Wikipedia has a nice article on these scales including the others here. Remember its the process, not always the end result that you want. Link to pdf with all 5 positions of the dorian mode scale. The major pentatonic scale d major pentatonic box shape. If playing in c major use a minor pentatonic also know as c major pentatonic. Major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitar fingering. So even if you hit a nonchord tone at a lessthanoptimal moment these notes will be relatively forgiving. To understand how this works, look at this example.
This lesson is a complete breakdown of all the major pentatonic scale forms. How to play the pentatonic scale beginner guitar hq. Illustration courtesy of desi serna this new pattern 1 is identical to. Bass guitar scales made easy learn guitar for free. I didnt get on with the major pentatonic until quite late and many find it considerably harder to use than its minor.
Often they are the first scales students learn on their lead guitar journey. Minor pentatonic the basic box shape free guitar lessons. 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. Major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitars fingerings. The aeolian mode natural minor is the 6th mode of the major scale. In the diagram below the first pentatonic scale pattern is shown together with four more patterns. Sep 26, 2018 the pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music. How to learn the pentatonic scales with 5 box patterns. Major pentatonic licks for guitar fundamental changes. Mar 17, 2018 the major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar. Pentatonic scales pdf and instructional video guitar. Of the minor chord and of the major chord means they are notes of the major or minor chord.
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. Each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard. The scale were about to learn is used loads in country, blues and rock. If you are playing in a major key, then use the relative minor pentatonic scale. Pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. A minor pentatonic can be used as a lead scale over chord progressions in a minor, c major, and a blues blues can imply a specific, sixnote scale, as well as a chord progression. The pdf is for members only, so youll need to login to download it. Try playing minor pentatonic over minor chords and major pentatonic over major chords within the same jam track. There are three ways youll want to learn your major. In this lead guitar lesson, well go over the five pentatonic scale shapes.
The major pentatonic scale guitar shapes and theory. Link to guitar pro file of tab and notation for the dorian mode scale. Guitar pentatonic scales the 3 types of pentatonic scales, easy to. 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. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. Pentatonic scales for guitar a pentatonic scale has just 5 notes. The first scale you learn is the a minor pentatonic. Pdf total guitar the ultimate scale book guilherme.
Lets take a look at what makes up this scale and how its applied to the guitar fretboard. Printable downloadable major pentatonic scale guitar chart. Beginner acoustic guitar lesson tom petty i wont back down. Major pentatonic licks for guitar fundamental changes music. If eb is the root of a chord, the relationship to the notes of an f minor pentatonic scale are. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most used of the pentatonic scales family. Both the pentatonic major scale and minor scale have the same patterns. However, the scales we are concerned with here are the most commonly used for guitar, the major and minor. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic only. Sitemap guitar scale major pentatonic pattern 15 fingering major pentatonic scale pattern 15 fingering in a major root. 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.
So major scales are bright happy cheerful sounding scales, and the major pentatonic is just that, happy and upbeat. Free printable guitar scales 14 most commonly used scales. Click here for a free printable pdf file of this scale. If you are playing in a minor key, use that minor pentatonic. Com the 5 patterns of the major pentatonic scale for guitar. Pdf guitar scales major pentatonic download full pdf book. Heres a free guitar scales pdf ebook 22 pages with plenty of scales and arpeggios patterns. The shape 2 have roots on the fifth and third string. To do so, simply connect pattern 5 to another pattern 1, as shown here. 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 widely used scales on the guitar. No doubt about it, this fivenote scale packs a punch. For example, look at minor shape 1 tallest green box. The a minor pentatonic comes from the natural minor scale.
With its clean, folky sound, the major pentatonic scale is a common scale in folk, blues, country and pop music. Bonus pdf chart youtube how to connect the pentatonic scale across the. Below is a download link for the pentatonic scale pdf. Whatever method you have to use to find it is worth the time. Free guitar scales pdf 84 scale and arpeggios chart. Here is the scale major scale chart that you downloaded from guitarskillbuilder. If you are near a computer while tuning, please visit and try out our. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic. Once you know the five major pentatonic scale shapes, you automatically know the five minor pentatonic scale shapes. How to play the g major pentatonic scale on guitar youtube. Com the five major scale patterns each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard. The most important of these are both major and minor pentatonic.
Not bad for a scale thats two notes shy of a major. The natural minor is the aeolian mode of the relative major scale. So basically, as with major scales, the minor pentatonic scale is the relative 6th minor of the major pentatonic scale. Click graphic to play audio deactivate arrows on your keyboard for page navigation with alt k. The ebook contains the most important scales for beginners, such as major and minor, but shows also more advanced. 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 is a wonderful, simple way to add colour to your blues playing. Welcome to lesson 3 of the pentatonic scale, pentatonic blues licks. The easy way to learn the pentatonic scales is with the 5 box pattern method. 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. So the best way to practice is to choose a root, a string, a direction left or right, and major or minor.
