Major Pentatonic

The major pentatonic is the bright, sweet side of the pentatonic scale: the major scale with its two tense notes removed, so every note sounds good over a major chord. It's all over country, southern rock, soul and pop solos, and this chapter shows you how to make it sing.

You start with the major pentatonic shape in G, in 2nd position, and learn to end phrases on the root and the third, the notes that sound like home. Then comes the shortcut that doubles what you know: every major pentatonic shares its notes with its relative minor, so the minor pentatonic box you already play is also a major pentatonic. What changes is the note you treat as home and the chord underneath. The last lesson adds three classic moves: a slide into the third, a bluesy minor-to-major hammer-on and a bend to the sixth.

Every tab exercise plays in the browser with a click. Play the licks over a G chord and you'll hear why this scale sounds so happy.