Dang man your ability to relay information is incredible. I really love your channel bc it's informative without being condescending, it's visually educational and bc it's genuinely entertaining. Please don't stop creating good stuff for us.
Brilliant... I rely LOVE the "in context" demonstrations with PREPARED background tracks (not just a quick loop pedal backing)... it helps me hear what you are saying in a context I'm wanting to play in... thank you for taking the time to put this out there!
glad you're still here! I remember those days like they were yesterday... it was only 2.5 yrs ago that i had zero subscribers so this still all feels new to me lol.
6:28 "He chose...poorly." (Body rots and desentigrates within seconds.) LOL! Tells Saint Peter, "Maybe I should have watched Jake's lessons a little more before attempting to solo only in E pentatonic minor over a song that was clearly in E major."
The Pentatonic Scale may be so limiting, but I think that's a part of its charm; it's incredible and versatile in any genre, and can sound so amazing with the right tones. Awesome work man
TheRosswise also remember. Pentatonic does not have to be played blues style and can be played side to side on just one or two strings, like all modes can
I agree it’s why I round out using chord tone soloing as well. You know both and you are unstoppable. I think Kirk Lorange is the best for learning it. You can improve easily on key changes and chords that fall outside the key.
@@TheRosswise agreed, it's perfect with string bends and microtonal nuances. But, by the time you do all that, it's not really a pentatonic scale anymore, lol.
One thing I notice when playing minor pentatonic over a minor chord, and I even noticed this when he played it, it sounds a bit flat and not as epic when playing minor over major. Is there a better scale to play over a minor chord that gives some presence?
@@carltaylor4942 You can always build your own scale, pick notes that add the feelings your looking for (about 5 of them) and tear it up. If you do enough music theory, you will realise that every note can be played with every scale, depending on what you it to do. If it sounds good, it is good. Corollary: if it sounds like crap . . .
You can add the blue note and a major 7th (from the harmonic minor) sometimes. Also you can make a little bend on the 3rd, like half semitone. What i like to do sometimes is to think of the pentatonic as the "main scale", and use the chromatic scale for weaker notes (so you dont rest on them). Obviously, its way more risky. Slash does it on "I used to love her" for example, with 4 chromatic notes.
Very true! The solo for You Shook Me is a great example of playing Pentatonic Minor over a major I - IV - V to create awesome blues/rock energy, but occasionally dipping into the Major Pentatonic to brighten up specific moments. I teach that solo all the time to get students familiar with shapes and common bending licks, really a GREAT lead for any guitarist to learn.
@@SignalsMusicStudio Great video Jake! Two songs that really opened my eyes to the major/minor mix thing was Van Halen ....Ice Cream Man and Lynyard Skynard ...Call Me The Breeze. Not the easiest for beginners, but two great solos to learn that really flips back and forth between major and minor a lot, in the perfectly appropriate places
Thank you for talking about "bad solo territory." I hear so many solos by "great" guitarists that are basically just fast noodling on the minor pentatonic. They don't show any understanding of how to play over chord changes. It's like they learned how to solo on one scale and never progressed beyond that.
I think the E major pentatonic scale over E minor would work if it was a little bit slower and the rhythm guitar was playing half notes instead of quarter notes and bit less explosive drums track. It may give a my life absolutely sucks but I'm gonna pretend everything is fun and games feel to it.
I literally just watched the country video where you mentioned the clashing of major/minor thirds and I love how you tie in ideas from other videos. Quality content brother 🤘🏻
There were a couple of times there when you were mixing the two and it sounded like Clapton and Santana, and it occurred to me that you were explaining their process. Great tutorial!
Question about major pentatonic: why would one choose the major pentatonic scale over the whole major scale? Any time I've included the 4th and 7th notes to a major solo I've personally felt okay but maybe there are instances where this sounds wrong?
If you play over a C major chord, let’s say the 4 and 7 can create problems. The 4 clashes with the 3, creating dissonance. There are situations where this works, but pick your octave and moments wisely. The 7 is also special, it creates that jazzy Maj7 sound, which can be great, but also not the right mood for your track. Over the I chord, the logical option is the 1, 3 and 5. The safe is 2 and 6 and the delicates are 4 and 7. This drastically changes when going to other diatonic chords. General rule is chord tone is logical option and whole step above works safe. Half steps above chord tones create the most dissonance. Half steps below chord tones create dissonance as well, but for some reason they are more pleasing to the ear
@@Phazur I can absolutely see that (or rather, hear that) since the Ionian Mode already has a lowered half from the tonic yet feels deserved, like barely reaching the peak but not quite. Not reaching the peak afterward would result in huge disappointment. The raised half step from the tonic on the other hand feels... exotic? Phrygian Mode is where I hear it most, it really brings a darker mood into the mix. I am guessing the 2 and 6 are for the minor pentatonic what the 4 and 7 are for the major pentatonic - "delicate" as you said. This would be because of the lowered 3 and 7 being raised half-steps above the 2 and 6 in a minor scale. That makes a whole lot more sense. Thanks for making that a whole lot clearer than I expected it to be, it really ties together a lot of concepts I knew as random facts without knowing why they actually worked that way.
@@hyronvalkinson1749 There are situations where everything works, depends a lot on the timbre and style of music as well. Some things are general guidelines, not rules. Experiment and trial and error
Greetings from Egypt Jake! I just can't emphasize enough on how much you've made a difference in my guitar playing, THANK YOU for doing these AWESOME videos, you always find a way to help me out with the difficulties I'm facing with acoustics and music theory. So much love headed your way!
