PENTATONIC SCALES FOR BASS, FINGERINGS, EXERCISES AND PROPER USAGE OF THE ESSENTIAL FIVE-NOTE SCALES. Ed Friedland. CD TABLATURE
Ogni scala è mostrata in 3 modi: I posizione, a posizione fissa, in movimento.
Pentatonic Scales for Bass
Fingerings, Exercises and Proper Usage of the Essential Five-Note Scales
Series: Bass Builders
Format: Softcover with CD - TAB
Author: Ed Friedland
The pentatonic is one of the most widely used scales in music. This book teaches fingerings for these essential five-note scales all over the neck, and how to use them to create solid, functional bass lines. The CD contains 56 tracks and features full-band demonstration examples. Covers: major and minor pentatonic scales; one- and two-octave scale patterns; pentatonic modes and their applications; soloing with pentatonic scales; and much more ! 64 pages
By definition, a pentatonic scale is simply a group of five consecutive notes within the
range of an octave. With this loose framework, there can be many variations of five-note
patterns that fit this description. Throughout this book, we will focus on the two most
common variations: the major pentatonic (1-2-3-5-6-S) and minor pentatonic (1-h3-4-
5-~7-S). These pentatonic scales are undoubtedly the most commonly used musical
elements in the world. Cultures as far-flung as Africa, Europe, Asia, the South Pacific,
and the North and South Americas use these five-note patterns as the basis of their
musical traditions, and their influence on contemporary music is just as far-reaching. As
the primary building blocks of the rock and roll musical vocabulary, the pentatonic scale
can be traced directly to West Africa, Ireland, and Scotland. When African captives were
brought to the Western world, they carried with them a deep musical tradition whose
rhythmic basis morphed over time into shuffle and swing feels. Melodically, the minor
pentatonic scale (1-h3-4-5-h7-S) was at the core of their music-eventually evolving into
the blues scale (1-h3-4-#4-5-h7-S), the melodic foundation of the blues. The journey from
the blues to rock and roll has been well-documented.
But the pentatonic scale's influence on popular music can also be traced back to the music of
Ireland and Scotland. As Celtic people settled in the New World, they brought their
songs, reels, jigs, and sea shantys-many of which were based on the pentatonic scale.
This music became the seed of the Appalachian folk tradition, which over the years
evolved into Old Timey, Bluegrass, and Country. Between the late 1940sand 1950s,these
styles crossbred with the emerging "boogie" genre to create rockabilly as well as rock
and roll. When you look at this crosscurrent of influence, the differences between artists
like Muddy Waters and Hank Williams seem less significant.
The pentatonic scale (in its major form) is simply a major scale without scale degrees 4
and 7. The interval created between the 4th and 7th scale degrees is known as the tritone, and it
is the principle source of dissonance in Western music. By removing these two degrees,
we have a scale that is void of any potential dissonance. German composer Carl Orff
(best known as the composer of Carmina Burana) devised a system of music education
for children based on the use of pentatonic scales for this very reason. Since there are no
"bad" notes, children can improvise freely on pentatonic-based instruments to develop
their creativity. It has been said that in medieval times, the use of the tritone in musical composition
was banned due to its disharmonious quality. It is documented that the tritone was once
referred to as Diablo en Musica, or the "Devil in Music," and considering most music of the
time was composed for use in church, it is not hard to see why the pentatonic scale might
have been favored.
Introduction
Using the CD
Learning the Pentatonic Scale
Minor Pentatonic
Major Pentatonic
Two-Octave Pentatonic Scales
Technical Exercises
Pentatonic Modes
- Using Pentatonic Modes
Common Out-of-Scale Chords
Other Chord Movements
Soloing with Pentatonic Scales
- Major 7th Chords
- Minor 7th Chords
- Dominant 7th Chords
In Closing
Italiano
English
