How to use one single pattern to play both the major and minor pentatonic scale, and the blues scale. In this lesson youll learn the one scale that is responsible for about 95% of all the blues licks you hear the minor pentatonic and minor blues scale. If you have learnt the minor pentatonic scale then the blues scale will be easy as. The first position, or the general form of the scale seen above, is either a minor or a major pentatonic shape depending on whether you start playing from the minor root. A pentatonic scale is one that is made up of only 5 notes per octave.
Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues and over iivv changes. There are two pentatonic scales, major pentatonic and minor pentatonic. The a minor pentatonic comes from the natural minor scale. Mix the blues scale minor pentatonic and the major pentatonic scales on the guitar youtube. Its important though to point out the difference between the pentatonic scale and the blues scale. Some decades before, some musicians use to earn millions just playing this scale. We can add the flat 5, b5, or blue note to the pentatonic scale, making it a sixnote scale called the blues scale. A member of the modern blues harmonica forum posted these breath patterns his name is john potts. A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave such as the major scale and minor scale pentatonic scales were developed independently by many ancient civilizations. The minor pentatonic is the foundational selection of notes that we use in blues music as well as many other styles of music.
It works really well with most traditional blues tunes, since blues songs do. But more recently, they have come to be associated predominantly with pop, rock and blues music. The e minor pentatonic scale is a useful and fun guitar scale to know. Another note you can add to a major pentatonic scale is a flat 3rd. So, for example, try creating a few guitar riffs using the g minor pentatonic scale in the third position beginning on the 8th fret. The blues scale, which as you can probably guess from its name, is a commonly used scale in the blues. The best way to learn them is to choose one scale that appeals to you and spend a considerable amount of time an d energy practicing and thinking of ways.
Click on the blues scale pdf file or photo to view the 5 a blues scale patterns tabs. But all in time, start simple and build over time dont overwhelm yourself and don. Here are pictures and notes of the major pentatonic blues scales. Printable bass scales chart click image to download pdf. Link to pdf of all 5 positions of the blues guitar pentatonic scale link to. The pentatonic scale compendia found in section one list all three hundre d thirty pentatonic scales 2 that contain the note c. How to play the pentatonic scale beginner guitar hq.
Switch out the regular twooctave majorminor scales for a minor pentatonic blues scale. The e minor pentatonic scale how to play blues guitar. The blues players often ad an attitional passing note to the pentatonic scale which is technically known as a flattened 5th that means an extra note in between notes 3 and 4 of the pentatonic scale. Down the road, i suggest trying to learn additional lead guitar avenues that i mention throughout this manual.
But theres a simpler way start with a major pentatonic scale notes. A minor pentatonic scale 3rd position 9th fret comparing the major and minor pentatonic scales, the minor scale just gets first prize as the most versatile, which is why weve featured it here and suggest you learn the a minor pentatonic scale to begin with. And it is not hard to discover the reason why everybody uses and abuses of this scale. Pentatonic scales for guitar a pentatonic scale has just 5 notes. Bass scales chart a free printable bass guitar scales reference. From here, its simply a matter of remembering where the blue note or b5 note goes within each of the 5 patterns. A minor pentatonicblues scale weeping willow guitar. That will keep your root note of the minor pentatonic scale the same as the major pentatonic scale. This is normal, because the notes are positioned differently in the minor pentatonic scale then in the major pentatonic scale. How to play the blues scale across the entire fretboard. Heres a chart that lays out pentatonic scales in six positions click on the image to download the fullsized chart pdf.
The blues scale the blues scale is very closely related to the minor pentatonic scale, and is used unsurprisingly in blues. It is this blues note that gives the scale its unique bluesy tone. How to use the simple pentatonic scale to solo over. At first you will be utilizing pentatonic scales over these blues and rock jams. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used scales. Printable downloadable major pentatonic scale guitar chart. Or, in the same way, the g blues scale with the chords g7, c7 and d7. Cs relative minor pentatonic scale, a minor pentatonic, begins on the 6 th scale degree of the major pentatonic scale shown above. A minor pentatonic contains scale degrees 1, b3, 4, 5, and b7. Soul scales major blues scale for improvisation youtube. What is the difference between a pentatonic scale and a. For this exercise we pattern 1 but in open position which puts us in the key of e. Country blues rock blues 12 bar blues more from guitar coach. Guitar major pentatonic scale chart printable pdf subject.
