Carter NINE -Pentatonic Scales , The Pentatonic Scale lay figure 9-1 and listen to the sound of Woody Shaw improvising using a Db pentatonic scale. This example is from Woody’ solo on “In Case You Haven't Heard.”? Figure 9-1 chats * Woody Shaw, Little Red's Fantasy, Muse, 1976. 193Cuarren Nine RR Figure 9-2 C pentatonic scale whole st whole ste minor 3rd__whole steg There are many five-note scales, but the term “pentatonic scale” usually refers to the five-note scale shown in figure 9-2. Here are some easy ways to see, hear, and think of what a pentatonic scale is. «lt is 1-2-3-5-6 of the major scale. «It is the major scale without the fourth and seventh notes (in the key of C, leave out F and B). + Intervalicaly, you can think of it as “whole step, whole step, minor 3rd, whole step.” Pentatonic scales give music a greater feeling of space. Constructed of whole steps and minor 3rds ‘only, with no half steps, pentatonic scales lack the cchromaticism of other scales. More air, space, and light enter the music when you play this larger-interval scale. In the swing era, Art Tatum, Lester Young, and Teddy Wilson often played pentatonic scales. Figure 9-3 shows Tatum’ rippling C pentatonic run on Harry Ruby's “Three Little Words."2 Figure 9-3 ae Pentatonic scales weren't igure played very much during the bebop cba a =) pb7ft1__efa, although the melody of Bud Powells "So Sorry, Please" is based on an Eb pentatonic scale (figure 9-4). Pentatonic scales were reintroduced into jazz in the early 1960s, mainly by John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner. 2 srt Tatum, Gene Norman Presents, Vol. , GNP Crescendo, erly 1950s, 3 Bud Powell, The Genius Of Bud Powel, Verve, 1950. 194Pentaronic Scales The Modes and the Minor Pentatonic Scale ike any other scale, the pentatonic scale has modes. These modes originate from the different notes that you can use as the starting point for the scale, as shown in figure 9-5. The fifth mode is played so often that it has acquired its own name: the minor pentatonic scale, which is closely related to the blues scale. More on the blues scale in Chapter 10. The minor pentatonic lick shown in figure 9-6 is the first one that many jazz musicians learn to play. Figure 9-5 1st mode 2nd mode 3rd mode 4th mode 5th mode the "minor pentatonic" scale Figure 9-6 195Charter N. The I, IV, and V Pentatonic Scales on II-V-I Chords hree pentatonic scales occur naturally in every major key. In the key of C major, they are the C, F, and G pentatonic scales (figure 9-7). Ill cal them | IV, and V. These Roman numerals are meant to help you learn the scale's position relative to the key they are in, but they are not standard terms like “slash chord” or “I-V-I." If you say. “I'm playing on the IV pentatonic” to another musician, they'll think you're either a genius or crazy—probably the latter, Play each pentatonic scale—l, IV, and V—over the Il chord, then the V chord, and then the | chord in the key of C. If you're a pianist, play the chords in your left hand while playing the scales in your right hand. If you're not a pianist, borrow a piano, have your teacher play the chords, or use the first track of Jamey Aebersold’s play-along Vol. 21, Gettin’ It Together. Figure 9-7 C pentatonic scale F pentatonic scale G pentatonic scale 196PENTATONIC SCALES | pentatonic scale IV pentatonic scale \V pentatonic scale over all chord over all chord. over alll chord Over D-7, the Il chord, all three pentatonic scales (I, IV, and V), will sound good (figure 9-8). The V pentatonic