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Originally posted by Kye

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Originally posted by buckhenry

I use them as already mentioned. Every chord has its pentatonic, they can be superimposed (like the minor pent over the major chord, etc.) and they can be altered (eg; swapping the 6th for the b7 in a Dom chord). Pentatonics can also include semi-tones (there is a term for that but cant be bothered looking it up). Play 1 2 3 5 6 over every chord in the key (1 being the tonic note of the chord) but dont alter any notes of the key, and you'll come up with some exotic scales that do exist in other cultures. As already stated, 5 notes are very limiting, so I include them with the usual scales. If I'm fiddling away in a 7 note scale I would swap back and forth to the penta just for added flavour...

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I love the words I'm reading, but I can't hear it. Have you seen a video demo anywhere? Thanks!

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I've never seen a vid covering all these aspects, I just gathered them from many sources, and from experimenting.

Give it a go.. If you have any questions just drop me a line...

One octave of a 7 note scale (plus the octave), on adjacent strings on a standard tuned fiddle, contains two pentatonic scales.

For example A Major contains the A major pentatonic, and the B minor pentatonic on handy adjacent strings.

All notes of the two pentatonic scales contained within the seven note A Major scale, (A maj Pent, & B min Pent) harmonize with each other.

So since the IIm chord can be a substitute for the IV chord you can form a Plagal (Amen) cadence between the two pentatonic scales contained within the one octave of the 7 note A Major scale on adjacent strings within one octave. and use an A drone beneath to form a tune that has a logical "key centre" and use the I and IV chords to accompany it.

Add the Devils interval...The V7 or diminished interval to the accompaniment to create more tension, and you have a simple tune with 3 chords. Or just use the I and IV chords. Or just the A drone and let the melody form the cadences.

All this( and more), within one octave of the 7 note A Major scale. using 3 fingers and 2 strings tuned in 5ths....

Tne pentatonic scale's worth lies not only in its use as a valuable improvising tool.
It is an easy road map around the fingerboard upon which you can hang other notes to make e.g. Major, minor, all the modes of same, bebop , blues and country scales. Arpeggios, minor, major and dominant. Furthermore it underpins a lot of Scottsh and Irish music.

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Originally posted by haggis

Tne pentatonic scale's worth lies not only in its use as a valuable improvising tool.
It is an easy road map around the fingerboard upon which you can hang other notes to make e.g. Major, minor, all the modes of same, bebop , blues and country scales. Arpeggios, minor, major and dominant. Furthermore it underpins a lot of Scottsh and Irish music.

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I wish I could pick up on this more...especially for improvising. 

Pentatonic Scales are one level up from Chord triads

Eg: CEG Major triad.... CDEGA = C Major Pentatonic scale.

ACE minor triad, ACDEG = A minor pentatonic scale

The most common use of them is to ADD a b3 to the Major pentatonic to make a Major blues scale. C,D,Eb,E,G,A, (C)

Or ADD a #4 to the minor pentatonic to make a minor blues scale. A, C, D, Eb,E, G, (A)

Play around with the first part of "Oh Susannah" for a bit and you will soon get the gist

I often have the same problem. Here is my guess. There is major diatonic scale and minor pentatonic scale. I use the minor pentatonic scale more often. There is only one note difference between the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale. So it can give a "lick" that bluesy sound. When we play a tune, all notes are not part of the melody. Other note serve to transition from one note/chord to another, to facilitate a change to another chord, etc.. I would guess that if a person wanted to use a pentatonic scale for a tune/lick, the melody notes would be notes from the diatonic scale. But notes used for other purposes would not have to be included in the diatonic scale.

I have hopes of meeting a musician who can provide an indepth explanation for your question.
It is easy to learn what major and minor pentatonic scales are. The hard part is understanding just how to apply them.

If you want to do a solo, you can just about go anywhere on the key's pentatonic scale. You can pretty much start anywhere on the scale, too. If you play it as if you mean it, chances are good it'll sound a heck of a lot better than you expect. Practice the scale a bit. Get familiar with its personality. See if anything strikes your ear fancy.

They're a good place to find your doublestop scales in any key. I can't help but seeing the pentatonic grid on any tune I play. I can't unsee it.

There are 2 pentatonic scales, a major and a minor. I find the minor pentatonic scale more useful. With the exception of one note, it is the same scale as the blues scale. So learn some "licks" for the minor pentatonic scales and try substituting them for the the notes you are currently playing. Adding a little "bluesy' sound might add a little variety to your playing. I had to use trial and error to figure where the licks will "fit". A tunes characteristics indicate where certain licks will work. Tunes like "Man of Constant Sorrow" beg for these licks. On the banjo the "trial and error" method and your "ear" indicate where a lick might be used. You will just be doing that on the fiddle. The lick is a substitute for the original melody notes. Like anything else, the more you do this, the better you get.

It's often said that you can hit a "clam" (dissident/sour sounding note) on a pentatonic scale over the current chords. That's because no note on the pentatonic scale is within a halftone of a chord tone. G Major chord G-B-D. G Major Pentatonic G-A-B-D-E. There's a full step between G/A, A/B, and D/E. So you generally safe to play those notes almost anytime. That makes it a great starting points. But you can do more interesting things by mixing in more notes and resolving to chord tones.

One of the best pieces of advice I've read is that how dissident a note sounds depends very much on when it's played. For example, on a downbeat, a note that may clash with a chord tone will sound quite dissident whereas on an upbeat, it might just provide movement which can resolve on the next down beat. So playing the 4th on an upbeat and moving to the 3rd on the downbeat provides a tad of tension and resolution without sounding dissident. And that's why sliding from a flatted 3rd to a 3rd sounds cool.

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Originally posted by learn2turn

One of the best pieces of advice I've read is that how dissident a note sounds depends very much on when it's played. For example, on a downbeat, a note that may clash with a chord tone will sound quite dissident whereas on an upbeat, it might just provide movement which can resolve on the next down beat. So playing the 4th on an upbeat and moving to the 3rd on the downbeat provides a tad of tension and resolution without sounding dissident. And that's why sliding from a flatted 3rd to a 3rd sounds cool.

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Sometimes the most unpleasant wrong notes are 2 notes in a row that give the clue that you're hitting a wrong sequence rather than just one questionable note. That can happen when you put your hand in the wrong position briefly, or start on the wrong string. A single weird note can usually be resolved into something if you're clever.

You're only a half step away from the right note if you're playing in most standard keys/modes.

There is a major pentatonic scale and a minor pentatonic scale. I use the minor pentatonic scale a lot when I play banjo. Just one note difference betweeen a minor pentatonic scale and as blues scale. If you are playing a tune where a blues lick or minor pentatonic scale will work, it adds more flavor and variety. There is a book titled "Edly's Music Theory For Practical People". That is where I go when I have a question about theory. It does not overwhelm the reader like some music theory books do.