Major and Minor Pentatonic:
Repeat:
Play through the notes of this scale up and down a few times, getting a feel for
them on your instrument, as well as how it sounds in your ear. Note the different
intervals between notes. It may help to think about this: on the piano, this pattern
can be found in all of the black keys played in succession.
Respond:
The pentatonic scale is an extremely versatile set of notes. This scale is
commonly used in music from various East Asian and Indian cultures, some
traditions from parts of Africa, as well as Peru, and is often utilized in modern day
jazz and rock. Listen to the following excerpts from a variety of musical contexts
and see if you can identify the pentatonic scale usage. Notice how differently
each example uses the scale, and think about how you can recreate this
difference in sound on your own instrument.
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujzMHLac404 This is a performance
of the Chinese song “Spring River Flower Moon Night” being performed
on the Guzheng, a traditional Chinese string instrument. This song is built
on the major pentatonic scale.
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsz3mrnIBd0 This is the jazz
standard “Autumn Leaves”. The melody played is built from the major
pentatonic scale, despite it being played on different instruments, out of
order, and with a very different stylistic feel.
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEztui18cA8 Listen to the opening of
“My Girl” by the Temptations; Can you hear the ascending major
pentatonic scale in the repeating guitar line?
Expand:
Using this scale, play a short, improvised piece that describes one of the
following images. It can be shown through playing the scale up and down or
playing a short melody that is based on this scale.
■ The view from the top of a mountain
■ A man going to the grocery store
■ The shape of a triangle
■ Tying a shoe
Repeat:
Here is the minor mode of the Major Pentatonic scale shown in the previous example.
Play through the notes below up and down a few times, getting a feel for them on your
instrument, as well as how it sounds in your ear. Notice what intervals are different in
comparison to the major mode of this Minor Pentatonic Scale.
Respond:
Now play all the notes in succession starting on the Eb. You should notice that when
these notes are played in ascending order starting on Eb, it sounds like/creates a Major
Pentatonic scale.
Expand:
Using both the Minor and Major Pentatonic Scales, improvise a short piece about a color
of your choice. Feel free to flow back and forth between scales, and try to apply each of
the different scales to different characteristics of the color you chose as you see fit
