Much like moveable bar chords this scale can be moved up and down the guitar neck and the root note will determine the key you are playing. Pentatonic scales for guitar a pentatonic scale has just 5 notes. The major pentatonic scale is a wonderful, simple way to add colour to your blues playing. The major scale is easiest to see by looking at the white keys on the piano. In this lesson you will be learning some ways to use the pentatonic scale in a solo. Major pentatonic licks for guitar fundamental changes music. Pentatonic scale has notes that when played generate a pleasant melody, even if it is just the. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most used of the pentatonic scales family. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar.
Try playing minor pentatonic over minor chords and major pentatonic over major chords within the same jam track. Bonus pdf chart youtube how to use the caged system to play a solo duration. Major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitar fingering. This is normal, because the notes are positioned differently in the minor pentatonic scale then in the major pentatonic scale. 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. To do so, simply connect pattern 5 to another pattern 1, as shown here. The major pentatonic scale next level guitar lessons. Click on the required key for scale notes and fret position diagrams in each key. Dec 04, 2009 this lesson is a complete breakdown of all the major pentatonic scale forms. The musical styles that use the major pentatonic are country, blues, fusion, jazz and rock. The a minor pentatonic comes from the natural minor scale. Each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard.
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. Once you know the five major pentatonic scale shapes, you automatically know the five minor pentatonic scale shapes. Several typical pentatonic blues licks will be used as a starting point to develop your knowledge of the pentatonic scale. Various positions of the major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitars with fingerings on the guitar neck.
I didnt get on with the major pentatonic until quite late and many find it considerably harder to use than its minor. Now youll want to get these 2 shapes under your fingers right away. 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. You may not be able to find what youre looking for right. The most important of these are both major and minor pentatonic. If you are playing in a major key, then use the relative minor pentatonic scale. All of the below applies to the majorminor scale, but can easily be applied to the pentatonic and blues without issues. Youll also be able to solo over a backing track using pentatonic scales. A free pdf of the entire lessons material is available at. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the scales in all keys. This book maps out various pentatonic and blues scales including. Welcome to lesson 3 of the pentatonic scale, pentatonic blues licks. Why learning more than one scale pattern is a good idea. Differences between minor and major pentatonic scales.
A pentatonic scale is made up of five notes per octave penta five. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. Its just like a major scale, minus the 4th and 7th degrees, making it pentatonic five notes. Pdf guitar scales major pentatonic download full pdf book. Whatever method you have to use to find it is worth the time. A tab example has been provided for each of the new patterns. Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. It is a must know for any jazz guitar student who wants to improvise over major chords. If you were to play this scale starting on the 8th fret, it would be a c minor pentatonic scale consisting of notes c, eb, f, g, and bb. The only difference is which root notes you choose to target. Finger one is the key of the major pentatonic say g and the 3rd finger is em. 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. The last scale shape begins with your fourth finger on the 15th fret. So even if you hit a nonchord tone at a lessthanoptimal moment these notes will be relatively forgiving.
The major pentatonic scale guitar shapes and theory. If you are near a computer while tuning, please visit and try out our. Scale pentatonic major 1,2,3,5,6 fullth pattern root note a guitar tuning. There are numerous ways of playing a g major pentatonic scale on guitar. Major pentatonic guitar scale learn all five positions. There are a few reasons that the penatonic scales are the short cut for the scales. Lets take a look at what makes up this scale and how its applied to the guitar fretboard. Minor pentatonic the basic box shape free guitar lessons. If you are playing in a minor key, use that minor pentatonic. 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. No doubt about it, this fivenote scale packs a punch. You just need to know how the root note changes in the pattern. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music. The natural minor is the aeolian mode of the relative major scale.
Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major pentatonic scale chart that prints. Various positions of the major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitar with the fingering on the guitar neck. When you feel comfortable playing through all five pentatonic scale patterns on the guitar, the next step is to connect them to cover the rest of the fretboard. Major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitars fingerings. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. The word pentatonic implies that there are five notes in these scales, and that is correct. This pdf method for guitar contains 40 ii v i jazz guitar lines with tab, standard notation, analysis, scale charts and audio files. The major pentatonic scale d major pentatonic box shape. In the diagram below the first pentatonic scale pattern is shown together with four more patterns. Heres a lesson that walks guitarists through learning to play the major and minor pentatonic scale in five positions, all over the guitar fretboard. Look at the scale diagram below and notice the position of. Both the pentatonic major scale and minor scale have the same patterns.
