Minor and major pentatonics

HAL9000

Just musing really...

I guess a lot of us, when we first started out wanting to play the lead bits, began noodling with minor pentatonics. It’s mostly what we were told and taught and, to be honest, in a blues/rock setting serves pretty well most of the time.

...but nowadays I find that I’m using minor pentatonics less and less, and major pentatonics (or combinations of both) more and more. To my ears, in most (major key) situations, the major pentatonic scale just sounds so much more musical. Plus it still works very well indeed in a (major key) blues setting - for example lots of pieces by Freddie King.

So, was just wondering why it’s the minor pentatonics that there seems to be so much emphasis on learning? I guess because it will work well in a lot of settings - most blues/rock regardless of whether the piece is in a major or minor key. Also, I guess once you’ve learnt the boxes you’ve already got all the ‘shapes’ for major pentatonics - you’ve just to do that three-fret shift in your thinking.

Anyway, pentatonic musings over.

stratman3142

Going into old git mode again , when I started playing in the late 60s there wasn't the information there is now and I actually started with major pentatonics.

My memory is a bit hazy regarding the specifics, but I recall reading an interview with Frank Zappa where he said something  about guitarists often relying on simple pentatonics, and I didn't know what he meant at the time.

I eventually worked out (probably mainly by copying solos by Paul Kossoff) that there was a 5 note pattern that guitarists commonly used that was a subset of the major scale, that missed out the 4th and major 7th. Then I found (by copying solos) that by starting the pattern on a different note (in effect moving the same pattern three 3 frets up) that it worked against minor keys and sounded bluesy against blues songs in a major key.

So I learned things the other way around and it feels more natural to me to think in terms of major pentatonic shapes that are translated (moved along the guitar neck), modified and have notes added to them to create other scales. Now the 5 CAGED major pentatonic shapes form the basis for my fretboard visualisation method. Although, as I'm think in terms of shapes, I suppose is doesn't matter whether they're labelled as major or minor, it's just the root note that's in a different location.
 
When I play a major key blues I tend not to think of the major and minor pentatonics as separate entities, unless I want a specific effect. I see them as superimposed on top of each other, which could be thought of as a Mixolydian scale with an added minor 3rd or a Dorian with an added major 3rd. But I see/hear them as basic pentatonics with extra notes added.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

One of blues music's defining features is the dissonance caused from all the dominant 7th chords, meaning major and minor pentatonic are often interchangeable over the more common chord patterns. However, in terms of the more common entrey level blues licks/cliches, they seem to fall under the fingers more naturally in that basic "Position/Box 1" minor pentatonic, so it's easier for people to start there. Problem is I think a lot of people get stuck there and don't learn how to expand up and down the fret-board to different 'boxes'. I know I spent far too long stuck in that one position!

I think because a lot of rock and roll and then classic rock stuff was then born out of the blues, a lot of rock players end up developing the same bad habit of being stuck in 'Box 1' of the minor pentatonic that rubbish blues players like myself developed! 

Roland

Another defining feature of Blues is microtones between the major and minor third. This occurs because the minor third and the major third, which are used in the western music, were invented to allow tempered scales where tunes could be transposed to any key. Neither corresponds to a true harmonic, which is the note often used by unaccompanied vocal groups. Many other scales, for example those used by West African tribes, aren’t twelve tone tempered and use alternative thirds. Blues arises from music from mixed heritage, and plays games with the third and seventh.

Lestratcaster

Its the first scale I teach as its the easiest to learn (notes per string usually) and sounds good over blues/rock/funk/jazz and other styles. No note sounds "wrong" and its the best basic steps to improvisation. Once you get that down you can learn most of the other scales by adding and deducting notes.

HPhillipsmusic

Second what @Lestratcaster says, I struggle to teach the major scale to young students before the minor pentatonic, simply 2 notes per string and not too much difference between each string. I think the key to grasping both minor and major scales in a blues setting comes from using the 3rd as a bit of a pivot point in the middle of the scale. Once students recognise the sound differences in major and minor 3rds, it becomes easier to get their head around how to use both.