The pentatonic scale pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. The pattern for the major and minor scales are different. Nov 08, 2019 on this page youll find a complete guide to playing the major pentatonic scale on guitar. Aug 07, 2015 now lets combine the notes of the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scale and create some soloing ideas. The 14 most common and usable guitar scales printable and ready to use 1. So even if you hit a nonchord tone at a lessthanoptimal moment these notes will be relatively forgiving. When the player wants to lighten things up, the major pentatonic is the scale of choice. If you were playing the c minor pentatonic you would play the notes c, eb, f, g, bb. Jguitars scale calculator will draw scale diagrams showing the fretboard with notes in the selected scale highlighted. The major pentatonic scale played over major chords will produce a very sweet sounding country style melodic line.
Charts for c major pentatonic on guitar and piano all scales not normal were excluded from the results, please use the options below to see c major pentatonic again with all the other scales compared to it. Guitar scales chart for majorminor, pentatonic and blues. Major and minor pentatonic scales on the guitar online. Printable downloadable major pentatonic scale guitar chart. The guitar neck diagram shows you the big picture for the pdf on cultural anthropology e pentatonic blues scale.
Major pentatonic scales in open position closed mobile major pentatonic scales forms horizontal. Learn the 5 pentatonic scales on guitar, tab and diagrams available on screen and printable pdf download from etsy. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music. Pentatonic scales are widely used scales on the guitar. The aeolian mode natural minor is the 6th mode of the major scale. Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues and over iivv changes. Each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard. From the basic pentatonic scale guitar fretboard pattern to improvising using minor pentatonic scales all over the guitar neck. Major pentatonic guitar scale learn all five positions. Some think of them as being the major scale with the tricky notes taken out which is not far from the truth. The a minor pentatonic comes from the natural minor scale. The major pentatonic scale guitar shapes and theory. Bass guitar scales made easy learn guitar for free. The two licks below use notes of both minor and major pentatonic scales.
No doubt about it, this fivenote scale packs a punch. The natural minor is the aeolian mode of the relative major scale. The most important of these are both major and minor pentatonic. It can be an excellent foundation and launching pad for improvisational guitar solos. The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music. Scales you can use in the real world, created by a human guitarist. Often they are the first scales students learn on their lead guitar journey. Something about pentatonic scales just sounds good. 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 versatility and playability of the scale makes it a popular choice for use in guitar soloing and melodies. Mar 17, 2018 the major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar. Scale pentatonic major 1,2,3,5,6 fullth pattern root note a guitar tuning.
Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. They are hugely popular mainly because they are quite easy to play and are very easy to use in a musical situation right from the start. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. The 5 major pentatonic scale shapes positions guitarhabits. Used in the right context, its almost impossible to make them sound bad or unusual. Please find all of the guitar scale fingering charts for all of the types of scales covered in this guide. This means that they are often one of the first scales that.
May 09, 2014 the major pentatonic scale is mostly used in country, folk country rock, blues and jazz. After learning strumming chords, the most common step for beginners is to begin practicing single note melodies, and knowing your guitar scales is a huge help for this task. We start with a basic major pentatonic scale guitar pattern, then introduce additional fretboard patterns that will allow you to play major pentatonic scales all over the guitar neck. A major pentatonic scale guitar chords diagrams scales. If you are near a computer while tuning, please visit and try out our. This scale is perhaps less familiar to most guitarists than the minor pentatonic, but it is equally useful. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. It is a must know for any jazz guitar student who wants to improvise over major chords. Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major pentatonic scale chart that prints. A major pentatonic guitar scales chart scott van zen. They just ooze that minor bluesy vibe or sweet major vibe. Once youve got a handle on this material dont hesitate to contact anvil guitar instruction to learn how to augment and adapt these licks with notes from the full major and minor scales and with notes from arpeggios as well. Adjust the start fret option to further highlight a finger pattern for playing the selected scale in a different position on the fretboard.
Learn the major and minor pentatonic scales, their patterns, when to use them, and why theyre the scale shortcut. To know how to play the major pentatonic we leave the three most common fingerings for this scale in the bass. 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. Various techniques are used such as bends, slides and hammerons. See the diagram in the top right to see the fretsfingering for the major scale. 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 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. 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. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. The major pentatonic bass scale, as its name indicates, pentafive has 5 notes and is major. Combining minor and major pentatonic scales guitarhabits. There are three ways youll want to learn your major.
Lets take a look at what makes up this scale and how its applied to the guitar fretboard. Several typical pentatonic blues licks will be used as a starting point to develop your knowledge of the pentatonic scale. All of the below applies to the majorminor scale, but can easily be. Guitarists with an interest in learning to play lead guitar must learn their pentatonic scales. Fingering of the major pentatonic scale for electric bass. Beginner acoustic guitar lesson tom petty i wont back down. The musical styles that use the major pentatonic are country, blues, fusion, jazz and rock. The name pentatonic indicates that there are only five notes in this scale penta means five, unlike most other scales which have six, seven or more notes. Guitar major pentatonic scale chart printable pdf subject. Welcome to lesson 3 of the pentatonic scale, pentatonic blues licks. The major pentatonic scale is similar to major diatonic scale 7 notes per octave, but without the fourth and the seventh note. Click on the required key for scale notes and fret position diagrams in each key.
Jun 19, 2019 on this page youll find a complete guide to learning and using pentatonic scales on guitar. The pentatonic scale is used both for soloing, and for basing song riffs around. The basics of the minor pentatonic scale for guitar soundfly. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used. It is actually a major arpeggio with the 2nd and 6th added. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most used of the pentatonic scales family. This guitar lesson provides some fretboard diagrams, charts and licks to expand your improvisation skills.
So major scales are bright happy cheerful sounding scales, and the major pentatonic is just that, happy and upbeat. There are three ways youll want to learn your major pentatonic scale forms. Jun 28, 2016 it produces two types of tonalities major and minor and is one of the most commonly used scales in blues, pop and rock. If you were to play a c major pentatonic scale you would play the notes c, d, e, g, a. You could play these licks over a iivv blues progression where a7 is the i chord, d7 iv chord and e7 v chord. But its not just about them being easy, theyre the alphabet that we use to create words in many languages, including blues, rock, jazz and country. Click here for a free printable pdf file of this scale.
The pentatonic scale works really well over simple chord progressions, and because its one of the easiest scales to learn, its usually the first scale taught. This tutorial will teach all you need to know about how to play scales on the guitar. Both the pentatonic major scale and minor scale have the same patterns. Click here to grab your pentatonic scale chart plus more free. Com the 5 patterns of the major pentatonic scale for guitar. Sep 26, 2018 the pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used scales used in music. It is also associated with many of the traditional asian folk melodies. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic only. 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. The major and minor pentatonic scales are some of the most common scales in pop, rock and blues music. You hear this sound all the time in just about every style of music rock, blues, country, jazz, you name it heres a video taking you through some major pentatonic essentials, and i develop these ideas in a. Minor pentatonic the basic box shape free guitar lessons. Pentatonic scales for guitar a pentatonic scale has just 5 notes.