Illustration courtesy of desi serna this new pattern 1 is identical to. 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 white keys with a black key in between are a whole step apart and the ones without a black key in between are a half step. Ive started writing up all the notes i give to guitar students so rather than getting a photocopy of something i wrote in the back of an envelope when i was 19 and figuring all this stuff out myself i can just print off or hyperlink to resources when i need to give stuff out. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used scales. This guitar lesson provides some fretboard diagrams, charts and licks to expand your improvisation skills. Look at the scale diagram below and notice the position of the root note the notes which are circled. In order to form the pentatonic it is necessary to remove two notes from the major scale, these are the 4th and 7th of the scale. Mar 17, 2018 the major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar. Each major pentatonic scale has a relative minor pentatonic scale attached to it. Wikipedia has a nice article on these scales including the others here.
Click here for a free printable pdf file of this scale. Beginner acoustic guitar lesson tom petty i wont back down. The versatility and playability of the scale makes it a popular choice for use in guitar soloing and melodies. The major pentatonic scale for bass or any other instrument is an important scale to know. How to learn the pentatonic scales with 5 box patterns. Major and minor pentatonic scales avoid significant harmonic dissonance by adverting this tritone.
When the player wants to lighten things up, the major pentatonic is the scale of choice. Ive written them out in the key of a but they of course work in any key. So the best way to practice is to choose a root, a string, a direction left or right, and major or minor. Remember its the process, not always the end result that you want. And you can find the relative major pentatonic scale of a minor. How to connect the pentatonic patterns on the guitar dummies. The major pentatonic is confusing for some because visually the scale patterns looks the same as the minor pentatonic but the notes function in a very different way so youre best thinking of it as a completely different scale. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. 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 major pentatonic is formed with 5 notes and its origin would come from the major scale which has seven notes. Pdf total guitar the ultimate scale book guilherme. The first major pentatonic scale shape starts with our g root note on the 3rd fret of the 6th string.
The major pentatonic is easy to learn if you already know the minor pentatonic scale. The major pentatonic scale is similar to major diatonic scale 7 notes per octave, but without the fourth and the seventh note. Once learned, the player can immediately start improvising rock guitar. A beginner guitar lesson on how to use the d major pentatonic scale to build guitar exercises, basic scale runs and improvised melody.
For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic only. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used. D major pentatonic scale guitar exercises and beginner lesson. The aeolian mode natural minor is the 6th mode of the major scale. With its clean, folky sound, the major pentatonic scale is a common scale in folk, blues, country and pop music. This lesson is a complete breakdown of all the major pentatonic scale forms. Also, the pentatonic scale can be easily turned into the blues scale by adding the blues notes. So basically, as with major scales, the minor pentatonic scale is the relative 6th minor of the major pentatonic scale. The easy way to learn the pentatonic scales is with the 5 box pattern method. Oct 26, 2009 free downloadable pentatonic scale diagrams.
A major pentatonic guitar scales chart scott van zen guitar. The minor pentatonic scale, the major pentatonic scale, the minor blues scale, the major blues scale, the voodoo blues scale, the indian pentatonic scale, the dominant pentatonic scale, and the dorian pentatonic scale for you on left handed 6 string guitar in standard tuning. With each of the shapes we learn, there will be a chord. Well take a closer look at each of the new patterns below. The pentatonic scale chose 5 from these notes and created another scale, this is why it is called penta. If playing in c major use a minor pentatonic also know as c major pentatonic. Major, minor, pentatonic, and blues its important to memorize at least one simple major scale shape on the guitar to be able to improvise. Major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale shares five notes with the major scale. You can play the major pentatonic scale over almost any major or dominant chord without clashing with the chord. The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music. Sep 26, 2018 the pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music. However, the scales we are concerned with here are the most commonly used for guitar, the major and minor.