This is an important quality of the pentatonic scale and goes a long way toward explaining why the pentatonic scale is so versatile and can sound good over virtually any chord progression. Further down the page you’ll find four additional pentatonic major patterns and tabs. Here’s the same major pentatonic scale pattern being used to play a G major pentatonic scale: The diagram below shows the first major pentatonic scale pattern together with four more patterns. If you just want to play a single octave, play from a green note to the next green note, as shown in the tabs below. GuitarCommand.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. For example, if you only knew the basic major pentatonic scale pattern (pattern 1) and were improvising over a chord progression in C, then you’d be limited to playing in 7th position (i.e. On this page you’ll find a complete guide to playing the major pentatonic scale on guitar. When playing with scales, you can extend your lines by linking together adjacent scale patterns. Guitar Buying Advice For Beginners. The red notes are the chord tones for the Major chord - they are the notes that will sound cool to stop on. Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar Backing Track, 2-Octave C Major Pentatonic Scale TAB (Up & Down), 2-Octave G Major Pentatonic Scale TAB (Up & Down). The relative minor of the major scale is drawn from the sixth degree of the major scale. Contemporary Jazz Guitarists: A List Of Exciting Young Jazz Guitarists. Lessons. The 3 frets down trick Since most players are far more familiar with the minor pentatonic scale shapes, this is an easy cheat for getting the major pentatonic notes under your fingers. GuitarCommand.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Note that the above TAB is the same scale as that represented by major pentatonic pattern 1, which is shown further down the page. Why Learn More Than One Pattern To Play A Bass Scale? Remember that the scale patterns may contain notes that extend the scale, either upwards or downwards. Please note that this is Pattern 5! A major scale will have seven notes in the scale, but the major pentatonic scale removes the 4 th and the 7 th intervals to make it a five-note scale. The Best Rush Albums Ranked: What Are The Top 5 Rush Albums? If you look closely, you’ll notice the pentatonic scale doesn’t contain any semitones (1/2 steps). Play it in 7th position (i.e. It helps to know the pentatonic scales before working with the major scales. YOU CAN'T JUST PLAY THE MINOR PENATONIC LICKS! The pentatonic minor is particularly common, being near-ubiquitous in rock, blues and pop music. I have been thinking this site needs a scales catagory; after all, that's what the basis of solos are. Let’s look at the notes and chords of the C major pentatonic scale. All Rights Reserved. Guitar Chords; Guitar Scales; Guitar Arpeggios; Guitar Tabs; Alternate Tunings; All Guitar Lessons; Guitars. You should be able to see that the C major pentatonic scale uses all the notes from a C chord, plus a couple of extras. (At this position the green tonic notes will be positioned over ‘C’ notes on the fretboard.). GuitarCommand.com also participates in various other affiliate programs, and we may get a commission from purchases made via links from our site. The major pentatonic guitar scale is usually played over major chords, and is used in rock music as well as country music. Contemporary Jazz Guitarists: A List Of Exciting Young Jazz Guitarists. Copyright © 2020 GuitarCommand.com. (The other patterns, having only 2 green circles, can be used to play 1 octave A major pentatonic scales.). with your hand positioned so that your index finger is ready to play notes at the 7th fret) to play a 2-octave C major pentatonic scale, as shown in the TAB below. Scales with free online tab player. This means that a major pentatonic scale will often sound good if used over a major, major 7th, or dominant 7th chord with the same root. When guitarists talk about the ‘pentatonic scale’ they’re usually referring to the pentatonic minor scale. Images can be saved for free to find out how click here Read Me. Click here or on the image above to get 25% off your lessons courtesy of Guitar Command. This page shows all the Major Pentatonic bass scales in every key in tab form and notation. You’ll find scale patterns, tabs, and information on the pentatonic minor here: You can find out how to read guitar tab here. The fingering shown in the diagram above can be used to play a major pentatonic scale in any key. C chords that can be built with those 5 notes: C major triad, C6, C add9, C6 add9, & Csus2. The green circles represent the tonic notes (i.e. It also works pretty well over A major and C blues. Scale diagrams often extend the scales either above or below the tonic notes. No doubt about it, this five-note scale packs a punch! The major pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales on the guitar.