Songs that use the Pentatonic scales

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  • Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
  • The pentatonic scale is sometimes looked down upon as "that scale that every amateur guitarist won't stop playing!" But the pentatonic scale is actually the closest thing we have to a universal scale of music. Across different cultures and styles, the pentatonic scale is often the foundational set of notes that writers and musicians just keep coming back to.
    SOURCES:
    What is a Raag?: • Ep 12: What is a Raag?
    Anuja Kamat singing in different style • Introductory episode: ...
    Andy Guitar on the Minor Pentatonic: • 10 ESSENTIAL Minor Pen...
    Bobby McFerrin: • Bobby McFerrin Demonst...
    Raga Bhoop: • Raag Bhoop - Manjusha ...
    Guzheng: • Guzheng: "Spring River...
    An extra special thanks goes to Vidad Flowers, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇
    SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: / davidbennettpiano
    0:00 Introduction
    0:58 Songs with Pentatonic melodies
    2:24 Why the Pentatonic scales are "fool-proof"
    4:35 Pentatonic guitar riffs
    5:15 Amazing Grace
    5:48 The Blues
    6:47 Black notes on piano
    7:38 Non-western music
    10:35 Pentatonic harmony?

Комментарии • 1,2 тыс.

  • @DavidBennettPiano
    @DavidBennettPiano  3 года назад +115

    ❗️CORRECTION: at 1:10 the formula for the minor pentatonic scale should have a “b7” but I’ve missed out the flat symbol! Sorry for any confusion 😅 Thanks to Brion Reid for bringing it to my attention.

    • @Wind-nj5xz
      @Wind-nj5xz 3 года назад +6

      You accidentally invented harmonic minor pentatonic

    • @arcioko2142
      @arcioko2142 3 года назад +1

      @@Wind-nj5xz but it has a semitone

    • @Wind-nj5xz
      @Wind-nj5xz 3 года назад +4

      @@arcioko2142 It also has a tritone, but pentatonic doesn't mean no tritones or semitones, it just means 5 notes

    • @arcioko2142
      @arcioko2142 3 года назад

      @@Wind-nj5xz well yes

    • @00001Htheprogrammer
      @00001Htheprogrammer Год назад

      btw, you can PIN your comment

  • @connormacdonald2883
    @connormacdonald2883 3 года назад +1236

    "Wait... so it's all pentatonic?"
    "Always has been."

    • @DavidBennettPiano
      @DavidBennettPiano  3 года назад +82

      Is that a reference to "The Egg"!?

    • @oopsallbeets2320
      @oopsallbeets2320 3 года назад +10

      @@DavidBennettPiano andy weir?

    • @OmnipotentO
      @OmnipotentO 3 года назад +22

      🔫👨‍🚀

    • @connormacdonald2883
      @connormacdonald2883 3 года назад +32

      @@DavidBennettPiano no, but an equally old meme.

    • @SomeNot
      @SomeNot 3 года назад +7

      @Connor Macdonald PLEASE send a direct link not a link to a google cached version.

  • @julienne.vanaken
    @julienne.vanaken 3 года назад +1335

    David could be anywhere from 11 to 35 years old

    • @CarlSong
      @CarlSong 3 года назад +69

      He'll look exactly like this when he turns 40.

    • @kalvino67
      @kalvino67 3 года назад +23

      Hopefully he will still look like this when he turns 60!

    • @Orholam5
      @Orholam5 3 года назад +24

      agreed! in the video I would've said 25, but then the hands playing piano maybe 35...no one knowssss

    • @davidhughes7174
      @davidhughes7174 3 года назад +8

      a wholesome young man

    • @JScottLittlefield
      @JScottLittlefield 3 года назад +12

      David is ageless, as is the information provided. Thanks, David!

  • @hawksoob
    @hawksoob 3 года назад +247

    I very accidentally discovered this as a little kid. I would sit at our piano and play just the black keys in random rhythmic patterns (basically what you're doing at about 12:30), and it never sounded bad. My family (who weren't very musical) thought I was some sort of 5-year old prodigy composing classical music. I was just mashing notes together that had no possibility of dissonance.

    • @glennpagemusic
      @glennpagemusic Год назад +6

      😆

    • @noradosmith
      @noradosmith Год назад +10

      Lmao this is gold

    • @haruyasumi616
      @haruyasumi616 11 месяцев назад +5

      i also accidentally discovered it a while back as an adult. i've always make electronic music but never really followed music theory much, just doing what i felt instead. and realised that just using black notes meant that it couldn't ever go wrong. but i wondered for ages why everything i made sounded a bit chinese! it wasn't until i bought a guzheng and learnt about pentatonic before i realised why.

    • @althealligator1467
      @althealligator1467 10 месяцев назад +1

      ​@@haruyasumi616 Wow that escalated quickly at the end

    • @oliverdiamond6594
      @oliverdiamond6594 5 месяцев назад +1

      haha nice.