scale, based on G, is a bit more interesting than either | or IV because it contains both B and E—the 6th and 9th of a D-7 chord. Woody Shaw plays a V pentatonic over a Ii chord (A pentatonic over E-7) on Kenny Barron's “Gichi"4 as shown in figure 9-9 and figure 9-10. Many of the examples in this chapter feature Woody Shaw, an acknowledged master of the pentatonic scale. In another example, Woody plays a | pentatonic cover a ll chord (Gb pentatonic over Ab-7) on his ‘tune “Rahsaan’s Run’® (figure 9-11). Figure 9-9 Figure 9-11 4 Booker Ervin, Back From The Gig, Blue Note, 1968. 5 Woody Shaw, Rasewood, Columbia, 1977. 197Figure 9-12 G the "avoid" note on G7 s pentatonic scale Figure 9-13 FT Figure 9-14 FAT Over G7, the V chord, both the | and IV pentatonic scales have C, the “avoid” note on a G7 chord (figure 9-12). This doesn’t mean that you can't play them; it just means that each scale has a built-in dissonance. if you play the V pentatonic scale over G7, however, there is no “avoid” note. The V pentatonic also sounds good because it contains both A and E—the Sth and 13th of G7. Figure 9-13 shows Lee Morgan playing the V pentatonic on a V chord (F pentatonic on F7) on his tune "Totem Pole."6 Figure 9-14 shows Woody Shaw playing F# pentatonic on F#7 on Ramon Morris’ “Child's Dance”? the “avoid* note on G7 IV pentatonic scale \V pentatonic scale 198 & Lee Morgan, The Sidewinder Blue Note, 1963 7 Art Blakey’ Jazz Messengers, Prestige, 1972.PENtAaroNtc SCALES LE Figure 9-15 major Sth ca 7th F, the "avoid" note on CA chord pentatonic scale IV pentatonic scale V pentatonic scale Played over CA, the | chord, the IV pentatonic scale has F, an “avoid” note on a CA chord (figure 9-15). Both the | and V pentatonic scales sound consonant on a CA chord, since neither scale includes F, the “avoid” note. The V pentatonic scale sounds richer than the | pentatonic because it has both the 7th and 9th of the major 7th chord (B and D ona CA chord). Figure 9-16 shows Mulgrew Miller playing an A pentatonic scale over ‘AA (the | pentatonic on a | chord) on "Wingspan." Figure 9-17 shows Mulgrew playing first a V pentatonic scale over a Il-V (E pentatonic over 8-7, E7) and then a I pentatonic over a I chord (A pentatonic over A.A), again from “Wingspan.” Figure 9-16 Figure 9-17 B-7 £7, i AA ' Mulgrew Miller, Wingspan, Landmark, 1987. 199Cuarrer Nine Figure 9-18 AbA Figure 9-19 Aba Aba Figure 9-20 Play figure 9-18 and hear Lee Morgan play Eb pentatonic over AbA, the V pentatonic over a oa I chord, on “Totem Pole." Figure 9-19 shows two examples of Woody Shaw playing the V pentatonic cover a | chord (Eb pentatonic over AbA) on Booker Ervin's “Lynn's Tune."!9 Figure 9-20 shows Woody playing Db pentatonic over Gba, Figure 9-21 the V pentatonic over a | chord on "Rosewood"! (the A natural is a Bba chromatic passing note). Figure 9-21 shows Woody's F pentatonic phrase over BbA on “Rosewood.”'2 Figure 9-22 shows Woody playing a Bb pentatonic lick over an Eb chord on “Organ Grinder:"1? Figure 9-22 Ba 9 Lee Morgan, The Sidewinder, Blue Note, 1963. +® Booker Ervin, Back From The Gig, Blue Note, 1968. 11 Woody Shaw, Rosewood, Columbia, 1977. 2 Bid, '3 Woody Shaw, Woody Three, Columbia, 1979. 