Major Pentatonic Scale
The subset of the major scale that works over every major chord in a key.
Understanding the major pentatonic
The major pentatonic scale is a subset of the major scale, without the two notes that can cause dissonance with other notes in the scale. (The two missing notes are the 4 and the 7, which are each a dissonant half step away from the 3 and 1, respectively. See the lesson on minor second intervals for more about this dissonance.)
This lack of dissonance in a pentatonic scale is particularly useful, because it means a pentatonic scale can be played on any chord root without clashing with other notes. This makes it very useful to develop "muscle memory" for playing the pentatonic over a chord shape.
The major pentatonic fits over major chords.
Practicing the major pentatonic
To play the major pentatonic with chord tones on downbeats, we need to account for the fact that there are no notes between the 3 and 5. So we need to pause there and wait for the next beat. This is actually a great phrasing exercise that tends to make our playing even more musical.
Press the play button to see and hear the rhythmic pattern, followed by the arpeggio. Try playing it on repeat a few times to help get the sound of the chord tones in your ears.
Another good way to practice the major pentatonic is to break it up into short chunks, from one chord tone to another. This helps us phrase our improvisation more musically, and leaves room to strum the chord in between the pentatonic chunks.
See the E-shape major pentatonic lesson for examples of these practice exercises on the fretboard.