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 pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music. The pentatonic scale can function as both major and minor on the guitar. Major pentatonic guitar scale learn all five positions. Once learned, the player can immediately start improvising rock guitar. The tab shows how the pattern can be used to play either a 1 octave or a 2 octave c major pentatonic scale. For each scale, you can learn a number of different shapes and patterns, depending on the zone of the fretboard youre working on.
When the player wants to lighten things up, the major pentatonic is the scale of choice. How to play the pentatonic scale on guitar dummies. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. The versatility and playability of the scale makes it a popular choice for use in guitar soloing and melodies. The pentatonic scale pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. It is a must know for any jazz guitar student who wants to improvise over major chords. Dec 04, 2009 this lesson is a complete breakdown of all the major pentatonic scale forms. How to play the g major pentatonic scale on guitar.
How to connect the pentatonic patterns on the guitar dummies. Blues guitar solo heatmap with pdf download duration. How to use the pentatonic scale as major and minor on the. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the scales. Learn how to play the g major pentatonic scale on the guitar.
This guitar lesson provides some fretboard diagrams, charts and licks to expand your improvisation skills. Here is a video that shows how to play the pentatonic scale in its 1st position across the guitar neck and how to use it. The musical styles that use the major pentatonic are country, blues, fusion, jazz and rock. The four oneoctave shapes show you how to play the major pentatonic scale on guitar.
Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. Link to pdf file of all 5 positions of the minor pentatonic scale. A tab example has been provided for each of the new patterns. Click on the required key for scale notes and fret position diagrams in each key. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music.
It also works pretty well over a major and c blues. The diagram 1 has root notes on the sixht and fourth string. It is a warm contrast to the minor pentatonic blues scale and is often used right next to the minor pentatonic to suddenly lift a solo into a happier, major territory. In this sense he is of course right that the patterns of major and minor pentatonic scales are different. There are numerous ways of playing a g major pentatonic scale on guitar. Various positions of the major pentatonic scale pattern 15 for guitars with fingerings on the guitar neck. 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. In this lesson you will be learning some ways to use the pentatonic scale in a solo. The major pentatonic scale for bass or any other instrument is an important scale to know.
The pentatonic scale chose 5 from these notes and created another scale, this is why it is called penta. Many guitarists get stuck in a rut playing the minor pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale is use primarily used for soloing. The major pentatonic scale next level guitar lessons. Major and minor pentatonic scales avoid significant harmonic dissonance by adverting this tritone. However the major g pentatonic scale pattern is the exact same pattern in the same fret position. Learn the major and minor pentatonic scales, their patterns, when to use them, and why theyre the scale shortcut.
Well take a closer look at each of the new patterns below. The easy way to learn the pentatonic scales is with the 5 box. 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. Nov 08, 2019 a tab example has been provided for each of the new patterns. Its just like a major scale, minus the 4th and 7th degrees, making it pentatonic five notes. A pentatonic scale is made up of five notes per octave penta five.
The word pentatonic implies that there are five notes in these scales, and that is correct. 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. On the guitar, there are five common bxo patterns for pentatonic scales, commonly called box positions ie. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most used scales in modern and ancient music. 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. Guitar major pentatonic scale chart printable pdf subject. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used. Lets assume we move the shape to have the first tab at 0 open you have green circles in i0 ii0 iii0 iv2 v2 and vi0, with a minor root. However, it starts on the tonic 1st note of the scale of g.
Language sitemap guitars scales major pentatonic pattern 15 fingerings major pentatonic scale pattern 15 fingerings in a major root. Pentatonic scales pdf and instructional video guitar alliance. Heres a lesson that walks guitarists through learning to play the major and minor pentatonic scale in five positions, all over the guitar fretboard. Now youll want to get these 2 shapes under your fingers right away. The first, second, third, fifth, and sixth notes of the major scale become the five notes in the. The major pentatonic scale is similar to major diatonic scale 7 notes per octave, but without the fourth and the seventh note. 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 major pentatonic is formed with 5 notes and its origin would come from the major scale which has seven notes. The third form have roots on the fourth and second string whereas the fourth shape have roots on. Ive written them out in the key of a but they of course work in any key.
It tabs out the pentatonic scales in all 12 major and minor keys. Major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale shares five notes with the major scale. 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. Aminor pentatonic is a reasonable starting place with the minor pentatonic scale and has the 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, and 14th fret respectively as the first fret on the different positions. Scale pentatonic major 1,2,3,5,6 fullth pattern root note a guitar tuning. 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. Notice how both an e minor em chord and a g major chord fit into pentatonic pattern 1 in the open position. Its a little strange to get used to at first, because the patterns are the same as for the minor pentatonic, but the root note is different huh. The first major pentatonic scale shape starts with our g root note on the 3rd. You may not be able to find what youre looking for right. The last scale shape begins with your fourth finger on the 15th fret. A free pdf of the entire lessons material is available at. Remember that the scale patterns may contain notes that extend the scale, either upwards or downwards.