Pentatonic Scale Hack – Effortlessly Mix Major and Minor Like A Guitar Hero!
The pentatonic scale is such a great tool for guitarists for multiple reasons;
- It only has 5 notes so it's easy to memorize
- There are 5 patterns you can learn to cover the entire fretboard
- These patterns have 2 notes per string so it's perfect for alternate picking
The pentatonic scale also has a unique sound due to having less notes than a typical scale – the notes are spaced further apart so the scale has an open, airy sound.
And here's something really awesome that you may not know – there are Major AND Minor versions of the pentatonic scale!
I'm going to show you the difference in the 2 scales, and give you a few simple guidelines for switching between them to effectively DOUBLE the licks you can play INSTANTLY!
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Guitar heroes as diverse as Eddie Van Halen and BB King have used this concept in their solos – let's level up your lead guitar skills and get you making some legendary sounds too!
Let's take a quick look at both major and minor pentatonic scales – we're using the key of G for our examples.
Starting with the first pattern of minor pentatonic, the scale would have the notes G, Bb, C, D and F.... Those intervals are Root, b3rd, 4th, 5th and b7th. The scale pattern shape looks like this and is at the 15th fret:
Quick theory note – the b3rd or the Bb note in the scale is what gives the minor pentatonic it's minor sound!
We say that the 3rd interval in a scale or chord “defines” that scale or chord as major or minor.
Here's an AWESOME hack and the real secret to effortlessly moving between major and minor pentatonic sounds – if we move that G minor pentatonic shape 3 frets toward the headstock of the guitar, it becomes the G Major pentatonic scale!
That scale has the notes G, A, B, D, and E. The intervals are Root, 2nd, Major 3rd, 5th and 6th – and the major 3rd note completely changes the sound from minor and bluesy to upbeat and happy.
Here's the G Major pentatonic scale which you can see is the same scale pattern as the G minor pentatonic scale – but now we're playing the shape in the 12th position!
Let's talk about the where and why of using these 2 different scales.
Over a minor chord (G minor in this case) the G minor pentatonic scale sounds very sad. That only makes sense because we're playing a minor scale over a minor chord! But if we're playing over a major sounding chord like G major or G7...
HERE'S where we can start to make some magic happen!
You can play G minor pentatonic over a G major or G7 chord and it will sound very bluesy – the minor 3rd in the scale clashes slightly with the major 3rd in the chords... but that's the trademark sound of the blues!!
We can also play the G Major pentatonic scale over a G major or G7 chord and it sounds completely different; because we're playing a major scale over a major chord it sounds happy and upbeat.
This sound is immediately recognizable as something you'd hear in an Allman Brother song like “Blue Sky” or in countless other country and pop songs.
AND – we now have a quick trick to effectively double the amount of licks we know;
- moving a minor pentatonic lick toward the headstock 3 frets turns it into a major pentatonic lick!
- moving a major pentatonic lick toward the bridge 3 frets turns it into a minor pentatonic lick!
This little rule will allow you to move back and forth between major and minor sounds in your guitar solos and improvisations – giving you the ability to change the mood and emotion of your solos instantly!
Play these 2 scales over a G chord or maybe a simple backing track with the chords G and C; get the sounds of these 2 scales in your ears and in no time, you'll be ripping pentatonic lead lines like the legends!!
Rock on!!!
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