Lesson 43: Pentatonic Scales
This lesson explores pentatonic scales, which are used often in
pop music. You'll need to understand pentatonics to understand the examples in
Lesson 44: Hook Melodies.
Before taking this lesson, you should know:
Any
5-note scale is, technically, a "pentatonic scale". This lesson,
however, is about two particular 5-note scales commonly used in pop music:
- The major pentatonic scale
- The minor pentatonic scale
Major Pentatonic Scale
If you know the
major scale, then the
major pentatonic scale is
easy; you just
leave out degrees
4 and
7. So, the major
pentatonic scale is just these degrees of the major scale:
1 2 3 5 6
For reference, here are the pitches in the common
major pentatonic
scales:
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
8 |
| A♭ | B♭ | C |
E♭ | F | A♭ |
| A | B | C♯ |
E | F♯ | A |
| B♭ | C | D |
F | G | B♭ |
| B | C♯ | D♯ |
F♯ | A♯ | B |
| C | D | E |
G | A | C |
| D♭ | E♭ | F |
A♭ | B♭ | D♭ |
| D | E | F♯ |
A | B | D |
| E♭ | F | G |
B♭ | C | E♭ |
| E | F♯ | G♯ |
B | C♯ | E |
| F | G | A |
C | D | F |
| F♯ | G♯ |
A♯ | C♯ | D♯ |
F♯ |
| G♭ | A♭ |
B♭ | D♭ | E♭ | G♭ |
| G | A | B |
D | E | G |
Why use this scale? If this scale is just some notes from the
major
scale, why call it a separate scale? The answer: What you
leave out
in music is as important as what you put in. The major pentatonic scale has
its own feel when you use it for melodies, which you might call
"
simple" or "
primitive" or "
folk-y" or "
rock-y",
compared to using the complete major scale.
Key-based or chord-based. You may find this scale used two different
ways:
-
Key-based: In this usage, the key's pentatonic scale is used
over a whole series of chords. For example, say the song is in the key of
C; then the melody would use notes from the C major pentatonic
scale, even while the chords are changing.
-
Chord-based: In this usage, the chord's pentatonic scale is
used. For example, say the song uses the C, F, and G
chords; then the melody would use notes from the C major pentatonic
scale over the C chord, notes from the F major pentatonic
scale over the F chord, and notes from the G major pentatonic
scale over the G chord.
The major pentatonic scale is just one example of a
pitch palette; that
is, using a
limited set of pitches to create
meaning for the
listener.
Major Hexatonic Scale
Another subset of the major scale which is not talked about as much as the
major
pentatonic scale is the
major hexatonic scale (6 pitches):
1 2 3 4 5 6
Note: The definition of "major hexatonic scale" is not well
standardized; you can find it defined as different sets of scale degrees in
different sources. I vote for this definition (1 2 3 4 5 6 ) because:
-
It follows the evenly spaced and circle of 5ths criteria in
the "Why 1 2 3 5 6?" sidebar above;
-
I have seen this scale used in real pop songs; I noticed it in Bruce Hornsby
songs, for example.
Keep your ears/eyes open for this major hexatonic scale when you're analyzing
songs for pitch palettes.
Minor Pentatonic Scale
The
minor pentatonic scale consists of 5 notes from the
natural minor scale. Here are the scale degrees in the minor pentatonic
scale (shown relative to the
major scale):
1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7
Here are the pitches in the common
minor pentatonic scales:
| 1 |
♭3 |
4 |
5 |
♭7 |
8 |
| A | C | D |
E | G | A |
| B♭ | D♭ |
E♭ | F | A♭ | B♭ |
| B | D | E |
F♯ | A | B |
| C | E♭ | F |
G | B♭ | C |
| C♯ | E | F♯ |
G♯ | B | C♯ |
| D | F | G |
A | C | D |
| D♯ | F♯ |
G♯ | A♯ | C♯ | D♯ |
| E♭ | G♭ |
A♭ | B♭ | D♭ | E♭ |
| E | G | A |
B | D | E |
| F | A♭ | B♭ |
C | E♭ | F |
| F♯ | A | B |
C♯ | E | F♯ |
| G | B♭ | C |
D | F | G |
| G♯ | B | C♯ |
D♯ | F♯ | G♯ |
The minor pentatonic scale is generally used with minor keys or minor chords,
the same way the
major pentatonic scale is used with
major keys
or
major chords. However, the minor pentatonic scale is sometimes used
an additional way in music with a
blues feel. In blues, even major-key
blues, the key-based minor pentatonic scale is sometimes used for melodies.
Exercises
You can add these activities to your
writing exercises (from
Lesson 2: Practicing Songwriting):
-
Practice playing these pentatonic scales in several keys.
-
Analyze songs you like for their pitch palette(s), both
key-based and chord-based. Analyze one phrase or section at a
time, because the pitch palette may change from section to section. The
pentatonic scales are just one type of the different pitch palettes you may
find. What emotional effects do you find in different pitch palettes?
-
Look at your own songs. What pitch palettes have you been using?
Try something different; create melodies using the pentatonic scales
(both key-based and chord-based), and other pitch palettes you've
found by analyzing songs.
Next:
See pentatonic scales in action in
Lesson 44: Hook Melodies.