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. A blues scale once again it is important that if you are going to learn to improvise with this scale that you. Click on the image below and click full screen button to expand to high quality. The 14 most common and usable guitar scales printable and ready to use 1. To grab your copy of this great app, simply click on the image above. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. Guitar pentatonic scales the 3 types of pentatonic scales, easy to. Free minor pentatonic blues scale chart saras music studio.
How to play all five shapes of the pentatonic and blues scale across the entire neck both major and minor how to find the right pattern to use in any key both major and minor how to get out of the boxes altogether, and play up and down the neck. We are going to take as tonic the 4th string in the fifth fret, in the pitch note a the numbers are the fingers of the left hand, so, we have to master 3 ways to start the scale, with fingers 1, 3 and 4. So, a working fluency with it is something you want to acquire, at worst just to see what your predecessors have been up to. The pentatonic blues scale this is the most popular scale for blues and rock and roll. Strum a g minor chord, then play with the notes in the pattern. As your soloing gets more sophisticated, the less you have to hunt for the box patterns the better off youll be.
It leaves more of your brain power available to decide what to play when you dont. Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. The guitar neck diagram shows you the big picture for the e pentatonic blues scale. The minor pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly scales used in rock, blues, country and jazz music. That b5, or blue note, adds a lot of tension and color to the scale. Each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard. See more ideas about pentatonic scale guitar, pentatonic scale and guitar lessons. How to master the minor pentatonic scale happy bluesman. You may count 6 notes in the tab but that is just because we repeat the root note again at the 6 blow. Pentatonic scales are ubiquitous within music and appear in all different kinds of genres. The natural minor is the aeolian mode of the relative major scale.
This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. Here you will find guitar scales printable charts, easy to read and use, ready to go. They are still used all over the world, for example traditional music, country music, blues and metal. It simply adds one note to the minor pentatonic and is also pretty easy to play. The e minor pentatonic scale the e minor blues scale. 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.
Although the name pentatonic scale can be used for any fivenote scale, in rock, pop and jazz music it most commonly refers to the pentatonic minor scale, which is the scale well be covering on this page. All of the root notes are e because this is the e pentatonic blues scale. The blues scale differs from the pentatonic minor scale only by the addition of a single note. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used. The red dots indicate a root note, the blue dots indicate a blues note and the black dots indicate a note in the scale. In these bass scales pdf we leave you the three most common fingering to play well this pentatonic minor scale. The additional note is a spice that works great in a blues soup, but too much and it can make your soup a little sour. How to tell when you can use the e minor pentatonic scale in a way that musically works and. Blues scales, minor pentatonic scales, major pentatonic scales.
Other notes you can add to a major pentatonic scale to blues it up. Unless specified, whenever we mention pentatonic scale on this page, well be referring to the pentatonic minor scale. E pentatonic blues scale free pentatonic blues scales. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music. Com the 5 patterns of the major pentatonic scale for guitar. A nice combination are the chords am7, dm7 and e7 together with the a pentatonic blues scale. As you will learn, these patterns can be transferred to all keys. These are mustknow scales especially for blues and rock so be sure. One of the best ways to start becoming comfortable with a new scale or pattern is to try and create a few interesting riffs with that scale. Pentatonic scales play in six different keys on one. The scale itself is the same as the minor pentatonic with the addition of one extra note. They just ooze that minor bluesy vibe or sweet major vibe. I created the chart to give a more visual description of these breath patterns.
772 1148 312 665 1311 253 464 942 677 946 1162 616 205 576 12 186 1385 1181 1412 1137 768 1285 431 206 1201 855 589 731 865 1047 539 1258 1513 885 522 79 683 839 291 1178 139 454 1363 71 628 837