Adding Flavors to Pentatonic Scales through Vertical Playing on Guitar
One of the most useful attributes for a musician to have is a knowledge of the components needed for an expansive array of inventory. It is to your advantage to learn the pentatonic scales, major scales, and modes among other useful bits. The major scales contain many of the major and minor pentatonic scales. Knowing your scales and their properties gives you a wide range of musical inventory.
Enhancing Pentatonic Lines with Vertical Playing
I often find myself engaged in vertical playing across the strings without the need to change my picking, inserting vertical endings to make pentatonic lines land on different tonal regions. So, I might insert a triad after or in the middle of a pentatonic line. This technique is particularly useful for achieving a more complex tonal texture. By adding wider intervals like fourths or playing across the strings, I break up the scale, creating a richer sound.
Exploring Different Endings for Pentatonic Lines
By putting different endings on a pentatonic line, the listener will hear it in different chordal areas. For example, you can add wider intervals such as fourths or play chords that break up the scale. This approach can dramatically change the feel of the piece. Alternatively, you can go the opposite way and insert chromatic material. You can move to a related pentatonic a fourth up or down or a fifth up or down after a chromatic three-note sequence, and you will land on a closely related pentatonic. This technique is particularly useful for adding variation to your improvisations.
Using Triads to Break Up Pentatonic Lines
One effective method to break up a pentatonic line is by using wide intervals or playing chords that span across the strings. For instance, ending on a major or minor triad with arpeggios in the same rhythm and tempo can nicely break up the scale. It's important to remember that minor pentatonics and relative major pentatonics share the same notes. So, whether you choose Am or C major pentatonic, they can both fit over a minor or major chord, providing different flavors on the triad.
Expanding Your Musical Inventory with Scales and Modes
Understanding different scales and modes can give you a more expansive musical inventory. Major scales, in particular, contain many of the major and minor pentatonic scales. By familiarizing yourself with these scales and their properties, you can experiment with chords, modes, and melody lines, and find the inner components that drive the music. This knowledge can be particularly useful when you play in a group where the chords are predefined, and you need to find the underlying pentatonic lines that can be used to play over those chords.
Techniques for Improvisation
I often lay out a set of chords in a progression and play different modes, chords, and melodies over them to observe the motion of the music. This practice can be particularly illuminating as it helps you to blend your improvisation more naturally with the underlying harmonies. Experimenting with different modes and chords can help you to wield your musical inventory more effectively, making you feel like a true musician. It took me a long time to get to this point, but this method can make that step much easier.
To sum up, mastering pentatonic scales, major scales, and modes is a great way to expand your musical inventory. By learning these scales and their properties, you can experiment with different modes, chords, and melody lines. Incorporating techniques like vertical playing and inserting triads can help you create more complex and expressive improvisations. So, take your time, dig deep, and enjoy the journey of discovering new musical flavors!