  • @edwinlundmark
    @edwinlundmark 3 года назад +257

    Almost no beatles examples... Blink twice if you are being held hostage

    • @gonesnake2337
      @gonesnake2337 3 года назад +52

      The copyright people are holding the Beatles music hostage

    • @sieteocho
      @sieteocho 3 года назад +11

      An even more egregious omission is the Bee Gees. Every other song they write is pentatonic.

    • @Henry3Studios
      @Henry3Studios 2 года назад +1

      They’d probably take up the entire video as great of a band they are.

    • @oliverdiamond6594
      @oliverdiamond6594 5 месяцев назад

      no radiohead too.

  • @stefanlewszuk5359
    @stefanlewszuk5359 3 года назад +400

    "First, and, sometimes only..."
    I feel attacked

  • @stockicide
    @stockicide 3 года назад +415

    Appreciate you showing examples from other cultures as well, to show how these ideas don't just apply to Western music.

    • @sieteocho
      @sieteocho 3 года назад +35

      He has to - pentatonic scale is an even bigger thing in Chinese music than it is in the western tradition.

    • @KasumiRINA
      @KasumiRINA 3 года назад +13

      Well, Pentatonic scale is basically what gives music "East Asian" vibes, kinda like harmonic minor sounds "Middle Eastern".

    • @saoranachnah-alba723
      @saoranachnah-alba723 3 года назад +5

      @@KasumiRINA I was always told that the pentatonic scale made music sound Scottish or Chinese, although this may have some bias as I am Scottish.

    • @rewdwarf123
      @rewdwarf123 3 года назад +2

      @@saoranachnah-alba723 Like the song 'Mull of Kintyre'.

    • @rewdwarf123
      @rewdwarf123 3 года назад

      @@KasumiRINA Like the song 'Japanese Boy'?

  • @GoviaM
    @GoviaM 3 года назад +410

    0:43 Ive never been so offended by something I 100% agree with

    • @michaeleaster1815
      @michaeleaster1815 3 года назад +8

      I celebrate sly, low-key jabs at guitar players! (and I'm a guitar player)

    • @KevyNova
      @KevyNova 3 года назад +14

      I’m a guitar teacher and one of my goals is to make sure none of my students fall into that category. It’s way too common for guitar players.

    • @farhandaryanto770
      @farhandaryanto770 3 года назад +15

      Jokes on him, I know blues scale

    • @NeverEverClever
      @NeverEverClever 3 года назад +1

      i first thought he was making fun of keytar players

    • @robertturtle
      @robertturtle 3 года назад +11

      The key moment of my guitar learning path was when somebody told me I can add the B note to the A minor pentatonic scale. That was after almost 10 years. It opened a new universe that eventually led me to learn other scales and actually understand the theory behind it.

  • @poiuyt975
    @poiuyt975 3 года назад +51

    The trick that Bobby McFerrin did was brilliant! :D

  • @mikdu1
    @mikdu1 3 года назад +1654

    "songs that use the pentatonic scales" also known as: "every single pop/rock song in the last 60 years"

    • @thefakepie1126
      @thefakepie1126 3 года назад +44

      and that's not a bad thing !

    • @bazicuber1037
      @bazicuber1037 3 года назад +17

      @@thefakepie1126 Seems pretty overused by now, I'd be ok with it if it was used once in awhile, but artists rely on it nowadays.

    • @thefakepie1126
      @thefakepie1126 3 года назад +72

      ​@@bazicuber1037 "overused" if you actually believe that "every single pop/rock song" use it , but that's a false statement exagerated on purpose , you shouldn't take that as face value , of course not every pop/rock song use , I don't know what the statistics are but I hear non-pentatonic minor and phrygian all the time , and a lot of non-pentatonic major too , and how the fuck can you "overuse" a fucking scale , scales are such a most fundemental building blocks of music and you can do so much with it , saying a scale is overused is like saying "man using notes is so overused , I'd be ok with music using notes once in awhile , but artists rely on it nowadays" "making sound is so overused I want my music dead silent" "dude existing is so overused omg" , and also I'm ready to bet 50% of my earnings that 50% of the songs that use pentatonic scales you hear you don't even notice it use pentatonic scale , don't lie

    • @bazicuber1037
      @bazicuber1037 3 года назад +4

      @@thefakepie1126 ok I didn't want anybody to be so mad over this topic, the pentatonic scale is not the only reason or even the reason why i dislike modern day radio hit songs from the 00s, many things come into affect like the dissociation from songwriter and performer and not authentic music playing. Like I said, I have no problem people using the pentatonic scale, you are correct saying a scale is overused is quite ludicrous, I meant it more in singular artists catalogues sort of way but that doesn't matter. I love music and the fact there's so much you can do with it. Coming from loving music back in the 60s and 70s I wish more modern music would try more adventurous things. Not like there isn't people doing that, I love Jacob Collier and thank you scientist, but i guess I'll just have to keep listening to the thousands of 70s bands and miss out on concerts when bands where in the prime.

