Pentatonic Scale

Goal
Play all 12 pentatonic scales.

Vocabulary
•    pentatonic scale = major scale minus scale degrees 4 & 7
•    blues scale = pentatonic scale plus chromatic notes for added tension

Essential Knowledge
•    Removing scale degrees 4 & 7 from the major scale eliminates both half steps, which makes the pentatonic scale even more balanced and stable than the major/minor scale.
•    The blues scale adds to the pentatonic scale the note 1 half step below scale degree 5. The blues scale also often adds the notes 1 half step below scale degrees 3 & 7.

Tips
•    The pentatonic scale includes scale degrees 12356 of the major scale. For example, the notes of the C major pentatonic scale are CDEGA.
•    The pentatonic scale is used across genres like…
          – North American folk (John Newton’s “Amazing Grace”)
          – Motown (The Temptations’ “My Girl”)
          – Nursery Rhymes (“Old McDonald Had a Farm”)
•    In the blues genre, the blues scale is used almost exclusively. The blues scale also is used in:
           – Jazz (Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’”)
           – Rock & Roll (Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love”)

Fun Fact
•    The pentatonic scale is most ancient scale, as archeologists discovered in a cave in southern Germany a 43,000-year-old mammoth bone flute that is tuned to the pentatonic scale! 

PLAY THIS
•    Play all 12 pentatonic scales by applying the major scale interval formula (WWHWWWH) and removing scale degrees 4 & 7.