What is a pentatonic scale?
A pentatonic scale is any scale that consists of 5 unique notes, with penta- meaning ‘5’, just like in pentagon. Often when people refer to ‘the pentatonic scale’, they will be referring to either the major pentatonic scale or the minor pentatonic scale. These are the two scales we will be using to create our tune.
The major pentatonic scale is very similar to the major scale. Let’s compare the pair below.
As you can see, the major pentatonic scale is the same as the major scale, except the 4th and 7th notes have been removed. These means that there are no semitones in this scale. This means that melodies can sound rather static since there is no harmonic pushing from these semitones. More on that when we write chords later!
Now let’s have a look at the minor pentatonic scale. You will notice this scale is exactly the same as the major pentatonic scale, except it starts on a different note. We use it in the same way as we would the major pentatonic scale, but instead of our normal ‘1’ being the starting note, we use ‘6’ instead, giving it a darker, minor sound.