200Cuarter Nine In case you haven't noticed, the V pentatonic scale sounds consonant when played on all three chords—Il, V, and I. This can simplify playing on II-V-I considerably. Practice improvising on the II-V-I in C playing just the V pentatonic scale, the one based ‘on G. An example is shown in figure 9-23. Track 1 of Jamey Aebersold's Volume 3, The ll-V7-1 Progression is a good way to practice this in all keys. Figure 9-23 D-7 G7 ca Here are a few general rules for playing pentatonic scales on II-V-I chords: +On al chord, play the 1, V, and V pentatonic scales. colt *On a V chord, play the 1 hm V pentatonic scale. +On a chord, play the land V pentatonic scales, *Onaill-VAl, play the L V pentatonic scale. Playing Pentatonic Scales on “Giant Steps” Le at figure 9-24, the changes to John Coltrane's “Giant Steps,"'4 a tune that has the reputation of being difficult to play. “Giant Steps” is a challenging ‘tune, but the following examples may make it seem a bit easier. In its 16 bars are 26 chord changes. Ata fast tempo, that's a lot of chords to play. How many keys does it go through? The first chord is BA. The next two chords, D7 and GA, are the V-| in the key of G. The next chord, Bb7, is the V chord in the key of Eb, The first four chords go through three keys! Not to worry. Every single chord in the tune is from those three keys. Because “Giant Steps” is in only three keys, you can play “Giant Steps” using just three pentatonic scales. 4 John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic, 1959. 202PENtAToNic ScaLEs Figure 9-24 "Giant Steps" changes BA D7 GA Bb7 ea A-7 07 Ga a7 cba FA7 Ba F-7 a7 aN A-7 D7 GA ct-7 Fey BA F-7 eb7 Bba 7 FA7 203Cuarter NINE Figure 9-25 shows both the key changes and the chord changes as they occur in “Giant Steps.” Notice how much less often the keys change than ‘the chords. "Giant Steps” has 26 chords, but only 10 key changes. And those 10 key changes involve just three keys—B, G, and Eb. Think key, not chord, Figure 9-25 "Giant Steps" key changes over chord changes key changes: B G eb chord changes: BA D7 Ga Bb7 eb ra 4 D7 GA Bb7 ba FA7 BA F-7 Bb7 Ba A-T 07 GA 7 FA eb B Ba F-7 aby eba ct-7 FAT 204PENTATONIC ScALES aa neeneaeneemeemaaneeseseeanenanmensnemaamenanmnenemmenmeeemmenammmmeneems neon nan eaaaaad Figure 9-26 shows the V pentatonic scales, the key changes, and the chord changes to “Giant Steps.” Figure 9-27 shows a pentatonic solo based entirely on the V pentatonic scales of “Giant Steps.” Figure 9-28 shows the same solo, but with left-hand piano voicings. Playing an entire solo of nothing but pentatonic scales would sound pretty boring. Mixed in with more conventional “playing the changes,” however, pentatonic scales give your playing structure and a feeling of increased space. "Giant Steps” is not the easiest tune on which to start playing pentatonic scales. | chose it to demonstrate how to make a challenging tune more accessible. As you begin to learn to solo using pentatonic scales, try simpler tunes like "Just Friends” or “Tune Up.” Figure 9-26 "Giant Steps" - V pentatonic scales over key changes and chord changes V pentatonic scale: Fe D Bb oD key changes: B 6 eb G chord changes: BA D7 Ga Bb7 ba A-7 D7 Bb Fe Bb eb B eb GA Bb7 eba Fey BA F-7 Bb7 Fe cba -7 D7 GA a-7 7 Bb Fe eb B BA F-7 Bb7 eba t-7 Ft? 205Cuarren Nine toseaseeestendiaeinaneeeneamanmmaanenenenammnnaneenenEaemEAREEEMEEReneneeeeeemeeed Figure 9-27 BA D7 Ga eb7 ba A-T D7 Ga a7 Ea Fy BA F-7 Bb7 Bb A-7 07 Ga ch-7 FAT BA F-7 Bb7 ba. 7 FAT 206Pextaro cScates een BA D7 Ga a7 ba A-T o7 Ga a7 ba a7, BA F-7 Bb7 Ba A-7 D7 GA a7 FV BA F-7 Bb7 ba 7 AT 207Cuarrer N Pentatonic Scales and “Avoid” Notes” here's another reason the V pentatonic scale plays well over Il-V-I. What are the “avoid” notes on D-7, G7, CA, the II-V-I chords in the key of C? + Ona D-7 chord there is no "avoid" note. *On a G7 chord the “avoid” note is C. +On a CA chord, the "avoid" note is F Cand F are the “avoid” notes on the II-V-I in the key of C. If you play the C major scale and leave out C and F you'll have five notes left over, as shown in figure 9-29. Rearrange those five notes and you'll have the G pentatonic minus C and F, the two "avoid" notes, is the G pentatonic scale scale. The V pentatonic scale is the major scale without the “avoid” notes. Figure 9-29 the C major scale, Because G pentatonic, the V pentatonic scale in C, has To “avoid” notes, you can play it over any chord in the key of C: CA, D-7, Esus!9, Fal4, G7, Gsus, and Bo. As an example, Figure 9-30 shows Woody Shaw playing a G pentatonic phrase over Esus?? ‘on Kenny Barron's “Gichi."15 Figure 9-30 , esus?? : '5 Booker Ervin, Back From The Gig, Blue Note, 1968, 208PextaroNic SCALES —— ee eeniensnaneanansmemmeesmemaeimemamemmaammeeemmameed tam Playing the Same Pentatonic Scale on Successive Chords in Different Keys Because each pentatonic scale belongs to three different major keys (the C pentatonic scale is in ‘C major, IV in G major, and V in F major) you can often play the same pentatonic scale on successive chords in different keys, as shown in the next three examples. Notice that these examples are all played over il chords a whole step apart, a very common chord progression. Figure 9-31 shows Joe Henderson playing Gb pentatonic over Eb-7 and Db-7 on Horace Silver's “Pretty Eyes." Eb-7 and Db-7 are Il chords a whole step apart, in the keys of Db and Ch, respectively. The Gb pentatonic scale is the IV pentatonic scale in Db and the V pentatonic scale in Cb. Joe stretches a single melodic idea (the Gb Pentatonic scale) over two different tonalities (the keys of Db and Cb). Figure 9-31 b-7 ob-7 eb-7 3 Figure 9-32 Woody Shaw plays Bb pentatonic ‘over G-7 and F-7, II chords a whole step. ‘apart, in his solo on “Rosewood,""? as shown in figure 9-32. B> pentatonic is the IV pentatonic in the key of F (the G-7 chord) and the V pentatonic in the key of Eb (the F-7 chord). Figure 9-33 A little later in the same solo, Woody plays c-7 Bb-7 c-7 Bb-7 Eb pentatonic over Bb-7 and C-7, II chords a whole step apart (figure 9-33). Eb pentatonic over Bb-7 he V pentatonic over a Il chord. Eb pentatonic over C-7 is the IV pentatonic over a Il chord. G-7 F-7 G-7 , RT 1S Horace Silver, The Cape Verdean Blues, Blue Note, 1965, 7 Woody Shaw, Rosewood, Columbia, 1977. 209Cuarrer Nine Figure 9.34 The II Pentatonic Scale over pat4 Major 7th Chords nother pentatonic scale is often played on major 7th chords. Play an E pentatonic scale on @ DA chord, as in figure 9-34. Playing Gf changes DA to Dat, or D Lydian. The E pentatonic scale is built off of the second note of the DA chord, so we'll call it the ll pentatonic scale. Joe Henderson plays this pentatonic scale idea (E pentatonic over DA) on Duke Pearson's tune “Gaslight,"'® as shown in figure 9-35. Figure 9-35 Da 2 In figure 9-36, Woody Shaw plays the Il pentatonic ona Lydian chord (Db pentatonic on Cba¥4) on "In Case You Haven't Heard.”"9 Notice how Woody goes. outside briefly, playing a D natural in the seventh bar. Figure 9-36 chat uke Pearson, Sweet Honey Bee, Blue Note, 1966. +9 Woody Shaw, Little Red's Fantasy, Muse, 1976. 