IMPROVISATION - by Michael Furstner
Lesson 3 - THE MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE
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CONTENTS
3-1. The Major Pentatonic scale
3-2. The Skyeboat Song
3-3. Improvisation - Rhythm Patterns 11 to 15
3-4. The Woodshed
3-5. Quiz 3 (and Answers to Quiz 2)
3-6. The 7th Chords Ruler
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3-1. THE MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE
The major pentatonic scale is, as the name implies, a 5-note scale.
It is the oldest scale in the world and can be traced back to the beginning
of most musical cultures.
It consists of the notes 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the major scale.
Or you can describe it as a major scale with the 4th and 7th note missing.
In C :
(DEMO 12)
C major scale : C D E F G A B c
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major pentatonic scale : C D E G A c
1 2 3 5 6 1
In F :
F major scale : F G A Bb C D E f
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
F major pentatonic scale : F G A C D f
1 2 3 5 6 1
Because the 4th and 7th note are missing there are NO SEMITONES in the major
pentatonic scale.
semitone semitone
_____ _____
| | | |
C major scale : C D E F G A B c
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C major pentatonic scale : C D E G A c
This lack of semitones, and the acoustic relationship that exist between the
notes of the scale (see Chords Book 1 Chapt.2-4 or Scales Book Chapt.1-3)
give it a beautiful open and crystal clear tonality.
It is therefore a great scale to use in improvisation.
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3-2. THE SKYEBOAT SONG
The Skyeboat Song is a Scottish tune. The melody consists entirely of notes
from the G major pentatonic scale.
G major pentatonic scale : G A B D E g
1 2 3 5 6 8
(DEMO 13)
THE SKYEBOAT SONG
(Traditional Scottish song)
G (I) Em(VIm) Am(IIm) D(V)
-------------------------------------------------
3 D E D | G G | A B A | d |
4 1 2 + 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 + 3 | 1 2 3 |
-------------------------------------------------
G (I) Am(VIm) G(I) (D)
------------------------------------------------
| B A B | E E | D | D ||
| 1 2 + 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 ||
------------------------------------------------
G Em Am D
-------------------------------------------------
3 D E D | G G | A B A | d |
4 1 2 + 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 + 3 | 1 2 3 |
-------------------------------------------------
G Am G Fine
------------------------------------------------
| B A B | E E | G | G ||
| 1 2 + 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 ||
------------------------------------------------
G Em Am D
-------------------------------------------------
||: B G B | G | A E A | A |
|| 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 |
-------------------------------------------------
Em Am Em
------------------------------------------------
| G E G | G G | E | :||
| 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 ||
------------------------------------------------
(last x DC all Fine)
(Note the REPEAT signs for the last 8 bars :|| )
I receive many requests for the lyrics of this song, here are they.
The chorus is played at the beginning and then after each verse.
Chorus :
Sing me a song of a lad that is gone
Say, could that lad be I ?
Merry of soul he sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye
Verse 1 : Verse 2 :
Mull was astern Give me again
Rum on the port, All that was there
Eigg on the starboard bow. Give me the sun that shone !
Glory of youth Give me the eyes
Glowed in his soul Give me the soul
Where is that glory now ? Give me the lad that's gone
Verse 3 :
Billow and Breeze
Islands and seas,
Mountains of rain and sun.
All that was good
All that was fair
All that was me is gone.
(Skye, Mull, Rum and Eigg are islands to the north of Scotland in the Hebrides)
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3-3. IMPROVISATION
Observe that the chord progression of the Skyeboat Song features, like in
Lesson 2, the I - VIm - IIm - V
G - Em - Am - D
I VIm IIm - V
You have therefore three options for improvisation here :
a. use chord tones
(this reflects the chord progression)
b. use the G major pentatonic scale throughout the song
(this reflects the tonality of the pentatonic melody)
c. use the G major scale throughout the song
(this reflects the tonality of the chord progression)
Many Scottish tunes are based on the major pentatonic scale. So if you wish
to preserve the Scottish character of the song you should take option a.
However for improvisation purposes I suggest you use option b. as well, if
only for practice.
Improvisation :
1. Play the song until you know it
2. Play sustained root tones until you know them
3. Play root tones in Rhythm Patterns
4. Play chord tones in crotchets (1 beat notes)
5. First improvise using simple Rhythm Patterns
6. Then improvise freely, but try to keep track of where you are in the
song.
