This is a major pentatonic scale guitar lesson.
You’ll learn the 5 shapes of the major pentatonic scale, and how to construct the scale using its scale formula.
Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
What is The Major Pentatonic Scale?
The major pentatonic scale is one of the most popular scales in Western harmony. It has 5 notes, and you can play it over major chords.
You’ll construct the scale from the root, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th intervals.
In this case, you’ll use the root note C, giving you the notes C-D-E-G-A. This gives you the name “C major pentatonic“.
Formula: 1-2-3-5-6
5 Major Pentatonic Scale Shapes Guitar Tab
Here’s the tab and notation.
Remember to always use a consistent fret-hand finger pattern so you can build muscle memory, making it easier to memorize and play the major pentatonic scale.
What you’ll notice about shape 5 is that it’s the same thing as A minor pentatonic scale shape 1.
Key takeaway: You can find the relative major to any minor pentatonic scale by going to the second note in that scale. In the case of A minor pentatonic, you have the root note A, and the second note played is the C note, which is its relative major pentatonic root note.