    • @thefakepie1126
      @thefakepie1126 3 года назад +17

      @@bazicuber1037 "I wish more modern music would try more adventurous things" have you ever heard of 100gecs tho ? I don't really know exactly what you mean by "adventurous things" tho so maybe you're looking for a specific thing that I don't know , I also don't really get what you mean by "the dissociation from songwriter and performer and not authentic music playing." , but anyways , you like what you like you don't like what you don't like

  • @mikepro500
    @mikepro500 3 года назад +236

    The five modes of the pentatonic scale:
    1st Major Pentatonic (Ionian mode):
    1 2 3 5 6
    C D E G A
    2nd Egyptian Suspended (Dorian mode):
    1 2 4 5 b7
    C D F G Bb
    3rd Blues minor/Mang Gong (Phrygian mode):
    1 b3 4 b6 b7
    C Eb F Ab Bb
    4th Blues Major/Ritsusen/Yo Scale (Mixolydian mode):
    1 2 4 5 6
    C D F G A
    5th minor Pentatonic (Aeolian mode):
    1 b3 4 5 b7
    C Eb F G Bb

    • @robertweekes5783
      @robertweekes5783 2 года назад +4

      I was gonna say minor pentatonic looks like the blues scale 👍🏼

    • @set3777
      @set3777 2 года назад +1

      Too much ado about stupidity/garbage.
      Maybe you people should ignoring the 4th and 7th groups of the periodic table too?
      Group 4 : Carbon, Silicon, Germanium, Tin, Lead etc
      Group 7: Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine etc

    • @turquoise770
      @turquoise770 2 года назад +6

      @@set3777 I wondered why Lydian and Locrian weren't mentioned.

    • @gabrielmahutasoit8953
      @gabrielmahutasoit8953 2 года назад +15

      @@turquoise770 the pentatonic eliminates the dissonance brought up by tritone and semitone intervals. Lydian has 1 and #4 as a tritone, making we can't make pentatonic version of this mode due to the lack of root (prior to the tritone elimination). Locrian is the same because of 1 and b5 note those're eliminated because of their tritone interval.

    • @turquoise770
      @turquoise770 2 года назад +1

      @@gabrielmahutasoit8953 Another instance of racism - even in music

  • @josh34578
    @josh34578 3 года назад +246

    Music theory notes: If you take 5 notes in a row on the circle of 5ths you get a pentatonic scale. Also, the notes of C major pentatonic are part of the C major, F major and G major keys, which explains some of the versatility. If you think in terms of modes, then the notes of C major pentatonic are found in C Major, C Mixolydian, and C Lydian which further demonstrates the versatility.

    • @kevin_dasilva
      @kevin_dasilva 3 года назад +32

      Dude i had that lightbulb moment when he explained how the major pentatonic cuts the 4th (what makes major lydian) and 7th (mixolydian) notes! Same with the minor lacking the 2nd and 6th degrees, what characterize phrygian and dorian, respectively!! I had never thought of it like that before, although I have never had formal training, i dont know if all this is supposed to be obvious
      I love it when things start making sense 😅

    • @KevyNova
      @KevyNova 3 года назад +5

      So weird, I taught one of my students this exact same thing last week.

    • @anthjmauro
      @anthjmauro 3 года назад +11

      And by extension, the notes of A Minor Pentatonic are found in A Minor, D Minor, and E Minor (aka A Minor, A Dorian, and A Phrygian). That’s not to mention the bluesy applications of minor pentatonic scales (playing a minor pentatonic scale over a Dominant chord).

    • @kevin_dasilva
      @kevin_dasilva 3 года назад +10

      @@anthjmauro yes!!! After watching this video, I sent it to an old music teacher of mine. He forwarded me a book talking about being able to use three different major pentatonic scales built on the First, Third and Ninth degrees (of the chord) when playing over a maj7 chord! My mind got blown away

    • @InventorZahran
      @InventorZahran 3 года назад +5

      That makes so much sense! The notes of the C major pentatonic scale can all fit over a C, F, or G chord. Since those three chords are the most commonly-used out of all the chords in the major scale, it just seems natural to play a pentatonic scale that fits them all.

  • @fabienbable
    @fabienbable 3 года назад +163

    Wow, the amount of "digging" you have to go through to achieve these kind of videos just blows my mind.
    Very well researched!
    Kudos to you my friend, keep it up, very interesting!!

  • @fedsavi
    @fedsavi 3 года назад +176

    Lead guitarists: 👁👄👁

    • @Kylora2112
      @Kylora2112 3 года назад +15

      Hey! I know TWO scales! ...minor pentatonic and blues...

