More on minor pentatonic

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Michael Peloquin wrote:

>Having known and used the OTHER 
>Minor Pentaonic for years, 
>I've never known 
>what it is really called.
>Minor Pentaonic #2?
>R & B Pentatonic?

It could be characterized as a subset of the
dorian scale or of the ascending melodic minor,
but if you applied the 1-3-4-5-7 interval
structure of the 'standard minor pentatonic,
you'd get either the standard minor penta
(dorian) or a standard minor pentatonic with
major 7th (ascending mel minor).

>C D Eb G A
>1 2 b3 5 6
>
>In certain tunes in a minor key, the major sixth
>of this scale would have a 
>more pronounced tension than a minor sixth or
>seventh would.

Actually this scale violates the 'no sharp edges"
priciple of the standard major and minor
pentatonics - no semitones and no tritones. This
scale has both, making it a bit more flavorful
ann interesting than the standard minor
pentatonic.

On a Bb chromatic, or a Bb diatonic above hole 2,
you get four of the five notes of this scale

C Eb G A

and the Blow D and you have the scale:

C E Db G A

This is a pentatonic that flows easily in third
position - more easily than the standard
pentatonic, and it also retains the unique
characteristic of the dorian scale in 3rd
position, which the standard pentatonic does not.

Limited note sets like this can often be very
helpful in exploring something new, by making
them less overwhelming while concentrating on
some of their distinguishing features.

Winslow

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day
http://shopping.yahoo.com