RHYTHM PATTERNS in 3/4 :
(DEMO 14)
Pattern 11
---------------------------------------------
3 O O O | O O | O O O | O |
4 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 |
---------------------------------------------
Pattern 12
---------------------------------------------
3 O | O | O o O | O O |
4 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 + 3 | 1 2 3 |
---------------------------------------------
Pattern 13 ( o - O)
-----------------------------------------------
3 O O O | O O O | O O | O |
4 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 + 2 3 | 1 2 3 |
-----------------------------------------------
Pattern 14
-----------------------------------------------
3 O o o O | O o o O | O o o O | O O |
4 1 2 + 3 | 1 2 + 3 | 1 2 + 3 | 1 2 3 |
-----------------------------------------------
Pattern 15
---------------------------------------------------
3 o o o o o o | O O | o o o o o o | O O |
4 1 + 2 + 3 + | 1 2 3 | 1 + 2 + 3 + | 1 2 3 |
---------------------------------------------------
Music notation for Rhythm Patterns 11-15
When playing a Jazz Waltz always play the quavers STRAIGHT.
I have use Rhythm Patterns 13 and 14 on the improvisation demo (DEMO 13) of
The Skyeboat Song.
Toetsie Tielemans used Patterns 13 and 15 in his famous Jazz waltz
'Bluesette'.
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3-4. THE WOODSHED.
Well folks it is time to get into the chords. Here is the drill.
Jazz is predominantly based on various qualities of 7th chords.
There are five basic qualities :
CHORD QUALITY CHORD TONES In C CHORD SYMBOL
Major 7th 1 3 5 7 C E G B Cmaj7
Dominant 7th 1 3 5 b7 C E G Bb C7
Minor 7th 1 b3 5 b7 C Eb G Bb Cm7
Half Diminished 1 b3 b5 b7 C Eb Gb Bb Cm7b5
Diminished 7th 1 b3 b5 6 C Eb Gb A Co7
(bb7)
This is how they inter-relate, for the C chord qualities :
Cmaj7 C7 Cm7 Cm7b5 Co7
--------------------------------------------------------------
| B ---b--> Bb Bb Bb ---b--> A (=Bbb) |
| |
| G G G --- b --> Gb Gb |
| |
| E E --- b --> Eb Eb Eb |
| |
| C C C C C |
--------------------------------------------------------------
As major scale note numbers in any key :
Imaj7 I7 Im7 Im7b5 Io7
----------------------------------------------------------------
| 7 ---b--> b7 b7 b7 ---b--> 6 (=bb7) |
| |
| 5 5 5 --- b --> b5 b5 |
| |
| 3 3 --- b --> b3 b3 b3 |
| |
| 1 1 1 1 1 |
----------------------------------------------------------------
(The usual chord symbol for a half diminished chord is an 'o' with a slash
through it (Ø), but I will not use it in this course because it does not
always come out correctly on other computers. Instead I use the old
fashionned way of writing it : m7b5)
In this Course we will mainly deal with maj7, dominant 7th and minor 7th
chords in the easy keys. (The half diminished chord will feature strongly in
Lesson 12.)
If you are new to chords start therefore with the major, dominant and minor
qualities in the keys of A, D, G, C, F, and Bb. But eventually you should
know all of them.
Practise as follows :
(DEMO 15)
Cmaj7 | C E G B | c B G E | C E G B | c ||
C7 | C E G Bb | c Bb G E | C E G Bb | c ||
Cm7 | C Eb G Bb |c Bb G Eb | C Eb G Bb | c ||
Cm7b5 | C Eb Gb Bb|c Bb Gb Eb| C Eb Gb Bb| c ||
Co7 | C Eb Gb A |c A Gb Eb | C Eb Gb A | c ||
Good luck. See you next Lesson,
Michael.
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3-5.QUIZ
A.
1. Describe the major pentatonic scale
2. What is the main characteristic of the major pentatonic scale ?
B.
Convert these major scales into major pentatonic scales with the same
tonic note.
1. G A B C D E F# G
2. D E F# G A B C# D
3. Bb C D Eb F G A Bb
4. F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#
5. A B C# D E F# G# A
C.