    • @KasumiRINA
      @KasumiRINA 3 года назад +5

      to people who didn't get @@Kylora2112's joke: blues scale is literally the same as minor pentatonic with added diminished fifth. Aka the blue note. Aka the devil's note. Aka Diabolus in Musica. It has slight off-key sound so makes the music heavier. Best example is Black Sabbath, the song. Main riff is three notes. G... then a higher octave G, and finally, the Db that gives it that shivering feeling. Add vibrato to make it more unnerving.

    • @gergoretvari6373
      @gergoretvari6373 3 года назад +3

      *laughs in chromatic scale*

    • @sthego3970
      @sthego3970 3 года назад

      @@gergoretvari6373 Ok but, can you make it sound good? lol

    • @gergoretvari6373
      @gergoretvari6373 3 года назад

      @@sthego3970 yes, why couldn't you?

  • @foolishpity605
    @foolishpity605 3 года назад +42

    That little composition at the end was really nice and left me with some really chill vibes. Beautiful, thank you.

  • @philburpalooza8
    @philburpalooza8 3 года назад +62

    "The pentatonic scale is the first and only scale people often learn on the guitar" - I and 100,000+ anonymous cynical keyboard and piano players who've played in bands THANK you for saying that.. 😄 ❤ ( My official nomination for 2020 RUclips Quote of the Year)

    • @DavidBennettPiano
      @DavidBennettPiano  3 года назад +3

      😂😂

    • @yuothineyesasian
      @yuothineyesasian 3 года назад +3

      Never forget that we still get laid more for playing guitar with mediocrity than pianists do no matter their skill.

    • @fffvsr
      @fffvsr 3 года назад +1

      I used to play piano, then harmonica, then trombone and now mainly guitar with a bit of piano, you must have played in bad bands lol

    • @yuothineyesasian
      @yuothineyesasian 3 года назад +2

      Hey hey hey... I resemble that remark.

    • @sntslilhlpr6601
      @sntslilhlpr6601 2 года назад

      Hey that's not fair. I learned the blues scale too.

  • @thepedalarchive2
    @thepedalarchive2 2 года назад +24

    Of all the music theory RUclipsrs I find this channel the most helpful. I appreciate the straightforward explanation of each concept with ample use of popular music examples to illustrate the points. Not knocking Beato or Neely, but I find David’s approach very accessible and helpful to revisiting these fundamental concepts like modes, scales, etc. Also nice that because these videos are sponsored I don’t feel pressured to buy his course. Keep up the good work!

  • @michaelnajoan5104
    @michaelnajoan5104 3 года назад +58

    My man David out here doing what every kid questioned wether it's possible or not, playing only the black keys on a piano. Great video!

  • @diegogianoli7696
    @diegogianoli7696 3 года назад +13

    This is the second video of David Benett Piano playing piano and it makes me happy

  • @fedsavi
    @fedsavi 3 года назад +31

    Classic Rock musicians: (shivers)

  • @williamblewitt6453
    @williamblewitt6453 3 года назад +43

    I've just started my GCSE music course and I find your videos so helpful to see how these concepts work in practice is so helpful, thank you so much!

    • @DavidBennettPiano
      @DavidBennettPiano  3 года назад +14

      Thanks William! I'm really glad that you find the videos helpful!

  • @casparvoncampenhausen5249
    @casparvoncampenhausen5249 3 года назад +22

    Your videos actually help me gain a deeper understanding of music and how it works.
    Thank you

  • @AaronKaiMCDNLD
    @AaronKaiMCDNLD 3 года назад +13

    "the first....and only scale people learn on the guitar"
    way to hit me where it hurts david, way to hit me good

  • @SeanOwen1117
    @SeanOwen1117 3 года назад +9

    The melody you created at the end is just gorgeous!!! Beautiful usage of the scale!!! 🎶🎶✨✨🎶💙

  • @vaultboy3100
    @vaultboy3100 3 года назад +6

    Thank you so much for all that you do. I’ve recently started to learn about pentatonic scales and this video could not have come at a better time! Thank you! 😊

  • @daniellel230
    @daniellel230 3 года назад +77

    Hi! Just wanted to let you know that I've been watching since February 2019, and your channel has been one of my favorites since! Keep up the good work, and thank you for being awesome!

    • @DavidBennettPiano
      @DavidBennettPiano  3 года назад +13

      Thank you! That means a lot! Hopefully I've provided some entertainment during this miserable year 😅

    • @daniellel230
      @daniellel230 3 года назад +2

      @@DavidBennettPiano No problem- I love that I learn something new every time I watch one of your videos, and I hope you're doing well.

    • @ghqkdlfwkkskxbw4546
      @ghqkdlfwkkskxbw4546 3 года назад +1

      Radiohead yes?

    • @daniellel230
      @daniellel230 3 года назад

      @@ghqkdlfwkkskxbw4546 yep- In Rainbows

    • @ghqkdlfwkkskxbw4546
      @ghqkdlfwkkskxbw4546 3 года назад +1

      @@daniellel230 omg what is your favorite radiohead song sir?