Your major pentatonic over the minor chord can work as a sort of call and response type of action, since the major sound over the minor evokes this sort of mocking feeling. So a single bar of major over minor has its place if you set it up properly...it is just a matter of creating appropriate surrounding context so that the out of place sound it creates sounds intentionally out of place...which is typically the case with things that sound wrong in music; a simple matter of not using the right tool for the surrounding context.
Jake! You good sir are an inspiration to hundreds of thousands. I know you get a zillion glowing comments like this, but I just gotta say: I never felt confident that I could write music. Then I discovered your channel and it's not an exaggeration to say it's changed my life. And beyond the creative inspiration your videos provide, without fail they re-energize me whenever I'm discouraged or frustrated. Thank you so much for all you do for us!
same here, i've tried noodling around a bit when i was younger but none of it made sense, and then i started trying to learn again during covid after watching one of his videos and this stuff just made sense
in Dorian: it sounds better if you play iimin Pentatonic : 2 4 5 6 1in that case you get the characteristic 6In Phrygian : try to play bviimin Pentatonic : b7 b2 b3 4 b6in that case you get the b2
I wish i could afford to be your patron Jake , your videos have filled in huge gaps in my knowledge and gotten me on a way better path to creating my own music, and for my wife too when i inevitably regurgitate a videos content during practice. Its really awesome stuff mate! This content is absolutely 24k solid gold
11:40 I don't know why but it made me think a lot of Shine on You Crazy Diamond. It had some of the Gilmour's vibe in that solo. Especially the bends in the end. Hahaha great video as always. Thanks for everything 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Hi Jake, I actually loved the sound of the major scale over the minor chord. Perhaps the reason why minor scales work over major chords to our ears is because we have heard it for our whole lives so we're used to it, but we are not used to it in the other direction, so our ears don't immediately like it. I think if it had been done for over 100 years we may think it works just fine.
I was hung up on the relative minor aspect of the pentatonic shapes when I started. I’m sure you have other videos discussing that and it would be a great next step for someone.
I've always wondered why I couldn't solo on a minor chord progression with a major scale when I started playing guitar 6 years ago. Now I know why, wow. It was so simple.
Phrygians are kinda touchy about their tonality, but Dorians just don't care. I've heard Lydians will kill you, if you knife is not sharp enough at the fourth, though.
You can convert any minor pentatonic lick into its major version by shifting the riff 3 fretts down. Likewise you can convert any major pentatonic (or major scale) to into minor by shifting the riff 3 fretts up. The try it 😉
Land your fingers slightly more on the fretboard than string (compared to hitting a note normal), under the string, yet pressing it down. Then use multiple fingers to bend it. If you hit the string normal and then bend, you're just gonna hurt your finger tips. Get under it (at least on the highest strings). Practice bending just 1 note for a day until you grok it and the notes that resound with it, then learn another bend. Good luck! (Typo edit).
What string gauges do you use, Arthur? If you're using thicker ones, try 9-42 (e.g. Ernie Ball Super Slinky). Also, don't be fooled by the video: assuming the strat has a floating trem, string bends will have to go further to achieve the same pitch shift (as the trem springs stretch a little), making it appear easy. With a fixed bridge, he wouldn't have to push the string so far. Is your bridge fixed or floating?
Best channel on RUclips. You demonstrate a rare combination of skills. Born of the 90s grunge scene, I never paid much attention to theory until picking my guitar back up after having gone 10 years without playing. If I'd have had access to these priceless classes, I probably would never have put the axe down to begin with! You are making the world a better place by helping to give it better guitar players. Thank you, sincerely
You have a valid perspective - it's true that our music tastes are carved by cultural conditioning, but there's also evidence to suggest there are biological/neurological/evolutionary elements at play as well. I think both theories are true. There is some stuff that, to our brain, is inherently good (the octave) and inherently bad (chromatic clusters), but largely, our musical mind is built through exposure.
This! There are times when I've heard someone say they played a bad note. But depending on the situation I really like some outside notes. It can feel jazzy if you don't linger there and you resolve nicely. After all a major element of music is creating tension and resolve.
Yes and no. While a lot of our musical practices are cultural, and for example bluesy minor thirds over major chords wouldn't have been appropriate in 18th century music, there are still reasons to why certain things work and other things don't. Maybe if people had used the major scale over minor harmonies, they would have found ways to make it work (for example through clever voice leading and by using certain chord voicings - you can make "wrong notes" work if you use good voice leading and know how to voice the chords), but I doubt people would just randomly solo using major pentatonic over minor chords. Similarly, minor over major doesn't always work, it has to do with context (but even then, you can find minor thirds over dominant chords even in Mozart's music). Playing "outside" is a bit different thing. You need to know what you are doing and you need to be able to land on a good note. It only works if you start your phrase "inside", then maybe play a similar lick but transpose it up or down a half step, and then come back "inside". It has to do with stuff like using a musical motif or a sequence, which creates some kind of a structure that makes the "outside" sounding notes still sound like they make sense. They do sound spicy, but when that tension is resolved correctly, it works. But it doesn't work in the same way that you can pretty much play anything on the minor pentatonic scale and it will sound fine. Consonance and dissonance are tied to culture, but they aren't completely arbitrary concepts. Fifths and octaves are the most consonant intervals out there because they are the first overtones in the harmonic series. Major chord is consonant for the same reason. Why the minor 3rd works especially well over dominant chords is because it is a fifth below/fourth above the 7th (and this is why it works so well in bluesy music that's based on dominant chords - and you usually also have the natural alteration between major and minor third implied by the I7 and IV7 chords: the 7th of IV7 is the minor third of the key). Try playing a minor 3rd over a maj7 chord and it will sound bad. Actually, even in blues, it usually sounds better if you bend that minor 3rd a bit when playing it over the I chord. Over the IV chord, you can just play the regular minor 3rd without bending it, because that is the minor 7th of the chord.
