Pentatonic Scales on the Pedal Steel Guitar

The Pentatonic Scale

Let's say that we don't want to divide the octave into 12 or 7 notes, but prefer 5. Then we are not playing a chromatic or heptatonic scale, but rather a pentatonic scale. There are 2 commonly used pentatonic scales in American music. These are the Major Pentatonic and the Minor Pentatonic.

The Major Pentatonic

The major pentatonic scale is formed from the root, major second, major third, perfect fifth, and major sixth intervals of the chromatic.

Therefore, in the key of C, the pentatonic is spelled: C-D-E-G-A-C

Here is where these notes are found in our two positions:

C Major Pentatonic Diagram

Here is the pentatonic in standard notation at both positions:

C Major Pentatonic Notation

The Minor Pentatonic

The minor pentatonic is formed with the same notes as the major pentatonic, except it starts on the last note of the scale.

So if the C major pentatonic is: C-D-E-G-A-C,

the A minor pentatonic is spelled: A-C-D-E-G-A.

Because the minor pentatonic comprises the same notes as the major pentatonic, its notes are found in the same location as the major pentatonic. The only thing that changes is the root note of the scale. In other words, the minor pentatonic is a "mode" of the major pentatonic.

Here are the major and minor pentatonic scales compared:

Major and Minor Pentatonic Notes