Pentatonic scale
I am trying to learn the pentatonic scale and frankly I am confused. Are G,A,B,D and E the only notes in this scale? If not do the five patterns Neil talks about in the lessons apply to all the keys? Are there sharps and flats in the pentatonic scale? Dazed and confused!
G, A, B, D and E are the only notes in the G major pentatonic scale. The C major pentatonic scale would be C, D, E, G and A. Basically, you take the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of the scale to make up the pentatonic scale.
As for sharps and flats, well the A major pentatonic scale would be A, B, C#, E, F# - so yes, there can be sharps and flats.
Hope this helps a little.
Stuart
As for sharps and flats, well the A major pentatonic scale would be A, B, C#, E, F# - so yes, there can be sharps and flats.
Hope this helps a little.
Stuart
Hi Beer,
There are so many different ways to look at this, but Stuart (other Stuart) has pointed you in the right direction.
Here's the way I usally think about it...
A major chord is composed of the first (root), third, and fifth note of the scale. Let's stick G, since that seems to be what you are working on. The notes in the full G major scale are G, A, B, C, D, E, and F# (which you'll notice are also the notes in the Em scale, and maybe we'll come back to that). So the G chord is formed from G, B and D. You can play this same chord in many different places up and down the neck. I can never keep any of those pattern systems straight in my head, but one thing I have found useful is to know how to play a given chord, let's stick with G, up and down the neck and know from this where the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of that chord are found. These can then be your reference point for finding the extra notes you need for any scale you choose (pentatonic, blues, country, whatever); maybe we'll come back to that as well.
As Stuart points out, the pentatonic scale (any pentatonic, whether major or minor or any other mode) is formed by adding the 2nd and 6th notes to the three notes that already make up the chord corresponding to the key. So, to get back to our G major pentatonic scale, this would be G (1st), A (2nd), B (3rd), D (5th), and E (6th).
Now, here's the cool part, and the only way that I can remember any of these patterns. When you form an open G chord, you've got the root note (1st, i.e., G) on the 6th string, the 3rd (i.e., B ) on the fifth string, and the 5th (i.e., D) on the open fourth string. You've also got the root and third, an octave higher, on the third and second strings, respectively, and the root again (two octaves higher) on the first string. With these reference points, you can immediately find your way through any scale you need.
So, let's say you want to play the G major pentatonic scale. You know where your 1st, 3rd, and 5ths are from the chord and you know that you get the pentatonic scale by adding to these the 2nd and 6th notes. You know that the 2nd notes are always going to be either two frets higher than the root or two frets lower than the 3rd note. So that's going to be the open A on your fifth string. You know that your 6th notes are always going to be either two frets higher than the 5th or three frets lower than the root. Since your next higher 5th note is the open D string, the 6th you need is on the second fret of that fourth string. Then you're back to the root note on the open G string and the whole thing starts over and leads you easily all the way through the rest of the pentatonic scale up to the root on the third fret of the first string.
See how elegant that is?
But now you want to play some funky style of music with some extra notes for color -- like maybe blues (add flattened 3rds) or rockabilly (add 7ths and 9ths). All you gotta do is know what you need and where to find them with respect to your root, 3rd, and 5th reference points.
And now you want to play these scales all the way up and down the fretboard? I guess you already know that you can play a G chord on the third fret with a barre chord that looks like an F (actually called the E shape if you get into the CAGED system, which I won't do here, but the acronym is useful if you haven't memorized where to find all the chords). This E shape chord give you the root note on the third frets of sixty and first strings as well as on the fifth fret of the of the fourth string. that root note on fourth string is an extremely useful reference point for any kind of improvisation -- if you get lost, just work your way back to it. In this shape you've also got a 5th note on the fifth and second strings and a 3rd note on the third string. The E shape chord misses the 3rd note just below the low G, so it's also useful to know that (with the exception of notes between the G & B stings) an interval of a 3rd is always one fret lower on the next higher string, so you can pick that up there (which will usually be easier than going four frets up from the root on the same string). And, while we're at it, an interval of a 5th is always two frets higher on the next higher string. So, in this E shape on the third fret you can also build up any scale you want from your root/3rd/5th reference points.