Signals Music Studio , yes you are right, octave (as any harmonic) and the perfect fifth seems to have some special properties in the brain, most likely due to the physical properties. On the other hand, it is still not known, how the brain computes pitch, think on church organ instruments. And any instrument produces not just a single frequency or tone. And indian music or any oriental music (using different modes?) sounds horrible to me, but many people like it. I agree, there are some very fundemental rules, which may apply to all cultures.
I... honestly really like the sound of those examples of major-scale improvising over minor chords. To me, they sound almost defiant, like the phoenix rising from its ashes. I mean I definitely wouldn't use that for a whole piece, but for a short passage that's supposed to sound like standing up to overwhelming odds, I'm all over that
Maybe I missed it or misunderstood, but I thought the most common way to use minor pentatonic was the minor 6th over the Major 1. For example,,,,,in key of CM, solo in Am pentatonic; In GM...Em penta. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I unironically enjoyed the major pentatonic over the minor chord, it sounds out of tune in a dreamy sort of way. Definitely going to have to borrow that idea, thanks!
I visualize moving the major scale for each mode but I still have to have my cheat sheet to remember some. You look a lot like Michael Knowles without glasses! 😳🤣Lol, just kidding! But you do resemble him or his brother! 🧐 you both speak very articulate!
Man..why am always listening to your videos explanation with a half smile...you got some subtle humoursque way of talking that makes me smile. Either that on an falling in love with ya....Nah...I still like girls...more than I like you....as a guitar teacher...and I do like you and your videos...but I do like girls...
Another possibility is changing the pentatonic according to the chord. This is possible because the pentatonic of all chords are included in the harmonic field. An example: C major scale C - C D E G A Dm - D F G A C Em - E G A B D F - F G A C D G - G A B D E Am - A C D E G For B°, we can use the scale I guess it's name is half diminished pentatonic.
I see the acoustic was brought out over the "World Beat drums"... The classic choice in tone no doubt. But an electric humbucker with just a touch of delay (playing major scale of course) has worked amazing in some modern Afrobeats I've seen... "Corona Virus Alert" by Bobi Wine
You really have me pondering on CAN ...Do you think Guitarist Michael Karoli say on "fathet cannot yell" is playing in a scale he's aware of or is he picking notes out of the ether? To me it feels like he's feeling his way. I know there's musical training in the band ..I understand Irmin and Holger were students of Stockhausen..Karolis guitar,jakis drum and,Damos and Malcolms voices seem altogether animal... in your view are they improvising from a grounding in theory or is something different occurring? They got given a castle in cologne to improvise ...for two years! I think they developed a telepathic bond but you I think can analyse their degree of musical knowledge...is some of it within and some of it without? Can non musicians unite and through passion and determination create GREAT music without any understanding at all?
They say.that those who can -DO, and those who can't- TEACH. But sometimes youre fortunate to find someone who can do both. Thanks for a great educational.and inspirational video!!
You are a guitar music surgeon You dissect analyze and cure our knowledge ailment Now.... sweet child o mine Comfortably numb Hotel California Dissecting each bar especially...solos...and analyzing it why this box pattern pentatonic scale or other used bt artiist wht was he thinking Would cure my 30 yr ailment
someone ever told ya `men, I don´t know why but you remind me, Barrack Obama, maybe the voice, I don´t know´ a bull in a China shop effect? the cat, the bull I never saw, that bull in Chicago, Wall Street, blin, I kinda know what u saying, actually, I saw him for the first time in a picture of a guy in London
Question. Would you consider doing a similar video discussing playing pentatonic scales in the parent key but starting on the 5th? Example: D minor chord but solo in A minor pentatonic so you get the 5th, 7, root, 9th, 11th etc... and so on.
There are so many killer CAN tracks I'd love to hear you musically dissect to see what if any known chord formulaic elements, known structures they employ...it all sounds so mega...like in " mother sky" or "you do right" what are they actually up to?!
When brave hearted Indiana Jones set foot in the Temple of Doom the whole place came crashing down as well. Just to give an analogy for a MP being played over a minor tonality.nice video.
This might be a silly question, but if you were playing D major, couldn't you play the minor pentatonic in its relative minor of Bm? Wouldn't that work?
