The major pentatonic scale is a five-note major scale (1, 2, 3, 5, 6) without the 4th and 7th, so it sounds bright, sweet and open, with nothing to clash. It's the scale behind country leads, Southern rock and soul fills.
Formula
The reference key is G major pentatonic, the key all five diagrams below use.
| Degree | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note in G | G | A | B | D | E |
Intervals: W W 1½ W 1½ (whole, whole, a step and a half, whole, a step and a half). It's the major scale without the 4 and the 7, the two notes a half step from a chord tone.
Sound and character
With the major 3rd and the 6th in it, the scale sounds happy and settled, almost like a folk melody. The 2 and the 6 add a little shimmer around the chord without any tension. Slide or bend from the 2 to the 3 and it starts to sound like country.
Where it's used
Country, Southern rock, classic rock, soul, gospel, pop and major-key blues. It fits major chords and their colors: major, 6, add9, 6/9 and maj7 (the scale skips the 7, but nothing in it clashes). Over a dominant 7th it works too, though it ignores the b7. In G, it sounds at home over G, G6 and Gadd9, and over the I-IV-V of the key: G, C and D. The same five notes are E minor pentatonic, so the boxes match the minor ones with a different root.
How to move it
The root is the amber dot. To change key, slide every box so its roots land on the new key's note. Up 2 frets gives A major pentatonic (Box 1 at the 4th fret); up 5 frets gives C major pentatonic (Box 1 at the 7th fret).
Practice: play Box 1 in eighths, then alternate the open G with notes on the B and e strings to hear each degree against the home note.
Add the b3 as a passing note and you get the major blues scale.