Learn-by-doing lessons for quickly internalizing the Major Pentatonic Scale… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…
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Lesson Goal
To quickly internalize the letter names, scale degrees, solfege, notation, sounds, feelings, and visuospatial keyboard layouts for the Major Pentatonic Scale in all keys.
Prerequisites
Basic music reading skills… the LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.
Why Learn the Major Pentatonic Scale?
Because the Major Pentatonic Scale is used in a wide variety of music all around the world: classical, folk, pop, rock, bluegrass, country, and modal jazz.
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Major Pentatonic Scale Theory
As the name says, this special scale is a collection of five notes with a major quality (and is yet another existence proof that scales are not made up of “half-steps” and “whole-steps”)…
- The Solfege Syllables for the Major Pentatonic Scale are Do-Re-Mi-So-La-Do (no matter what key you are in).
- The Scale Degrees for the Major Pentatonic Scale are 1-2-3-5-6-1 (no matter what key you are in).
- The notes for the Major Pentatonic Scale in the key of C are C-D-E-G-A-C…
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Major Pentatonic Scale Compared to the Major Scale
Notice that the C Major Pentatonic is a subset of the C Major Scale. This is no accident…
The thing that makes this scale tick is the absence of the two most harmonically active notes (Fa & Ti), which gives it a relaxed and dreamy quality.
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Major Pentatonic Scale Solfege Ear Training
Reading, playing, and singing the Solfege Syllables out loud is an extremely effective way to tune up your ears and to internalize the unique sound-feeling of each note in the scale with respect to the key center Do. Make sure to do this slowly enough for the unique sound-feeling of each Solfege Syllable to make a meaningful impression on your mind’s ear.
Linear, Ascending…
Linear, Descending…
Do-X-Do, Ascending…
Do-X-Do, Descending…
Special Note about Ear Training in Context
We could sing a lot more musical patterns, but a more effective and efficient approach (80:20 Rule) is to get your ear training material directly from the music that YOU want to play!
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Major Pentatonic Scale Theory & Ear Training, All Keys
Showing the notation, key signature, letter names, scale degrees, solfege syllables, and keyboard layouts… arranged chromatically ascending (C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G, Ab, A, Bb, B)…
Scale Structure Reminders:
- Major Pentatonic Scale Solfege = Do-Re-Mi-So-La-Do (no matter what key you are in).
- Major Pentatonic Scale Scale Degrees = 1-2-3-5-6-1 (no matter what key you are in).
C Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The C Major Pentatonic Scale is spelled C-D-E-G-A-C.”
Sidebar: The goals here are to get the sounds in your mind’s ear, to learn how to read, and to know where the notes are on the keyboard. Don’t worry about fingerings right now. In fact, it’s perfectly fine and maybe even preferrable to play these with one finger for now so that you don’t instill poor technical habits.
D Flat Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The Db Major Pentatonic Scale is spelled Db-Eb-F-Ab-Bb-Db.”
D Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The D Major Pentatonic is spelled D-E-F#-A-B-D.”
E Flat Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The Eb Major Pentatonic is spelled Eb-F-G-Bb-C-Eb.”
E Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The E Major Pentatonic is E-F#-G#-B-C#-E.”
F Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The F Major Pentatonic is spelled F-G-A-C-D-F.”
G Flat Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The Gb Major Pentatonic is spelled Gb-Ab-Bb-Db-Eb-Gb.”
G Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The G Major Pentatonic is spelled G-A-B-D-E-G.”
A Flat Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The Ab Major Pentatonic is spelled Ab-Bb-C-Eb-F-Ab.”
A Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The A Major Pentatonic is spelled A-B-C#-E-F#-A.”
B Flat Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The Bb Major Pentatonic is spelled Bb-C-D-F-G-Bb.”
B Major
Say this aloud as you read and play: “The B Major Pentatonic is spelled B-C#-D#-F#-G#-B.”
Buy Frank a cup of coffee (Donations Page) and he’d be happy to send you a high-res pdf of the scores and keyboard layouts.
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