Its all great Stuff, 3 years ago, i thought, ooooh my god ((( but now i know whats happen there and why it works or not. I can not believe ;-) Thats my Motivation, never stop to learn to get better and better. Step by Step. Thanks 4 all your great lessons here. Nice Greets from Germany
I don't know if you actually understand how good your channel is , can't believe you have less than 1 mil subscribers.... I'm sure its just a matter of time before you'll explode
I know you mentioned that playing pentatonic major over minor keys doesn't work and while I absolutely agree, I couldn't help but kind of enjoy it when you were playing it over the D major chord progression. Now it did have some dissonance but in the second half it had a kind of mixolydian b6 feel. Maybe it gradually sounds better the more chords you add 😂
JAKE ... HELLO .....FROM .....IRELAND .............THANK YOU SO MUCH.... FOR ....... THESE ...EXCELLENT....TUTORIALS.......HANDS DOWN ONE OF THE BEST ON YOU TUBE .....AND......I.....PLAY........ SAXOPHONE ....NOT THAT THAT MATTERS.........ANYWAY....THANKS.... AGAIN
Minute 12:15 you say that the G major pentatonic sound good over the 4th chord but i think you ment the 5th chord .....in the C7 (4th)chord you have a A insted in the G major pentatonic you have an A # ....can you clarify that please
Greetings. This channel is amazing. Do you have a friend from parallel dimension who teaches same stuff on piano? I'd kill for a teacher like you. I even considered lending a guitar which I have no idea to play :)
Am I the only one who thinks the pentatonic major scale over the minor chord/progression sounds good? It sort of has an incredulous Lydian or maybe Mixolydian b6 sound.
Its depressing how little you can know after 15 years of playing guitar! I understood about 20% of this and very little of the theory especially the latter half. Guitar playing was great but video should come with a warning!!
Its so intresting because...when you say a pentationc minor scale wont really work or works a little but can get annoying you are really talking about and british rock their lol....american rock really has that country major pentatonic thing and british rockers prefer a harder more aggressive tonality to the music...you say annoying but abrasive i think is really the word...but working class british people i think are more abrasive than americans...bit of an over simplification but i think its tfor the most part true....
I REALLY wish you had listened to the mix before you posted this. It's nearly impossible to hear your lead over the backing track. At least up to 3:07. Will see if it gets better.
I always played minor pentatonic when the song is in minor and major pentatonic when the song is in major, in the respective key. It always sounds amazing to my ears.
Pentatonic minor also sucks over tonic maj7 chords, the natural 7 clashes too much and the dreamy feel just doesn’t match withnthat rocky minor sound. In a blues I think it works best over the IV chord, especially when you 9 it. It works fine over the I, and least over the V. Over the V you get that trapped note again. A lot of this is feel sad using your ears though. Sometimes you need to embrace certain notes and omit others at the right moment or under the right chord
Here is an awesome article that I've found about Pentatonic Scale. You can check it out here: chordchord.com/pentatonic-scale-explained-5-ways-to-use-it
I still prefer to keep the Major over the 1 chord and the Minor over the 4. mixing is awesome but starting with major over 1 and minor over 4 sounds good.
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![Using Modal Mixture for Dreamy and Epic Melodies/Leads [MUSIC THEORY]](/img/tr.png)
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this dude is an underrated ‘youtube musician’
100%
Incredibly helpful. Seriously, your comparisons and explanations are extremely well done. Thanks _so_ much!
Thanks Jared!
.wow Jake your lessons really is the best ever of all lesson i been watching in youtube for many years ...wow God Bless you men
Dang man your ability to relay information is incredible. I really love your channel bc it's informative without being condescending, it's visually educational and bc it's genuinely entertaining.
Please don't stop creating good stuff for us.
Brilliant... I rely LOVE the "in context" demonstrations with PREPARED background tracks (not just a quick loop pedal backing)... it helps me hear what you are saying in a context I'm wanting to play in... thank you for taking the time to put this out there!
"Choose, but choose wisely" LOL, that says it all Brother.
I remember when you only had 26k subs. Amazing job Jake!
glad you're still here! I remember those days like they were yesterday... it was only 2.5 yrs ago that i had zero subscribers so this still all feels new to me lol.
Only 26k subs???
Well, I guess if you compare it to 301k subs it is a great achievement. Yes! Great job well done Jake👍
Hi Jake and everyone else, hope you have a good day 🙂
4:29 "I'm hesitant to say that music can be wrong.. but that's just wrong!" ded
Jazz: Am I a joke to you?
@@zeyy84 lolol
I actually thought it sounded alright
It sounded better to me. 😭
6:28 "He chose...poorly." (Body rots and desentigrates within seconds.) LOL!
Tells Saint Peter, "Maybe I should have watched Jake's lessons a little more before attempting to solo only in E pentatonic minor over a song that was clearly in E major."
10:59 Oh, my gosh! You used that part from "The Last Crusade" too. Laughing very loudly! (Kids think I'm fun...wife thinks I'm crazy.")
The Pentatonic Scale may be so limiting, but I think that's a part of its charm; it's incredible and versatile in any genre, and can sound so amazing with the right tones. Awesome work man
And if you remember that you can always add the missing notes back in to spice things up, it doesn't feel that limiting anymore.
@@TheRosswise Ahh I understand that man. Very well indeed
TheRosswise also remember. Pentatonic does not have to be played blues style and can be played side to side on just one or two strings, like all modes can
I agree it’s why I round out using chord tone soloing as well. You know both and you are unstoppable. I think Kirk Lorange is the best for learning it. You can improve easily on key changes and chords that fall outside the key.
@@TheRosswise agreed, it's perfect with string bends and microtonal nuances. But, by the time you do all that, it's not really a pentatonic scale anymore, lol.
Why, O why weren't you around when I tried to study music back in the 70s and 80s?!
revjohnlee
I know kids have it easy now! Haha
Lol I'm 12 and yeah it's super helpful 😅
One thing I notice when playing minor pentatonic over a minor chord, and I even noticed this when he played it, it sounds a bit flat and not as epic when playing minor over major. Is there a better scale to play over a minor chord that gives some presence?
