Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. If you were playing the c minor pentatonic you would play the notes c, eb, f, g, bb. 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. The pentatonic scale and major scale modes every guitar. There are major and minor pentatonic scales that share the.
Major and minor pentatonic scales avoid significant harmonic dissonance by adverting this tritone. Guitar major pentatonic scale chart printable pdf subject. Whats awesome about the pentatonic scale is it always sounds good when played over the corresponding major chord. They just ooze that minor bluesy vibe or sweet major vibe. Com the 5 patterns of the major pentatonic scale for guitar. How to use the moveable pentatonic scale to play lead rock. This is the foundation to becoming a learned musician, rather than merely a recreational player. 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. If you are near a computer while tuning, please visit and try out our. Nov 08, 2019 on this page youll find a complete guide to playing the major pentatonic scale on guitar. 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 pdf method for guitar contains 40 ii v i jazz guitar lines with tab, standard notation, analysis, scale charts and audio files. Major pentatonic licks for guitar fundamental changes music.
Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used. The major pentatonic scale is a wonderful, simple way to add colour to your blues playing. On this page youll find a complete guide to playing the major pentatonic scale on guitar. Major pentatonic licks for guitar fundamental changes. Major pentatonic guitar scale learn all five positions. You can start with e minor pentatonic, but the same notes and patterns can also produce g major pentatonic. Printable downloadable major pentatonic scale guitar chart. A closer look at the major and minor pentatonic scales. As you will learn, these patterns can be transferred to all keys. The pentatonic scale is used both for soloing, and for basing song riffs around. If you were to play a c major pentatonic scale you would play the notes c, d, e, g, a. Many big name players and rock bands have made careers using pentatonic scales. With each of the shapes we learn, there will be a chord.
G major pentatonic scale guitar chords diagrams scales. In the traditional ionian major and aeolian natural minor scales, there exists a tritone augmented 4thdiminished 5th between the 4th and 7th scale degrees in ionian and the 2nd and b6 scale degrees in aeolian. A pentatonic scale is made up of five notes per octave penta five. To know how to play the major pentatonic we leave the three most common fingerings for this scale in the bass. The 14 most common and usable guitar scales printable and ready to use 1. Jguitars scale calculator will draw scale diagrams showing the fretboard with notes in the selected scale highlighted. The pentatonic scale is a reduced version of the major and minor modes of the major scale. You might be wondering the difference between the the major and minor pentatonic scales. The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used scales used in music. Mar 17, 2018 the major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar.
Oct 29, 2018 the major pentatonic scale is an excellent scale to learn. Each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard. It should be one of the first bass scales you tackle. This guitar lesson provides some fretboard diagrams, charts and licks to expand your improvisation skills. It produces two types of tonalities major and minor and is one of the most commonly used scales in blues, pop and rock. So major scales are bright happy cheerful sounding scales, and the major pentatonic is just that, happy and upbeat. The only difference is the root in red, the starting note. 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. Most of the same qualities discussed can be applied to c major as well. For your convenience, i have included a pdf of all the pentatonics. For this chapter we will be considering minor pentatonic only.
Pentatonic scales are cleaner as far as diagrams so theyre a little easier to work with. Regardless what instrument you play, learning to play scales is a rite of passage. You can hear this in the video when i play this g major pentatonic scale and the major g chord together, it sounds great. E d g b e a pentaton c minor scale box 1 glitarsik. The root notes a in these examples are circled so that you can learn their locations. Not only is it simple, but it is also very useful for bass lines and solos in major keys.
There are three ways youll want to learn your major pentatonic scale forms. The major pentatonic scale guitar shapes and theory. The versatility and playability of the scale makes it a popular choice for use in guitar soloing and melodies. 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.
To understand how this works, look at this example. The a minor pentatonic comes from the natural minor scale. As you become a stronger lead guitar player, youll need to learn some muting techniques. Various techniques are used such as bends, slides and hammerons. The natural minor is the aeolian mode of the relative major scale. Major pentatonic scales in open position closed mobile major pentatonic scales forms horizontal. This is the a minor pentatonic scale in 5th position, shown in tab and a vertically oriented diagram. The minor pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly scales used in rock, blues. Pentatonic scales for guitar a pentatonic scale has just 5 notes. Adjust the start fret option to further highlight a finger pattern for playing the selected scale in a different position on the fretboard. Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues and over iivv changes. Below is a download link for the pentatonic scale pdf. Notice how both an e minor em chord and a g major chord fit. Click here for a free printable pdf file of this scale.
