The Pentatonic Scale Rules...

[jbtsax]

When I was introduced to the "pentatonic scale" my music theory teacher pointed out there are no wrong sounding notes because the 4th and 7th steps of the major scale that create half steps have been removed. I have noticed over the years that young children are drawn to playing the "black notes" on the piano keyboard because they like the sound.

 

[spike]

A quote from Open Culture dot com

The earliest known purpose-built musical instrument is some forty thousand years old. Found at Geissenklösterle in what is now southeastern Germany, it is a flute made from the radial bone of a vulture. Remarkably, the five holes bored into the bone create a five-note, or pentatonic, scale. Which is to say, before agriculture, religion, settlement – all the things we might think of as early signs of civilisation – palaeolithic men and women were already familiar with the concept of pitch.

So what I need now is for somebody to come up with a pentatonic rock sax made of vultures bones

 

[Littleboyblue]

For young beginners, there is the pediatric blues scale; for late bloomers, the geriatric scale (however many notes you like, and it they are not the same from day to day, who cares?).

Which one would be the term for the embryo stage

 

[Colin the Bear]

A quote from Open Culture dot com

The earliest known purpose-built musical instrument is some forty thousand years old. Found at Geissenklösterle in what is now southeastern Germany, it is a flute made from the radial bone of a vulture. Remarkably, the five holes bored into the bone create a five-note, or pentatonic, scale. Which is to say, before agriculture, religion, settlement – all the things we might think of as early signs of civilisation – palaeolithic men and women were already familiar with the concept of pitch.

So what I need now is for somebody to come up with a pentatonic rock sax made of vultures bones

Xaphoon?

 

[Dr G]

Which one would be the term for the embryo stage

Nucleic scale

 

[r. giuseppe]

Yeah, as soon as you add a note to a pentatonic scale, it becomes hexatonic. So we’re going to have to find some other way. Which note do we get rid of after adding the blue note?

Fifth. Clearly the fifth. Or wait. Maybe the root?

 

[Pete Thomas]

Fifth. Clearly the fifth.

Yes

Maybe the root?

er... a scale with no root? I think that might defy music theory as we know it. But why not? An interesting zen concept.

 

[lydian]

So, here we have it, presenting the C pentatonic blues scale, 2 variations:

C Eb F F# Bb

Eb F F# G Bb

Not surprisingly quite unsatisfying and strange. I won't be using them anytime soon (meaning never).

 

[r. giuseppe]

Of course I was kidding, should’ve added one of these yellow faces . Please feel free to ignore my rather silly response.

In this silly little experiment of thought, the fifth made most sense to me to leave out, as nice descending lines can exist between the b5 and the 7th below the root. Seeing the scale as this in c:
Bb C Eb F Gb, preferentially with a general downward motion.

Then I thought, why not leave the most obvious note out. I admit, this would not be the bluesy approach!

 

[lydian]

Of course I was kidding, should’ve added one of these yellow faces . Please feel free to ignore my rather silly response.

In this silly little experiment of thought, the fifth made most sense to me to leave out, as nice descending lines can exist between the b5 and the 7th below the root. Seeing the scale as this in c:
Bb C Eb F Gb, preferentially with a general downward motion.

Then I thought, why not leave the most obvious note out. I admit, this would not be the bluesy approach!

I know. I was kidding too.

I often leave out the 5th when writing harmony for a sax section or ensemble. Makes virtually no difference to the listener. But in lines, the 5th is pretty important to keep an even flow. Same goes for the 5th in bass lines. Definitely need to keep it in the blues scale

 

[Brian Evans]

When I was taking jazz lessons (on guitar) we talked about "bebop" scales, where an extra note is added for a 9 note scale (root to root). We would add the b7 to the M7, or the b5 to the 5. It's nice to start a pentatonic lick with a chromatic 8-7-b7-6-5 run.