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The major pentatonic scale is happy and bright, and finds itself used in country, rockabilly, and bright rock sounds.
The major pentatonic scale contains five notes just like the other pentatonic scales and derived from a major scale by skipping the 4th and 7th degrees. In other words; It is first, second, third, fifth and sixth notes of the major scale.
The major pentatonic scale works in all the places a major scale works. In addition, if any scales contains this five notes the major pentatonic scale would work for this scales too. For example C major pentatonic scale is contained in G melodic minor scale. It would work for some melodic minor modes and also some other major modes. For example C minor pentatonic scale is contained in Bb major scale.
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G - A - B - C - D - E - F#
G major scale
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The fourth and seventh notes of the major scale marked red. If you play the major scale just skipping these two notes what you play is exactly the major pentatonic scale.
Major pentatonic scale formula:
1 2 3 5 6
=>
C and F# skipped (4th, 7th)
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G - A - B - D - E
G major pentatonic scale
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Every major pentatonic scale has a relative minor scale which has exactly the same notes. If you do not have any idea about what is a relative/parallel minor, what is a relative/parallel major or what is a key signature please visit the Music Key Signatures and Relative/Parallel Keys lessons.
The relative minor scale of G major pentatonic scale is E minor pentatonic scale.
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G Major Pentatonic Scale
G - A - B - D - E
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You can easily see that G major pentatonic scale and E minor pentatonic scale have the same notes. Because they are relative minor and relative major of eachothers. According to this information we can sure say that they have exactly the same scale boxes and scale patterns on the fretboard. We discuss this subject in scale box patterns lessons. |
E Minor Pentatonic Scale
E - G - A - B - D
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If you are playing a major pentatonic scale and know the relative minor of this major key, you can also play the relative minor pentatonic scale of this major scale just changing the root note or vice versa.
Is it confusing? Okay, please take a look the images above G Major pentatonic scale and E minor pentatonic scale. They both have exactly the same notes. Then what makes them different. The difference is intervals in the scales and the key notes of course. If you know one, it means you also know the other. But the minor pentatonic scale sounds bluesy and dark while the major one sounds happy and bright. Because the major pentatonic scale does not contain b3 and b7 intervals which makes the scale blue
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