Try mixing the minor pentatonic with the full minor scale. Try using harmonic and/or melodic minor.
@@carltaylor4942 You can always build your own scale, pick notes that add the feelings your looking for (about 5 of them) and tear it up. If you do enough music theory, you will realise that every note can be played with every scale, depending on what you it to do. If it sounds good, it is good. Corollary: if it sounds like crap . . .
@@Krieghandt - Yeah, totally agree. I was just suggesting a couple of standard ideas for adding a bit more colour to the minor pentatonic.
Sliding start points can be effective
You can add the blue note and a major 7th (from the harmonic minor) sometimes. Also you can make a little bend on the 3rd, like half semitone.
What i like to do sometimes is to think of the pentatonic as the "main scale", and use the chromatic scale for weaker notes (so you dont rest on them). Obviously, its way more risky. Slash does it on "I used to love her" for example, with 4 chromatic notes.
Your electric guitar tone reminds of that of Santana. Great video as always.
Great video, as always... really useful stuff for me :)
I actually thought the d pentatonic major over d minor sounded pretty good as a bittersweet section near the finale of a song.
Yieeah but i think it was asking to be resolved with pentatonic minor
Slow clap for that incredible strat bridge pickup tone.
In other words, the major third doesn't work in a minor key.
Angus young is great example of how to shift between Major and Minor for soloing. Great vid, great channel thanks man !!
Very true! The solo for You Shook Me is a great example of playing Pentatonic Minor over a major I - IV - V to create awesome blues/rock energy, but occasionally dipping into the Major Pentatonic to brighten up specific moments. I teach that solo all the time to get students familiar with shapes and common bending licks, really a GREAT lead for any guitarist to learn.
@@SignalsMusicStudio Great video Jake! Two songs that really opened my eyes to the major/minor mix thing was Van Halen ....Ice Cream Man and Lynyard Skynard ...Call Me The Breeze. Not the easiest for beginners, but two great solos to learn that really flips back and forth between major and minor a lot, in the perfectly appropriate places
jimmy page also.
Thank you for talking about "bad solo territory." I hear so many solos by "great" guitarists that are basically just fast noodling on the minor pentatonic. They don't show any understanding of how to play over chord changes. It's like they learned how to solo on one scale and never progressed beyond that.
In Yngwie's case it would be "harmonic minor or diminished?"
Also Jonny Greenwood : *what's a scale?*
I think the E major pentatonic scale over E minor would work if it was a little bit slower and the rhythm guitar was playing half notes instead of quarter notes and bit less explosive drums track. It may give a my life absolutely sucks but I'm gonna pretend everything is fun and games feel to it.
That major pentatonic playing is definitely Allman Brothers “ish” and throw in some Marshall Tucker too! Great video Jake!
First thing I thought of, too!
I noticed that also.
I literally just watched the country video where you mentioned the clashing of major/minor thirds and I love how you tie in ideas from other videos. Quality content brother 🤘🏻
There were a couple of times there when you were mixing the two and it sounded like Clapton and Santana, and it occurred to me that you were explaining their process. Great tutorial!
I AM A PIANIST. WHY AM I HERE??
Ohh I realized that the music theory is the same.. lol
Great video btw
Question about major pentatonic: why would one choose the major pentatonic scale over the whole major scale? Any time I've included the 4th and 7th notes to a major solo I've personally felt okay but maybe there are instances where this sounds wrong?
If you play over a C major chord, let’s say the 4 and 7 can create problems. The 4 clashes with the 3, creating dissonance. There are situations where this works, but pick your octave and moments wisely. The 7 is also special, it creates that jazzy Maj7 sound, which can be great, but also not the right mood for your track. Over the I chord, the logical option is the 1, 3 and 5. The safe is 2 and 6 and the delicates are 4 and 7. This drastically changes when going to other diatonic chords. General rule is chord tone is logical option and whole step above works safe. Half steps above chord tones create the most dissonance. Half steps below chord tones create dissonance as well, but for some reason they are more pleasing to the ear
@@Phazur I can absolutely see that (or rather, hear that) since the Ionian Mode already has a lowered half from the tonic yet feels deserved, like barely reaching the peak but not quite. Not reaching the peak afterward would result in huge disappointment. The raised half step from the tonic on the other hand feels... exotic? Phrygian Mode is where I hear it most, it really brings a darker mood into the mix.
I am guessing the 2 and 6 are for the minor pentatonic what the 4 and 7 are for the major pentatonic - "delicate" as you said. This would be because of the lowered 3 and 7 being raised half-steps above the 2 and 6 in a minor scale.
That makes a whole lot more sense. Thanks for making that a whole lot clearer than I expected it to be, it really ties together a lot of concepts I knew as random facts without knowing why they actually worked that way.
@@hyronvalkinson1749 There are situations where everything works, depends a lot on the timbre and style of music as well. Some things are general guidelines, not rules. Experiment and trial and error
I loved the improv! Such a good player and teacher. Your examples helped me pinpoint what some of my favorite bands sound like.
This is the best channel for guitar players, music composers and theories which no one ever explains
Greetings from Egypt Jake!
I just can't emphasize enough on how much you've made a difference in my guitar playing, THANK YOU for doing these AWESOME videos, you always find a way to help me out with the difficulties I'm facing with acoustics and music theory. So much love headed your way!
