Stop the Madness!
If ever there was a crutch that would forever stunt the musical growth of guitar players throughout the history of time, that crutch would be the Pentatonic Scale. Thousands of potentially great guitar solos have been spoiled by that little sequence of five notes that simply will not die. More disturbingly, millions of potentially great guitarists have languished in Pentatonic Purgatory.
I have taken up arms and put the call out to my fellow Fretheads to stop the madness. We may not be able to get the government to stop bleeding the middle class dry, but we can certainly stop musicians from making our ears bleed.
The Pentatonic Scale Has Been Banned!
It hit me after watching a few episodes of That Metal Show on TV. For those of you not familiar with the show, it’s a talk show of sorts that, obviously, focuses on rock and heavy metal music. It’s a great show and I like to watch it when I can (which is very rarely). One of the added bonuses is that every week a famous guitar player will sit in and do some shredding leading into the commercial breaks.
And that’s when I noticed it:
Every. Single. Friggin’. Guitarist. Played. A. F*&$(#@*ING. Pentatonic. Scale!
Every single one. It’s like they all read from a wall chart of approved-for-TV licks, or they of a sudden got stage fright and couldn’t come up with anything creative. Up and down the neck as fast as they can like hamsters on a wheel. Completely useless, sounds like shit, and is impressive only to the most uninformed. And when I thought about it more I realized that in every single jam session I’ve ever attended, or any backyard part that had a band, that same damned Pentatonic Scale reared it’s ugly head and just would not go away.
Now before you start to hand me a bunch of B.S. about the great blues players, it’s a great beginner scale, most people just want to play guitar for fun, blah blah blah… I will tell you know that I’ve heard it all before and I’m still banning it. Sure, when Derek Trucks or Warren Haynes uses it, it sounds great. But they use it in addition to the twenty million other things they have in their bag of tricks. It’s not the only thing. The word “sparingly” comes to mind. But when it’s the only scale or sound a person knows — which seems to be the case for 99.8% of the world’s guitar population — it really makes me want to get out my Guitar Police identification badge, go door-to-door, and confiscate everyone’s guitars.
If I was a marketing genius I would use this opportunity to plug my first eBook, Scale Mastery, in an attempt to get the world to see past the five note hell we’re being subjected to. But, I guess I’m just not that savvy.
Ladies and gentlemen, the time is nigh. There’s more to music than the same friggin’ thing being done over and over and over and over again. The definition of insanity comes to mind. Add another note; even just one more will do. Put in a b2 or a 6th, for goodness sake. Just do something! So many wonderful things, so much beautiful music, that can be created if one would just take a peek outside your tiny musical hole. Just dip your toe in the water; take a very tiny sip of that funny looking drink. It won’t kill you, I promise.
Hell, you may even like it!
Loading ...
Lol! I love it Josh! I too am one of those Pentatonic junkies. I think it’s really going to have to come down to guitar instructors. They need to stop teaching it as the first scale. I’m guilty! Maybe I’ll start with the Major scale first? This was a great laugh! Thanks!
John Sizemore recently posted: Putting Together Guitar Chord Changes & Strumming
Glad you got it, John. Thanks!
I don’t even know the pentatonic scale. Funny, eh? I learned the major scale, and how to vary it to get other sounds (such as the minor scale, etc), and that’s it. Pentatonic never made much sense to me, and I never bothered to learn it.
Steve
isnt the 6th in a pentatonic scale??? 1,2,3,5,6,1????
Thank goodness!
In a major pentatonic, yes, but not minor, which is what I was referring to and probably should have been more specific.
I’m with you, Josh. And, while you’re at it, ban I-IV-V and I-vi-ii-V progressions as well. Think of all the redundant music we can get rid of – entire genres will disappear.
I’m with you on I-IV-V, but I do honestly like the 1625 progression. My tongue is planted about half-way in my cheek; not sure how far yours is going.
Mine, too. I actually am impressed by people like John Prine or ZZ Top who can craft successful 40 year careers using the same basic harmonic structure. It speaks to the power of rhythm and lyric in reaching people.
It begs the question though, Ron. Have they crafted successful careers by doing new and exciting things for that period of time with their “limited” tools, or did they do something cool for a stretch of a few years and then manage to milk it for the rest of the time? ZZ Top is a perfect example. They had one really good CD when they first came out, then had a few hits on MTV, but haven’t done anything of note since. So is it that they have found a way to keep the pentatonic scale fresh, or are they just cashing in on Legs and Sharp Dressed Man?
Well, while I like rock music a lot, I think rock is, in contrast to jazz and classical, judged less on substance than on style, so being harmonically simple, derivative, or limited (ie, using the same stuff year after year) is not a barrier to success or even a barrier to being “good” at rock and roll. JMO.
It’s an interesting point, Josh. While I would offer that the ZZ Top’s list of songs that elicit positive response is a bit larger than the two you mentioned, your point is well taken. There are a number of artists that record essentially the same album over and over. It makes you appreciate those that never make the same album twice. I think that was my point in using John Prine as an example. With somewhere north of 20 releases, he has relied on lyric and melody to continue to offer new and fresh music while still relying on tried and true harmonic structures. In a larger sense, I believe that the greater purpose of music is to move people, to elicit some sort of emotional response, hopefully positive. By that measure, some of those who are aficionados of the pentatonic or the I-IV-V or whatever are indeed moving people. I may not be particularly moved by hip hop, but there are millions of folks who are. You can substitute jazz, country, classical, emo, grunge,yoko ono, metal, folk or whatever for hip hop in that sentence and it is still a true statement. I know what moves me, I know what I like. However, I try not to pass judgement on that which moves other people beyond saying that it doesn’t fit my ear.