And so on all the way up the fretboard by forming the G chord on the 5th fret that looks like a D shape, the G chord on the 8th fret that looks like a C, and the G chord on the 10th fret that looks like an A.
But now you're playing with someone else who wants to play something in E. Don't worry about how many sharps and flats there are in the E scale. Just know how to form the open E, know your root/3rd/5th reference points, know how to work that E chord up the fretboard through the CAGED shaped progression (in this case, EDCAG).
Sorry, did you say Em? Just remember that the notes in the Em scale are exactly the same as those in the G major scale (G major + 6 = E minor; A major + 6 = F minor, etc.). The roots/3rds/5ths are in difference places and it can get kind of messy -- probably best to know the fundamental shapes for the minor chords as well and work around those. But, by the time you get to this points, it should all be second nature.
Main point: don't worry about the sharps & flats, just worry about the intervals and let the chord shapes be your guide.
I'm sure there are at least a thousand other ways to think about this; I'm just saying that this is what seems to work for me.
-Stuart
There are so many different ways to look at this, but Stuart (other Stuart) has pointed you in the right direction.
Here's the way I usally think about it...
A major chord is composed of the first (root), third, and fifth note of the scale. Let's stick G, since that seems to be what you are working on. The notes in the full G major scale are G, A, B, C, D, E, and F# (which you'll notice are also the notes in the Em scale, and maybe we'll come back to that). So the G chord is formed from G, B and D. You can play this same chord in many different places up and down the neck. I can never keep any of those pattern systems straight in my head, but one thing I have found useful is to know how to play a given chord, let's stick with G, up and down the neck and know from this where the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of that chord are found. These can then be your reference point for finding the extra notes you need for any scale you choose (pentatonic, blues, country, whatever); maybe we'll come back to that as well.
As Stuart points out, the pentatonic scale (any pentatonic, whether major or minor or any other mode) is formed by adding the 2nd and 6th notes to the three notes that already make up the chord corresponding to the key. So, to get back to our G major pentatonic scale, this would be G (1st), A (2nd), B (3rd), D (5th), and E (6th).
Now, here's the cool part, and the only way that I can remember any of these patterns. When you form an open G chord, you've got the root note (1st, i.e., G) on the 6th string, the 3rd (i.e., B ) on the fifth string, and the 5th (i.e., D) on the open fourth string. You've also got the root and third, an octave higher, on the third and second strings, respectively, and the root again (two octaves higher) on the first string. With these reference points, you can immediately find your way through any scale you need.
So, let's say you want to play the G major pentatonic scale. You know where your 1st, 3rd, and 5ths are from the chord and you know that you get the pentatonic scale by adding to these the 2nd and 6th notes. You know that the 2nd notes are always going to be either two frets higher than the root or two frets lower than the 3rd note. So that's going to be the open A on your fifth string. You know that your 6th notes are always going to be either two frets higher than the 5th or three frets lower than the root. Since your next higher 5th note is the open D string, the 6th you need is on the second fret of that fourth string. Then you're back to the root note on the open G string and the whole thing starts over and leads you easily all the way through the rest of the pentatonic scale up to the root on the third fret of the first string.
See how elegant that is?
But now you want to play some funky style of music with some extra notes for color -- like maybe blues (add flattened 3rds) or rockabilly (add 7ths and 9ths). All you gotta do is know what you need and where to find them with respect to your root, 3rd, and 5th reference points.
And now you want to play these scales all the way up and down the fretboard? I guess you already know that you can play a G chord on the third fret with a barre chord that looks like an F (actually called the E shape if you get into the CAGED system, which I won't do here, but the acronym is useful if you haven't memorized where to find all the chords). This E shape chord give you the root note on the third frets of sixty and first strings as well as on the fifth fret of the of the fourth string. that root note on fourth string is an extremely useful reference point for any kind of improvisation -- if you get lost, just work your way back to it. In this shape you've also got a 5th note on the fifth and second strings and a 3rd note on the third string. The E shape chord misses the 3rd note just below the low G, so it's also useful to know that (with the exception of notes between the G & B stings) an interval of a 3rd is always one fret lower on the next higher string, so you can pick that up there (which will usually be easier than going four frets up from the root on the same string). And, while we're at it, an interval of a 5th is always two frets higher on the next higher string. So, in this E shape on the third fret you can also build up any scale you want from your root/3rd/5th reference points.
