Having identified the piano keys that make up this minor scale, this step shows the note names of those keys. Every white or black key could have a flat(b) or sharp(#) accidental name, depending on how that note is used. For a quick summary to this topic, have a look at Pentatonic scale. All of the root notes are "E" because this is the E Minor Pentatonic Scale. To count up a Whole tone, count up by two physical piano keys, either white or black. Be sure to click on the play pattern button so you can also hear the sound of this scale. Just as with the C chord, Em is almost identical to a scale, this time the E minor pentatonic scale. The five notes of the pentatonic scale are scale degrees 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 in major keys and 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 in minor keys. This step shows an octave of notes in the key of. Any Pentatonic Scalecan be divided into patterns. Read on for more about the pentatonic scale and why it’s so powerful in … Note 1 is the tonic note - the starting note - E, and note 13 is the same note name but one octave higher. The Solution below shows the E minor pentatonic scale, on the piano, bass and treble clef. Learn how to play up and down the neck with ease and break out of those box patterns, Author: Lee Nichols Creator of www.guitar-chords.or.uk, Like GPS for your guitar! The 6th note is the octave of the tonic note, where this scale pattern begins to repeat itself up the piano keyboard. The Lesson steps then explain how to construct the scale using the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th minor scale notes. The white keys are named using the alphabetic letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, which is a pattern that repeats up the piano keyboard. To count up a Half-tone (semitone), count up from the last note up by one physical piano key, either white or black. The E Minor Pentatonic Scale can be divided into patterns. With the same pattern, we can play the G major chord (Red G, Black B) over the G major pentatonic. Now see a shape for the A minor pentatonic scale: *Notes played: A, C, D, E, G. Compare these scales (C pentatonic and A minor pentatonic) with the scales of C major and A minor, respectively. 12th Position To play the E minor scale in 12th position, you’ll play notes on the 12th, 13th, … The minor pentatonic scale is made from the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th notes from the natural minor scale above. In a later step, if sharp or flat notes are used, the exact accidental names will be chosen. This step shows the E minor pentatonic scale on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. (Image credit: Future) The challenge with any scale-based lick is the quick note to note changes. For example, in the Db minor pentatonic scale, the 4th note of the natural minor scale Fb is simplified to be note E. © 2020 Copyright Veler Ltd, All Rights Reserved. It is the note that you start with. When you use the G major pentatonic, the G note serves as the tonal center. This step shows the white and black note names on a piano keyboard so that the note names are familiar for later steps, and to show that the note names start repeating themselves after 12 notes. The notes of the scale always sound good over an Em chord. That is, a natural minor scale without degrees 2 and 6. The natural minor scale uses the W-H-W-W-H-W-W note counting rule to identify the scale note positions. Pentatonic Scale Fluency: Available on Kindle and Paperback, Master the minor pentatonic scale using the whole fretboard, If you are stuck in the pentatonic box then this is the way out of it. To understand the music theory behind why these sharp and flat note names have chosen given the note positions from the previous step, have a look at the E natural minor scale. Playing the E minor scale in seventh position requires positioning your hand up to play notes on the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth frets as shown in the diagram below. Use your second finger for all of the 2nd fret notes … There are 5 pentatonic scale notes plus the octave of the tonic note - a total of 6 notes. Scale Box. The E minor pentatonic scale has no sharp or flat notes. When you look at the Em pattern 1, the first note in the pattern defines the tonal center. The numbered notes are those that might be used when building this note scale. The tonic note (shown as *) is the starting point and is always the 1st note in the minor scale. The audio files below play every note shown on the piano above, so middle C (marked with an orange line at the bottom) is the 2nd note heard. When you use E minor pentatonic, the E note serves as the tonal center of the scale. To find out more about cookies, privacy and how we use advertising, please read our Advertising Disclaimer, Contact Info - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy, Copyright © 2007 - 2020 www.guitar-chords.org.uk. Middle C (midi note 60) is shown with an orange line under the 2nd note on the piano diagram. In this lesson, we’re going to learn the open E minor pentatonic scale. In solfege, this would be do, re, mi, sol, and la in major and la, do, re, mi, and sol in minor. Exclusive For FaChords Readers: Guitar Lessons That Really Work - 14 Days Free Note that the major pentatonic took 5 notes of the major scale, as we have already commented, and these were degrees 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. The 1st note of the E minor pentatonic scale is, The 2nd note of the E minor pentatonic scale is, The 3rd note of the E minor pentatonic scale is, The 4th note of the E minor pentatonic scale is, The 5th note of the E minor pentatonic scale is, The 6th note of the E minor pentatonic scale is. Just as with the C chord, Em is almost identical to a scale, this time the E minor pentatonic scale. The two notes removed are the 2nd and 6th intervals. The 1st note of the E minor pentatonic scale is E: 2: The 2nd note of the E minor pentatonic scale is G: 3: The 3rd note of the E minor pentatonic scale is A: 4: The 4th note of the E minor pentatonic scale is B: 5: The 5th note of the E minor pentatonic scale is D: 6: The 6th note of the E minor pentatonic scale is E Starting on the lowest sounding note, then working up to the highest sounding note and then back down. Wherever possible, complex note names from the minor scale are simplified to arrive at the final pentatonic scale notes. This step assigns note names to the minor scale note positions identified in the previous step. E minor pentatonic scale: Notes: E - G- A - B - D This means the formula for the minor pentatonic scale is made up of the 1st (root), 3rd (♭3), 4th (p4), 5th (p5), and 7th (♭7) from the minor scale. Below are those notes numbered 1 to 5 on the piano keyboard. This step shows the 5 pentatonic notes (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th) taken from the minor scale. The 2nd and 6th notes of the minor scale are not used. Minor Pentatonic Scale: The minor pentatonic scale is 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 of the natural minor scale. The red dots indicate a root note and the black dots indicate a note in the scale. The diagram below is the E minor pentatonic with the root of E. You can play the E minor chord (Black B and Red E) over the E minor pentatonic. The Scale Box looks like a chord box but you play the notes just one at a time. Using a Box can really help you see the visual relationships between the notes. The interactive tool above shows the notes for the E minor pentatonic scale in open position. Since pentatonic scales contain 5 notes, we need to remove two from the minor scale in order to get the minor pentatonic. These note names are shown below on the treble clef followed by the bass clef. It turns out that, removing the 2nd and the 6th degrees, the notes of the E Minor Pentatonic Scale are: E G A B D How To Build Riffs with the E Minor Pentatonic Scale | Video Lesson Sometimes it's easier to think of a major pentatonic scale that starts and ends on degree 6.