The pentatonic scale is a 5 note scale. Penta = 5.
It is a subset of the Major Scale Master Pattern.
While the major/natural minor scale uses 7 notes, 2 of those notes are dropped to create the pentatonic scale.
The major scales consists of 7 notes:
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7
The major pentatonic scale consists of:
1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 6
The 4th and 7th intervals are dropped.
Major & Minor Pentatonic Scales use the same notes and fingering patterns
Just as the 6th note of the major scale is the root note of the natural minor scale, the 6th note of the major pentatonic is the relative minor pentatonic.
That means if you learn the C major pentatonic scale and its 5 fingering patterns, you have also learnt the A minor pentatonic scale too.
C Major Pentatonic Scale
C(1) D(2) E(3) G(5) A(6) – 4th and 7th omitted.
So let’s look at the relative minor…
A Minor Pentatonic Scale
The minor pentatonic comes from the relative minor scale:
A(1) B(2) C(3) D(4) E(5) F(6) G(7) – Same notes as C major scale. Start on ‘A’ instead of ‘C’.
The minor pentatonic drops 2 and 6, leaving 1 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 7
A(1) C(3) D(4) E(5) G(7)
Same notes as the C major pentatonic. Staring on ‘A’ instead of ‘C’.
C D E G A = Cmaj pent (Relative major of A minor)
A C D E G = Ami pent (Relative minor of C major)
5 Pentatonic Fingering Patterns
- The Pentatonic Scale -