  • @AabidHussain69
    @AabidHussain69 3 года назад +27

    "First , and often the only scale guitarists learn"
    Wow , you didn't have to attack me like that.

    • @KasumiRINA
      @KasumiRINA 3 года назад +3

      I learned open C major first lol. Actually even easier. Kinda useless because you can't transpose it without tuning your guitar to another key.

  • @CupcakKeKreations
    @CupcakKeKreations 3 года назад +10

    that ending composition 😍😍😍😍😍😍

  • @SamaraVeler
    @SamaraVeler 3 года назад +13

    The song at the end was absolutely beautiful. Thank you for the video!

  • @dmitrybaranov7946
    @dmitrybaranov7946 3 года назад +11

    Really great pentatonic piece you’ve come up with! Genuinely loved it!

  • @joetumolo7550
    @joetumolo7550 3 года назад +2

    David, this, like all your work is so well done. I have been racking my brain for weeks trying to find someone who can explain the differences between the major and minor and why the notes within each are what they are. Thank you so much, please know you are making a difference in my music and so many others.

  • @yqprod
    @yqprod 3 года назад +2

    as usual, your video is just perfect to learn stuff in music, without realisng youare actualy learning something...so you're the best teacher for musical understanding and culture! Thanks you!

  • @danielsimaz2768
    @danielsimaz2768 3 года назад +20

    All of the melodies that you play on the ocarina in the legend of zelda(ocarina of time and majoras mask) are all based on the pentatonic scale. I always thought this was so fascinating because the creators were able to fit so many memorable songs that you can play with only 5 notes

    • @poke-champ4256
      @poke-champ4256 2 года назад

      That is false. Its not based on a normal pentatonic scale just because its five notes youre wrong

    • @rikk319
      @rikk319 Год назад +2

      @@poke-champ4256 You may be right, you may not--not providing evidence of your claim just makes it as baseless as the original comment.

  • @mitchlahr9527
    @mitchlahr9527 3 года назад +8

    I really enjoyed your connection of the scales to different culturals!

  • @davidgroves4727
    @davidgroves4727 3 года назад

    I have been reading an listening to videos all week trying to learn WHY the pentatonic scales are important and why I should learn them as a beginning guitar player. This video explanation is by far the best explanation I've heard. Awesome piece of work David!

  • @apatouros7572
    @apatouros7572 3 года назад +7

    This is a really great video. Very thorough and features a diverse collection of music. Thanks!

  • @ashcroftg1
    @ashcroftg1 3 года назад +21

    Great videos David Bennett. ..it's like having a sat-nav for music..

  • @TheRealGirlWeeb
    @TheRealGirlWeeb 3 года назад +18

    Out of all your compositions, this one might be my favorite. It's just so relaxing to listen to.
    Your explanations are great and your music is lovely. Thank you.

  • @JimMonsanto
    @JimMonsanto 2 года назад

    That piece you played at the end was just so lovely and gorgeous.

  • @paulcann2613
    @paulcann2613 2 года назад

    I've seen several videos attempting to explain what pentatonic scales are. Your explanation starting at 2:43 is the best I've seen. The others just say what the major and minor scales are without stating that it's the same as regular scales without the notes that are a semi tone away from the preceding or next note. This was a Eureka moment for me! It immediately made sense where others fail. Plus the excellent way you demonstrate why we use them has ensured I subscribe to your channel. Thank you!!

  • @ericglock6932
    @ericglock6932 3 года назад +13

    This guy is amazing. So analytically sound and well presented. Couldn't imagine a better video on the topic. Great Pentatonic melody (over pentatonic chord progression) too!

  • @lgmc
    @lgmc 3 года назад +13

    That was your best video so far I think David. Another beautiful piece at the end as well, please keep doing these! Thank you.

  • @stuarthumphries6817
    @stuarthumphries6817 3 года назад

    David. From one who sings music and is Re-learning guitar some 50 years on, a big thank you for making scales easily understood and in a way that I couldn’t fail to understand. Superb!

  • @Tsnafu
    @Tsnafu 3 года назад +67

    I love this stuff - I don't understand much of it, but I really enjoy listening to an expert. That tune at the end was lovely BTW. Keep it up David

    • @DavidBennettPiano
      @DavidBennettPiano  3 года назад +13

      Thank you!

    • @alastairdallas
      @alastairdallas 3 года назад +6

      You saved me some typing :-).

    • @49rockon
      @49rockon 3 года назад

      Snafu Ditto 😀

    • @trustnugget280
      @trustnugget280 3 года назад +1

      It's surprising to me that I actually understood most of it - I guess - despite having good musical knowledge. Great video imo!

  • @dd-lv6sr
    @dd-lv6sr 3 года назад +3

    Excellent Thanks!

