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Berklee Guitar Scale Fingering
Berklee Guitar Scale Fingering
Lesson 4:
Minor Pentatonic Scales and
Minor Blues Scales
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Syllabus
Grades
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Communication
Announcements Minor pentatonic scales are five-note scales that consist of 1, flat (lowered) 3, 4, 5, flat (lowered)
Class list 7. There is no scale degree 2 or 6. Notice that, as with major, these are the scale steps that are
Discussion the half steps.
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Anytime you see minor (and hear minor), a lowered 3 is used. Major has a natural 3 and minor
has a lowered 3.
The third of the A major scale in C#. The flat third is C natural.
To transform the A major scale into an A minor pentatonic, we first lower the 3 and the 7, then
we use the formula for a minor pentatonic scale, and play only those notes: 1, b3, 4, 5, b7. Scale
degree 4 in an A major scale is D. The 5 is E and the lowered-7 is G natural (from G#).
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Activity 1
Topic 3
Activity 2
Topic 4
Activity 3
Topic 5
Activity 4
Activity 5
Activity 6
Activity 7
Topic 6
Course Contents
Syllabus
Grades
Bookmark
Communication
Announcements Minor pentatonic scales are very useful to beginning improvisers—actually, to all improvisers. The
Class list magic of the minor pentatonic scale is that nearly any series or combinations of notes sound
Discussion musically pleasing, and that gives the improviser great flexibility.
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Bb minor pentatonic:
C minor pentatonic:
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