24.1 · The Pentatonic Scale

Five safe notes

Take the major scale and remove exactly two notes: the 4th and the 7th, the ones that sit a half step from their neighbors. What's left is the major pentatonic: five notes with no half steps anywhere, which means no clashes anywhere. It's the closest thing music has to a scale you cannot play wrong.

Seven minus two

C major, then C major pentatonic. Listen for what disappears: the two leaning notes, F and B.

Game · Build the pentatonic

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Tap the first note of C major pentatonic.

No half steps here: two of the gaps are a step and a half. A wrong tap shows the step you need.

On the guitar neck

Guitarists don't think in letters; they think in shapes. Here is C major pentatonic across the whole neck, root C ringed. Tap any dot.

EBGDAE357912EGACDECDEGAGACDEGDEGACDACDEGAEGACDE

No wrong notes

The proof: eight dice-rolled notes over a C drone. Roll as many solos as you like. None of them will clash.

The secret: the five black keys are themselves a pentatonic scale (F♯ major pentatonic). Mash them over an F♯ drone and it sounds like a film score.

Quiz

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The major pentatonic drops which two degrees?

Score 100% on every quiz and game to complete this lesson. A perfect run sticks: a later miss never undoes it.The guitar's home scale →