As the name suggests, the Major Pentatonic Scale has five notes and a major quality…
… and is yet another existence proof that scales are not made up of “half-steps” and “whole-steps”.
Theory
Here, for example, are the notes in the C Major Pentatonic identified by letter name, scale degree (numbers), and Solfege syllable…


- The scale structure of the Major Pentatonic Scale is always 1-2-3-5-6-1, no matter what key you are in.
- The Solfege syllables of the Major Pentatonic Scale are always Do-Re-Mi-So-La-Do, no matter what key you are in.
- The only thing that changes when you change keys are the letter names.
Comparative Scale Study
Notice that the Major Pentatonic Scale is a subset of the Major Scale...

The absence of the two most harmonically active notes (Fa and Ti) give the Major Pentatonic Scale a relaxed and dreamy quality.
C Major Pentatonic Scale: Linear, Ascending…

C Major Pentatonic Scale: Linear, Descending…

C Major Pentatonic Scale: Do-X-Do, Ascending…

C Major Pentatonic Scale: Do-X-Do, Descending…
