By Robert M. Matthews

The name “pentatonic” comes from a couple of Greek words: “penta” – a prefix meaning five and “tonic” – which makes reference to a tone. Thus a pentatonic scale is a scale consisting of only five notes. This is opposed to the full diatonic scales which contain all seven tones of the musical alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G). The pentatonic minor scale is a very popular scale and is heavily used in blues, classic rock, heavy rock, jazz and other popular genres.

The minor pentatonic scale is the workhorse of blues and rock music. The minor pentatonic scale is formed by employing the scale degrees 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the natural minor scale. (Click on the link in the resource box below to download and examine your own copy of the minor pentatonic scales). The minor pentatonic gained popularity partially because it is one of the easiest scales to use. This is partially due to the fact that it only has five notes. Of course a lesser number of notes makes the scale easier to learn and remember, but there is another, more basic reason for the scales relative ease of application. With less notes involved, there are less opportunities for tonal clashes.

Let’s take an example: if you solo over a C minor chord, you will find that specific notes “work” or harmonize and others clash or are dissonant, and thus may only be useful as passing tones.

If instead, you solo over a C major chord, you will find a slightly different set of compatible notes.

Now if you simply improvise over a single C note-a C pedal tone, you will find that both sets of notes are compatible with the pedal tone. Certainly, for the solo to be pleasing you will have to be careful with the mixing of the major and minor tonalities in the phrasing. But, the fact remains that you will have more notes on your musical palette initially to work with. This is because, with less notes involved (pedal tone versus a chord) there is less opportunity for harmonic clash.
Such is the case with using a pentatonic scale versus a diatonic scale. The second and sixth scale degrees have been left out. This, once again, means that there are less total notes involved, which leaves less room for potential dissonant combinations.

In addition, chords tend to be stacks of major or minor thirds-often constructed from some form of the root, third, fifth and seventh. So the second and sixth degrees may be thought of as somewhat “less harmonic” than the other scale degrees. You can hear this in the major 6th chords (which add a sixth) and 9th chords. (The 9th chords add the ninth tone-which is an octave above the second). Both the 6th and 9^th chords have a harsher, more aggressive sound due to the addition of these two “oddball” scale degrees.

The pentatonic minor scale has occupied a prominent position in modern popular music for the past several decades. It is one of the most-used scales in blues, rock and other popular genres, partially because it is easier than many other scales to use. By leaving out the second and sixth scales degrees, the pentatonic minor scale creates a smaller chance for harmonic clash because a fewer number of notes are involved. In addition, the tones that are omitted are two scale degrees that tend not to harmonize as well as many of the other scale tones.

Robert M. Matthews (better known as Bob Matthews) is currently retired after more than 30 years of engineering and management experience.

As an avid guitar player for more than 35 years, Bob has created a website specifically for guitar players and future guitar players. The site is packed with a wealth of information and articles on guitars, music theory, guitar tips and lessons, as well as many entertaining and instructional videos.

Feel free to visit the site at http://www.Learn-Guitar-Quick.com for great guitar-related information. While there, be sure to claim your FREE PENTATONIC SCALES (and much more) available on the front page in the FREE BONUSES section in the right sidebar.

And… be sure to follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GuitarBobb

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A lesson on the pentatonic scale and the difference between the major and minor version.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9HFMGiFVRs