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. The notes are the same, therefore, the pattern is the same. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar. Pdf total guitar the ultimate scale book guilherme mauricio. Minor pentatonic the basic box shape free guitar lessons. The musical styles that use the major pentatonic are country, blues, fusion, jazz and rock. Beginner acoustic guitar lesson tom petty i wont back down. Guitarists with an interest in learning to play lead guitar must learn their pentatonic scales. The minor pentatonic scale by paul tauterouff the minor pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly scales used in rock, blues, country and jazz music. Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major pentatonic scale chart that prints. From the basic pentatonic scale guitar fretboard pattern to improvising using minor pentatonic scales all over the guitar neck. Pentatonic scales pdf and instructional video guitar alliance. Please find all of the guitar scale fingering charts for all of the types of scales covered in this guide. The major pentatonic scale is one of the most used of the pentatonic scales family.
Lets compare the notes of the c major pentatonic and a minor pentatonic scales, respectively. The ebook contains the most important scales for beginners, such as major and minor, but also shows more advanced patterns such as triads arpeggios, seventh chords arpeggios, pentatonic and blues scales scales and arpeggios are an important topic to master for those who are learning how to play guitar, so grab this book and enjoy it. The major pentatonic scale is an excellent scale to learn. It tabs out the pentatonic scales in all 12 major and minor keys. It is a must know for any jazz guitar student who wants to improvise over major chords. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. No doubt about it, this fivenote scale packs a punch. It is actually a major arpeggio with the 2nd and 6th added. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used scales.
How to use the pentatonic scale as major and minor on the. Major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale shares five notes with the major scale. The 4 scales that you must know fullyup and down the neck. When the player wants to lighten things up, the major pentatonic is the scale of choice. This scale is perhaps less familiar to most guitarists than the minor pentatonic, but it is equally useful. How to use the moveable pentatonic scale to play lead rock guitar. Its versatility makes it a popular choice for guitar solos and melodies. The pentatonic scales are a staple of modern rock, blues and pop music. The pentatonic scale pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five.
The basics of the minor pentatonic scale for guitar soundfly. On this page youll find a complete guide to learning and using pentatonic scales on guitar. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. Before we get started, here are the 5 pentatonic boxes in the way i look at them. The major pentatonic bass scale, as its name indicates, pentafive has 5 notes and is major. Intermediate guitar lesson major pentatonic scales. Here you will find scale diagrams for the five patterns of the minor pentatonic scale and tips on the fingerings for each however, i repeat, you will be best learning these patterns in context over the first two blues lead guitar modules essential blues lead guitar and all over blues lead guitar which is all about using all five patterns all over the neck.
That 6thstring, 5thfret a minor pentatonic scale is also a c major pentatonic scale. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music. The pentatonic scale can function as both major and minor on the guitar. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. 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. The most important of these are both major and minor pentatonic. 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. This article and interactive web app help you learn all of the pentatonic scale diagrams. Jun 19, 2019 on this page youll find a complete guide to learning and using pentatonic scales on guitar. This is the home position of the pentatonic scale in c major or a minor. Pentatonic and blues scales are effectively equivalent.
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. 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. The pattern for the major and minor scales are different. Scale pentatonic major 1,2,3,5,6 fullth pattern root note a guitar tuning. Apr 22, 2016 that 6thstring, 5thfret a minor pentatonic scale is also a c major pentatonic scale.
Sep 26, 2018 the pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used scales used in music. Free guitar scales pdf 84 scale and arpeggios chart. The parallel lines of the frets and string work in your favor. 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. The major pentatonic scale is similar to major diatonic scale 7 notes per octave, but without the fourth and the seventh note. There are major and minor pentatonic scales that share the same notes. The first major pentatonic scale shape starts with our g root note on the 3rd fret of the 6th string. For simplicitys sake, you will only use one scale, a minor. For the most part, im going to deal with pentatonic scales, but you can do blues scales instead if you want.
Scales you can use in the real world, created by a human guitarist. See the diagram in the top right to see the fretsfingering for the major scale. Master the pentatonic scale for guitar with these 5 easy. The aeolian mode natural minor is the 6th mode of the major scale. They are usually the first scales beginner guitarists learn to play. Fingering of the major pentatonic scale for electric bass. Master the pentatonic scale for guitar with these 5 easy shapes. Ystem a advanced strumming, riffs, chords and minor keys.