1.How many major pentatonic scales can you form using white notes of the
keyboard only (C D E F G A B)
2. How many major pentatonic scales can you form using the black notes of the
keyboard only. (Gb Ab Bb Db Eb)
D.
Write out the five chord qualities for the following root notes.
1. A
2. D
3. G
4. F
5. Bb
Remember the maj.7 chord consists of the note 1, 3, 5 and 7 of the major scale.
ANSWERS IN NEXT LESSON
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Answers to Quiz 2
A.
1. A scale-tone chord is a chord that consists of tone of a scale only.
2. There are 7 scale-tone triad chords in the major scale.
3. Can a major triad chord be a scale-tone chord of more than one
major scale ?
Yes. There are three major triads in each major scale.
Therefore any major triad is also a scale-tone chord in three major
scales.
For example the C major chord is the
I chord in the C major scale
IV chord in the G major scale
V chord in the F major scale
4. Can a minor triad chord be a scale-tone chord in more than one
major scale ?
Yes. There are three minor triads in each major scale.
Therefore any minor triad is also a scale-tone chord in three major
scales.
For example the D minor chord is the
IIm chord in the C major scale
IIIm chord in the Bb major scale
VIm chord in the F major scale
5. Is there a triad chord quality that belongs to one major scale only ?
Yes. The diminished triad occurs only as a VII chord in the major scale.
It is unique to that major scale.
6. Is there a triad chord quality that is NOT a scale-tone chord of any
major scale ?
Yes. The augmented triad chord (C+ : C E G#) does not occur as a
scale-tone chord in the major scale.
B.
1. What is a major 9th chord.
A chord that consists of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th note of
a major scale.
2. Spell out the major 9th chord in A, D, G, C, F and Bb.
1 3 5 7 9
A C# E G# b
D F# A C# e
G B D F# a
C E G B d
F A C E g
Bb D F A c
C.
Fill in the missing note(s) from these major 9th chords :
1. G (B) D f a
2. F# A# (C#) e g#
3. Bb (D) F A(c)
4. D F# (A) C# (e)
5. Eb G (Bb) (D) f
D.
Place the following I - VIm - IIm - V chords in their proper order :
1. Gm - F - C - Dm ---> F - Gm - Cm - C
2. G - Dm - C - Am ---> C - Am - Dm - G
3. F - Bb - Cm - Gm ---> Bb - Gm - Cm - F
4. Bm - D - A - Em ---> D - Bm - Em - A
5. Ebm - Abm - Gb - Db ---> Gb - Ebm - Abm - Db
E.
Spell out all scale-tone triad chords(in ascending order) of the major scales
of G and Bb.
G B D - A C E - B D F# - C E G - D F# a - E g b - F# a c
Bb D F - C Eb G - D F A - Eb G bb - F A c - G bb d - A c eb
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3-6. THE SEVENTH CHORDS RULER
The Seventh Chords Ruler is an easy to use device to help you find the notes
of the chord qualities in any key.
Align the Tonic note of the required chord on the LETTER STRIP
with the '1' on the 'Seventh Chords Ruler' strip
Imaj7 = 1 3 5 7 I7 = 1 3 5 b7 Im7 = 1 b3 5 b7
Iż = 1 b3 b5 b7 Io7 = 1 b3 b5 6
LETTER STRIP
C# D# F# G# A# C# D# F# G# A# C#
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C Db
| | | | | | | |
| b3 | b5 | 6 b7 |
1 3 5 7
(Seventh Chords Ruler)
For example, to find the five chord qualities for the D :
align D on the LETTER STRIP with (1) on the Seventh Chords Ruler
LETTER STRIP
C# D# F# G# A# C# D# F# G# A# C#
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C Db
----->| | | | | | | |
| b3 | b5 | 6 b7 |
1 3 5 7
(Seventh Chords Ruler)
Now read the D chords :
Dmaj7 (1 3 5 7) : D F# A C#
D7 (1 3 5 b7) : D F# A C
Dm7 (1 b3 5 b7) : D F A C
Dm7b5 (1 b3 b5 b7) : D F Ab C
Do7 (1 b3 b5 6) : D F Ab B
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Copyright 1997 Michael Furstner. All rights reserved.
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