You're English is amazing, do you speak anything other than Egyptian Arabic and English?
Your major pentatonic over the minor chord can work as a sort of call and response type of action, since the major sound over the minor evokes this sort of mocking feeling. So a single bar of major over minor has its place if you set it up properly...it is just a matter of creating appropriate surrounding context so that the out of place sound it creates sounds intentionally out of place...which is typically the case with things that sound wrong in music; a simple matter of not using the right tool for the surrounding context.
Jake! You good sir are an inspiration to hundreds of thousands. I know you get a zillion glowing comments like this, but I just gotta say: I never felt confident that I could write music. Then I discovered your channel and it's not an exaggeration to say it's changed my life. And beyond the creative inspiration your videos provide, without fail they re-energize me whenever I'm discouraged or frustrated. Thank you so much for all you do for us!
same here, i've tried noodling around a bit when i was younger but none of it made sense, and then i started trying to learn again during covid after watching one of his videos and this stuff just made sense
in Dorian: it sounds better if you play iimin Pentatonic : 2 4 5 6 1in that case you get the characteristic 6In Phrygian : try to play bviimin Pentatonic : b7 b2 b3 4 b6in that case you get the b2
A Dorian progression: Am7 - D7 + Pentatonic Minor
Santana has entered the chat. :)
I wish i could afford to be your patron Jake , your videos have filled in huge gaps in my knowledge and gotten me on a way better path to creating my own music, and for my wife too when i inevitably regurgitate a videos content during practice.
Its really awesome stuff mate! This content is absolutely 24k solid gold
Your sound engineer in the back with the glasses is the best “straight man” in the business. You make music make sense BTW.
Anyone else think that E Major Pentatonic sounded fine over the Em chord?
11:40 I don't know why but it made me think a lot of Shine on You Crazy Diamond. It had some of the Gilmour's vibe in that solo. Especially the bends in the end. Hahaha great video as always. Thanks for everything 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
The D pent minor solo sounds really great - reminds a bit of Pete Frampton
Hi Jake, I actually loved the sound of the major scale over the minor chord. Perhaps the reason why minor scales work over major chords to our ears is because we have heard it for our whole lives so we're used to it, but we are not used to it in the other direction, so our ears don't immediately like it. I think if it had been done for over 100 years we may think it works just fine.
I was hung up on the relative minor aspect of the pentatonic shapes when I started. I’m sure you have other videos discussing that and it would be a great next step for someone.
I've always wondered why I couldn't solo on a minor chord progression with a major scale when I started playing guitar 6 years ago. Now I know why, wow. It was so simple.
8:50 i immediately thought you'd go into a minor chord and be the next David Gilmore. hahaha
Miyako bushi pentatonic scale
1 b2 4 5 b6
Phrygians are kinda touchy about their tonality, but Dorians just don't care.
I've heard Lydians will kill you, if you knife is not sharp enough at the fourth, though.
You are a badass my friend, thanks for all the knowledge.
You can convert any minor pentatonic lick into its major version by shifting the riff 3 fretts down. Likewise you can convert any major pentatonic (or major scale) to into minor by shifting the riff 3 fretts up. The try it 😉
Man, when you bend the strings, you make it look so easy like they're 6 gauge it something! Thanks for the vid, Jake!
Land your fingers slightly more on the fretboard than string (compared to hitting a note normal), under the string, yet pressing it down. Then use multiple fingers to bend it.
If you hit the string normal and then bend, you're just gonna hurt your finger tips. Get under it (at least on the highest strings).
Practice bending just 1 note for a day until you grok it and the notes that resound with it, then learn another bend.
Good luck! (Typo edit).
@@EclecticEssentric this is a really great explanation! Thank you! Will try this. I particularly like the "get under it" part
What string gauges do you use, Arthur? If you're using thicker ones, try 9-42 (e.g. Ernie Ball Super Slinky). Also, don't be fooled by the video: assuming the strat has a floating trem, string bends will have to go further to achieve the same pitch shift (as the trem springs stretch a little), making it appear easy. With a fixed bridge, he wouldn't have to push the string so far. Is your bridge fixed or floating?
Best channel on RUclips. You demonstrate a rare combination of skills. Born of the 90s grunge scene, I never paid much attention to theory until picking my guitar back up after having gone 10 years without playing. If I'd have had access to these priceless classes, I probably would never have put the axe down to begin with!
You are making the world a better place by helping to give it better guitar players.
Thank you, sincerely
11:37 reminded me of Pink Floyd's 'More Blues'
14:10 - I love the classic Shpongle-ish flavor of that progression, so psychedelic.
7:50 was definitely a wallflowers song.
4:30 Him: "...that's just wrong..."
Me: I kind of like that... :\
Like "Oranges Harmony," the opposite of Blues Harmony......
Just like the blues. We seem to always play the minor
Music is not wrong, ist just a matter of adaptation. If we were exposed to this early on, we would consider it as normal.
You have a valid perspective - it's true that our music tastes are carved by cultural conditioning, but there's also evidence to suggest there are biological/neurological/evolutionary elements at play as well. I think both theories are true. There is some stuff that, to our brain, is inherently good (the octave) and inherently bad (chromatic clusters), but largely, our musical mind is built through exposure.
This! There are times when I've heard someone say they played a bad note. But depending on the situation I really like some outside notes. It can feel jazzy if you don't linger there and you resolve nicely. After all a major element of music is creating tension and resolve.
