Pentatonic Scales

Pentatonic (or ‘5-note’) scales appear in many cultures, and also in some modern Western music (Such as Blues, Jazz, and some Country). Two common pentatonic scales can be easily played using only the black keys on a piano. The C# major pentatonic scale starts on C# and the D# minor pentatonic scale starts on D#. However, a series of any five notes per octave will qualify as a pentatonic scale. A major pentatonic in ‘C’ comprises C, D, E, G and A, a common scale used in music. This major pentatonic scale is achieved by removing the notes that are the 4th and 7th intervals from the root note of the scale (in this case, C is the root, F is the 4th and B is the 7th).