pentatonic scale positioning

[mrcrow]

what position and frets do 'we' all use to execute that rock bottom scale of bass tunes

for the key of Dmajor

Astring fret 5
Dstring fret 4 then 7
Gstring fret 4

its the position i learned in so i tend to go for it..without thinking but i bet others here use different ones

over to the panel

[spike]

That looks like a D6 arpeggio to me.

For a D major pentatonic scale I'd play

A string fret 5 then 7
D string fret 4 then 7
G string fret 4 then 7

For a D minor pentatonic scale I'd play

A string fret 5 then 8
D string fret 5 then 7
G string fret 5 then 7

[EntropicLqd]

Interesting.

I've always played it as either:
A string fret 5 then 7
D string fret 5 then 7
G string fret 5 then 7

or
A string fret 5 then 8
D string fret 5 then 7
G string fret 5 then 7

I like to drop in the 6th fret on the D string sometimes as well.

[mrcrow]

[quote name='spike' post='612247' date='Sep 29 2009, 05:35 PM']That looks like a D6 arpeggio to me.

[color="#FF0000"]i didnt put in the octave...sorry
your pentatonic does contain a 6th?[/color]
For a D major pentatonic scale I'd play

A string fret 5 then 7
D string fret 4 then 7
G string fret 4 then 7

For a D minor pentatonic scale I'd play

A string fret 5 then 8
D string fret 5 then 7
G string fret 5 then 7[/quote]

thats the shape i learned

recently i found it comfortable to use

E string fret 10
A string fret 9
D string fret 7
D string fret 9...and the octave
G string fret 7

the jumps werent so hard for my arthritic fingers

[spike]

If it's a pentatonic scale it needs to have five notes in it (excluding the octave). A major pentatonic scale in D has the notes D E F# A B(the 6th) and D in it, the same as you posted above but also with A string fret 7. If you have heard the guitar part at the beginning of 'My Girl' that's a major pentatonic scale.

I use the shape in your first post alot, it must have been one of the first things I learned on the bass.

[Doddy]

mrcrow-you missed out the second note of the scale

The major pentatonic is made up of the major scale degree's

I,II,III,V,VI so in D you would have D,E,Fsharp,A,B


EntropicLqd -your second example is the D minor pentatonic-

I,bIII,IV,V,bVII or D,F,G,A,C. When you add the 6th fret like you say,you
get the Blues scale.

Your first example is basically the same,but you are not playing the 3rd which is
the defining note in the tonality.



Edited due to crap typing

Edited September 29, 2009 by Doddy

[SteveK]

This thread reads like "spot the deliberate mistake"

[quote]I,II,III,V,IV so in D you would have D,E,Fsharp,A,B[/quote]
Doddy, I'm sure you're in the process of correcting this as I type

[Doddy]

[quote name='SteveK' post='612654' date='Sep 29 2009, 11:57 PM']This thread reads like "spot the deliberate mistake"


Doddy, I'm sure you're in the process of correcting this as I type [/quote]


Me and my crap typing.........

Thanks...I meant VI not IV

Now edited

Edited September 29, 2009 by Doddy

[leftybassman392]

To the OP - it's a good idea to try to find different ways to play the same notes.

Here's a few to get you started (there are others):

A Major Pentatonic (= A B C# E F# A ..... as has been pointed out, the note sequence you gave is a major 6th arpeggio - plenty of good scale books out there )

(All in string/fret notation)

E5 E7 A4 A7 D4 D7

or

E5 E7 E9 A7 A9 D7

or

A0 A2 A4 D2 D4 G2


To get the scale in your original stated key of D major, play either of the first 2 exactly the same way but one string across (i.e. start the pattern on the A string rather than the E) - third one can be played same way but 5 frets up, at which point it turns into pattern 2.

There are some general rules at work here if you're interested... see if you can spot any of them.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='mrcrow' post='612196' date='Sep 29 2009, 05:01 PM']what position and frets do 'we' all use to execute that rock bottom scale of bass tunes[/quote]
Where I played it would depend on where I was coming from and where I was going next?

[mrcrow]

now moved
sorry about all the mistakes...i can see now i was peeing against the wind with the pentatonic scale term

what do you call the scale/riff which goes

1 3 5 6 8
and
1 3 5 6 b7

what i was interested in was if others used the stock way...what i learned or had other ways to play it
its just recently i found some easier ways in some roots to play that scale...riff

[leftybassman392]

[quote name='mrcrow' post='613364' date='Sep 30 2009, 10:17 PM']now moved
sorry about all the mistakes...i can see now i was peeing against the wind with the pentatonic scale term

what do you call the scale/riff which goes

1 3 5 6 8
and
1 3 5 6 b7

what i was interested in was if others used the stock way...what i learned or had other ways to play it
its just recently i found some easier ways in some roots to play that scale...riff[/quote]

There is no 'stock' way (a point I tried to make - apparently not well enough - in my last post on this thread ) - there are a number of ways of playing the riff depending what key you're in (proximity of open string notes being one consideration). Don't know that it has a name as such. It would typically be played under a Blues progression of major chord followed by dominant chord. I see it as a walking bass line - trying to analyse it into scale/arpeggio form kind of misses the point of doing it that way.