Yes and no. While a lot of our musical practices are cultural, and for example bluesy minor thirds over major chords wouldn't have been appropriate in 18th century music, there are still reasons to why certain things work and other things don't. Maybe if people had used the major scale over minor harmonies, they would have found ways to make it work (for example through clever voice leading and by using certain chord voicings - you can make "wrong notes" work if you use good voice leading and know how to voice the chords), but I doubt people would just randomly solo using major pentatonic over minor chords. Similarly, minor over major doesn't always work, it has to do with context (but even then, you can find minor thirds over dominant chords even in Mozart's music).
Playing "outside" is a bit different thing. You need to know what you are doing and you need to be able to land on a good note. It only works if you start your phrase "inside", then maybe play a similar lick but transpose it up or down a half step, and then come back "inside". It has to do with stuff like using a musical motif or a sequence, which creates some kind of a structure that makes the "outside" sounding notes still sound like they make sense. They do sound spicy, but when that tension is resolved correctly, it works. But it doesn't work in the same way that you can pretty much play anything on the minor pentatonic scale and it will sound fine.
Consonance and dissonance are tied to culture, but they aren't completely arbitrary concepts. Fifths and octaves are the most consonant intervals out there because they are the first overtones in the harmonic series. Major chord is consonant for the same reason. Why the minor 3rd works especially well over dominant chords is because it is a fifth below/fourth above the 7th (and this is why it works so well in bluesy music that's based on dominant chords - and you usually also have the natural alteration between major and minor third implied by the I7 and IV7 chords: the 7th of IV7 is the minor third of the key). Try playing a minor 3rd over a maj7 chord and it will sound bad. Actually, even in blues, it usually sounds better if you bend that minor 3rd a bit when playing it over the I chord. Over the IV chord, you can just play the regular minor 3rd without bending it, because that is the minor 7th of the chord.
@@lancelotlink6545 i.imgur.com/8Su7OUg.jpg
Signals Music Studio , yes you are right, octave (as any harmonic) and the perfect fifth seems to have some special properties in the brain, most likely due to the physical properties. On the other hand, it is still not known, how the brain computes pitch, think on church organ instruments. And any instrument produces not just a single frequency or tone. And indian music or any oriental music (using different modes?) sounds horrible to me, but many people like it. I agree, there are some very fundemental rules, which may apply to all cultures.
I... honestly really like the sound of those examples of major-scale improvising over minor chords. To me, they sound almost defiant, like the phoenix rising from its ashes. I mean I definitely wouldn't use that for a whole piece, but for a short passage that's supposed to sound like standing up to overwhelming odds, I'm all over that
Maybe I missed it or misunderstood, but I thought the most common way to use minor pentatonic was the minor 6th over the Major 1. For example,,,,,in key of CM, solo in Am pentatonic; In GM...Em penta. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Yes you right
But playing C pentatonic minor over C Major is really nasty! There so much tension on it
I unironically enjoyed the major pentatonic over the minor chord, it sounds out of tune in a dreamy sort of way. Definitely going to have to borrow that idea, thanks!
“That’s the cup of a.... no wait, that’s the scale of a true guitarist!”
Informative without being overwhelming.... authoritative without being pompous... entertaining without being trivial.
I visualize moving the major scale for each mode but I still have to have my cheat sheet to remember some. You look a lot like Michael Knowles without glasses! 😳🤣Lol, just kidding! But you do resemble him or his brother! 🧐 you both speak very articulate!
I like to solo in pentatonic major and use the minor notes as passing tones.
Thanks for this video. It's the first step toward me not making characteristic poor choices when improvising.
Man..why am always listening to your videos explanation with a half smile...you got some subtle humoursque way of talking that makes me smile. Either that on an falling in love with ya....Nah...I still like girls...more than I like you....as a guitar teacher...and I do like you and your videos...but I do like girls...
Another possibility is changing the pentatonic according to the chord. This is possible because the pentatonic of all chords are included in the harmonic field. An example:
C major scale
C - C D E G A
Dm - D F G A C
Em - E G A B D
F - F G A C D
G - G A B D E
Am - A C D E G
For B°, we can use the scale I guess it's name is half diminished pentatonic.
The Pm over EM and AM first example ( your little accidental groove you stumbled on) sounds like "Ramble On" outtakes
I see the acoustic was brought out over the "World Beat drums"... The classic choice in tone no doubt. But an electric humbucker with just a touch of delay (playing major scale of course) has worked amazing in some modern Afrobeats I've seen... "Corona Virus Alert" by Bobi Wine
You really have me pondering on CAN ...Do you think Guitarist Michael Karoli say on "fathet cannot yell" is playing in a scale he's aware of or is he picking notes out of the ether?
To me it feels like he's feeling his way.
I know there's musical training in the band ..I understand Irmin and Holger were students of Stockhausen..Karolis guitar,jakis drum and,Damos and Malcolms voices seem altogether animal... in your view are they improvising from a grounding in theory or is something different occurring?
They got given a castle in cologne to improvise ...for two years!
I think they developed a telepathic bond but you I think can analyse their degree of musical knowledge...is some of it within and some of it without?
Can non musicians unite and through passion and determination create GREAT music without any understanding at all?
They say.that those who can -DO, and those who can't- TEACH. But sometimes youre fortunate to find someone who can do both. Thanks for a great educational.and inspirational video!!
