Major Pentatonic Guitar Scales

Major pentatonic guitar licks are popular in country, blues, and rock music.

The major pentatonic scales have the same five basic shapes as the minor pentatonic scales. However the root notes and positions are shifted up a third. Because of this, if you already know the minor pentatonic scales, learning the major versions will be faster. Be pragmatic and keep in mind that these are not the minor pentatonic scales and all your minor pentatonic riffs are based on a different root note! Take some time to get to know how the major pentatonic scales feel different and how the major 3rd degree creates a different sounding scale.

The major pentatonic scale contains the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th scale degrees. The positions lock into each other from one position to the next, meaning the left hand notes are shared with the previous position, and the right hand notes are shared with the following position. This pattern repeats with the right hand notes of the 5th position becoming the left hand notes of the 1st position repeated in a higher octave.

They can also be played as diagonal scale patterns, moving up the neck both vertical and horizontally, instead of just vertically as seen in the 1st through 5th positions.