Pentatonic Scales

A look at pentatonic scales
Construction, types and misconceptions


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Scales and Modes - Part #3
Pentatonic Scales


What are pentatonic scales? How are they constructed? What makes them different than major and minor scales? Why are they the most common scale used in the world?

In this article we're going to take a closer look at these very popular scales and explain them in an easy to understand nonacademic way.

Scales are one of the most important building blocks of music. Notes from scales, combined with rhythm, form the basis of melodies. A haunting, solo melody can be a rich and rewarding musical expression. Therefore a basic knowledge of scales is beneficial to anyone that wishes to make music, especially if they are creating their own tunes or just improvising ("playing from the heart").

In the two previous articles we looked at diatonic major and minor scales and then the diatonic modes respectively. A good understanding of these principles will help you with the subject of this post exploring pentatonic scales. You might want to review them before diving into this article.

For anyone that plays the Native American flute the term pentatonic scale becomes a constant refrain in almost all conversations about this instrument. Yet very few people know very much beyond the fact that Pent is Greek for five. Even though this is the limit of most people's knowledge, somehow a lot of misinformation and incorrect terminology gets passed from player to player, maker to player, maker to maker and player to maker. This misinformation is completely invalid outside of the Native American flute world and for that matter is barely valid for the NAF. As if the Native American Flute world is it's own little bubble, which it's not.

If you want to be taken seriously by other musicians, and have the Native American flute taken seriously as well, it's essential to be able to discuss music at a basic level using the correct terms that are recognized by the larger musical world. Likewise it's also good to avoid using terms that are not recognized by musicians, composers and music theorists.

In this post we're going to look at the most common pentatonic scales, the names they are known by and how they are constructed. At the end of the post we'll talk about some of the incorrect terms and names given to them so you can avoid falling into the trap so many NAF players have fallen into.

THE HEART OF MUSIC
In many ways pentatonic scales lie at the heart of western music and the music of many other cultures. Pentatonic scales form the basis of other more complex scales. Yet in their simplicity lies an ease of use, a grace of sound and a unique balance of pitches. The most common pentatonic scales lack any sonic or harmonic tension which gives them a relaxing, easy going sound that fits into many musical styles. In western music alone pentatonic scales are commonly found in folk, blues, rock, soul, pop, and jazz. They can be found in Celtic and Hungarian folk music. Outside of western cultures pentatonic scales are ubiquitous in music from Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia and Africa. In short pentatonic scales are the most common scales in use throughout the world.

The most widely used types of pentatonic scales are called a anhemitonic scales. A anhemitonic does not contain any half steps. It is this lack of half steps that gives them their serene quality and enables people with little or no musical training to play tunes with great success. The pentatonic scale of the Native American flute is anhemitonic.

HALF STEPS
In western music half steps are the smallest distance between notes. Any two keys on a piano that are next to each other are a half step apart. Like wise any two adjacent frets on a guitar are a half step apart.

THE CIRCLE OF FIFTHS
If we start on any given pitch and play a note a fifth above that, then up another fifth and so on for a total of twelve pitches, each a fifth higher than the last, we will circle around all the twelve notes of western music. This chain of pitches is known as the "circle of fifths". The circle of fifths is used by musicians to show the relationship between all twelve pitches, their associated key signatures and related major and minor keys. It's also great for building scales, including pentatonic scales.

BUILDING A PENTATONIC SCALE
If you've been reading earlier posts in this series then you know that one of the easiest ways to play a pentatonic scale is by using the black keys of a piano. So for this article we're going to continuse to use only the black keys to build our pentatonic scales.

Let's construct a pentatonic scale based on F# using the circle of fifths. Staring on a low F# if we play notes ascending by fifths we'll get these notes: F#, C# G#, D# and A#. Five notes.

Now let's rearrange them in a scale: F#-G#-A#-C#-D#. We now have a pentatonic scale. In fact this is the most common pentatonic scale used through out the world and is frequently called the "major" pentatonic scale. All derived from five notes using the the circle of fifths!

The fact that this pentatonic scale is based so closely on the circle of fifths is a major factor in why this scale is the most common scale in the world.

Back in our first look at scales we numbered the notes of a major scale 1-7 with 8 being the octave. Seven notes plus the octave. Let's review a major scale based on the note C, shown in the example below.

Pno-Fat-1-Keys-numbered-sma.jpg
The major scale based on the note C

Listen to this scale

As we know a pentatonic scale only has five notes (plus the octave). Therefore in a pentatonic scale two notes from the major scale are missing. In the so-call "major" pentatonic scale these missing notes are 4 and 7.


Listen to this scale with two notes missing

For anhemitonic pentatonic scales the missing notes are the ones that would create half step intervals in the scale. The five notes that remain are either a whole step or a minor third from the notes that lie next to them.

