The Major Pentatonic Scale

Lesson 5/145 | Study Time: 5 Min

Course: Complete Harmonica

The Major Pentatonic Scale

You will have noticed that in order to play the low octave of the C major scale, it was necessary to produce some extra notes by bending. Also, in the high octave, the note B was missing. This is because of the way the harmonica is tuned.

It is possible to create melodies without all of the notes of the major scale. In fact, the major scale is only one of many different scales used in music. By leaving out the 4th and 7th degrees of the major scale, the major pentatonic scale is created. As the name suggests, pentatonic scales contain only five different notes. There are many melodies, particularly in folk and gospel music which are derived from the major pentatonic scale. One you have already learnt is Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Others include Amazing Grace and Tom Dooley. The C major pentatonic scale is shown below.

Here is the C major pentatonic scale played in the middle octave. Once again, try mentally naming the scale degrees as you play.

Once you are comfortable playing the major pentatonic scale in the middle octave, try playing it over the full 3 octave range of the harmonica. As with the C major scale, you will need to bend hole 3 to obtain the 6th degree of the scale (an A note) in the low octave.

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1- INTRODUCTION 2- The Diatonic Harmonica (Key of C) 3- Making Musical Sounds 4- Rests 5- Playing Single Notes 6- Hand Vibrato 7- The Eighth Note 8- 12 Bar Blues 9- The C Major Scale 10- Cross Harp Playing(Second Position) 11- The Triplet 12- Sliding Between Notes 13- Bending Notes 14- Grace Notes 15- Sixteenth Notes 16- Dotted Eighth Notes 17- What are These Sounds? 18- Cross Harp Sounds 19- Articulations 20- Improvisation 21- Eight Bar Blues 22- Third Position 23- Fourth Position 24- Harps in Other Keys 25- The Chromatic Harmonica 26- Solving Reading Problems 27- Sharps and Flats 28- More About Major Scales 29- Playing the Chromatic Scale 30- More About Keys and Key Signatures 31- Transposing 32- More About Blues Scales 33- Intervals 34- Minor Keys and Scales 35- Relative Keys 36- Using the Compact Discs 37- How to Hold the Harmonica 38- Reading the Notation System 39- Moving Between Positions 40- The Lead-in 41- The Train Whistle 42- Double Tonguing 43- Rhythm Playing 44- Key of C Major 45- More About 12 Bar Blues 46- Swing Rhythms 47- The Trail Off 48- Licks 49- The Trill 50- First and Second Endings 51- Notes on the C Harmonica 52- The G Major Pentatonic Scale 53- Accents 54- The Turnaround 55- The Dorian Scale 56- Relative Major and Minor Keys 57- Bending Exhale Note 58- Holding the Chromatic Harmonica 59- Positions on the Chromatic Harp 60- The Chromatic Scale 61- Major Scale Pattern 62- Enharmonic Notes 63- The Key Cycle 64- The Key of E Flat Minor 65- Interval Qualities 66- The Harmonic Minor Scale 67- Learning a New Minor Key 68- Approach to Practice 69- Bar Lines 70- Playing Songs 71- The Tie 72- Breath Control 73- Syncopation 74- Chord Numbers 75- The Shuffle 76- More Notes to Bend 77- Throat Vibrato 78- Sixteenth Notes and Ties 79- Complete Range of the C Harmonica 80- The Minor Pentatonic Scale 81- Ghost Notes 82- Ear Training 83- Simple and Compound Time 84- Swinging Sixteenth Notes 85- Understanding Chords 86- Understanding Music 87- Intervals 88- The G Major Scale 89- Major Scales in all Keys 90- Interval Distances 91- The Melodic Minor Scale 92- Minor Scales in all Keys 93- Types of Harmonicas 94- Consecutive Breaths 95- Combining Chords and Single Notes 96- Posture 97- Root Notes 98- Stop Time 99- The Major Pentatonic Scale 100- The Blues Scale 101- Learning From Horn Players 102- Call and Response 103- The Blues Scale in Third Position 104- Playing in Other Keys 105- Melody and Harmony 106- Standard Music Notation 107- Using the Slide 108- Key Signatures 109- Using the Key Cycle 110- Identifying Intervals by Ear 111- Table of Minor Scales 112- Tonguing 113- Tone Development 114- Learning Vocal Melodies 115- Playing Octaves 116- Different Types of Chords 117- Learning the Notes on the Staff 118- The F Major Scale 119- Jam Along Progressions 120- Playing by Ear 121- Leaving Space Between Phrases 122- New Topic 123- Note Values 124- Performing in Public 125- Riffs 126- The Note Tree 127- Overcoming Nerves 128- Range of the Chromatic Harmonica 129- Eye Contact 130- Playing Songs on the Chromatic Harmonica 131- Stage Presence and Stage Craft 132- Slurs 133- Developing Your Own Style 134- Cut Common Time 135- Microphones 136- Octaves on the Chromatic Harp 137- Microphones for Performing Live 138- Developing Your Music Reading 139- Amplification 140- Overdrive 141- Using a Harmonica Rack 142- Listening 143- Transcribing 144- Recording Yourself 145- Learning More About Music

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The Major Pentatonic Scale