L2 Music - pentatonic scale

The pentatonic scale consists of 5 notes only - the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th, the 1st being the root (or tonic) of the key you are in. It has a very recognisable sound and is found in music traditions all over the world.



If you are in the key of C major (all the white keys, starting on C), the notes would be C, D, E, G, A. For the purposes of this class, you are using black notes only.

If you start on a Gb and go up by blacknote, you will be using the Gb Major pentatonic scale:
Major pentatonic G♭-A♭-B♭-D♭-E♭-G♭

Examples of music using the pentatonic scale:












Experiment and see which you prefer the sound to.

In bandlab, you can hear the pentatonic in different keys by selecting key and scale. It's not a great function for writing but it is useful for quickly hearing how scales sound:

TASK:  In bandlab (or on a keyboard/piano if you have one) choose key and use the major pentatonic scale and try improvising to see the types of effect you can create. Feel free to use bandlab to layer parts.  Tomorrow we will be working on a track. There is no need to submit what you do today.



EXTENSION:

Further explanation of the pentatonic scale in different keys: