From: moffitt@ravel.udel.edu (Curtis Moffitt)
Subject: The Grateful Dead and Pentatonic Scales (music lesson #2 :-)
Organization: University of Delaware
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 17:39:47 GMT


Hi all,
   Gonna follow up my original post on modes with a post on scales and 
soloing.... So...

This is a fairly long and quite invloved post about pentatonic scales,
soloing, and their use in Grateful Dead tunes...  Here goes!


Pentatonic Scales:
   Pentatonic scales have, by definition, 5 notes in them.  There are a few
variations on them but I will discuss the two most popular and their
variants here.  To keep it simple, there are basically 2 different types:
major pentatonic and minor pentatonic.

Minor pentatonic:
   This scale is constructed from the tonic note using whole steps or minor
thirds (1 and 1/2 steps or three 1/2 steps) to get:

      t    w   w   t    w 
    1   b3   4   5   b7

where t = min. 3rd.

Thus, in a A pentatonic minor we get: A C D E G A
Notice that this scale is simply natural minor without the 2 or the b6.
This minor pent. scale is used over straight minor chords for soloing and 
can also be used for min7th chords also.  However, this scale is most usually
superimposed over top of a major chords to create the "blues".  The b3 
and b7 constitute the "blue" notes of the scale.  These scales sound
really good when played over dom7 chords.

Variation of minor pent.:  The so called "blues scale" is simply a minor
pentatonic scale with the tritone (b5) added.  Thus we get:

      t    w   h    h   t    w
    1   b3   4   b5   5   b7

Thus, in the A blues scale we get:  A C D Eb E G A
The tritone (b5) is used mostly as a passing tone but can have some
interesting effects if used correctly (especially over major chords or dom7
chords, however, you must be careful doing it or it will basically sound like
shit).

EX:  A nice example of the use of these two scales is on New Speeday Boogie.
The predominant tonality is E major during the verses but it gets that "blues"
feel from somewhere.  That somewhere is the minor pentatonic and the blues
scale.  Jerry uses E minor (and E blues): E G A B D E (add Bb for blues scale)
over the E major chord to get that blues sound.
   Also, a great example of using these scales in down-home dirty blues is in
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl.  Phil's main bassline is in A pentatonic
minor (A C D E G A) and they use this very effectively to get really down
into the blues.

Another variation we can make is to add the 2 (actually the 9) to the scale.
This would give us:

     w   h    w   w   t    w 
   1   2   b3   4   5   b7

Thus in A minor pent. we would get: A B C D E G A
This can be used over minor chords and min7th chords since the 9 is an 
unoffensive tone on both of these chords.  It may take some getting used to,
but when used effectively can really sound nice.  Of course, you have to be
very careful when using it.  This scale has a kind of jazz quality to it
by the way.   Also, the 9 can also be added to the blues scale to get an 
interesting sound when used with care.

EX:  A nice example of using this scale would be in Eyes of the World.  During
the first 2 solo breaks we get the Emaj7 Bm jam.  Over the Bm we can use the
B minor pent. (B D E F# A B) and then can try adding the 9 (the C#) to the
scale to get a "jazzier" feel.  The Dead do this and it is quite effective
at "coloring" the sound and increasing the tension in the tune.



Major pentatonic:
   This scale is constructed in whole steps and minor 3rds like so:

     w   w   t   w   t 
   1   2   3   5   6 

Thus, in C major pent. we would get: C D E G A C
Notice that this is a major scale with the 4 and the 7 missing.
These scales are played over simple major chords and can also be played over
maj7 chords.  Also, note that, even though there is no formal jargon that is
analogous to the "mode" idea for major and minor scales, you can still start
on different notes in these scales to produce different sounds (like the mode 
idea for major scales).  The equivalencies exist also:  A minor pentatonic
scale is really a mode of the major pentatonic scale (like the natural minor
is a mode of a major key).  For example, I have shown C major pentatonic
(C D E G A C) and A minor pentatonic (A C D E G A).  Notice that they are
indeed the same scale but they are started on different notes.  That is, the
minor pent. is really a "mode" of the major pent.  We will see more equivalents
as I discuss the variations also.

EX: A simple, "very major sounding" song like Fire on the Mountain makes
extensive use of this scale (along with just about every other song the dead
play).  The song is B to A and we can use B major pent. over the B chord
(B C# D# F# G# B) and A major pent. over the A chord (A B C# E F# A).
Of course, Jerry adds a lot of passing tones connect them and color the sound,
in addition to flying over the entire E major scale at times (since this tune 
is basically in the key of E).


Variations on Major Pentatonic:
   The variants on the major pent. scale are based on the inclusion of the
b3 and b7 notes into the scale.  Using these in an either/or/both fashion
we can get some different sounds.  By adding the b3 to the scale we get
another tone to work with.  Usually used as a passing tone, this tone can
be rested upon, with care, on dom7 chords among others.  By adding the b3
we get the scale:

     w   h    h   t   w   t 
   1   2   b3   3   5   6

Thus in C major pent. we would get: C D Eb E G A C
This is used over major chords, mostly as a passing tone, to get some
interesting sounds and licks.  Note that the blues scale is really a "mode"
of this scale.  That is, C major pent. w/ b3 (C D Eb E G A C) is equivalent
to the A blues scale (A C D Eb E G A).

By including just the b7 into the major pent. we would get:

     w   w   t   w   h    w 
   1   2   3   5   6   b7

Thus, in C major pent. we would get: C D E G A Bb C
This is used over major chords and especially dom7 chords to create a "major
blues" feeling with little emphasis on the blues (since only the dom7 is added
and not the b3).  This scale corresponds quite nicely to the mixolydian mode
since it has the b7 added (and mixolydian is the only mode with a dom7).
Note also that it is basically the mixolydian mode with the 4 missing. 
When used to "color" the mixolydian sound on a major chord, it is used mostly
as a passing tone and not as a tone to rest on.

We can also use both the b3 and b7 to get what I like to call the "Country
and Classic rock scale".  This scale is given by:

     w   h    h   t   w   h    w 
   1   2   b3   3   5   6   b7

Thus, in C major pent. we would get: C D Eb E G A Bb C
This is used over major chords and dom7 chords also but has a distinctly
major blues feel when the b3 and b7 are used as passing or color tones.

EX: Examples of the use of these scales go on and on.  They are eveywhere
in the dead's music (especially the major pent. w/ b3 and b7).  Tunes that
use these scales include Johnny B Goode, Big Railroad Blues, Goin' Down the
Road Feelin' Bad, etc. etc. etc.  The presence of these scales is so prevalent
I could probably list a spot in EVERY song where one is used. 

Well, that's all for this music lesson :-)   I think this post has been
long-winded enough.  I think I should write a book or something about this
stuff :-)   Hope you enjoyed it!   Later, Curt