  • @julianlarucci2045
    @julianlarucci2045 3 года назад +10

    man these videos are so well done

  • @JustCrusader
    @JustCrusader 3 года назад +2

    That little piece you composed at the end there is lovely 💙

  • @rogerloydmccoy
    @rogerloydmccoy Год назад

    Your videos are so so inspirational. Thank you!

  • @Gnurklesquimp
    @Gnurklesquimp 3 года назад +12

    I've always been fascinated by the fact that you're left with a standard pentatonic scale when you count all the notes outside of a standard 7 note scale. These notes are so dissonant within the context, but so consonant with each other. I love using all these 5 notes when changing chords for a dramatic modal sound, such an other-wordly color even just with two chords.
    The internal consonance of the left over pentatonic makes it easy not to stray into dark dissonant territory, you can get very bright sounds with Lydian etc., just transpose a second Lydian scale up or down a half step or tritone and you're covering all of the pentatonics outside the key, you can then pick any mode from those and see how it sounds. You can use any scale that has this pentatonic in it, melodic minor has one while harmonic has none, but I find sticking to the modes is part of what makes it sound like such a cool contrast of consonance and dissonance, straight forward relationships in basically all but one way.
    If you picked Lydian and another Lydian a tritone away, you get Locrian if you invert that back to the same root as your initial Lydian, this is a HUGE contrast while that root is still in there and it sounds beautiful.
    Going down one mode creates a pretty smooth whole step motion down From Lydian to an Aeolian scale, this is one of my favorite sounds. Lydian really does wonders for brightening up harmony that's quite out there while providing very pretty semitones with the 4-5 and 7-1, Aeolian has a darker 5-6 and 2-3 I also find particularly pretty in their own way, but still overal not very stanky at all, like a Phrygian or Locrian would be.
    There's just SO many options, it can sound even more mindblowing in sequence, but having just two chords repeat at least once really has a beautiful effect too, I highly recommend anyone to play around with it, no matter the style of music. (For the most part, I guess)
    If you're transposing a semitone rather than a tritone btw., I find it's better to just play notes that really bring out your mode, the ones that aren't in the other + some that are shared to smoothen the gap while mostly leaving out the rest, if you just play everything it sounds too clearly like it's just transposed and given another root to me, since the semitone is so smooth. Ohh yeah, contrary motion can also help in this case, just don't pick equivalent notes in both transposed scales, but use ones that are shared and try seeing if you can get some different intervals into your voice leading other than just whole/half steps. How you distribute it over octaves also helps a lot, a semitone down can become a major 7th up.
    This goes for selecting notes for both chords and melody, of course, motivic melody writing/call & response is still great but don't just transpose equivalent shapes unless you want a very obviously chromatic sound. For which there's some really cool shapes too btw., say you're just moving a minor or major triad shape up and down, there's 3 in each of your scales, that's a lot when none are shared between your two scales. With the tritone move the semitones move in different directions by default, so you can just play the whole thing and it'll sound great.

    • @Gacha_x_Misty
      @Gacha_x_Misty Год назад +1

      I didn’t understand a single word of this except from “help” ( > ^~^>)

  • @mickeyrube6623
    @mickeyrube6623 3 года назад +17

    7:13
    If you take blues scale and play it with the b3 as the root, i.e. the "major mode", it will give a bluegrass scale:
    1 2 b3 3 5 6
    A common folky bluegrass run in G might go like this:
    G-G-A-Bb-B-D-E-D
    C-C-D-Eb-E-G-A-G
    G-G-A-Bb-B-D-E-D
    B-Bb-A-G
    Notice the shift to C as root, similar to how in blues you will shift pentatonic scales to match the dominant chord underneath, almost like an entire key change.
    With these two scales, the blues and the bluegrass, you have the two sides of the American folk music coin. (well the third side would be Native American music, but then we would have 100 sides to cover every culture that has added some spice to American folk musics...)

    • @MrFree-vj8qj
      @MrFree-vj8qj 3 года назад +2

      That a complicated way of just saying major blues scale

    • @mickeyrube6623
      @mickeyrube6623 3 года назад +1

      @@MrFree-vj8qj what? Calling it the bluegrass scale? If you wanna call that complicated...

  • @kimlengy
    @kimlengy Год назад

    One of the best explanation on Pentatonic esp the minor penta & how it relates to songs. Thank you!

  • @Fabsurf101
    @Fabsurf101 3 года назад

    Great explanation and examples to illustrate your point regarding the pentatonic scale.

  • @vamplamp6597
    @vamplamp6597 3 года назад +37

    hiya, love your content. it makes me a better musician, thanks so much!!!

  • @felipecassel3826
    @felipecassel3826 3 года назад +4

    You're definitely one of the best guys talking about music theory out there, dude. Keep up the good work!

  • @sntslilhlpr6601
    @sntslilhlpr6601 2 года назад

    That Bobby Mcferrin vid is one of my alltime favorites and I go back and rewatch it every now and then.

