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Pentatonic Scale Improvisation
The full G Major Scale is G A B C D E F#
ALL these notes (and more) can work in a melody played in the key of G. Some work (sound) better than others, but BY DEFINITION these are the notes you play for a song in “G.”
The Pentatonic G Scale is G A B D E
Don’t let the name Pentatonic scare you. Penta just means 5. The Major Scale has 7 notes, the Pentatonic only 5.
Most songs (when we play in G.. we’ll only talk about the Key of G here) use the G, C, D and Em chords. Here are the notes that make up those four popular chords:
G chord - G B D
C chord - C E G
D chord - D F# A
Em chord - E B G
The notes of the G Pentatonic Scale are bolded above. So, in the G chord, all the notes are in the Pentatonic Scale. The C chord has two, the D chord has two, and the Em chord has three notes in the Pentatonic Scale. Basically, this means that if you stick with the Pentatonic YOU CAN’T SOUND BAD.
Some songs get a little “crooked” and use chords other than the Big Four, G C D & Em. In the key of G, those “other” chords are
Am chord - A C E
Bm chord - B D F#
But you can see those other chords are also made with two notes from the Pentatonic Scale. The Pentatonic Scale is your Improvisational Friend.
“But wait! I haven’t memorized where all the notes are on my mandolin/fiddle!!!”
No matter. Those instruments are tuned in perfect fifths, so what you learn on one pair of strings applies to adjacent strings. Everything is symmetrical. Learn two strings, you’re good to go everywhere. You will need to know the names of the open strings: G D A E, thickest to thinnest.
Let’s start with the G Pentatonic Scale on the mandolin.
You play the thickest string (G) open, then the 2nd fret, 4th fret, Open 3rd string (D), 2nd fret third string, then finish with the 5th fret third string. I know, I know, that’s SIX notes and we’re playing a 5-note scale. But the first note and the last are both G, an octave apart. You don’t even need to know the names of the notes you’re playing. Just play The Pattern.
Noodle it. Hammer it. Repeat notes. Play the DRONE, where you play two strings G Open and the octave G on the third string 5th fret. Use your imagination and you’ll find that most of the melodies of the old time, bluegrass tunes really just use these five notes. Play a song on your phone or tablet that’s in G and play these five notes in the “holes,” or spaces where the singer has paused. Drill this pattern into your head, and better yet, into your fingers, and soon you’ll be soloing with the best of them.
Other Keys
So great, you can play the Pentatonic Scale in G, but when you play everybody sings in A or D. Because the mandolin and fiddle are symmetrical, you can move this pattern anywhere. Play this pattern on the middle two strings (D & A) and it’s the D Pentatonic Scale. Slap this pattern in the bottom two strings (A & E) and it’s the A Pentatonic Scale. By just shifting over a string or two, you’ve added two new Pentatonic Scales to your repertoire… and you still don’t know (or care) the names of the notes in those added Scales.
“Yeah, but Bb…..”
So far, we’ve just played this pattern starting on open strings (G, D, A). But we can actually start it anywhere. In the diagram of the G Pentatonic Scale, the white dots are the open strings. If you barr your first finger somewhere else on the neck, sort’ve like a mini-capo, you can use your 2nd and 3rd fingers to still make the pattern. You might have to stretch your pinky up to make the high octave note. Or you can just reach with the 3rd finger.
So, for example, if the song is in the key of Bb. First you find the Bb note somewhere on your mandolin. You can choose the Bb at the 3rd fret of the G string or the Bb note at the 1st fret of the A string. You could even choose the 8th fret of the D string, but that involves alot of counting…. Place your index finger on the Bb note, then bar it across the string below. Strumming those two notes, Bb and F, will produce a Bb Power Chord. A power chord is a two-note chord using the root note and the 5th note of the scale.
So with your first finger barred across the thickest two strings at the 3rd fret you have two of the five notes needed for a Bb Pentatonic Scale. Your middle finger can play the 5th fret on both the G & D strings and your ring finger can play the G string 7th fret. You’ll probably have to use your pinky to play the 8th fret on the D string. Or you could the same exercise, starting on the Bb note on the A string. The Pattern is the same. And it’s moveable.
These five notes in this pattern will take you a long way, but you’re still going to want to learn other places on the neck to play. Once you’ve nailed this simple pattern, add the Pentatonic Notes on the other strings besides the two you know. I could tell you where they are in relation to the Pattern, but you’ll memorize them easier if YOU do the math.
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