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Pentatonic Scales: Theory and

Applications

Mathias Lang
This work is produced by OpenStax-CNX and licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0

Abstract
Pentatonic scales are used a lot in jazz and pop music, for composition as well as for improvisation.
Their structure and their practical application are discussed.

1 Pentatonic Scales: Theory and Applications

1.1 Theory

Pentatonic scales contain ve notes per octave. A popular example is the major pentatonic scale (e.g.,
starting on C):
C  D  E  G  A  (C)
The ve notes of this pentatonic scale are taken from the seven notes of the C major scale:
C  D  E  F  G  A  B  (C)
Note that the notes F and B cause the C major scale to contain half steps. Since these notes are left
out in the pentatonic scale, the major pentatonic scale does not contain any half steps. This creates an
open sound and reduces the degree of dissonance when played harmonically. This latter property makes this
type of pentatonic scales especially suited for improvisation. If all notes of the C major pentatonic scale are
1
sounded simultaneously, the result is a C6/9 chord.
Let's have a look at the interval structure of this scale:
M2  M2  m3  M2  m3
M2 stands for `major second' (i.e., two half steps) and m3 for `minor third' (three half steps). As we can
see, there are only two types of intervals in this scale: major seconds and minor thirds. Most pentatonic
scales commonly used in Jazz and in popular music contain only these two intervals.
The circle below visualizes the interval structure of the major pentatonic scale. Moving clockwise, we go
through all 12 notes of the chromatic scale (represented as points on the circle) and the black ones are the
ones contained in the scale. The names of the notes are only shown for the purpose of explanation. What is
important is the location of the black points in relation to each other; their relative location represents the
interval structure of the scale, regardless of the key.

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Figure 1:

Interval structure of the major pentatonic scale

If we were to play the scale starting from the second note  in our case the D  we would get another
pentatonic scale with a dierent interval structure (see Figure 1):
M2  m3  M2  m3  M2
The scale can be started on any scale tone to obtain a new scale. Scales derived in this way are called
`modes' of the original scale. Of course, they can be transposed to any key. The circle shown above represents
a family of 5 pentatonic scales which are modes of each other. The interval structure shown by the circle is
independent of the key. A popular pentatonic scale is obtained by starting the major pentatonic scale on
the fth note (in the key of C major this would be the A): this scale is called minor pentatonic scale and it
is used a lot in blues and rock improvisation.
Let's see how many dierent pentatonic scales containing only two types of intervals  major seconds and
minor thirds  are possible. Let m be the (yet unknown) number of major second intervals and let n be the
number of minor third intervals in the scale. A pentatonic scale has a total of ve intervals and all of them
together must span the range of one octave (i.e., 12 half tones). This can be expressed by the following two
equations:
(1) 2m + 3n = 12
(2) m + n = 5
Equation (1) says that the number of half steps spanned by m minor seconds ( = 2m) plus the number
of half steps spanned by n minor thirds ( = 3n) must equal one octave (= 12 half steps). Equation (2) says
that the total number of intervals in the scale must equal 5 because we are considering pentatonic scales.
The only solution to this set of equations is m = 3 and n = 2, i.e., all pentatonic scales containing only
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major seconds and minor thirds must have 3 major seconds and 2 minor thirds, just like the major and
minor pentatonic scales presented above.
The next question we can ask is: how many scales of this type exist? Above we have already shown
ve scales (the ve modes of the major pentatonic scale as shown
in Figure
1). But are there more than
these 5 scales? Some combinatorics gives the answer. There are

5
3

possibilities to distribute three

2

major
second
intervals over the total number of ve intervals of the pentatonic scale. Consequently, there
5
= 10 dierent scales. So there are ve more scales than we have seen so far. Just as before, these
are
3
ve new scales can be derived as the modes of only one pentatonic scale. An example of such a pentatonic
scale with an interval structure dierent from the one presented earlier is:
C  D  E  F#  A  (C)
Sounding all notes of this pentatonic scale simultaneously gives a D9 dominant chord. This is why the
second mode of this scale (starting on D) is referred to as the dominant pentatonic scale. Note that this
scale can be derived from the C major pentatonic scale by replacing the G with an F#.
The interval structure of this scale is
M2  M2  M2  m3  m3
Note that this interval structure cannot be obtained by using a mode of the major pentatonic scale. The
interval structure is shown in Figure 2:

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Figure 2:

Interval structure of the dominant pentatonic scale and its modes

No note names have been attached to the circle to focus on the interval structure and to emphasize
its independence of the key. The major scale (and its modes) and this scale (and its modes) represent all
possible pentatonic scales containing only major second and minor third intervals.
Of course there are many more pentatonic scales if we allow other intervals than major seconds and minor
thirds. These scales are just less popular in Jazz, Blues, and Rock music. Let's nevertheless see what we nd
if we also allow major third intervals in a pentatonic scale. In this case, we can come up with the following
scale (and its modes):
C  E  F#  G#  A#  (C)
3
Its interval structure is
M3  M2  M2  M2  M2
where `M3' stands for `major third'. This scale is basically a whole tone scale with one note left out
(in this case the D). If we also allow half steps then the number of possibilities becomes quite large. Many
pentatonic scales used in Asia contain one or two half steps (e.g., Pelog, Hirajoshi, Kumoi). Table 1 presents
an overview of the number of possibilities. Each row refers to a set of scales containing a certain combination
of intervals. The rightmost column gives the number of possible scales for each combination of intervals.
The numbers of scales are given as multiples of ve, because there are always ve modes of each scale. The
numbers in Table 1 can be obtained by applying basic combinatorics.

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# m2 intervals

# M2 intervals

# m3 intervals

# M3 intervals

# possible scales

2*5

1*5

4*5

12 * 5

6*5

6*5

Table 1: possible interval combinations for pentatonic scales

Table 1: possible interval combinations for pentatonic scales
Table 1 shows all possible interval combinations for pentatonic scales with intervals not greater than
a major third. Note that there are no pentatonic scales of this type with more than 2 half steps (minor
seconds, `m2' in Table 1) because then the largest interval would need to be greater than a major third. The
major and the dominant pentatonic scales (and their modes) and its modes are represented by the rst row
in Table 1. The Kumoi pentatonic scale used in Japan belongs to the group of scales described by the fourth
row in Table 1. The Pelog (Indonesia) and Hirajoshi (Japan) scales belong to the group shown in the last
row of Table 1.
1.2 Applications

Let's now have a look at how pentatonic scales can be used in practice. We will consider two scale families:
the major pentatonic scale and its modes, and the dominant pentatonic scale and its modes. These are the
ones that are used very frequently in Jazz and popular music.
The major pentatonic scale can be played over a major triad with the same root as the scale, e.g., a
C major pentatonic scale can be played over a C major chord. It can also be played over this chord if
tensions are added to the chord. The scale could be played over a C6 chord, a Cmaj7 chord, a C6/9 chord
and a Cmaj9 chord etc. This use of the pentatonic scale creates very little tension and may sound a little
colorless in certain musical contexts. A scale that sounds more interesting over the same chords is the G
major pentatonic scale. Let's have a look at the notes of the scale:
GABDE
Over a C major chord it creates the tensions 6, 7, and 9. Note that it does not contain the root of the
chord (C). It is basically a C major pentatonic scale with the C replaced by the B, i.e. one more tension is
added at the cost of the root note. Yet another scale which is frequently used over the same chords is a D
major pentatonic scale:
D  E  F# - A  B
Used over a C major chord, this scale creates the tensions 6, 7, 9 and #11. This scale neither contains
the root (C) nor the fth (G) of the chord, but it adds the tension #11, which is used quite frequently in
modern jazz.
Let's now look at minor chords: e.g., Dm, Dm7, Dm9, Dm11, Dm6. The most obvious choice is the minor
pentatonic scale, i.e. the fth mode of the major pentatonic scale. The D minor pentatonic scale consists of
the following notes:
DFGAC
Apart from the basic D minor triad (D  F  A), it contains the b7 and the 11. Another, more colorful
option over a D minor chord is the A minor pentatonic scale:
ACDEG
Here, the minor third of Dm (the F) is left out and the tension 9 (the E) is added instead. This implies
a Dm9 sound. For a Dm6 chord, there are two more options. One is the E minor pentatonic scale:

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EGABD
Over a Dm6 chord it creates the tensions 6, 9, and 11. Another option is the G dominant pentatonic
scale:
GABDF
It just replaces the E of the E minor pentatonic scale (the 9 of Dm) with an F (the third of Dm).
Another important group of chords are dominant chords. They come in two avors: unaltered and
altered. Unaltered dominant chords can have the tensions 9, #11, and 13, and altered dominant chords can
have the tensions b5, #5, b9, #9, #11, b13 (where the #11 and the b13 are enharmonically the same as the
b5 and the #5, respectively). Over an unaltered G7 chord, the G dominant scale creates the tension 9 (the
A):
GABDF
Higher tensions are obtained by using the A dominant scale:
A  B  C# - E  G
It does not contain the b7 but it adds the #11 (C#) and the 13 (E). The G major pentatonic scale could
also be played over a G dominant chord but since it does not emphasize the dominant sound of the chord it
sounds less interesting.
Over an altered G dominant chord we can use the Db major pentatonic scale:
Db  Eb  F  Ab  Bb
It contains the b7, b9, #9, #11, and b13 of the G dominant chord and in this way it eectively emphasizes
the altered sound of the chord. Another possibility is the Db dominant pentatonic scale which diers from
the Db major pentatonic scale by only one note: the Bb is replaced by a B, which means that an altered
note (the #9) is replaced by the third of the G dominant chord.
As a nal note on dominant chords, let's also look at dominant chords with a suspended fourth: e.g.,
G7sus4 or F/G (an F major triad over a G root). For such a chord it sounds better to use other scales than
for a G7 chord with no suspended fourth. The reason for this is that a scale for G7sus4 should contain the
suspended fourth of the chord (the C) in order to underline the chord's character. However, for a G7 chord
with no suspended fourth, the note C sounds dissonant and can better be replaced by the third of the chord
(the B). There are two good sounding choices for a G7sus4 chord: the F major pentatonic scale (F  G  A
 C  D), which is actually a G9sus4 chord when sounded together, and the C major pentatonic scale (C 
D  E  G  A), in which the F (the b7 of G7) is replaced by the E (the 13 of G7).
The last category of chords that we will consider here are half-diminished chords, e.g. Bm7(b5). Two
good choices for improvising over this chord are the G dominant pentatonic scale and the G major pentatonic
scale:
G  A  B  D  F (G dominant pentatonic)
G  A  B  D  E (G major pentatonic)
The only dierence is that in the G major pentatonic scale, the F (i.e. the b5 of Bm7(b5)) is replaced
by E (i.e. the 11 of Bm7(b5)). If all notes of the G dominant pentatonic scale are sounded together, the
resulting chord can be interpreted as a Bm7(b5, b13) chord. This means that the G dominant pentatonic
scale is a bit closer to the actual chord whereas the G major pentatonic scale adds a higher tension (the 11)
at the expense of a basic chord tone (the b5). Another pentatonic scale that could be used over a Bm7(b5)
chord is the F major pentatonic scale:
FGACD
It is also very similar to the G dominant pentatonic scale, but it contains a C instead of a B. The C is
the b9 of the Bm7(b5) chord and is consequently an `avoid note'. For this reason, the F major pentatonic
scale is less suited and more dicult to use over a Bm7(b5) chord than the two other scales discussed above.
Table 2 summarizes the chord types and the most useful pentatonic scale over these chords.

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chord type

pentatonic scales

Cmaj7(9,#11,13)

C major
G major
D major

Dm7(9,11)

D minor
A minor

Dm6

E minor
G dominant

G7(9,#11,13)

G dominant
A dominant

G7(b9,#9,#11,b13)

Db major
Db dominant

G7sus4

F major
C major

Bm7(b5)

G dominant
G major

Table 2: pentatonic scales for dierent chord types

Let's now apply pentatonic scales to a very common chord pattern in Jazz: the 2  5  1 progression.
The name of this progression indicates that it consists of the chords built on the scale degrees 2, 5 and 1 of
the major or minor (seven-tone) scale. A 2  5  1 progression in C major is:
Dm7  G7  Cmaj7
If we want to use pentatonic scales for improvising over this progression, the most obvious choice would
be D minor pentatonic over Dm7, G dominant pentatonic over G7, and C major pentatonic over Cmaj7.
If we wanted to add more color, we could also choose A minor pentatonic (Dm7), A dominant pentatonic
(G7), and G major pentatonic (Cmaj7). So far we have assumed that the G7 chord is not altered. If the G7
chord is altered and if we would like to use a lydian sound over the Cmaj7 chord (i.e., we want to include the
#11 of C major), we could use the following chromatically ascending sequence of scales: A minor pentatonic
(Dm7), Db major (= Bb minor) pentatonic (G7 altered), and D major (= B minor) pentatonic (Cmaj7).
In minor, a typical 2  5  1 progression would be:
Bm7(b5)  E7(b9,b13)  Am9
You could improvise over this progression by using the G dominant pentatonic scale over Bm7(b5), the
Bb major (= G minor) pentatonic scale over E7(b9,b13), and the E minor (= G major) pentatonic scale
over Am9.
Note that I have only mentioned the most common choices here and that you might come up with other
pentatonic scales that may sound even more pleasing to you over certain chords or chord progressions. I
just wanted to summarize what I consider the basic options that every Jazz musician should know because
they are used so frequently. To a beginner, the information given here may seem overwhelming because of
the large number of possibilities. The solution to this initial problem is, as far as I can see, to relate each
pentatonic scale to the chord over which it is used. This means that if you play a Bb major pentatonic scale
over an altered E7 chord, you shouldn't think of it as a Bb major pentatonic scale but you should try to see
its relation to E7 and consider it a subset of the possible notes over E7. The names of the scales in Table 2
are often not related to the root of the corresponding chord (e.g., G major pentatonic over Cmaj7, F major

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pentatonic over G7sus4 etc.) but this is just to keep the names of the scales as simple as possible. When
playing, just try to see and hear the chord on your instrument and view the scale notes according to their
function with respect to that chord (i.e., the third, the b7, the #11 etc.). With a lot of practice and ear
training you will nally `automatically' choose an appropriate pentatonic scale which suits your purposes.

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