Learn-by-doing lessons for quickly internalizing the Minor Pentascale in all keys… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…
Table of Contents
Lesson Goals
To quickly internalize the letter names, scale degrees, solfege, notation, sounds, feelings, and visuospatial keyboard layouts for the Minor Pentascale in all keys.
Prerequisites
Basic music reading skills (optional)… the LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.
Why Study the Minor Pentascales?
- Quickly develops the concept of playing in different minor keys.
- Quickly teaches “the first five notes” in every minor scale.
- Quickly develops music reading skills in minor keys.
- Quickly develops visuospatial keyboard awareness in different minor keys.
- Quickly develops the ability to read, construct, and play minor triads.
- Quickly internalizes basic building blocks used in all kinds of music… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle.
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Study, Practice, & Performance Tips
- Never play these mindlessly and mechanically. Always aspire to play musically.
- Your goal is not to merely memorize these, but to study and practice them until you internalize them using all four musical intelligences: ears, intellect, eyes, and muscles.
- Every time you practice something, you are programming your brain. So always play accurately.
- Practice with a click track or rhythm track. Doing so will give you immediate feedback on any rhythmic misconceptions or places where your timing gets sloppy.
- Record yourself. Always. Listen to the playback immediately. And ask yourself: Is that what you intended to play?”
- If anything feels tense or awkward, stop immediately and experiment with alternative fingerings or choreography.
- Play this in other keys you expect to play in. By the way, once you see the patterns (which is guaranteed if you know your scales and chords) finding the notes in other keys will be a piece of cake!
- If you feel stuck or overwhelmed, realize that anything can and will be mastered if you slow things down or break things down to small enough pieces.
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Minor Pentascale Theory
- The Solfege syllables for the Minor Pentascale are Do-Re-Me-Fa-So (no matter what key).
- The scale degrees for the Minor Pentascale are 1-2-b3-4-5 (no matter what key).
- The notes for the Minor Pentascale in the key of C are C-D-Eb-F-G…”
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Minor Pentascale & Minor Triad
It’s crucial to understand that the minor pentascale (1-2-b3-4-5 / Do-Re-Me-Fa-So) and tonic minor triad (1-b3-5 / Do-Me-So) are inseparably interrelated and overlap as showing here in the key of C minor… where 1, b3, and 5 of the minor pentascale and 1, b3, and 5 of the minor triad are the very same notes…
Here’s a short and sweet study-practice idea for getting the minor harmony and five note scale into your ears, intellect, eyes, and muscles…
Notice how it sounds and feels right… and makes musical sense for the chord tones 1, b3, and 5 to fall on downbeats!
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Minor Pentascale Compared to the Major Pentascale
Three things to understand:
- It’s all about “the 3”!
- Mi (3) makes things sound and feel major!
- Me (b3) makes things sound and feel minor!
Listen to the C Minor Pentascale…
Listen to the C Major Pentascale…
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Minor Pentascale Theory & Ear Training, All Keys
Showing the notation, key signature, letter names, scale degrees, solfege syllables, and keyboard layouts… arranged chromatically ascending (C, C#, D, Eb, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, Bb, B)…
C Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The C Minor Penta-scale is spelled C-D-Eb-F-G.”
C Sharp Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The C sharp Minor Penta-scale is spelled C#-D#-E-F#-G#.”
D Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The D Minor Penta-scale is spelled D-E-F-G-A.”
E Flat Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The E flat Minor Penta-scale is spelled Eb-F-Gb-Ab-Bb.”
E Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The E Minor Penta-scale is spelled E-F#-G-A-B.”
F Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The F Minor Penta-scale is spelled F-G-Ab-Bb-C.”
F Sharp Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The F sharp Minor Penta-scale is spelled F#-G#-A-B-C#.”
G Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The G Minor Penta-scale is spelled G-A-Bb-C-D.”
G Sharp Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The G Sharp Minor Penta-scale is spelled G#-A#-B-C#-D#.”
A Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The A Minor Penta-scale is spelled A-B-C-D-E.”
B Flat Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The B flat Minor Penta-scale is spelled Bb-C-Db-Eb-F.”
B Minor
As you read and play, say this aloud: “The B Minor Penta-scale is spelled B-C#-D-E-F#.”
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