that there are five notes in these scales, and that is correct. Youll remember in the g major scale shape, there are seven notes repeated in multiple octaves. The parallel lines of the frets and string work in your favor. Com the 5 patterns of the major pentatonic scale for guitar. In a previous blog post, play guitar solo in any key without learning notes the 5 major scale patterns, we showed you how its possible to learn the patterns or shapes of any major scale without necessarily memorising the name of the notes being played. This article and interactive web app help you learn all of the pentatonic scale diagrams.
Major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale shares five notes with the major scale. Scale pentatonic minor 1,b3,4,5,b7 5th pattern root note a guitar tuning. That is why you wont see a major pentatonic built from the 4th or 7th scale degree. The most common pentatonic scale is the pentatonic minor scale, the scale that weve been discussing throughout this page. The key to understanding the minor pentatonic scale. The next lesson will focus on alternate picking exercises using the pentatonic scale forms. The pdf is for members only, so youll need to login to download it. The shape 2 have roots on the fifth and third string. Apr 16, 2016 therefore, if you wanted to play the above major pentatonic scale pattern in the key of c major, you would place your pinky finger on the 8th fret of the low estring which would cause your first finger to naturally fall over top of the 5th fret, and you would play the scale starting on that note. Once again, bending the minor third up to the major third is a nice bluesy sound. The pentatonic scale pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five.
Click here to grab your pentatonic scale chart plus more free goodies. The process of fi nding the relative minor scale from the 6th degree of the major scale will hold true with any major scale. The lesson steps then explain how to construct the scale using the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th major scale notes. Major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitar fingering. The pentatonic scale is used both for soloing, and for basing song riffs around. You just need to know how the root note changes in the pattern. Ive written them out in the key of a but they of course work in any key. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning.
The four oneoctave shapes show you how to play the major pentatonic scale on guitar. Below is a download link for the pentatonic scale pdf. There are a few reasons that the penatonic scales are the short cut for the scales. After showing you the 5 minor pentatonic scale patterns and 5 major scale patterns it would be remiss of us not to post the 5 major pentatonic positions as wellso here you go straight away, seeing these, its obvious why the minor scales are preferred by most guitarists. 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. Starts on 3rd of the pentatonic scale starts on 5th of the pentatonic scale starts on 6th of the pentatonic scale. The minor pentatonic scale is quite possibly the most used and, suffice it to say, overused scale on the guitar.
The natural minor is the aeolian mode of the relative major scale. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music. There are three ways youll want to learn your major. The major pentatonic scale looks very similar to the minor pentatonic scale, but the root notes are located in different parts of the patterns. Chords that sound good with a major pentatonic scale s jguitars harmonizer allows you to easily identify chords and scales that will sound good when played together. Both of these scales are played in position, which means that each finger plays all of the notes at a particular fret. The major pentatonic scale can be broken down into 5 patterns.
Essentially well play the g major scale, but leave out the fourth and seventh note out. A major pentatonic scale consists of a series of intervals starting from do. Now youll want to get these 2 shapes under your fingers right away. The images below covers all the major pentatonic scale patterns in all positions on guitar. A major pentatonic scale is a major scale without the 4th or 7th scale degree.
The major pentatonic scale box patterns on guitar fretboard. The e minor pentatonic scale is a useful and fun guitar scale to know. We clearly and precisely show you every note in all 12 keys of the major and natural minor scales. On the guitar, this scale just lines up so beautifully, its perfect. Pentatonic scales pdf and instructional video guitar. Stay tuned if these free lessons help you, please donate to keep new ones coming daily. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic only. The pentatonic scale is use primarily used for soloing. Language sitemap guitars scales major pentatonic pattern 15 fingerings major pentatonic scale pattern 15 fingerings in a major. The scale degrees and the pattern of half steps and whole steps are important to know in developing the pentatonic scales. To apply this scale in a soloing situation, you can use the major pentatonic scale over major, maj7, maj6, maj9, maj69, 7th, 9th and th chords. It tabs out the pentatonic scales in all 12 major and minor keys.