Blues and Classic Rock music fans may recognize it from guitar heroes’ solos; this open sound is the hallmark of major pentatonic scale.
Once you understand major pentatonic scale shapes, they open up an abundance of creative opportunities for riffs, solos, and melodies – helping you to expand beyond playing one scale shape at a time.
1st position
Major pentatonic scales can be found in just about every genre of music: rock, blues, country and jazz. Learning this scale is an excellent place to begin when learning guitar – no sharps or flats means it is very straightforward and can work over most chords with ease! Additionally, its major triad (1, 3, 5) allows it to work well with most major chords.
Understanding this scale requires more planning and thought than learning the minor pentatonic. You’ll also require taking a more sophisticated approach when soloing; but once mastered, this scale will quickly become one of your go-to tools when playing guitar.
In the first position of the C Major Pentatonic Scale, your index finger should play notes at the first fret, your middle finger on second fret notes and your ring finger on third fret notes. Barres should not be used here as this will make shifting between positions harder.
As soon as possible, aim to master the first two patterns of c major pentatonic. These will provide you with the root note of any key you encounter; to do this effectively you’ll need to refer back to the scale diagrams and locate where on each string each pattern corresponds; for instance if playing A, look up finger 2 as the root note may lie therein.
Once you have these patterns under your fingertips, you can play in any key. Experiment with sliding between patterns or bending notes for extra flavorful solos. To practice these patterns further, use this MP3 of an A blues tune and add slides and bends to observe how the tone shifts as the scale varies in tone.
2nd position
When playing blues or other styles that require a major sound, combining major pentatonic with minor pentatonic scales is often employed. This gives more options when improvising and can add variety and interest to lead guitar solos; many legendary blues guitarists such as B.B King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton employ both minor and major pentatonic scales in their solos.
To play the major pentatonic scale in 2nd position, simply start on the root note of the key you are playing in and move the patterns displayed below down by two frets to attain its notes. This method follows exactly the same procedure when learning minor pentatonic scale – so no new patterns need to be learned!
Remember that these patterns are movable – you can move them up or down the fretboard by two frets to produce different major pentatonic scales in other keys. This feature is particularly helpful because the major pentatonic scale contains all chord tones of its related major triads and therefore can be used to form both major and minor pentatonic scales based around any root note.
Once you have all of the patterns for a major pentatonic scale in place, it is wise to practice all of them starting on their respective root note and moving up and down the fretboard until your fingers become familiar with its fingerings. This will enable instant access when needed without having to think too hard about which pattern fits over which chord. Incorporating both into your practice sessions can also help you gauge their combination more easily.
Step two is to start combining these shapes together to form diagonal pentatonic scale patterns, which may prove more challenging, yet yield some amazing licks that you can incorporate into your music. Doing this also forces you out of the habit of only ever using one pentatonic scale shape at a time and makes you consider all possible ways they could be combined together.
3rd position
The third position of c major pentatonic guitar is one of the most vital for guitarists, as it contains many chord tones which can be utilized across a progression. This scale can also be useful when soloing or riffing; its simplicity means most guitarists already know it by the time they hit an open mic gig!
The major pentatonic scale is similar to its minor pentatonic counterpart, but without 4th and 7th notes that can clash with chord tones during improvisation. Furthermore, this scale features larger intervals between notes giving it a more open sound than its minor pentatonic cousin. You can apply this scale across many chord progressions and musical genres without experiencing too many complications.
When practicing this scale, it’s best to focus on the root notes of each pattern, allowing for easy up-and-down movement on the fretboard. For instance, pattern 1 represents C major; its root notes can be found on strings 2 and 5, played with fingers 2 and 3. You can move this pattern up or down until it reflects the root note of whichever chord you’re playing.
Switch between parallel major and minor pentatonic shapes for greater creative improvisation possibilities. For instance, when playing blues in A, switching from the minor pentatonic scale at times to major pentatonic at other moments can give your improvising more options and add depth and texture.
Before progressing to more difficult riffs and melodies, it’s essential that you learn both major and minor pentatonic scales well. Doing so will allow you to understand their relationship to each other as well as how you can combine them to craft unique melodies or riffs – this technique has long been utilized by top guitarists worldwide to craft unique styles of improvisation.
4th position
The fourth position of the C Major Pentatonic Scale can be more challenging than previous positions as it requires finger movement on the fretboard. But once mastered, this position can provide some cool licks; making it well worth your while to master this position. In this position, use your index finger for notes incorporating the fifth fret, middle finger for sixth fret notes and ring finger for notes incorporating seventh fret notes.
The C Major Pentatonic is an excellent scale to learn due to its ease and versatility in many different genres of music. Additionally, there are no dissonant intervals in this scale which makes playing over chord progressions simpler; additionally it’s great for improvising melodic playing and improvised soloing.
Another advantage of learning the c major pentatonic scale is that it can help improve left-handed technique. Because the pinky finger tends to be weaker than its counterparts, this scale will help strengthen it over time – especially important for beginner guitarists as this will prevent developing bad habits that could later cause issues.
As well as mastering scale shapes, it is also necessary to apply them in context with chord progressions. Give each scale shape a try over a slow blues chord progression and observe how each note affects its surrounding chords. Experiment further with different chord progressions to see how your chosen ones alter its sound based on how you apply your scale shapes.
Once you have your finger patterns down, practice chords from the scale at a slow speed so as to prevent making any errors and developing bad habits; this will also give you confidence to start improvising using the scale.
This scale is one of the most used in Western music, and guitarists of all styles often employ it. Due to its versatility and playability, it makes an invaluable tool for improving one’s soloing and riff building techniques. If your goal is to hone these abilities more fully then this scale may just help achieve them!