I have been asked by a few folks recently about the differences between the major and minor pentatonic scales. So I thought I would draw up this quick reference pages for those that are looking to explore these two important sounds.
Major PentatonicThe major pentatonic is used to solo over Major, 7 and Major 7 chords (and their derivations like Maj9, 9, 13 etc) and it is built with the following interval pattern.
R - 2 - 3 - 5 - 6 - R
So, it has five notes, but no 7th, which allows it to be used over both Major 7 and Dominant 7 chords, as there is no 7th in the scale to tell exactly which chord it is outlining, it moves between both sounds.
Here is a sample fingering for this scale to see how it sits on the neck of the guitar.
Minor PentatonicThe minor pentatonic scale is used to solo over a lot of different chords, including major and minor triads, 7th chords, maj7 chords, m7 chords and their derivations such as m9, 9, maj6 etc.
Because of it's versatility, this is often the first scale many guitarists learn when they begin to explore soloing and scale playing on the guitar.
The minor pentatonic scale also has 5 notes, and is built like so:
R - m3 - 4 - 5 - m7 - R
And here is how it would look like on the fretboard as just an example fingering.
Both scales are widely used in rock, jazz, blues, funk and other modern musical genres, and so they are both worth exploring.
This little introduction should give you an idea of how they are built and used in soloing, now it's time to explore them further in your practice routine.
If you have any questions regarding these scales, how they are built or how you use them in your solos, post your questions below.
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