Scales, Keys & Modes

Major Pentatonic Scale

Pronounced pen-tuh-TON-ik

Definition

The major pentatonic scale is a five-note scale made of degrees 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the major scale. In C it is C D E G A. With no half steps, its notes blend easily over many chords.

The major pentatonic scale takes the major scale and leaves out two notes, the 4th and the 7th. What is left is five notes per octave (penta is Greek for five). In C that is C D E G A, and then C again an octave up.

Treble clef in 4/4. Quarter notes C D E G A C climb from middle C, then A G E D fall back to a half-note middle C. Degree numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, then 6, 5, 3, 2, 1 are written underneath. — C major pentatonic up and down: degrees 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of C major, with 8 for the C an octave up. There is a gap of three half steps from E to G and from A to C.

Why those five notes?

The two notes it drops, F and B in C major, are the ones that form the major scale's half steps (E–F and B–C) and its tritone (F–B). Without them, the scale has no half steps at all, only whole steps and two wider gaps of three half steps (a minor third):

W – W – (W+H) – W – (W+H)

That is why the major pentatonic sounds so open, and why it is hard to play a truly wrong note with it: no two of its notes rub against each other a half step apart.

Five black keys

The five black keys of the piano form a major pentatonic scale: G♭ A♭ B♭ D♭ E♭, the G♭ major pentatonic (or F♯ major pentatonic, by its other name). That makes the black keys a favorite first playground for improvising: stay on them, and whatever you play will fit together.

The five black keys, G♭ A♭ B♭ D♭ E♭, form the G♭ major pentatonic scale. Press play to hear it.

Where you hear it

Pentatonic scales turn up in a great deal of traditional music, including folk music from East Asia and from Scotland and Ireland, and in many children's songs and spirituals. In rock, country and pop, guitarists and singers reach for the major pentatonic for bright melodies and solos over major chords. Here is a short original tune that uses only C D E G A:

Grand staff in 4/4, four bars. The right hand plays quarter notes E G A G, E D and a half-note C, then D E G A, G E and a half-note C. The left hand holds open fifths: C–G, A–E, C–G, then G–D and C–G. — A short original melody that uses only the five notes of C major pentatonic, over open fifths in the left hand. It ends on the tonic, C.

Start the same five notes on A instead of C and you get A C D E G, the minor pentatonic scale. Just as A minor is the relative minor of C major, A minor pentatonic is the relative of C major pentatonic: the same notes with a different home. Which one you are playing depends on the note your melody treats as home and the chords underneath.

How to use it

Over a C major chord, try a melody that uses only C D E G A and lands on C, E or G at the ends of phrases. The Pentatonic & Blues Scales lays out both pentatonics, and Improvising with the Pentatonic gives you a step-by-step recipe.

Common questions

What notes are in the C major pentatonic scale?

C, D, E, G and A: degrees 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the C major scale. F and B, the 4th and 7th, are left out.

Why does the pentatonic scale sound good over so many chords?

It has no half steps, so none of its notes clash sharply with each other, and its notes sit comfortably inside the most common chords of the key. You still choose which notes to land on, and landing on chord tones sounds most settled.