And so on all the way up the fretboard by forming the G chord on the 5th fret that looks like a D shape, the G chord on the 8th fret that looks like a C, and the G chord on the 10th fret that looks like an A.
But now you're playing with someone else who wants to play something in E. Don't worry about how many sharps and flats there are in the E scale. Just know how to form the open E, know your root/3rd/5th reference points, know how to work that E chord up the fretboard through the CAGED shaped progression (in this case, EDCAG).
Sorry, did you say Em? Just remember that the notes in the Em scale are exactly the same as those in the G major scale (G major + 6 = E minor; A major + 6 = F minor, etc.). The roots/3rds/5ths are in difference places and it can get kind of messy -- probably best to know the fundamental shapes for the minor chords as well and work around those. But, by the time you get to this points, it should all be second nature.
Main point: don't worry about the sharps & flats, just worry about the intervals and let the chord shapes be your guide.
I'm sure there are at least a thousand other ways to think about this; I'm just saying that this is what seems to work for me.
-Stuart
On reflection, that explanation may have gotten a little bit confusing at the end, so here is a quick way to figure out the notes you want based only on your knowlege of the root/3rd/5th reference points you'll already have burned into your brain from the basic chord shapes. The numbers below refer always to the degree with respect to the root note in the major scale:
Major scale: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Major chord: 1, 3, 5
Minor scale: 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7 (but see Neil's lesson on Bach's Bouree in Em on the difference between the natural and descending minor scales, which are identical and shown here, the ascending melodic minor scale, which raises the 6th and 7th notes, and the harmonic minor scale, which flattens the 5th)
Major Pentatonic: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Minor Pentatonic: 1, b3, 4, 5, b7
Blues (aka Minor Blues): 1, b3, 4, b5, 5, b7 (adds b5 to Minor Pentatonic scale)
Country (aka Major Blues): 1, 2, b3, 3, 5, 6 (add b3 to Major Pentatonic scale)
Myxolidian, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7
As I'm just in the process of learning, styles like Rockabilly mix the last three together quite a lot.
-Stuart
Major scale: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Major chord: 1, 3, 5
Minor scale: 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7 (but see Neil's lesson on Bach's Bouree in Em on the difference between the natural and descending minor scales, which are identical and shown here, the ascending melodic minor scale, which raises the 6th and 7th notes, and the harmonic minor scale, which flattens the 5th)
Major Pentatonic: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Minor Pentatonic: 1, b3, 4, 5, b7
Blues (aka Minor Blues): 1, b3, 4, b5, 5, b7 (adds b5 to Minor Pentatonic scale)
Country (aka Major Blues): 1, 2, b3, 3, 5, 6 (add b3 to Major Pentatonic scale)
Myxolidian, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7
As I'm just in the process of learning, styles like Rockabilly mix the last three together quite a lot.
-Stuart
Thanks Stuart
You have given me a lot to think about. My knowledge of theory is limited. I will study this and write it out on paper. Im sure it will become a lot clearer as I begin to understand more and more theory. Thank you for your help.
You have given me a lot to think about. My knowledge of theory is limited. I will study this and write it out on paper. Im sure it will become a lot clearer as I begin to understand more and more theory. Thank you for your help.
No trouble, beer. There are a lot of good books out there on the subject and many now geared specifically to the guitar. I've personally always gotten a migraine when I open one. Must be something in the ink they use. The description above is just the way I've managed eventually to absorb this. I'm sure if you mess about with it enough, you'll start to recognize patterns and something will just click. But, for me personally, the biggest progress came when I just stopped thinking about which absolute notes or what key I was playing in and focused instead on the intervals and then starting to recognize the personality (I don't know what else to call it) that each note has in its scale or chord.
Since you have signed up for the Target program, you should definitely check out Neil's "Acoustic Genius" series. It's very good.
-Stuart
Since you have signed up for the Target program, you should definitely check out Neil's "Acoustic Genius" series. It's very good.
-Stuart