PENTATONIC SCALE NAMES
Pentatonic scales do not have names in western music. They are described by a number system of the notes in the scale. For example the so-called major pentatonic scale would be a 1-2-3-5-6 scale. (Remember notes 4 & 7 are missing.)

Here are all the anhemitonic pentatonic scales:

If only black keys are used

Name of scale

AKA

Root note is F#

1-2-3- -5-6- -

Major Pentatonic

Root note is G#

1-2- -4-5- -7

Root note is A# (Bb)

1- -3-4- -6-7

Root note is C#

1-2- -4-5-6- -

Root note is D# (Eb)

1- -3-4-5- -7

Minor Pentatonic (NAF)

Here they are laid out on a keyboard (black keys again for simplicity) Below each is a sound sample of that scale. While the notes shown in the diagrams move to illustrate them better visually, the sound samples all start on F# to keep the root and octaves fixed. Each sound sample plays up the scale, repeating the octave and then down the scale.

1-2-3-5-6-
F#=1-2-3-5-6.jpg
Root note F#

Listen to this scale

1-2-4-5-7
G#-1-2-4-5-7.jpg
Root note G#

Listen to this scale

1-3-4-6-7
Bb-1-3-4-6-7.jpg
Root note is A# (Bb)

Listen to this scale

1-2-4-5-6
C#-1-2-4-5-6.jpg
Root note is C#

Listen to this scale

1-3-4-5-7
Eb-1-3-4-5-7-NAF.jpg
Root note is D# (Eb) The NAF scale

Listen to this scale

TRANSPOSING
The scales shown above, like all scales, can be transposed to start on any note so long as the intervals between the notes remains the same. For example the 1-2-3-5-6 scale based on F# above uses the notes F#-G#-A#-C#-D#. The same scale transposed to the note C would be the notes C-D-E-G-A.

The Native American flute's 1-3-4-5-7 scale on only black keys is Eb-Gb-Ab-Bb-Db while transposed to start on the note C it would be C-Eb-F-G-Bb. More common NAF 1-3-4-5-7 pentatonic keys are G: G-Bb-C-D-F and A: A-C-D-E-G.

NON WESTERN NAMES
In some cultures pentatonic scales have names. In China for example the NAF 1-3-4-5-7 scale is called yudiao while the so-called major pentatonic or 1-2-3-5-6 scale is called gongdiao. (Just like in western music these are the two most common pentatonic scales in China.) Further more, each scale is associated with non-musical, symbolic connections like cardinal points, colors, elements, planets and emotions.

INCORRECT NAMES
In western music theory there are no names or modes for pentatonic scales. Yet somehow in the Native American flute community the misconception that there are pentatonic modes has lead to a lot of misunderstanding, both between NAF players and other instrumentalists and vocalists.

This NAF-centric system is based on the 1-3-4-5-7 pentatonic scale, which is given the misnomer Mode I, with each pentatonic scale being a relative mode. For example scale 1-2-3-5-6 is referred to as Mode II. Ironic since this is the so-called "major" pentatonic scale which, if this system was truly in keeping with any of the western system of modes, would be mode I, while the "NAF mode" would be mode V.

Just as the diatonic modes are derived from the major scale, if there were pentatonic modes logically they would be based on the so-called "major" 1-2-3-5-6 pentatonic scale -the only version of the anhemitonic pentatonic scales that has a major 3rd interval between the root note and the third of the scale. The other two versions that actually have a third above the root are both minor 3rds.

In the familiar system of major-minor scales the relative minor of a major scale uses the same notes as the major scale but starts a minor 3rd lower. This relationship can also be found in pentatonic scales. The so-called "minor" pentatonic, the NAF scale, starts on the note a minor third lower than the "major" version. However any attempt to talk about pentatonic scales as modes or relative scales is a moot point at best since no one in the larger musical world recognizes any pentatonic mode names and they are not part of the common musical lexicon and are best avoided.

Sources:
Alves, William: Music of the Peoples of the World. Thomson Schirmer 2006

© Cedar Mesa Music.
This article and all images and sound files are the property of Cedar Mesa Music. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication (copying) in any form with out written consent from Cedar Mesa Music is illegal and is a violation of all copyright laws.

 

OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES
NEW Scales and Modes Part 1
NEW Scales and Modes Part 2

How to Buy a NAF, part 1
How to Buy a NAF, part 2
How to care for your NAF
Playing your first NAF scale
Strengthening your Fingers
Playing from the Heart Part-1
Playing from the Heart Part-2
Recording your NAF, basic, easy Home Studio set up
Starting your Own Music Label part 1

You can find an index of all the articles including maker and flute profiles HERE

You can also find a list of makers who's flutes I play on my web site.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE
NAF History and Construction


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Native American flute music by Scott August
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