Bass Emporium Newsletter - May 2009
Ed Friedland's
Bass Emporium Lesson #9: The Major Pentatonic Scale
by Ed Friedland
Last month we examined the ubiquitous Queen Mother of Rock And Roll, the Minor Pentatonic scale. This time, we look at its closely related cousin, the Major Pentatonic. The Major Pentatonic is a handy scale to know, it's widely used in R&B, Funk, Country, Folk, Jazz, Rock, you name it. Because of it's major tonality, it has a "happier" vibe than it's minor cousin—think "Blue Sky" or "Ramblin' Man" by the Allman Brothers—both classic examples of the Major Pentatonic scale in use.
The Major Pentatonic scale's formula is 1-2-3-5-6-8, and is easily recognized as the opening lick of the Temptation's hit song "My Girl." The Major and Minor pentatonic scales are not just closely related, they are in fact modes of each other.
Example 1 shows you the C Major Pentatonic scale—the notes are C-D-E-G-A-C.
Example 2 is a two-octave A Minor Pentatonic scale—the notes are A-C-D-E-G-A. You can see that by starting on the second note of the A Minor Pentatonic (C) and continuing up the scale to the next C, we have the notes that make up C Major Pentatonic. This is the same relative minor/major connection that all keys have. Start on the root of your major key, go up 6 notes in the scale (or down 3) and you have the root of the relative minor (and vice versa).
If you've been following my lessons here on the Bass Emporium website, by now you know what I'm going to say... Learning the scale formula and being able to play it one way is not enough. You have to figure out every single way this scale can be played on the neck. You need to know the numerical formula, the fingerings, and the specific note names for every key!
Yeah, it's a lot of work, and usually I get you started by writing a bunch of different fingerings out in tablature. Hey-I'm a nice guy, I like to be helpful, but this month I'm going to make things a little harder for you. I guess my recent discussions with my fellow bass educator Jeff Berlin have rubbed off on me a little (don't worry I still believe metronomes are good for you!). But, I do think it's time for y'all to step up to the plate and do some real work. The remaining exercises will be musical examples of the Major Pentatonic scale in action, all taken from tunes that are very common. Now, I can't guarantee you'll know these songs if you've never listened to anything but Danish Black Metal, but you can always use that iPhone app that listens to a song and tells you what it is. (Damn, you guys will NEVER have to use your brain at this rate...)
Here's the bad news... no tab! You know, I am the last guy to come out against tablature, in fact—I'm probably one of the few "real" music educators that actually thinks that tab is good for some purposes (and will admit to it publicly). But, you know, sometimes you just have to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and take the challenge. Best of luck to all!
Example 3 is a country rock classic in E Major.
Example 4 is a Brit-Soul Classic favorite in A Major.
Example 5 is a staple of 70's Pop-R&B in Bb Major.
If you can figure out the tunes that these examples come from, please feel free to send me an email with the names. Sorry, there's no prize, except the satisfaction that you used your brain to learn something all by yourself.
Ed Friedland is a renowned Bassist, Educator and Author. He has authored over 15 books and DVDs and has played with the likes of Joe Beck, Larry Coryell, Robben Ford, Paul Horn, Clay Jenkins, Mike Metheny, Bud Shank, Lew Tabackin & Michal Urbaniak to name just a few. Ed is also currently teaching at Bass Emporium in Austin, Texas. Check out the Ed Friedland website for full information about him at http://www.edfriedland.com/.