  • @nadyaklimenko8283
    @nadyaklimenko8283 3 месяца назад

    Your original composition is gorgeous! I just wanted it to keep on going.

  • @BobMcKinstry
    @BobMcKinstry 3 года назад +6

    Another entertaining and educational video. Thank you for explaining this important musical concept in a way I finally understand.

  • @TheWinterShadow
    @TheWinterShadow 3 года назад +8

    Once again. Educational and informative. Great job David.

  • @nandinichaudhuri6722
    @nandinichaudhuri6722 3 года назад +1

    Wow this is just what I was looking for.
    A beautiful melody with only black notes.
    Thank you David.

  • @ColdCanadian911
    @ColdCanadian911 2 года назад +1

    On the guitar I just finished learning the minor pentatonic scale, all the shapes, and have now started to move between them. After watching your video it’s made me realize how important it was to learn it.

  • @BrankoVT
    @BrankoVT 3 года назад +179

    Isn't "Minecraft" from, well... Minecraft pentatonic, even with the chords.
    (Except one chord in the entire song, that is)

    • @DavidBennettPiano
      @DavidBennettPiano  3 года назад +81

      Great example! I was considering including that actually!

    • @wilsonlee2423
      @wilsonlee2423 3 года назад +4

      What is a Minecraft pentatonic scale?

    • @adrin181
      @adrin181 3 года назад +10

      @@wilsonlee2423 i think he means "isnt 'minecraft' from minecraft, the game, in pentatonic"

    • @zionj104
      @zionj104 3 года назад +4

      @@DavidBennettPiano You probably should do something like that in your next video, to get more people from the Mumbo Jumbo collab into your channel.

    • @jjsdumbshit2792
      @jjsdumbshit2792 3 года назад +1

      David Bennett Piano You should make a video on this!

  • @cakemartyr5794
    @cakemartyr5794 3 года назад +6

    This is very helpful for my understanding in learning to play piano. Thanks. Nice tune at the end. You inspire me to explore music ever further.

  • @singsongdan249
    @singsongdan249 3 года назад

    Love your composition at the end really beautifully written and played

  • @trayvon4484
    @trayvon4484 3 года назад +2

    Your videos ARE SUPER INFORMATIVE! Im self teaching piano and ive mastered finger independance and have multiple songs muscle memorized from start to finish. And your videos are educating me about music theory, physics in frequency context, and human prefernce. Thx

  • @misguided_ghost
    @misguided_ghost 3 года назад +3

    i got really excited because i thought this video was about pentatonix, the band, but realised it was about the pentatonic scale
    (but the video was really interesting so i’m not disappointed at all)

  • @lucypreece7581
    @lucypreece7581 3 года назад +7

    And this is the reason why Pentatonix have the name they have. They named themselves after the Pentatonic scale (only it is a conicidence that there are 5 of them in the group) and they are the most versatile music group ever who have turned their hands to literally every type of music you can think of and smashed it out of the park every time and all acapella as well. I would love for you to do a video analyzing Pentatonix and their arrangements and stuff because Musically they are a force of nature and i think only one of the members of the group has full formal music training Kevin the beat boxer cus he also plays cello and is classically trained.

  • @kyotocoversjimanderson782
    @kyotocoversjimanderson782 3 года назад +1

    Another in this series of great analyses and explanations.

  • @adig2414
    @adig2414 Год назад

    Amazing video that essentially explained how to use a scale to me in the process as well. Thanks for all the great work you do David.

  • @bobrobrules
    @bobrobrules 3 года назад +94

    So when are you releasing that ending tune? It's a banger

    • @aron-new9391
      @aron-new9391 3 года назад +4

      That melody actually sounds quite familiar to me (reminds me of a certain song I know).

    • @anaroque6351
      @anaroque6351 3 года назад

      sounds like Hanging Tree from Hunger Games '-' (or im crazy)

    • @MichaelPKelly-hg5jo
      @MichaelPKelly-hg5jo 3 года назад

      Sounds like Scarborough Fair.

    • @Dankdangwal
      @Dankdangwal 3 года назад +1

      It sounds like the song 500 miles.

  • @iismyalias
    @iismyalias 3 года назад +4

    Excellent video. Your own pentatonic piece is quite lovely. It reminds me a bit of not only the Chinese music you mentioned but the intro of the song I'd Die Without You by PM Dawn. Just the fact of hearing all of this in your song reinforces your point of the versatility of the pentatonic scale.

  • @daandekleer
    @daandekleer 3 года назад

    For a while I only used the pentatonic for guitar but you videos are really helping me understand other scales

  • @tubebydefault
    @tubebydefault 3 года назад +2

    Excellent, I love the pentatonic scale. Great video, David, keep it up. 😊

  • @speedrun_dave9282
    @speedrun_dave9282 3 года назад +7

    Great vid! Super interesting, thank you very much.

