How to play the major pentatonic scale on harmonica

By this stage you will probably know how to play the blues scale so now we will have a look at the major pentatonic scale.

Blues scale

The blues scale is closely related to the minor pentatonic scale with just one extra note – the 4 draw bend.

Major pentatonic scale

The major pentatonic scale is very similar to the minor pentatonic and features the following notes;

2 draw, 3 draw whole step bend, 3 draw, 4 draw, 5 blow, 6 blow

Not over the whole 12 bars

The major pentatonic scale does not work on the whole 12 bar sequence. There are some notes which jar with the IV chord so I suggest that you practice playing it over the 1st 4 bars of the 12 bar sequence (I chord) and then revert to the blues scale for the IV chord.

Note the differences

The best way to really understand the difference between the major pentatonic and blues scales is to focus on licks around the notes that are different. For example, you can play phrases featuring the 4 draw, 5 blow and 6 blow for the I chord (major pentatonic) and then play the same phrase with a 5 draw instead of 5 blow over the IV chord (blues scale). This will really cement the differences.