The Minor Pentatonic Scale
So far all of the keyboard parts you have learned have been based on chords and arpeggios. This is important because chords form the harmonic foundation of music. However, there are many parts based on scales instead of chords. A particularly useful scale is the minor pentatonic scale which is shown in the next exercise in the key of A minor.
This scale is used for many riffs and bass lines as well as being commonly used for soloing and improvisation. Whereas the major and natural minor scales contain seven different notes, pentatonic scales contain only five. The minor pentatonic scale can be thought of as a natural minor scale with the second and sixth degrees left out. The notes of the A minor pentatonic scale are A C D E and G.
This example shows how the A minor pentatonic scale can be used over a chord progression in the key of A minor.
The following example shows a left hand riff created from the minor pentatonic scale.
This time the right hand plays a line which answers the left hand riff and then plays the riff along with the left hand.
Playing riffs with two hands can be difficult at first. Practicing the minor pentatonic scale with both hands should make it start to feel more comfortable.
Here are some more keyboard parts created from the minor pentatonic scale.
This example contains a pattern where three notes of the A minor pentatonic scale are played by each hand in contrary motion. Try experimenting with other similar patterns. Notice that both parts are written in the treble staff for this example.
The following example demonstrates a popular left hand pattern which originally comes from boogie piano playing. This pattern requires some stretching between the fifth and third fingers. Take this one slowly at first and learn it well, as this will be used as the accompaniment for several more examples.
Once you know the left hand pattern well, try playing some chords or pentatonic scale lines over it with the right hand as shown in the following examples.