  • @Mr.Batsu12
    @Mr.Batsu12 3 года назад +3

    Excellent video. I first started playing the pentatonic scale over 35 years ago when I started to learn guitar and I still use it all the time. I figured how could a video about the pentatonic scale be interesting to me? I was wrong, really excellent work!

  • @believeinpeace
    @believeinpeace 3 года назад

    I just love the way you explain things.
    Thank you so much!!!!

  • @Beebsentrance
    @Beebsentrance 2 года назад

    Dear David,
    I want to say thank you. You are really great teacher. You explained many subjects so clear, interesting, and logic. You are so knowledgeable but so laid back at the same time, to make me enjoy every lesson that you gave become more bearable and absorbable. I think I become a better music producer. All the best. ❤

  • @gumbycat5226
    @gumbycat5226 3 года назад +5

    Another great video and so well researched. Thank you.

  • @__donez__
    @__donez__ 3 года назад +19

    "My Girl' is how I first learned the major pentatonic scale.

  • @katherineedwards8057
    @katherineedwards8057 3 года назад

    Really great information here! Its amazing how much the way we sing something can create a new style based on culture. This scale does connect to so many genres and the blues even expand a little with their own scale. Really cool video! :)

  • @vincentveary175
    @vincentveary175 3 года назад

    Another music concept explained with exceptional clarity. Great talk track, great graphics, superb!
    Thank you-

  • @Mort7an
    @Mort7an 3 года назад +5

    That's a really lovely piece that you composed at the end of the video. :)

  • @evertvandenberghe
    @evertvandenberghe 3 года назад +3

    Very well explained, clear and good information. Tnx a lot!

  • @ethancrutchley9149
    @ethancrutchley9149 3 года назад

    This stuff is incredible, just picked up a book on basic music theory, and your videos have been a great supplement. Thanks a lot and keep it rockin!

  • @rajachinaswamy6378
    @rajachinaswamy6378 3 года назад

    Thank you. This video answered many of my questions and clarified many of my doubts. Showing Relation with Chinese and Indian Music was very helpful.

  • @composer7325
    @composer7325 3 года назад +3

    Another excellent video.Thank you, David.

  • @Kastagaar
    @Kastagaar 3 года назад +10

    I really appreciate that you've taken the effort to compare the subject with the musical concepts of other cultures rather than sticking to the harmonic concepts of 18th century European composers. It's another layer on top of this fascinating subject.

    • @DavidBennettPiano
      @DavidBennettPiano  3 года назад +5

      I see you’ve been watching Adam Neely 😉

    • @Kastagaar
      @Kastagaar 3 года назад

      @@DavidBennettPiano And I see I am not alone in the comments. :)

  • @doublemoonchild
    @doublemoonchild 2 года назад

    Amazing. It’s been awhile for me (as a singer) I was watching Bobby’s video you mentioned on a science channel. Love that you give me examples to listen to and demonstrate. (You may be surprised by how many didn’t)

  • @DWinters
    @DWinters 2 года назад +1

    These videos are just superb, thank you!

  • @hlpianin
    @hlpianin 3 года назад +3

    David, your video about pentatonic is best of all i saw)

  • @benpriest9555
    @benpriest9555 3 года назад +16

    Once again a great video from David Bennet, and once again another beautiful piece of music at the end.
    How this man has so few subscribers I’ll never know.
    Now if you’ll excuse me I need to unsubscribe just so I get the joy of subscribing to you all over again

  • @JohnClarke808
    @JohnClarke808 3 года назад

    I've never understood the scale. I'm a beginner mandolin player this is the first video that showed everything I had questions about and the songs that used the scale helped so much. Thank you

  • @andrepessoa608
    @andrepessoa608 2 года назад

    I often find myself back to this video. Masterpiece.

  • @plica06
    @plica06 3 года назад +3

    So much work to make these fascinating videos.. *loud applause*

  • @vaxelband2439
    @vaxelband2439 3 года назад +4

    Always awesome and useful 👌🌹❤️🌿Love from Iran🌹❤️🌿

  • @starfishsystems
    @starfishsystems 2 года назад

    This is just a brilliant analysis and presentation. Thank you!

  • @Rombizio
    @Rombizio 3 года назад +2

    This is a very good video. One of the best about music and I have watched tens of thousands of them.

  • @boulder6578
    @boulder6578 3 года назад +26

    Oh, this is epic

  • @kevin_dasilva
    @kevin_dasilva 3 года назад +3

    That piece in the end is amazing.

  • @burntsider8457
    @burntsider8457 2 года назад

    "Things We Said Today" deserves a analysis video by itself. Innovative chord progression and clever pivots. I hope you'll take this on.

  • @luci12345678100
    @luci12345678100 3 года назад

    I studied piano and music theory for almost 10 years and I have forgotten many basic concepts. With your videos I am refreshing my memory. excellent work, keep go in! ;)