Major pentatonic

PENTA = five. The MAJOR PENTATONIC is the major scale with two notes removed: no 4th, no 7th. What remains: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6.

Those two removed notes are exactly the ones that can clash — which is why the pentatonic always sounds good. It is the safest scale for improvising and the sound of countless folk and pop melodies.

Shortcut: you already know the major scale, so just skip the 4th and 7th as you play.

1 · 2 · 3 · 5 · 6 (major scale minus 4 and 7)

C major pentatonic: C–D–E–G–A.

Practise this in the trainer — it opens with this lesson the first time the concept comes up.