210PeNtATONIc SCALES Later in the same solo, Woody again plays the same Il pentatonic over the Lydian chord (Db pentatonic on ChAM), as seen in figure 9-37. When playing the lI pentatonic scale on major 7th chords, you don't have to wait until you see a#4 in the chord symbol. Just as you can raise the 4th on any major 7th chord, you can play the il pentatonic scale on any major 7th chord. Figure 9-37 chal Figure 9-38 Wayne Shorter’s “Speak c-7 Dba c-7 Dba No Evil,"20 which alternates -7 and DbA chords for eight bars (the first four bars are shown in figure 9-38), is a good spot to play a single pentatonic scale, as shown in the two-bar figure in figure 9-39. The Eb pentatonic scale is the IV pentatonic Figure 9-39 in the key of Bb (the C-7 chord) and the c-7 Dba I pentatonic on DbA. 29 Wayne Shorter, Speak No Evi, Blue Note, 1964. 211Cuarten Nine aa eLanneneeeeemseemeeeeeeemmemememmmennneenemmeeemeneeeemmeneeeseannaesa ene Figure 9-40 Acommon type of reharmonization on D7 (ab7) ab-7 V chords is tritone substitution, We won't cover b tritone substitution thoroughly until Chapter 13. Basically tritone substitution means playing a V chord a tritone away from the V chord that's written. Suppose you're playing on a D7 chord and you decide to use tritone substitution and play é Ab7 instead (D and Ab are a tritone apart). This means you can play Ab pentatonic on D7. Figure 9-40 shows a * Mulgrew Miller using this idea on “Wingspan."2 The IV Pentatonic Scale over Melodic Minor Chords 1a melodic minor scale, there is only a single naturally occurring pentatonic scale. tis built off of the fourth note of the scale. In C melodic Figure 9-61 minor, the IV pentatonic would be built off of F (figure 9-41). This IV pentatonic scale may sound a little strange if you're not used to it (figure 9-42), This is because pentatonic scales sound resoundingly “major,” and when you play them over the very exotic and 5 decidedly “un-major” sound of IV pentatdnic scale chords from the melodic minor scale, strange (and beautiful) things happen. f you don't like melodic minor scale F pentatonic scale Figure 042 this sound, don’t worry about it. It's cs all a matter of individual mae! your taste may change. On meldqic _/tnifvoc scale chords, you can play the | pentatonic scale based on the IV of the melodic minor “key”. 21 Mulgrew Miller, Wingspan, Landmark, 1987. 212Pentatonrc Scares LL Figure 9-43 A chord from melodic minor harmony that gets a lot of pentatonic action is the alt chord. For instance, czalt) G7alt is from the 7th mode of Ab melodic minor. The pentatonic scale based on the fourth note of Ab melodic minor is Db pentatonic, as in the lick shown in figure 9-43. You can avoid the math by memorizing. this shortcut: On an alt chord, play the pentatonic scale << a tritone away (on Galt, play the Db pentatonic scale). ~~ _ Pentatonic scales don’t occur in either diminished ‘or whole-tone scale harmony. The In-sen and Other Five-Note Scales here are thousands of different five-note arrangements that could be called “pentatonic scales.” One that is often played is the /n-sen scale, first introduced into jaz by John Coltrane and McCoy ‘Tyner, and shown in figure 9-44.22 The unusual interval pattern of the In-sen Figure 9-44 scale is “half step, major 3rd, In-sen scale whole step, minor 3rd.” Play hattste major 3rd ___wholestep___minor 3rd figure 9-45, and listen to [ Kenny Barron playing the In-sen scale on the first few bars of hs tune “Golden Lotus."23 Figure 9-45 Dsus: 2 More correctly, the in-sen is a tuning of the Koto (a Japanese stringed instrument), rather than a scale. 23 Kenny Barron, Golden Lotus, Muse 1980. 