You are a guitar music surgeon
You dissect analyze and cure our knowledge ailment
Now.... sweet child o mine
Comfortably numb
Hotel California
Dissecting each bar especially...solos...and analyzing it why this box pattern pentatonic scale or other used bt artiist wht was he thinking
Would cure my 30 yr ailment
....G major penta over entire G Blues, huh? i mean: G maj penta over G7 =M3 okay; but against C7 = natural 7. Right? I'm just sayin' -Peace!
Your theory instruction is something that AI will never be able to replace.
New Sub. No way that I’m tat advanced, but I’m learning. Great vid. Thanks
someone ever told ya `men, I don´t know why but you remind me, Barrack Obama, maybe the voice, I don´t know´ a bull in a China shop effect? the cat, the bull I never saw, that bull in Chicago, Wall Street, blin, I kinda know what u saying, actually, I saw him for the first time in a picture of a guy in London
You just don't have a superior music theory knowledge. But you're also a fantastic guitar player!
Question. Would you consider doing a similar video discussing playing pentatonic scales in the parent key but starting on the 5th? Example: D minor chord but solo in A minor pentatonic so you get the 5th, 7, root, 9th, 11th etc... and so on.
There are so many killer CAN tracks I'd love to hear you
musically dissect to see what if any known chord formulaic elements, known structures they employ...it all sounds so mega...like in
" mother sky"
or "you do right" what are they actually up to?!
When brave hearted Indiana Jones set foot in the Temple of Doom the whole place came crashing down as well. Just to give an analogy for a MP being played over a minor tonality.nice video.
This might be a silly question, but if you were playing D major, couldn't you play the minor pentatonic in its relative minor of Bm? Wouldn't that work?
Its all great Stuff, 3 years ago, i thought, ooooh my god ((( but now i know whats happen there and why it works or not. I can not believe ;-) Thats my Motivation, never stop to learn to get better and better. Step by Step. Thanks 4 all your great lessons here. Nice Greets from Germany
I don't know if you actually understand how good your channel is , can't believe you have less than 1 mil subscribers.... I'm sure its just a matter of time before you'll explode
I know you mentioned that playing pentatonic major over minor keys doesn't work and while I absolutely agree, I couldn't help but kind of enjoy it when you were playing it over the D major chord progression. Now it did have some dissonance but in the second half it had a kind of mixolydian b6 feel. Maybe it gradually sounds better the more chords you add 😂
JAKE ... HELLO .....FROM .....IRELAND .............THANK YOU SO MUCH.... FOR ....... THESE ...EXCELLENT....TUTORIALS.......HANDS DOWN ONE OF THE BEST ON YOU TUBE .....AND......I.....PLAY........ SAXOPHONE ....NOT THAT THAT MATTERS.........ANYWAY....THANKS.... AGAIN
Minute 12:15 you say that the G major pentatonic sound good over the 4th chord but i think you ment the 5th chord .....in the C7 (4th)chord you have a A insted in the G major pentatonic you have an A # ....can you clarify that please
for me, if I use Pentatonic Major over Lydian, the #4 will be missing. but I think it will still work very well.
Greetings. This channel is amazing. Do you have a friend from parallel dimension who teaches same stuff on piano? I'd kill for a teacher like you. I even considered lending a guitar which I have no idea to play :)
And then the Diatonic D Minor progression is every Pink Floyd song ever. (OK no EVERY one). LOL
Am I the only one who thinks the pentatonic major scale over the minor chord/progression sounds good? It sort of has an incredulous Lydian or maybe Mixolydian b6 sound.
Its depressing how little you can know after 15 years of playing guitar! I understood about 20% of this and very little of the theory especially the latter half. Guitar playing was great but video should come with a warning!!
Its so intresting because...when you say a pentationc minor scale wont really work or works a little but can get annoying you are really talking about and british rock their lol....american rock really has that country major pentatonic thing and british rockers prefer a harder more aggressive tonality to the music...you say annoying but abrasive i think is really the word...but working class british people i think are more abrasive than americans...bit of an over simplification but i think its tfor the most part true....
Sounds kinda like The Wallflowers Sixth Ave heartache @7:35
wow man this is so good thanks for all the work
Great lesson - but what do you play over phrygian (or locrian for that matter)? You kinda left that question open.
I REALLY wish you had listened to the mix before you posted this. It's nearly impossible to hear your lead over the backing track. At least up to 3:07. Will see if it gets better.
I always played minor pentatonic when the song is in minor and major pentatonic when the song is in major, in the respective key. It always sounds amazing to my ears.
You don't say!
Pentatonic minor also sucks over tonic maj7 chords, the natural 7 clashes too much and the dreamy feel just doesn’t match withnthat rocky minor sound. In a blues I think it works best over the IV chord, especially when you 9 it. It works fine over the I, and least over the V. Over the V you get that trapped note again. A lot of this is feel sad using your ears though. Sometimes you need to embrace certain notes and omit others at the right moment or under the right chord
How to become a patron, and the cost? Do you offer learning paths, so I'm not just jumping around?
Here is an awesome article that I've found about Pentatonic Scale. You can check it out here: chordchord.com/pentatonic-scale-explained-5-ways-to-use-it
I still prefer to keep the Major over the 1 chord and the Minor over the 4. mixing is awesome but starting with major over 1 and minor over 4 sounds good.
Awesome lesson, just started going through this with my guitar teacher, this helped make it click.
Could you please do a video on Syd Barrett guitar techniques? It would be much appreciated