Major Pentatonics Over a Blues Scale

Hello again! Hopefully, you got on okay with that last little section.

Introduction to Major Pentatonics

What I want to look at now is something that sounds quite nice: using major pentatonics over a blues scale.

The Approach

So, how do I approach this? The easiest way to think about it is:

• Instead of using your major pentatonic scale, I think it's a good idea to drop down and use the minor pentatonic in the relative minor scale.

Practical Exercise

Here's what I want you to do:

• Over the A in your 12-bar progression, drop down to F# and use A minor pentatonic.

Trust me, it works!

Essentially, when you have the I chord (A chord) in the progression, you can use F# minor pentatonic. Let your ears guide you with this because:

• Some notes won't work as well.
• If you try to center around F#, it's not going to work; it needs to be centered around A.

Minor Pentatonic Overview

I'll just run through the minor pentatonic scale anyway, in case you're not quite sure of it. It starts on the second fret.

Example:

Tom, could you just play me an A? Strum an A chord for me and I'll just play that over so you can hear how this scale sounds over the top of an A.

Exercise with F# Minor Pentatonic

So here's how it sounds with a major pentatonic.

When you do your 12-bar this time, I want you to concentrate on using that F# minor pentatonic, experimenting with it over chord I (the A chord). However, when you get to:

• Chord IV (D chord)
• Chord V (E chord)

As we've discussed, I want you to drop back to using minor pentatonics again.

Jumping Between Scales

Now, it may feel like you're just jumping up and down from the second fret to the fifth fret, but that's fine. Initially, you want it to feel like you're jumping back and forth, as this helps you to develop your ear.

Note: Your ears are incredibly important in playing over changes, so make sure you're aware. You'll know quickly if you're playing over the wrong chord.

Demonstration

I just want to demonstrate that. We're going to do a little shuffle to show you what it's like to move backwards and forwards between major pentatonic (A) and minor pentatonic.

Ready? Here we go:

• A, 1, 2, 3...

And again.

• First position: F# minor → A minor
• Back to F# minor → A minor
• Again: back to F#...

Yeah, lovely!

Conclusion

So, that's the concept of playing: shifting between major pentatonic and minor pentatonic scales.

Just remember:

• Major pentatonic over the I chord
• Minor pentatonic over the IV and V chords.