213Cuarter NINE SL Figure 9-46 ‘C major scale D melodic minor scale E In-sen scale The In-sen scale occurs naturally in both the major and melodic minor scales. As you can see in Esus?9 figure 9-46, the notes in the E In-sen scale are found in both the C major and D melodic minor scales. The E In-sen scale is built off of the third note of the C major scale and the second note of the D melodic minor scale. It can be played over both major scale and melodic minor scale chords, but is often played on sust® chords, as in the previous example by Kenny Barron (figure 9-45). Figure 9-47 shows an E In-sen scale pattern over an Esus'9 chord. Figure 9-47 Figure 9-48 shows another five-note scale. This scale doesn’t have a commonly accepted name, but \'ve heard it called the “altered pentatonic.” Like the {n-sen scale, it is usually played on sus? chords. Unlike the In-sen scale, the altered pentatonic scale has a natural 13th, and occurs naturally only in the melodic minor scale (shown below), Figure 9-48 E "altered" pentatonic scale D melodic minor scale 214PENTATONIC SCALES The Minor Pentatonic and the Blues Scale he minor pentatonic scale is largely interchangeable with the blues scale, which we'll cover in the next chapter. Figure 9-49 shows both a C minor pentatonic scale and a C blues scale. They are almost identical; the only difference is the F# in the blues scale, 2 chromatic passing note between F and G. Figure 9-50 shows two similar phrases over a 7!9 chord.24 The notes in the first phrase are derived from the C minor pentatonic scale. The otes in the second phrase are from the C blues scale. Figure 9-49 C minor pentatonic scale C blues scale Figure 9-50 7#9 , bee 24 Pianists should note the C719 left-hand voicing, 215Carter NINE Figure 9-51 Black Narcissus Joe Henderson Ab-7 Bb-7/Ab_—AD-7 Bb-7/ab_—AD-7 Bb-7/Aab Melody built off of Gb pentatonic scale Ab-7 batt H-7 Gt_7Ft HR? Gt-7Ft ‘melody built off of E pentatonic scale Ft-7 Gt-7t Ft-7 aal4 chats eal shal cal chal rats babs cal4 Abal4 shal cals (©1980 Johen Music. Used By Permission 216PentaTonic SCALES med Figure 9-52 Bb7 Figure 9-53 teem Pentatonic Scale Tunes Some great tunes use pentatonic scales as melodic material, including Gary Bartz’s "The Pennywhistle Call”25 Johnny Mandel’s "You Are There,"26 and Dizzy Gillespie's “Dizzy Atmosphere."27 The first 15 bars of Joe Henderson's “Black Narcissus,"28 shown in its entirety in figure 9-51, are based on the Gb and E pentatonic scales. The first six notes of Sonny Rollins’ "Sonnymoon For Two"29 outline the Bb minor pentatonic scale, as shown in figure 9-52. Practicing Pentatonic Scales cost of the music we play is in 4/4 time, so the five-note pentatonic scale is often played in four-note groupings, as in the F pentatonic pattern shown in figure 9-53. You have to internalize patterns like this, but they can be pretty boring ‘to practice. As soon as you get comfortable with 25 Gary Bartz, Reflections On Monk, SteepleChase, 1988. 25 rene Kral, Gentle Rain, Choice, 1977. 27 Charlie Parker, The Bird On Savoy, Part 1, BYG, 1945. 28 Joe Henderson, Power To The People, Milestone, 1969. 28 Sonny Rolins, A Night At The Vilage Vanguard, Vol I Blue Note, 1957, 217Cuarrer NINE a pattern, change it to a more rhythmically varied and swinging one like the one in figure 9-54 (shown over left-hand piano voicings). You can also explore patterns that skip notes in the scale, as shown in figure 9-55. Experiment, and come Up with patterns of your own. Figure 9-54 c-7 F7 ba Figure 9-55 c-7 » FT ba The pentatonic scale is closely related to the blues scale. It's time we look at the blues, historically the most important predecessor of jazz, and still the very heart and soul of the music. 218