Very well said, Ron. I do agree with what you’re saying. One thing I have to remind myself is that not all music lovers are musicians, and therefore probably don’t listen with a critical ear like I do. What you say about hip-hop, however, almost kind of supports my point. There are some hip-hop groups that I love – Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Dr. Dre, etc. But the majority of the hip-hop songs out there today are completely called-in nonsense with absolutely no innovation, emotion, or inventiveness. Most of it is all crap, and dare I say the rapping equivalent of musicians who use nothing but the pentatonic scale. It might be a bit of a stretch, but that’s what comes to mind. Either way, I totally understand what you are saying.
Well, I have to disagree on a few points. Some of the best guitar solos and greatest guitarists have lived inside the “blues box”. Leslie West’s gorgeous solo in “Theme For An Imaginary Western” comes to mind. Nothing wrong with the pentatonic scale IF you have a good sense of melody. And that’s the key to any great guitarist or guitar solo. Are they making music? Are they serving the song? Sadly, not all guitarist do. Some just wank. And, if legendary guitarists like West, Mick Ralphs, Paul Kossoff, etc., somehow aren’t living up to YOUR personal standards, or “critical ear”, well then….so what? No offense, but who are YOU, really? That’s not meant to be a slight. I’ve listened to parts of your band’s CD and it’s very very good…not going to say it isn’t. But just because you say something ought not exist, or be used, or over used, or whatever, just doesn’t make it so. Hey, it’s your blog, say what you want. But please, don’t think having a blog makes your opinion the Truth, or that it carrys any more weight then the opinions of the million or so other blogsters in the ionic stratoblogosphere.
And as far as bands like ZZ Top having put out several good albums and then just milking the formula for the next 20 years, well hey, get back to me in the next 20 years so I can review Din Within’s output. Don’t be so sure you’re going to be putting out CD after CD of fresh, innovative material. That remains to be seen, IF you guys even last that long.
And, I hope you do. Hopefully, you won’t take what I’ve said as being a slight or an insult (because it wasn’t) just because it didn’t necessarily fall into the ass-kiss the blogger’s catagory.
George,
With all due respect you are taking the post not only way too literally, but also way too seriously. I’m just going to assume that you are a relatively new reader of my blog, because if you weren’t then I’m sure you would have seen the countless posts where I’m commenting about content over flash, less over more, and substance over style. Obviously, some of the best guitar solos and guitarists have lived inside the blues box. I don’t think anyone is disputing that fact. The intent of the post (in a tongue and cheek manner) is a call to action for people to try and get outside of their comfort zone and not just rely on what they currently know. This is a common theme and running discourse throughout Fretterverse.com. It was also meant to be provocative to get people to read. Writers tend to do that to help draw attention to their work, in case you didn’t know.
I would go one step further and edit your comment from “Some just wank” to “MOST just wank,” and that is another essential point of my post. If you’re just going to sit there and play the same 12th position minor pentatonic scale for 32 bars every song because that’s all you know, then I would much rather you just put the guitar down so I don’t have to listen to you flap your fingers around mindlessly. That doesn’t interest me in the least. If it holds interest for you, then kudos; I suggest you start a blog and praise those players. It’s not my cup of tea, however. And that’s most players in the world. Perhaps not some of the guitar greats, but more players throughout the world in general. (Again, my opinion.)
As for the personal attack on my character, well, quite frankly, it’s my blog. I have an opinion and I state it openly and without reservation here on my blog. That’s “who I am.” I don’t for one second think that my opinion is “the Truth” and to be honest I’m somewhat offended that you would infer my opinions as such. I sincerely hope that none of the other Fretheads feel that I come off as such, either. I appreciate that you listened to my CD and that you think it’s good. I also hope that by listening to it you realized that I spent some time to craft my solos to be thoughtful and hopefully at least somewhat original. I’m not sure what the attacks on my band have to do with the subject of my post. I’m not trying to compete with ZZ Top, and there is no need and I have no desire to justify my band’s musical output to you. I’m not a professional musician and have no desire to be, and even if I did I would still prefer my music over ZZ Top. My music is for me, not for you. I don’t write music to please you or anyone else; only to please myself and my songwriting partner. ZZ Top absolutely has NOT put out CD after CD of fresh (and certainly not innovative) material, either, by the way. I appreciate that you telling me to not take your comments as slights or insults, but I really don’t see how I can take your words as anything but.
Hahaha! Very entertaining blog! and painfully true. I think you have given me the kick up the derrier I needed to learn a new scale!! Thank you!
Great rant!!!
I remember when I first learnt the pentatonic scale. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It gave me the ability to get all of those cool sounds I herd from all those rock guitarists.
This instant satisfaction soon wore off and I need something more exciting than the good old Pentatonic scale. I started to explore the notes around the pentatonic scale that I “wasn’t” supposed to play. I started to get some really cool and exotic sounds. Of course I had no idea what notes I was hitting or what scale they were part of. All that I knew was that they sounded great and gave me a unique sound. A few years and a degree later I now know what the notes were and what scales they are.
My point is that the pentatonic scale is great but you need to experiment with different notes outside the scale. If they sound good to you then, play them again.
This annoys me as well!! The only problem is that it seems that all (or at least most) of the really popular music today is written in the pentatonic scale.
- If you want to get any attention, what are you really supposed to do?