Major Pentatonic Scale

This is a preview of the educational program A Jazz Improvisation Almanac which is under development for the Outside Shore Music Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, check out the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.

The major pentatonic is the most important of the pentatonic scales. In fact, two of the other pentatonic scales to be discussed in the following sections are modes of this one. The major pentatonic scale consists of the root, second, third, fifth, and sixth degrees of the major scale. It is therefore appropriate for use over major chords, particularly major sixth chords:

[EXAMPLE]

As with the major scale itself, the major pentatonic scale can be used over any of the chords generated by the corresponding major scale:

[EXAMPLE]

Thus an entire diatonic progression can be played with just one major pentatonic scale. However, like the major scale itself, the root of the major pentatonic scale is an avoid note over the V chord:

[EXAMPLE]

This can be avoided by sideslipping up a half step. The resulting scale contains the flat fifth, sharp fifth, seventh, flat ninth, and sharp ninth. It therefore provides a great deal of harmonic richness:

[EXAMPLE]

It is possible to play an entire ii-V-I progression using a single major pentatonic scale with no avoid notes, however. Note that the major scale contains two other major pentatonic scales. The major pentatonic scales built on the fourth and fifth degrees of the major scale are both diatonic to the original key:

[EXAMPLE]

The major pentatonic scale built on the V contains no "avoid" notes over a ii-V-I progression:

[EXAMPLE]

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Major Pentatonic Scale