I read once that the oldest instrument to be found, a bone with holes in it, plays a pentatonic scale. I also read that most cultures have independently come up with the pentatonic scale, it's just that they don't always start on the same note.

The major pentatonic in C is the minor pentatonic in A.

This tells me there is something organic about the pentatonic scale.

I use them a lot in my improvisations, sometimes mixing minor and major, depending on the song. Perhaps over half. Why? The audience seems to like it.

Charlie Parker played a lot of major pentatonic, even though he was a bebop player.

I discovered minor pentatonic, on sax when I was a child, in a rock band. Added flat 5 and 9 for passing or tension, and transposed to all keys (unlike the guitar, the fingering for each key is different). I've built on from there throughout my life, but I can always depend on the pentatonic to keep me grounded.

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Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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